Another Saucy Idea

I'm still working with the Saucy Mama products that were sent to me and tonight's dinner (shame on me it's not a balanced meal) was delish! It's an appetizer that fit my mood and evening time frame. And again, you're going to like this little gem! It's 3 ingredients, how nice is that?

 

Saucy Kielbasa Rounds

Serves 4-5 as an appetizer

 

1 package (13 oz) Polska Kielbasa (I used Hillshire Farm Lite)

10 oz apricot jam (I used Smucker's Simply Fruit)

5 oz Saucy Mama Apricot Ginger Mustard

 

Slice kielbasa into 4 or 5 pieces and place in water in semi-deep saucepan. Bring water to a boil and lower heat to simmer. Cook about 20 minutes until sausage has plumped. Remove from water and let cool. Save about one cup of cooking water (I added less) to enhance the mustard/apricot sauce.

 

When sausage is cool, slice into 1 inch rounds. Add them back to the pot they were previously cooked in and add the mustard and apricot jam and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Stir to combine and simmer on low for 30 minutes or even a little longer until sauce reduces and gets a little sticky. 

 

 

Plate and serve. This is a burst of flavor on a plate!

 

 

Flavor Explosion

A few weeks ago at our pot luck Halloween lunch at work I sampled kielbasa cooked in yellow mustard and apple jelly. It was served on toothpicks as an appetizer. And wow, was it good. So last week I took this yummy idea a step further and made a soup with kielbasa, cabbage, onions and potatoes. And cooked them in the mustard and apple jelly mixture. Flavor explosion is all I can say. And easy peasy.

Kielbasa and Cabbage Soup
serves 4

1 package kielbasa (I used the light)
1/2 head green cabbage sliced or chopped
1 large onion sliced
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp canola oil
water to cover kielbasa
2 cups chicken broth
1 Russet potato diced
9 oz apple jelly
4 oz yellow mustard
salt and pepper

Let's get cooking. Slice your kielbasa so it fits in a medium size sauce pan. Cover with water and cook on medium heat until the sausages begin to plump, about 25 minutes.

Prep your cabbage and onions and set aside. Remove kielbasa from pan and let cool. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid for broth. When kielbasa is cooled a bit slice into 1/2 inch rounds and mix together the mustard and apple jelly.

In large soup pan on medium heat, add canola oil and toast the mustard seeds for almost a minute, until they start to pop. Now add the cabbage and onions and lower heat to medium low. Cook cabbage/onions until slightly wilted.

Now add the apple jelly mixture and reserved cooking water and chicken broth. Add back the kielbasa and the chopped potatoes. Cook another ten minutes and your soup is done. Taste to see if you need to add any salt and pepper. I added a pinch or two of both.

This is one hearty meal, and the combo of the apple jelly and mustard just takes it over the top. It's a little bit sweet and has just the right amount of tang due to the mustard. Yummers, I'm going to try this again and add a little bit of bacon. And next time, you can be sure I'll have a crusty loaf of bread on hand for dipping. Oh yeah, I'm getting ready for winter.

Oven Baked Creamy, Cheesy, Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole

Diane Smith is one of my go-to cooks on the internet. So when she posts a yummy recipe (especially a casserole), you can be sure I'm right there, writing down the ingredients and making plans to put her good cooking and excellent instincts to a test run in my kitchen.  This dish is inspired by Diane and I sure do have to give her the credit for her timing in cooking brown rice in the oven. As many of you know, I am seriously brown rice impaired, and Diane made it simple for me to pull together a perfectly cooked, creamy chicken and rice dish in one pot no less. Her original recipe can be found here, and it's made with poppy seeds. I am not so much a poppy seed fan, but love the combo of creamy, cheesy anything and want to share my little journey putting this beautiful and tasty oven baked dish together. Warning- It's not a 45 minute casserole, but worth every minute in the oven.

Oven Baked Chicken and and Brown Rice with Tarragon, Dijon and White Wine
serves 4

Ingredients:
1 c uncooked brown rice
salt and pepper
8 oz cheddar cheese grated
2 large boneless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 10 oz can non fat/low sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 c lite sour cream
1-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 to 1-1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 c dry white wine (I used chardonnay)
1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers crushed
1/4 c unsalted butter melted

Let's cook: Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray or butter. I was feeling decadent and used the butter, (good choice I decided later). Spread uncooked rice evenly over prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread 1/2 the cheese over rice and place chicken on top.

Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on top of the chicken. Set the chicken aside and mix your condensed soup, sour cream, tarragon and Dijon mustard

Spread mixture on top of seasoned chicken. In a medium size measuring cup, combine chicken broth, and wine and pour over the top of the casserole. This flavorful liquid along with the condensed soup is going to magically cook your chicken and rice to perfection. Looks good already, doesn't it?

 Place casserole uncovered in oven and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

And now my favorite part...the Ritz crackers and butter. Top casserole with the crackers and drizzle butter lovingly on top of the crackers. Place casserole back in oven.

 Bake another 25 minutes and dinner is done. And well worth waiting for. How delish is this?

