Slow Cooker Sausage Supper

I love a nice, grilled sausage supper, but in this heat I am not about to go outside and grill. So, I selected all of my favorite sausage supper ingredients, combined them with a spicy sauce, and let the slow cooker work its magic. This is quite tasty, considering how easy it is to put together. It’s a great weeknight supper, or weekend meal. It’s only in the slow cooker for a total of three hours, so if you don’t think about it until midday or early afternoon, it will still be ready in time for supper. Why heat up the kitchen on a hot day? Grab your slow cooker and have a wonderful summer sausage supper.

Slow Cooker Sausage Supper

1 small sweet onion, finely chopped

1 cup light brown sugar

3 Tablespoons yellow mustard

3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon horseradish

2 pounds smoked kielbasa

2 ears corn, cut into rounds

1/2 pound Melissa’s Baby Ruby Gold Potatoes

Spray slow cooker with PAM.  Add onion, sugar, mustards, and horseradish, and stir to combine. Cut the kielbasa into one-inch-thick slices and add to the crockpot. Stir to coat. Cover and cook on high heat 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add corn and potatoes and cook an hour longer.  Serves 4-6.

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Another simple summer meal is this Shrimp Boil Foil Pack.

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things
Feathered Nest Friday
 Grace at Home

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Shirley's Pasta Salad

In yesterday’s post, that you can read here, I told you about my mother’s recipe box, adding that I had planned on sharing many recipes from this lifetime collection.  The first recipe came from her best childhood friend and maid of honor at her wedding. Her name was Shirley Fick, and she was quite an accomplished and experimental cook. 

My parents’ wedding picture.  Shirley is on the left, my parents are on the right.  Norbert Cook was the best man.  I have no idea as to his culinary prowess.

This dish made a big impression on me back in the seventies. It was the first time that I had ever eaten cold spaghetti.  Boy, did I think this was exotic. Tender crisp vegetables, Parmesan cheese, and al dente pasta, when combined makes for one delicious dish!  

Here is the recipe straight from the recipe box.

Light and refreshing, a tempting appetizer, or satisfying summer meal, it seems to be a hit with everyone who tastes it.  The first time I made it, years ago, I thought it was a lot of work. My organizational and knife skills have improved greatly since then, and I can pretty much have it chilling in the fridge in around 40 minutes. I think it is delicious hot or cold. 

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesdays 

Italian-Style Vegetable Soup

When you ponder the fate of the literal fruits of your labor, a.k.a. the summer vegetable garden harvest, my guess is that soup isn’t the first thing to come to mind.  However, if you are one of the lucky people able to grow zucchini and reap its bounteous reward, then give this some thought.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have absolutely no luck growing zucchini, so I use Melissa’s, but my lack of zucchini growing skills doesn’t stop me from making this delicious soup recipe that my mother has been serving us for as long as I can remember.  It makes a large pot so there is plenty to share, takes a mere 45 minutes from start to finish, and freezes quite nicely so you can enjoy it in the winter months as well.

Italian Style Vegetable Soup

1 or 2 large onions totaling 1 pound

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ cup diced carrots

¾ cup diced celery

1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups cubed zucchini

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon minced garlic (more or less to taste)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 cups cooked navy beans (or 1 15-oz. can)

6 cups beef broth

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Peel and coarsely chop onions.  Heat oil in a large stock pot, add onions, carrots, and celery and sauté for five minutes.  Add tomatoes.  Stir in zucchini, basil, oregano, garlic, beans and broth.  Cover.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve topped with ample gratings of fresh Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Looking for more soup recipes?  This book is my absolute favorite!

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

  

Curried Chicken Salad in Papaya Boats

 I am completely sold on the honey mustard marinade for chicken as used in the recipe here; I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a boneless breast of chicken that was more moist or flavorful.  So much so that I used the remainder to marinate the lone chicken breast that I had left in the fridge, then seared it, roasted it, and used it for chicken salad.  It’s too hot for a heavy meal, so chicken salad was just the ticket, made even more summery with the inclusion of little balls of papaya and served in a papaya half.

Curried Chicken Salad in Papaya Boats

1 large breast of chicken, cooked, cooled, and diced

1/3 cup chopped celery

1 scallion, diced (white and green parts)

¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted

1 tablespoon golden raisins

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon curry powder

1 medium strawberry papaya (I used Melissa's)

Place first five ingredients into a medium bowl and toss together until well mixed; set aside.  Halve papaya, scoop out center seeds; discard.  Using a small melon baller, scoop out inner portion making small melon balls, while hollowing out a larger spot in the center in which to mound the chicken salad.  Put melon balls on top of chicken mixture, and lightly mix in.  In a small bowl, stir together curry power and mayonnaise.  Pour mayonnaise mixture over chicken mixture and fold together until well combined.  It may seem a bit dry at first, but the juice from the inclusion of the papaya will moisten the mixture, giving it a nice creamy texture, so don’t overdo on the mayonnaise.

Scoop chicken salad into payapa “boats” and season with salt and pepper to taste.

                                              Serves 2.    

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Salmon Cakes with Horseradish Thyme Mayonnaise

There is nothing like cooking with fresh herbs for the absolute maximum in taste. For those of you who grow herbs in your backyard or container garden, you already know what great flavor enhancers these are.  If you're considering growing them (something I strongly encourage), but are not quite sure where to start or which ones to plant, I recommend these six in my personal order of use/importance: chives, thyme, parsley, tarragon, dill, rosemary (alternately I'd say cilantro).

Chives for their versatility are always a must, but it may surprise you to see thyme ahead of parsley on my list.  I use thyme almost daily. This is one versatile and hardy plant: it happily tolerates heat and drought, an be propagated by seeds, cuttings or root division, is a good source of iron, and tea made from dried leaves is said to treat the common cold.

I divide it every year to share with friends and currently have three pots of it growing in the container garden, and another very large plant in the ground.  This little wonder herb enhances a wide variety of foods, makes an excellent flavored vinegar, is a must when making your own stock, and adds a special freshness to a salad when the small leaves are stripped from a stem and tossed in with the greens. One of my favorite uses is in this recipe for salmon cakes.  It is contained both in the cakes and the accompanying sauce, so they complement each other nicely and offer a fresh taste not found in other salmon cake recipes that do not rely upon fresh herbs.

Salmon Cakes with Horseradish Thyme Mayonnaise

For the Salmon Cakes:
2 cups loosely packed crumbled cooked salmon
1/2 cup panko
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 drops Tabasco
Pinch of Old Bay Seasoning
Dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 large egg, beaten to blend

For the Horseradish Thyme Mayonnaise:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 drops Tabasco
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons butter

Mesclun spring mix lightly tossed with a mild vinaigrette

Directions:
Combine first 10 ingredients in medium bowl and stir gently to blend. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix in egg. Shape salmon mixture into 6 patties, about 3/4 inch thick. Arrange on plate.

Combine 3/4 cup mayonnaise, lemon juice, Tabasco, horseradish and 2 1/2 teaspoons thyme in small bowl. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. (Salmon cakes and sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap separately and refrigerate.)

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add salmon cakes and saute until brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to platter. Serve with on top of a bed of  lightly dressed, mixed greens, and top salmon cakes with sauce.