Crunchy Wife in the Kitchen: Smoked Turkey Sausage Saute

So technically, it's not Wednesday, but we had company last night, and I didn't have a chance to sneak away and post.

I had a difficult time deciding what to post up this week, mostly because this week has been crazy and I really didn't make anything interesting.... until last night.  I had stopped by the hump day farmer's market that occurs here on the Health Sciences campus.  Unfortunately, Morgantown (excluding surrounding areas) only has one day of farmer's market... on Saturday morning.  Recently, the hospital campus decided to host a smaller Wednesday farmer's market to increase health awareness and all that jazz.  Luckily for me, I work in that area, and it's super convenient for me to pop over during lunch, grab some things, and take them home after work.  There usually isn't a very good selection, and there tends to be more crafts than food, but it's still nice to go have a look around.

Yesterday, I was able to snag 3 beautiful cucumbers, 2 heirloom tomatoes for slicing, and 3 inferno peppers for $5 total.  I would have taken a picture, but unfortunately, I tore into my stocks before the photo opp.  What happened next was a meal of convenience.

I had some smoked turkey sausage I had purchased a couple weeks back.  If you know anything about me, you know that I don't eat much meat, but I can never turn down a good kielbasa-like product.  I have excellent childhood memories of my mom grilling up some kielbasa to go with homemade biscuits and creamed tomatoes from the garden.

Given the rest of my meal was from a sustainable source and benefited a couple local farmers along the way, I felt justified in posting this recipe up. If you like a zesty hot pepper, the inferno is for you.  It is banana pepper-like, but has a pleasant warmth that can be deceiving after a few bites of fresh pepper.  After a while, the fresh pepper could easily set most peoples' mouths on fire.  Disappointingly, I am not equipped with the normal "hot" taste buds and can only feel my lips burn when encountered with capsaicin.   Therefore, I added 2 hot peppers in this recipe and purposely let some seeds cling just to get more of the hot flavor for my tastes.  If hot peppers aren't your style, feel free to substitute a milder pepper, such as a sweet banana variety.  Even with run-of-the-mill bell peppers, this recipe is still delicious.

Smoked Sausage Saute with Crunchy Peppers

1 package smoked sausage, sliced into medallions
~8 red potatoes, sliced into ~1/4" thickness
2 small onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green peppers, sliced
1-2 inferno peppers, sliced, seeds removed  (mostly... :) )
1 tbsp basil-infused olive oil
Salt and pepper to season

Heat oil in large saute pan on medium-high heat.  Season potatoes and saute until golden, then ad onions and garlic and saute until onions and garlic are lightly browned and onion is translucent.  Add smoked sausage medallions and saute until sausage is fully heated and browned.  Add pepper slices and cook until peppers are desired done-ness. (I like a Crunchy pepper!)

Serve it all up with a fresh salad to combat the sausage.  Given the sausage is a little on the fatty side, you may chose to reduce the oil or cook the sausage separately and then add it to the mix to reduce the fat content.  How much you cook the inferno peppers will determine how much heat you have.  Heating a pepper more tends to spread the flavor throughout the dish and usually produces a calming effect on the heat of the pepper.

Anyway you choose to go about this recipe is fine.  You really can't mess it up!  You may even want to add some different vegetables or leave out the meat completely.  Some sliced grape tomatoes would probably be excellent, as well as some fresh corn cut off the cob in place of the potatoes.  You can also leave the starchy vegetables completely out of the recipe and serve this stir-fry up with some brown rice.  If you try this recipe and mix it up a little, let me know how it turned out!  Green Appetit!

Crunchy Wife in the Kitchen: Caprese Sandwich Rounds

I had one lone heirloom tomato left from last week's trip to the farmer's market.  Given my husband doesn't like tomatoes unless they are ground up beyond recognition (how dare he!), I decided to be a little selfish and use it all for a meal all by my lonesome.  It worked out pretty well since he had to work late and I was going to have to make him something much later than I was willing to wait.

So what's a girl to do with a fresh tomato that is begging not to be thrown absent-mindedly into a salad or cooked until all the deliciousness is just a memory?  While browsing the fridge for compliment ingredients, I spotted the most delightful sight.  Luckily, I had picked up some fresh mozzarella from the grocery store on clearance.  I paid only $2.49 for 4 "bite-size" balls of mozzarella that could only be considered bite sized if you had a mouth the size of Joy Behar's (sorry Joy, your enormous smile is quite beautiful, if that makes you feel any better).  First dish that popped into my head?? Caprese!  Especially since I am the proud owner of a couple of large basil plants (which my husband said I would never use, by the way), I deemed it necessary that I hop on the caprese band wagon.

