Über Pils Sausage Kabobs

The ideal combination is summer, beer and grilling.  Now you can combine them all together into something perfect for the season tasty!

This is a super easy recipe perfect for grilling.  By planning a little in advance, you can turn regular everyday kabobs into something über delicious simply by marinating the meat in yummy beer.

Über Pils Sausage Kabobs

2 Lbs Sweet Italian Sausage

4 Potatoes

1 Red Pepper

2 Small Zucchini

12 Wooden Or Metal Skewers

Season-All Seasoned Salt

With a sharp knife, cut the sausages into thirds leaving the casing intact.  Place into a container with a lid or a zipper bag.

Sprinkle with seasoned salt and pour beer over the sausages.  Refrigerate for at least an hour but longer is better.

Soak wooden skewers in cold water for 30 minutes before cooking.

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 chunks.  Add to a pot of salted water and parboil for 4 to 5 minutes.  You want them to be  somewhat tender but not too tender or they'll fall apart on the grill. 

Cut the red pepper and zucchini chunks.

Add all ingredients (zucchini, potato, pepper sausage, repeat) to the skewers. Leave a little space between the vegetables and the sausage so the meat cooks more evenly.

Grill the skewers over medium high heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Enjoy!

Pale Ale Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Sausage is one of my favorite meats.  In all honesty, sausages are nothing more than meat by-products stuffed into a a section of intestine.  But whatever.  I love them. Sausage with peppers and onions is one of my favorite ways to prepare them. 

Then I thought about adding a beer to the mix.  And then I thought that would be a fine idea.  So that's what I did.  And it was awesome!





I used Pemi Pale Ale brewed by Woodstock Inn Brewery for the beer.  It's a tasty pale ale with loads of flavor.  It made an excellent addition to the recipe.

I also used my homemade tomato paste in place of canned paste - recipe here.

Pale Ale Sausage, Peppers and Onions

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Pounds Italian Sausage Links
3 Large Bell Peppers, Sliced
2 Large Vidalia Onions, Sliced
4 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
2 (12 Fluid Ounce) Bottles Pale Ale
1 (6 Ounce) Can Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce
Salt And Pepper To Taste
Kaiser Roll
Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

In a heavy skillet, cook sausages in olive oil until brown on all sides.  Remove sausage from pan, and keep warm. 

Deglaze the pan witn one bottle of the pale ale. Scrape the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the peppers, onions and garlic to the pan. Stir in the tomato paste, cilantro, hot sauce and the remaining bottle of beer. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and simmer until onions and peppers are tender. 

While the onions and peppers are cooking, slice the sausages into bite size pieces.  

When the onions and peppers are done, stir into the sausage.  
Cover, and simmer until sausage is cooked through.

Serve on a kaiser roll.  Top with parmesan cheese, if desired. 

Sausage Stuffed Bone-in Turkey Breast

My husband doesn't like dark meat so, even though it is my preference, it doesn't always make sense to get a whole big turkey just for the two of us.  If we get a hankerin' for a turkey dinner, and it's only us, then I'll just get a bone-in breast.  

I don't know about you, but I can't have turkey without stuffing.  It just isn't right.  One of my favorite stuffing recipes uses sausage and water chestnuts.  The sausage adds moisture and flavor and the water chestnuts create wonderful texture.

Sausage Stuffed Bone-in Turkey Breast


1 (5-7 Lb.) Turkey Breast, Bone In, Skin On
Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning (Or Salt And Pepper To Taste)
1/2 Cup Butter
3/4 Cup Chopped Celery
1 4-Ounce Can Water Chestnuts, Drained and Chopped
1 Onion, Chopped
1 Lb Bulk Sausage
4 Cups Stale Bread Cubes
1/2 Tsp. Dried Sage Leaves
1/2 Tsp. Dried Thyme Leaves
1 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Tsp. Pepper
1/4 To 1/3 Cup Chicken Stock
2 Tbsp Butter, Softened


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse turkey breast and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

In large skillet, brown the sausage until most of the pink is gone.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter and cook celery and onion until tender. 










Return the sausage to the pan and add the rest of the ingredients (except 2 tbsp butter). Add chicken stock and toss until lightly moistened.

Loosely stuff the breast cavity, don't over stuff because the stuffing expands.  In a large baking dish (I use a large cast iron skillet) place the breast, stuffing side down.  

