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Sausage Balls

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Some days I can’t see the forest for the trees! Have you been there? Please tell me I am not alone. The upside is what fun it is when you finally see the trees, the forest and your mind sings Ah Hah!

Recently a dear friend asked me to proof her cookbook that she was getting ready to publish.  It is a cookbook filled with her cherished family recipes. I have never met a recipe book that I didn’t want to see, so of course I was ready to read recipes. When I got to the recipe for Sausage Balls, I paused and then I paused again. Wait a minute! What? The recipe said to mix these in a stand mixer. Really? I always made mine like I would a meatloaf by placing my hands in food safe plastic gloves and mixing with my fingers. There it was ……that light bulb moment. [Read more…]

Marinated Kabobs

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Kathy mentioned last week that we have partnered with Hen House markets this summer. It is such a treat to pick up our CSA (community supported agriculture) bag each Saturday. It is especially nice to be able to pick up my CSA when I do my weekly grocery shopping. This week I received a French baguette, a jar of honey, beef stew meat, brown eggs, cucumbers, zucchini, red beets and potatoes. Wow! It is a feast and I could hardly wait to begin dreaming about what I would do with the bag of locally grown and produced food.

The first thing that came to mind was to use the stew meat, zucchini and honey to make kabobs. Kabobs are a wonderful way to get my family to eat vegetables that they normally wouldn’t choose to eat. Pair the kabobs with a rice pilaf and we had a Sunday afternoon feast. This was an easy go-together meal. The only thing I needed to remember was to begin the marinade and marinate the meat the day before. This was an important step in order to tenderize the meat. Usually kabobs are made with sirloin but by cutting the stew meat into small bite-size pieces this was an economical way to enjoy kabobs, and of course, you can use sirloin instead of stew meat. If you enjoy kabobs as much as we do, you might want to try this recipe too.  This is a retro kabob recipe and one that we love.

I have thoroughly enjoyed planning our menus this week around the CSA bag. I see a week filled with spicy marinated cucumbers, roasted beet salad, vegetable frittatas and stuffed zucchini–this is a win-win for my family. We have a variety of dinner ideas and plenty of healthy vegetable to enjoy.

Keep the living easy this summer and marinade beef today, then in a day or two, dinner is ready in a snap. Enjoy!

Marinated Beef Kabobs

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1 to 1 1/2 pounds stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces**
Vegetables for skewers such as mushrooms, zucchini, grape tomatoes, onion, red or green pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, minced garlic, honey and coarse ground pepper. Pour into a ziptop bag or pour into a shallow baking dish with 2-inch sides. Add meat to bag or baking dish. Seal bag or cover baking dish with plastic wrap. Marinate meat for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Drain meat, reserving the marinade. Skewer meat pieces and vegetables onto skewers. Place the reserved marinade in a small saucepan, over medium high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat grill to medium high or allow coals to burn down to white ash. Grill meat over direct heat until meat thermometer registers 145°, or until beef is done as desired, turning skewers to brown evenly and cook vegetables. During the grilling, baste the vegetables and meat with the cooked marinade.

**Substitute sirloin or your favorite cut of steak for stew meat.

 

This post has been sponsored by Hen House. More information on their CSA can be found here. All opinions expressed in this post are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make this site possible.

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Summertime Roast Beef Sandwiches

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Beef roast in the summer? You betcha! Pile that delicious beef on crusty rolls and you have great summer eating. It is a perfect change from all those grilled burgers.

Hen House, our local grocery store, has started their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for the summer and we are thrilled to be sharing all their good stuff with you! We will be posting recipes and updates on the CSA frequently all summer long. It will be fun to cook locally–and seasonally–so please join us. [Read more…]

Jambalaya

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We just returned from working the National Housewares Show in Chicago. It is bigger and better every year and the buzz in the aisles of McCormick Place is mind boggling. This year we had the pleasure of showcasing an air fryer, a triple slow cooker that allows you to serve both hot and chilled in the same 3 crock unit, Disney gummy treats, a pizza maker and the coolest copper skillet. We worked next to Dr. Dan the Pancake Man, yes that’s right….check him out here.

Copper seemed to be every where and is definitely “in”. We loved the 12-inch and 16-inch copper skillet that Select Brands introduced.

 

We served Jambalaya to the buyers and media who stopped by. While the skillets were beautiful, the smell of the jambalaya simmering was amazing. This is a quick go to dinner for any busy family. If you have those that don’t enjoy the spice omit the cayenne and pass the hot seasoning sauce at the table. This recipe is a great way to use leftover protein. Omit the sausage and substitute ham or whatever you have on hand that needs to be used. True confession, we ran out of chicken at the show and used deli turkey. No one knew the difference and it was still delicious! There is no excuse not to have dinner on the table in a flash. Start this recipe and while it is simmering away, toss a salad and heat a baguette. Voila! Dinner is served.

A side note on this recipe. Yes, we know jambalaya can be a lot more intense to prepare. We especially like Paul Prudhomme’s method, but when it comes to a quick, dinner on the table meal, this is our go to recipe.

Jambalaya

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
¾ cup sliced celery
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can low sodium chicken broth
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
¾ cup water
¾ cup uncooked rice
1 cup diced smoked andouille sausage
1 cup chopped, cooked chicken
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoons dried thyme leaves
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot seasoning sauce to taste
Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, celery and green pepper. Cook until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook for a minute more. Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, water, rice, sausage, chicken, bay leaf, thyme, paprika, Worcestershire and cayenne. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent rice from sticking. Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot seasoning sauce.
Makes about 4 servings

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