But I wasn't in a salad sort of mood.  I also needed a little more sustenance than what some cheese, basil, and tomato could do me.  That's when I saw them.....the whole wheat English muffins.  I can work with that.

So here's what I did, and although it's not entirely original, it was entirely delicious, and I ate it all.  Two entire open-faced sandwiches worth.  In my defense, I don't normally gorge like this... except perhaps during a certain moon, which was shining brightly that night.

Caprese Sandwich Rounds

2 whole wheat English muffins, split

1 large tomato, sliced into at least 4 thick slices  (preferably of the homegrown heirloom variety) 

2 bocconcini mozzarella balls, sliced in 1/4 in slices

Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh basil

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toast the English muffins in the toaster oven to your desired crispness.  When done, promptly remove from oven and top each muffin half with a couple of slices of mozzarella and a few leaves of basil.  Layer on a slice of tomato.  Top with a couple more slices of mozzarella and leaves of basil.  After all sandwich halves have been constructed, drizzle with olive oil and grind on desired amount of salt and pepper.  Immediately enjoy.

  

Easy and effective.  And did I mention delicious?  Since I stocked up, I have several more bocconcini mozzarella balls to use.  My mouth can't wait.

Let me know what you think.  Do any of you have a go-to recipe you crave occasionally?  If so, share it in the comments below, and I may even write a blog your favorite recipe in the future!  Green Appetit!

Crunchy Wife in the Kitchen: Creamy Summer Pasta Salad

Sorry I am a bit late on posting today.  Been very busy with summer wrapping up.  But this still qualifies as Recipe Wednesday, right??!!

I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes ever.  I have had many a pasta salad in my lifetime, but none quite like this.  My mother made this all the time for special occasions, but the most memorable was always my birthday.  When I went out on my own, it was one of the first recipes I harassed her to give me.  She can attest that I do this often and quite randomly.  The conversation usually goes something like this.  I call her up, usually at a random time in the afternoon when I'm thinking about dinner.  "Mom, do you happen to have that ___________ recipe handy?  Could you send it to me?", "I think it's around here somewhere, let me see if I can find it...." Proceeds to rummage through about fifty cookbooks.  Anywhere from 5 minutes to a week later, I get an email with the recipe attached, either as a word document or a photocopy if it's too laborious to type up.  One day I'm going to miss that about my mom.  It is nice to be able to get these precious family recipes with just a phone call.  The best part is... she always knows which recipe I am talking about even though she has at least 20 different versions of the same dish.  It is amazing for a woman that mixes up my name some days, and will go through a list of names including all of her sisters, my sister, and yes... even the cats.  I have been known to answer to "Trixi".  I am not very proud of that.

It is one of those dishes that is perfectly suited to a hot summer day, and given that most of the vegetables in this are in their peak season this time of year, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share it with you.  This also makes enough pasta salad for quite a crowd, but it goes pretty quickly in our house.  You can also add a lot of veggies or a little, and substitutions are always in order.  Sometimes I add carrots, and other times I've been known to add squash.  Sometimes I leave something out entirely because I don't feel like making a trip to the grocery store or I'm making it for someone who doesn't like a particular veggie (Crunchy Husband's list is quite long, but most of the time he can pick out what he doesn't like).  However, I feel the vegetables I have listed are absolutely key because they give a lot of their flavor to the dressing.  Of course, that's my opinion :)

Creamy Summer Pasta Salad

1 lb pasta shells, cooked in salted water, rinsed in cool water, and drained

1-2 Large onion, diced

20 or so cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

6 stalks of celery, strung and diced

2 green bell peppers  (or mixture of green, red, orange, and/or yellow)

2 medium cucumbers, peeled (if desired), quartered and sliced

1 cup light Miracle Whip

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp celery seed

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

pepper and paprika, to taste

Ahead of time, whisk together Miracle whip, lemon juice, sugar, and seasonings together in a measuring cup.  Refrigerate dressing until needed.

Lightly toss pasta and veggies together in a large bowl, being careful not to tear pasta.

Using a rubber spatula, pour dressing over pasta and veggies.  Adjust amount of dressing added if needed.  (Sometimes I have to make more last minute)

Lightly toss mixture to evenly coat with dressing. 

Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to meld flavors.

May adjust Miracle Whip, lemon juice, and seasonings to taste.

Before serving, place in decorative bowl and sprinkle top of salad with paprika, celery seed, and/or veggie slices for decoration.

Keep in mind, if you cook your pasta until it is al dente, it will absorb the liquid from the dressing overnight in the fridge.  This may be advantageous because the pasta itself will gain more flavor.  However, you may find that you need to add more dressing so your salad isn't on the stiff side.  