Loosely stuff the neck cavity and cover with skin flap.  Rub the breast all over with the remaining butter. Sprinkle with Tony Chachere to taste.

If there is extra stuffing left over kind of pack it around the base of the breast and cover with foil.  The foil will keep it moist and prevent it from burning.

Roast the turkey and stuffing at 350 degrees for 2 to 2-1/2 hours until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the meat reads 165 degrees F. 

You can baste it if you want to but I find it unnecessary.

Serve with all your favorite fixin's.  

Beerific Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage and Sausage

This is real comfort food for me and brings back warm, cozy childhood memories.  

This is very much like the recipe Gramma used to make except I've upped the flavor factor by replacing the water with beer and using Tony Chachere creole spice in place of the salt and pepper.  

Use whatever kind of beer you like.  I think this recipe is especially good with a lager or a brown, but you can experiment with your favorite style.

This makes for yummy leftovers.  Mmmmm . . . good stuff!





Beerific Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage & Sausage

4 Tablespoons Rendered Bacon Fat
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Small Yellow Onion, Chopped
4 Cups Shredded Red Cabbage
2 Granny Smith Apples - Unpeeled, Cored & Sliced Thin
2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Caraway Seeds
1 To 1-1/2 Pounds German or Polish-Style Smoked Sausages
1 Pound Potatoes, Halved or Quartered
Salt And Fresh-Ground Black Pepper To Taste
1 Bottle Cup Beer

Melt the bacon fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar and cook, stirring often, until the sugar browns, about 4 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onion, and saute it until it is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, apples, vinegar, and caraway seeds, and stir to blend.

Place the sausage links and the potatoes on top of the cabbage mixture. Season with salt and pepper and pour the beer over all. 

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. 

Taste, adjust the seasonings, and serve hot.

Note:  I use raw sugar in place of granulated sugar.  I replace Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning for the salt and pepper.  

Spicy Sausage and Balsamic Peppers & Onions Sandwich

This is a sandwich of my own creation.  Sweet, savory, spicy, and cheesy.  It's almost the perfect sandwich.  

It's pretty messy, so I like to make mine open face. But if you don't mind all kinds of awesome juices running down your arms while you're eating then, by all mean, plop a bun on top of that bad boy and have at it!

Spicy Sausage and Balsamic Peppers & Onions Sandwich


¼ Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Cut Lengthwise Into 1/2 –Inch Slices
2 Or 3 Jalepeno Peppers, Cut Lengthwise Into 1/2 –Inch Slices
1 Large Onion, Cut Lengthwise Into 1/2 –Inch Slices
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
¼ Teaspoon Salt
1 Pound Hot Italian Sausage
4 To 6 Fresh Kaiser Rolls
1 Pound Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced











In a large skillet, stir together the olive oil, peppers and onions over medium heat. Season with pepper and salt (I used Tony Chachere, instead).  

Saute the pepper for 5-7 minutes, until they are tender but still firm. Stir in the balsamic vinegar; cook for an additional 1 minute. Set aside.


Form the sausage into thin patties.  Cook sausage patties in a heavy large skillet over medium heat, about 7 to 10 minutes. Top with mozzarella and allow cheese to melt slightly.

Split the rolls in half lengthwise. Top with a sausage patty and a spoonful of peppers & onions.

Serve open face or top with another bun.  Serve sandwiches immediately.

Cheesy Joes

These are silly quick and easy to make.  And quite tasty, too.  Great for a party or a fast meal.  Yum!

Cheesy Joes

1 Pound Hot sausage
1 Pound hamburger
1 Pound Velveeta, Cubed
1 Package Slider Rolls

Brown together the sausage and hamburger until no longer pink. 

Drain off the fat. 

Add the cubed Velveeta and stir until melted. 

Divide mixture evenly and spread onto rolls.

Print Recipe

Roasted Sausages & Vegetables

In my mind this is is truly comfort food.  Hot, savory and completely satisfying!  I cook the whole thing in a large cast iron skillet.  But you can use a roasting pan if you don't have one.

Roasted Sausages & Vegetables

8 (4″ long) sweet Italian sausages
4-5 medium red potatoes
4 large carrots
1 large onion
1 fennel bulb
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp oil
freshly cracked black pepper
2/3 c. chicken broth
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Brown the sausages.  Don't cook them all the way through, just brown the outsides.  Cut partially slice the sausages in half once they've cooled.

