Slow Cooked Sausage Supper

This post contains affiliate links.

 

Is it hot where you are? It has been really hot here, with high humidity. In fact, during the month of May the weather has been all over the place. I don’t know that I am ready for 90° temperatures just yet, but like it or not, they were here last weekend.

The heat of summer is when I make good use of my slow cooker. I’m busy working in my container garden, and don’t want to have to bother with dinner. I love that I can put something together early in the day, and by late afternoon/early evening, when I’m too tired to move, I have a wonderful dinner waiting for me.

This is easy, comforting, and satisfying. The flavor is sweet, spicy, and tangy. You can swap out the vegetables by adding those that are seasonal and/or preferred by your family; fresh green beans, baby corn, and corn on the cob, sliced into 2-inch rounds work particularly well here. Just be sure to adjust your time accordingly, i.e. baby corn will only need to be heated through whereas fresh green beans will need at least a half an hour.

Slow Cooked Sausage Supper

 1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s shallots, sliced

2 lbs. smoked sausage*

1 c. brown sugar
3 T. yellow mustard

3 T. Dijon mustard

1 T. stone ground mustard

1 T. creamy horseradish

1 1.5-oz. bag Melissa’s baby red potatoes, halved

2 c. baby carrots

½ cabbage, cut into quarters

Spray interior of slow cooker with PAM. Scatter sliced shallots on the bottom of the slow cooker. Slice sausage into 2-inch chunks and scatter on top of the shallots. Combine the sugar, mustards, and horseradish, and pour over the sausage and potatoes. Stir to coat. Cover and cook on high heat 2-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, and cook for an additional 45 minutes.

 Serves 4 to 6.

*I used Eckrich beef smoked sausage

 

Three Olive Potato Salad

This post contains affiliate links.

In my family, potato salad was a main staple of every summertime event. I can still remember being barely able to see over the counter, watching my mother cube potatoes into a large bowl where she would eventually add lots of other ingredients, stir it together with a large wooden spoon (that I now have), and it would turn those potatoes into something magical. Sounds simple, right? Well...

When I married the late Mr. O-P, I had a rather rude awakening. I made the potato salad of my youth, and presented it to him. Apparently he and his family did things differently. They didn’t cube potatoes, they sliced them. He wasn’t happy with my efforts at all! It was then that I came to realize that, when it comes to potato salad, there are “slice people” and there are “cube people.” I, my friends, am a cube person. When you make this potato salad, feel free to slice them if you must, but do make this delicious version with three kinds of olives. Olive lover or not, you will love this intensely flavorful version, while maintaining its comfortable familiarity.

Three Olive Potato Salad

5 lbs. Melissa’s Baby Red Potatoes
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped red onion
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
½ c. sliced black olives
½ c. sliced green olives stuffed with garlic
½ c. sliced Kalamata olives
½ c. chopped Melissa’s Red Bell Peppers
½ c. sweet pickle relish
½ c. chopped dill pickles
½ t. smoked paprika
2 T. stone ground mustard
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/3 c. mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place potatoes into a large pot of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and cool.

Remove peel from potatoes, and cut into chunks. Place potatoes in a large bowl with remaining ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine. If the potato salad is too dry, add additional mayonnaise and cider vinegar in equal portions.