The most desirable texture for the dressing is going to be kind of runny after overnight refrigeration.  It is often the result of the veggies losing some of their juices into the dressing... this means a more favorable salad!  However, if the sauce is too runny, it won't coat your pasta salad.  So striking a balance is key!   

This salad is best when allowed to marinate for at least a day.  I always like it better the second time around because it's had more time to blend! My husband and I can make a meal out of leftovers by serving the salad  as a main dish.  It is one of the few dishes he can see a tomato in and not mind so much.  

Like I said, you can swap things in and out, depending on your tastes or what you have on hand. I grew some super sweet heirloom black cherry tomatoes that I'm sure would be really great in this recipe.   Also, I usually end up with more veggies than pasta!  Just play with it until you get it right, but let it marinade overnight before you go tweaking the dressing.  I usually add some extra lemon juice or even lime juice for a different citrus note.  I almost always end up adding some onion and garlic powder for extra flavor.  I have also added chili powder, red pepper flakes, or a dash of hot sauce for an extra kick.  It is all up to you!

Let me know how it turns out for you!  I would love to hear about your recipe tweaks, and even your suggestions for future recipes.  Just give me a shout in the comments below!  Green Appetit!

Crunchy Wife in the Kitchen: First Recipe Wednesday!

This week, I'm going to take a break from the "Getting Clean and Going Green" series and do something a little more fun.  I'm calling it "Crunchy Wife in the Kitchen".  If there's anything I love to do (even more than cleaning), it's cooking.  I pride myself on being a pretty good chef.  Though I'm not classically trained, I have taught myself a variety of useful techniques over the years.  I know it can seem daunting if you're just starting out, and I'm here to tell you that ANYONE can cook.  Even the Crunchy Husband can cook... even if he's forgotten how, after all the years I've done it for him :)

There's nothing like a Wednesday that really sets you up for the rest of the weekend.  It's the middle of the typical work week and by that time, you've probably already dealt with your usual onslaught of Monday syndrome and have tried to recover on Tuesday.  So I see Wednesday as a great time to relax a little, celebrate the crossing of the hump... and getting out of the cooking slump.

I'm going to try to make this a regular (weekly) thing, but if it happens to be biweekly or monthly, I apologize in advance.  Life is crazy!  So welcome to the Crunchy Kitchen.  Take a look, get some ideas, and let's get cooking!

Falling in line with my "Don't Have a Cow!" post, I'm going to gift you with one of my favorite vegetarian pasta recipes.  This could also qualify as a vegan recipe if you leave off the cheese.  For the meat eaters out there, I will share one of my favorite chicken recipes.  If we're in a meat mood, I make a double batch for my husband and I so we can eat it as leftovers (or on a pig-out-on-a-diet cheat day).

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Mediterranean Pasta
by the Crunchy Wife WV
(4-6 servings)

2 cups penne, uncooked
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1- 6 to 12 oz jar marinated artichokes, liquid reserved
1- 2-4 oz can black olives (sliced or whole), drained
Fresh basil, minced, to taste
2 cups fresh spinach
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Crumbled Feta, to taste

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions, draining when to desired tenderness.  While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large saute pan on medium high.
2.Add onion and garlic and saute for approximately 2 minutes before adding zucchini.  Saute until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally to prevent garlic from burning.
3. Add dry ingredients (oregano, salt & pepper) before adding tomatoes and liquid. DO NOT DRAIN.
4. Bring tomato mixture to a simmer, add artichokes and olives.
5.  Bring to boil again and reduce to a simmer.  For extra flavor, add artichoke marinade.  Depending on desired thickness, simmer until mixture reaches approximately the desired consistency.
6.  Fold basil and spinach into the mixture and simmer over medium heat.
7.  Fold in pasta.  When heated thoroughly, top with feta and serve immediately.

Recipe notes:  This recipe also works well with fresh plum tomatoes.  If using fresh tomatoes, you may wish to cook in vegetable broth prior to addition for extra liquid.
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Crunchy Wife WV Oven Chicken (Double recipe for two)

4 bone-in chicken thighs with skin
Italian seasoning or thyme
Your choice of pepper seasoning (Jerk spice, garam masala, lemon pepper, curry, chili, taco, whatever!)
Salt to taste (if pepper seasoning is without)

1.  Preheat oven to 400F. Rinse chicken and pat dry.  Dry chicken is the first key to crunchy chicken!
2.  Toss in or dash on enough of all dry ingredients to coat to desired spice level (I recommend dashing on the salt pre-tossing).
3.  Heat a large nonstick frying pan on high heat.  Test temperature by adding a small sliver of chicken skin.  Pan is ready when skin immediately begins to fry and brown.  Reduce heat to medium high to prevent burning.
4. Carefully place seasoned chicken in hot frying pan.  Cook on each side until golden brown.  Browning is the second key to crunchy chicken!
5. Place chicken on a greased cookie cooling rack (the third key to crunchy chicken!) on top of a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) covered in foil.
6.  Bake until chicken reads 165F with a meat thermometer (approximately 30-60 minutes).  Juices should run clear.
7.  Turn off the oven and let chicken rest before serving.