Quarter or half the potatoes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Peel one large onion, and cut into wedges.

Remove the base and stalks of the fennel, and cut into wedges.  Peel and slice the carrots and cut into chunks.  





Pour the broth into the skillet or roasting pan.  Add all the vegetables.  Season generously with salt and pepper . . . I used Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning.  Toss the vegetables to distribute the seasonings and coat with broth.


Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes the potatoes and vegetables should be fork tender. Place the sausages in with the vegetables and pour the balsamic vinegar all over sausages and vegetables.

Place the tray back in the oven, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes.

After 15 minutes, flip the the sausages and ladle some of the juices lurking at the bottom all over the vegetables and sausages. Put it back in the oven for the remaining time, until everything is nice and brown.

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Scotch Eggs

I came across this recipe and I had to try it . . . it was simply too interesting to pass up.  And I'm glad I did . . . these little porky egg bombs ROCK!

Scotch Eggs have been around since the early 1700's when travelers would take them along on long carriage journeys as a portable form of sustainable.

They've since become a part of southern  hunting, fishing and tailgating fare and are more recently being offered as bar food.

They are traditionally fried but I baked mine and they were really really yummy!  I wish I had one right this second.

Scotch Eggs


1 Pound Pork Sausage Meat
2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
4 Hard-Cooked Eggs, Peeled
1 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 Egg, Beaten
2/3 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs



In a medium bowl, mix together the pork sausage and Worcestershire sauce. Combine the flour, salt and pepper; mix into the sausage.


Divide the sausage into four equal parts. Mold each part around one of the hard-cooked eggs, rolling between your hands to shape. 

Place the beaten egg and bread crumbs into separate dishes. 

Dip the balls into the egg, then roll in the bread crumbs until coated. Shake off any excess.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Scotch eggs are traditionally served cold or at room temperature.

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The sound of my voice

Have you ever noticed that the way your voice sounds to you when you speak as opposed to the way it sounds in a recording is so different?  I mean, when anyone else talks it sounds the same whether I hear it live or via a recording or over the phone.  What's up with that?

The reason for this is because when you hear your own voice when your talking you're hearing it a combination of two ways . . . your hearing the sound as it travels directly through your head and also as it travels through the air into your ear.





When you hear a recording of your voice you're only hearing it via airwaves . . . just like everyone else's voice you hear.    





This is why your own voice sounds strange when played back from a recording.  By the way . . . I like my voice much better in my head.

Sausage Cabbage Soup

1 Can of Chicken Broth

1 Lb. Bulk Sausage, Browned

3 Strips Bacon, Cooked

1/2 Head of Cabbage - Chopped

3 Large Carrots - Chopped

8 Stalks of Celery

1 Can Chopped Tomatoes

1 Can of Sliced Mushrooms

1 Pkg of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

12 Oz Can of V-8 Juice

 

Chop all veggies into bite size pieces. Drain and rinse canned mushrooms. 


Brown sausage in a large pot.  Add all remaining ingredients to the pot - bring to a boil then cook on low for an hour then on low for 3 hours. Low calorie and very filling.

I don't, for the record, have a Tweety Bird fetish.

I’m an early bird . . . early to bed, early to rise, getting the worm and all that.  

Hubby is a night owl . . . if it was practical he would stay up all night and into the wee hours of the morning.

Even though he can’t go along with his biological clock he’s still not ready to go to sleep when I am . . . which I fully admit is toddler early but that’s when I get sleepy . . . but I still want him to come to bed with me.

Why?  Because I just so happen to love him and like to be near him.  I sleep better when he’s in bed next to me.

You might think this would cause some feathers to fly in our love nest.  But since we are pretty  much attached at the wing tips, it really doesn’t.

Why?  Because hubby is a big sweetie-bird and willingly comes to bed with me . . . just so long as it’s not too early.  There are  certain time parameters . . . if I ask too early then he asks if I know what itme it is.  Of course I know what time it is.  Sheesh.

So, even though he’s not ready to go to sleep, he plops himself in bed between me and his laptop.  So that he can continue to do whatever he’s doing and I get to snuggle.   

Yeah, I know that the laptop is taking up space on the bed but that just mean that my hunny is closer to me.  It all works out.