I'll answer that since you haven't made it yet. It's creamy, cheesy, crunchy, and oh! so flavorful. It tastes like a meal fit for a king or queen. Plus the possibilities for this dish are endless. I might add some veggies next time- like baby peas or asparagus. Or some roasted red peppers. As I said to Diane, "this is not just a recipe- it's another way of cooking chicken and rice to perfection.... which is not easy!" As always, thanks Diane for a wonderful cooking experience! Loved every minute, especially the eating part. LD

Baked Beans with a Little Extra Heat

Jenny's Baked Beans have been a favorite of mine for the last few years. Today I did a quick re-mix and subbed Sriracha for Franks Hot Sauce and used Dijon mustard instead of the yellow. It's hot, but not too hot, so don't let the sriracha scare you. To me, it was just perfect, and the recipe is super simple!

Franks, Beans and Bacon Casserole

This was kind of a fridge cleanout, so please adjust amounts of anything you have in your pantry and fridge. I promise, whatever the ratio, this will come out tasting great.

Franks, Beans and Bacon Casserole
Made in an 8" x 8" casserole dish
Can feed one hungry person or six normal appetites

5 beef frankfurters sliced 1/2 inch
1 T canola oil
1 onion diced 1/4 inch
1 green pepper chopped 1/4 inch
1-1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 can 28 oz Bush's Original Baked Beans
1/4 cup ketchup
1 T Dijon mustard (I normally use yellow mustard but didn't have any- still pretty good with the Dijon)
1 T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend or 2 T regular brown sugar
1 T hot sauce (I used Franks)
4-5 slices hardwood smoked bacon

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees and prepare baking dish with cooking spray. In medium size saucepan on stovetop over medium low heat, add canola oil and onions and green pepper. Soften veggies and add chili powder, coriander, salt and pepper. I usually add a bit of cumin but couldn't find mine. Add some if you can find yours and cook about 5-7 minutes.

Remove from saucepan and add to mixing bowl. Add sliced franks, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, and hot sauce.

Combine mixture and pour into baking dish. Top with bacon.



Cover with aluminum foil and fold one corner of foil back to vent. Bake one hour, remove foil and bake uncovered for another half hour. Serve with Texas toast (sorry no picture), but all you need to do to make the toast is... while the casserole is cooling, combine a few tablespoons of butter with garlic powder and fresh chopped parsley. Slather the butter mixture on one side of thickly sliced (one inch) Italian bread. Bake in oven for 7-9 minutes. Yummy meal and it reheats in the oven or microwave like a dream.

 

Egg Roll Chronicles Part 2

I can't promise, but I'm thinking this should be the last of the egg roll saga for a while. Not that I don't love them; they have been, and still are the closest thing (besides humans) to my heart. But I'm becomming obsessive and just can't stop once again thinking about them. And I need to control this behavior. So let's put my weirdness aside for the moment and concentrate on today's concoction: Asparagus, Cheese, and Salami Egg Rolls with a Taragon Mustard Cream Sauce. Doesn't that sound good? And yes it is. The picture above doesn't have the tarragon in the sauce because by the time I made the final version my camera needed a re-charge. Anyway, here's the recipe. I simply adored it!

Asparagus, Cheese, and Salami Egg Rolls with a Taragon Mustard Cream Sauce
serves two

4 egg roll wrappers
12 pre cooked asparagus spears
3 slices of low fat Swiss cheese sliced into strips- I'm still hooked on Alpine Lace, I think their's is the best
4 rounds of thinly sliced Genoa salami
Dijon mustard- for the wrappers and also the egg wash
1 egg
Water
Store bought Italian bread crumbs
Grated Romano cheese
Canola oil for frying

For the sauce:
this was an eyeball type of thing, no exact measurements, just keep tasting
Dijon mustard
Sour cream- I use the Light
Rice vinegar
Mayo- again I use the Light
Fresh tarragon chopped

I think I've covered all the bases with the ingredients so let's get cooking. I love fresh asparagus and have found that if I cook them covered, in the microwave for 1-1/2 minutes with a bit of sea salt and a tablespoon or two of water they turn out great when I'm going to be cooking them again.

So cook your asparagus and let them cool. On each of 4 egg roll wrappers give a squeeze of Dijon mustard on the lower half (if you don't have the squeeze bottle, use a spoon).

Now layer on a slice of salami, 3 spears of the cooked asparagus and some Swiss cheese.

Roll up egg roll style and make an egg wash combining the egg, mustard and water. Apply the egg wash and roll in the bread crumb/Romano cheese mixture. That would be even parts of the bread and cheese.

Now doesn't that look good already?  Set your rolled egg rolls aside and make the sauce. Combine mustard, sour cream, mayo and vinegar and stir to combine. I added a little water too, to thin it out a bit, but I'm not sure if that's necessary. Add a teaspoon of fresh tarragon (dried would be fine too) and set aside.

In a large saute pan add a thin layer of canola oil and get ready to cook these little darlings on medium heat for about 2 minutes per side (including the shallow sides) just so it's brown all over. Plate and serve. Heaven! Yes, it was heaven. Love the sauce, love the meat, cheese and veggie combo. And you know me, the mustard cream sauce sent me over the top.