sausage

One Pan Balsamic Sausage and Peppers

TheseNovelThoughts8 Comments

One Pan Balsamic Sausage and Peppers (2)

I am part of a facebook group, Food Bloggers Central, where food bloggers come together to share ideas and tips. It’s masterminded by Nagi Maehashi from Recipe Tin Eats, a fab blog which not ony shares great recipes but also aims to help out other food bloggers too.

Anway, Nagi came up with the wonderful idea of a Blog Hop – where bloggers cook a recipe from another blogger’s site. Kevin from Kevin Is Cooking got me, and has already tried out my Swedish meatballs – head over to his site for a look.

I got Mila from Girl and the Kitchen. She is a wonderful chef, who shares beautifully cooked meals with instructions so descriptive and straightforward that anyone, seriously anyone, could make them no matter what their skill level.

It was a difficult decision choosing what to make, because there are so many tasty looking dishes on her blog. I chose one in the end which is true to my own blog – simple, and perfect for making at the end of a busy day. So, I went for her One Pan Balsamic Sausage and Peppers.

I didn’t deviate much from Mila’s recipe at all. The only changes I made were:

1. Here it is hard to find turkey sausage and so I went for a really good quality pork sausage. These worked well, and my number one hint for the dish would be to buy the best sausages you can afford – it will be worth it!

2. I roasted my sausages in the oven rather than cooking them on the hob first. This was simply because I wasn’t in much of a hurry and had the luxury of time to do so.

I’d implore you to try this one out – it is a rustic, comforting weeknight meal. This will serve 3-4 and will take no more than an hour to make.

One Pan Balsamic Sausage and Peppers (1)

One Pan Balsamic Sausage and Peppers

6 good quality pork sausages

2 tbsps olive oil

3 red peppers

2 onions

8 garlic cloves

1 small handful basil leaves

100ml balsamic vinegar

100ml water

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

2. Prick your sausages with a fork and place in a high-edged roasting dish. Drizzle with the olive oil, and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until starting to brown.

3. Chop your onions and peppers into bitesize pieces, and peel your garlic cloves (leave them whole). Add these to the dish along with the basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, water and a little salt and pepper. Shake the pan to distribute evenly, then cover with tin foil and put back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

4. At this point, check your sausages are cooked. If they’re not, put back in the oven for a few more minutes. If they are, dish it out and serve with a hunk of crusty bread. Yum!

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One Pot Sausage, Mushroom and Mozzarella Pasta

TheseNovelThoughts30 Comments

One Pot Sausage, Mushroom and Mozzarella Pasta (2)

What could be better, on a weeknight after a long day at work, than a meal which essentially cooks itself? After some brief browning of sausage meat, all the effort this meal involves is throwing it (or placing gently, whichever suits) all in a pan, putting a lid on and returning 15 minutes later for a comforting, oozy pasta dish.

Today, the weather has been the sort that makes me crave pasta. Although it was a comparatively warm start, it was raining buckets and I arrived at work sodden after my miserable 25 minute walk. By the time I left work, the weather couldn’t have been more different (but not in a good way) – it was clear and bright but with an icy, biting wind. Brrr!

So this meal was just what was needed – easy, tasty and like a nice warm hug.

You could easily make this dish vegetarian by swapping the sausages for porcini mushrooms, and using veg stock rather than chicken stock. You should also play around with the type of pasta you use; I went for caserecce which hubby described as “short bits of spaghetti making out”. It sucked the juice up nicely, which was the main thing. Use whatever type you like – be creative – use a shape you’d never heard of before!

This will serve 6 and takes 30 minutes to make.

One Pot Sausage, Mushroom and Mozzarella Pasta (1)

One Pot Sausage Pasta Bake

1 tbsp olive oil

4 good quality sausages

1 onion

250g chestnut mushrooms

2 garlic cloves

1 small glass red wine

2 x 400g tins whole plum/cherry tomatoes

600ml chicken stock

400g dried pasta

20g grated parmesan

150g mozzarella

1 handful basil leaves

1. Remove the casings from the sausage meat and put the meat in a large casserole dish with the olive oil. Cook over a medium heat until starting to brown, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat.

2. Add the chopped onion and sliced mushrooms, cook for a further 2 minutes then add the sliced garlic. Tip in the wine and allow to boil down for 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomatoes (and juice) and stock. Being to the boil, then add the pasta. Turn the heat down to low, put a lid on and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the pasta is just cooked.

4. Turn the heat off, stir through the grated parmesan and torn basil leaves, then tear up the mozzarella and dot over the top of the dish. Put the lid back on for 3-4 minutes until the mozzarella has melted. Enjoy!

One Pot Sausage, Mushroom and Mozzarella Pasta (3)

Sausage and Cranberry Spaghetti

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This is one of the other half’s favourite meals, because it appeals to his sweet tooth and love of Christmas I think! The ingredients themselves are very festive – little cocktail sausages (not wrapped in bacon, unfortunately) and sweet dried cranberries do make you think of Christmas dinner.

I am sure that children would wolf this dish down, and perhaps if you stirred in some spinach you could up the health factor.

If you’re not a fan of sweet food this probably isn’t for you; although if you left out the quince paste and instead stirred in half a tin of anchovies with the onion, you could make a seriously savoury version which I think would be delicious too. If you did this, it would need some fresh chopped parsley stirred in to lift it.

This dish is ready in 30 minutes and will serve 4.

Sausage and Cranberry Spaghetti

30 raw cocktail sausages

25g butter

1 onion

150g dried cranberries

130g quince paste

400g dried spaghetti

Grated parmesan, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and cook the cocktail sausages for 20 minutes, until crisp and golden.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions.

3. In a saute pan, melt the butter over a medium heat and add the chopped onion. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the cooked sausages and cranberries. Add the quince paste and 50ml water, stir and simmer until the quince paste has dissolved. Season with salt and pepper.

4. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and stir in the sauce. Serve topped with plenty of grated parmesan.