Funny story that sort of related . . . the other night hubby was ready to go to sleep and he rolled over to cuddle.  I was facing away from him and he spooned up against me and put his arm over me. And then, because he wanted skin to skin contact, he put his arm under my shirt to rest his hand on my tummy.  I was aware of what was going on because I woke up when he flipped over.  So there his hand is on my belly and the next thing I know he stuck his finger in my belly button. Just a quick beep . . . it was kinda cute.

 

So the next day I mentioned it to him and he had zero recollection of this.  He even went so far as to say I made it up.  But I didn’t. 

Cuddling included belly button beeping, I guess.  :)~

Espaguetis (Spaghetti a la Dominicana)

A wonderful and surprising combination of flavors. 

1 Lb of Spaghetti

1/4 Lb. of Dominican "Salami" Diced Into Small Cubes

1/4 Cup of Ground Parmesan Cheese

1 Tablespoon of Capers

1/2 Cup Pitted Green Olives, Cut into Pieces

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Large Green Bell Pepper Cut Into Small Cubes

4 Plum Tomatoes Cut Into Small Cubes

2 Cups of Tomato Sauce

1 Large Onion Sliced Finely

1 Pinch of Oregano

1/2 Tablespoon of Mashed Garlic

1/2 Cup of Evaporated Milk                       

Pepper

Salt

I didn’t have Dominican "salami" so I used Chinese pork sausages.  They are slightly sweet and a little spicy plus they add color.  Very yummy!

Boil the spaghetti until slightly softer than al dente having added a teaspoon of salt to the water. Drain the water and reserve the spaghetti.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat.

Cook and stir the salami (or sausage) until it browns.

Add the onions, pepper, olives, garlic and capers and cook and stir for a minute.

Add the tomatoes and oregano; simmer over low heat until the tomatoes are tender. 

Add the tomato sauce and the milk and mix well.

Simmer over low heat for a minute. Stir often.

Season with pepper and salt to taste.

Serve hot over the spaghetti and top with grated cheese.

I don't, for the record, have a Tweety Bird fetish.
Brian Lamb

Good day, sir ... I said good day

You know what I can’t stand?  No, I guess you don’t so I will tell you.

Store greeters.  I don’t dislike them on a personal level.  I’m sure that they are quite lovely and pleasant people.  I just have an aversion to what they do.  You see, I don’t particularly like talking to people . . . especially strangers.  Perhaps it was my upbringing . . . stranger danger!  stranger danger!   I don’t know but . . . with the exception of my beloved hubby and my angsty teenager . . . on any given day I would be happy not to have to talk to anyone . . . at all. 

So, when I walk into a store and am practically forced to speak to someone . . . someone I don’t know . . .  it goads me somewhat.  Since . . . again because of how I was raised  . . . I can’t bring myself to be rude and ignore them.  I feel compelled . . . nay . . . obligated to respond in kind . . . and kindly.   That makes irks me.

I just want to go about my business, collect my items to purchase, pay for them and leave . . . without having to say a word to anyone.  Is that too much to ask?

What’s worse is that I can’t avoid them.  They’re right there . . . standing there . . . waiting to welcome me (or any other person who strolls through the door).    And when I leave . . . they’re right there . . . standing there . . . waiting to wish me (or any other person who is departing the store) a pleasant day.  

And that’s they’re job.  They get paid to do this.

That is all I have to say about that.

And don't even get me started on the people hanging around malls and store trying to ask people survey questions . . . 

Sausage Stuffing Casserole Recipe

1 Pound Pork Sausage

1/2 Cup Onion, Chopped

2 Stalks Celery, Chopped

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter Or Margarine

3 Cups Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix

2 Cans (15 Ounce Size) Cream Style Corn

   or one recipe Creamed Corn

1 Teaspoon Parsley Flakes

Cut sausage into 1 inch pieces. 

In a skillet, cook sausage, onion and celery till vegetables are tender and meat no longer is pink. Drain off excess fat.

Stir melted butter or margarine into 1 cup of the stuffing mix; set aside to use as a topper.

In a bowl, combine the cream-style corn with sausage, onion, celery and parsley. Stir in remaining stuffing mix.

Spoon into a 2-quart casserole. Spoon the 1 cup reserved stuffing mix over top.

Bake the casserole, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for about 35 minutes or till bubbly and browned.