Recipe notes:  Breading can also be used for this recipe if you want a true fried chicken layer.  Just dip your in some beaten egg before coating in a 50:50 mixture of seasoned flour and bread crumbs.  I like to use Italian bread crumbs and forego the Italian seasoning in the flour mixture.  Fry as directed after coating the nonstick pan in cooking spray, being careful not to burn the breading.  Then bake as directed.

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Both of these recipes can certainly be tweaked to your tastes or increased for more than two people.  I have added a variety of different veggies to the Mediterranean Pasta.  I have sampled at least 5 different cheeses to top the pasta, and feta just happens to by my favorite... although they're all delicious and I would eat all 5 at the same time if Crunchy Husband wouldn't judge me.  I have also used almost every herb, pepper, and seasoning under the sun for the chicken.  Neither recipe is EVER the same twice! I basically use what I have on hand, keeping the onion, garlic, and the tomatoes constant and varying everything else. If your pasta dish still has too much liquid after simmering it down, you can add some tomato paste to thicken it up.  It all depends on how much liquid the vegetables you choose add to the mixture.

Both of these recipes make for excellent leftovers.  The pasta is actually better reheated because it gives the flavors time to meld.

You certainly do not have to use exact measurements with anything in either recipe.  If you're used to cooking, I'm sure you have found this is true with almost any recipe, except for possibly baked goods or candy.    Honestly, I hardly ever pull out a measuring cup or spoon except when making rice or baking breads and desserts.  If you really don't have a clue on how much of something to use, let me know in the comments section below, and I'll try to help you decide.  Some people like consistency, so if that's what suits you, go for measuring everything the same every time.  I just think variety is the spice of life :)

A "splatter screen" or "grease guard", as my mother sometimes calls it, goes a long way when browning your chicken.  It will prevent having to clean as much grease from your stove top, as well as save your clothes and skin from the inevitable popping of hot chicken fat.  Also, if your oven is anything like mine, the rendered fat from the chicken will eventually smoke in the oven towards the end of cooking.  This is escalated by the placement of the chicken on the cookie rack, but it's the third key of three keys to crunchy chicken and cannot be sacrificed! This chicken is worth a smoke alarm or two sounding off in protest.  Be prepared to fan out your kitchen, if necessary... especially if your neighbors aren't fond of that sort of thing.  Cooking at a lower temperature may prevent this, but will result in a longer cooking time and isn't as fun as alternating between running through the house to find a fan while your equivalent of Crunchy Husband opens doors and windows and standing in a kitchen wearing oven mitts and waving two cookie sheets wildly through the air.  Look at it this way, you are burning off some extra calories in preparation for being able to eat that delicious, crunchy skin on the chicken.  And if you don't like the skin (how dare you), you can view it as sacrificing a smoke-free home for the sake of the moist and surprisingly flavorful interior.

As for a way to green up your meat eating, try buying a whole chicken and section it into the portions you will use. A huge plus is that you'll be come rather handy with some kitchen sheers and a meat cleaver.  This will make your Crunchy Husband equivalent both respect and fear you.  It's good for any relationship.  Freeze what you're not going to use right away.  What you won't use for regular recipes (drumsticks, breasts, thighs, etc), use to make chicken stock for a delicious soup, or roast what's left, separate out the meat and make some chicken and dumplings.  There are endless possibilities.

If you're not game for hacking up your own fowl, try buying in bulk.  Wholesale clubs and supermarkets often offer bulk packages that are great for dividing up and freezing.   Although I haven't gotten up the guts to ask, word on the street is that small stores with butchers may be able to discount large orders.  I like to freeze my pieces of meats in fours, to leave the possibility of leftovers when feeding two and because any time we have anyone over for dinner, they almost always come in twos.  For ground meats, I usually freeze in half pounds because there's no way Crunchy Husband and I are going to eat a whole pound of meat in one sitting, and if I want to make enough for someone else and/or leftovers, I can always thaw another pack.

Questions, comments, suggestions, recipe reviews?  Put them in the comments section.  I look forward to hearing your feedback!  Green Appetit!