Hot Italian Sausage, Onion and Red Pepper Sauce on Crispy Fried Polenta Disks

A definite keeper in this household.  Tonight it was served on crispy fried polenta disks… yummy!  Who wants more?  Never any leftovers; that’s for sure! 

Extra sauce can be saved/frozen for another day; pasta maybe?  The choice is all yours J

1 tube of polenta

1 red pepper cut into strips

1 onion, sliced

1 pkg of hot Italian sausage, skin/casing removed

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 c of Fire Roasted tomato sauce

1/3 c water

chopped parsley

Directions:

Heat a nonstick wok or large fry pan, sprayed with cooking spray, over med high heat.  Add onion and bell pepper and cook until soft.  Set aside.

Add sausage meat and cook until broken up and brown.  Add onion and bell peppers and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. 

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer until heated through. 

Meanwhile, cut polenta into slices 10-12.  Heat a nonstick frying pan sprayed in cooking spray; place polenta disks onto pan and spray again with cooking spray (they are now covered on both sides)  Cook until golden on each side. 

Assemble:  place golden crispy polenta on plate and cover with sauce and you may add fresh shavings of Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. 

mmm… a taste of heaven

Indian-Spiced Lentils and Lamb_Definite Keeper!

Delicious – a definite keeper!  I had made this over the Christmas holiday week and froze into individual portions for a night like tonight.  Got home reheated in microwave while fresh Naan warming up in the oven.  Easy peasy & filling and nutritious too; definitely adding this to our rotation of dishes.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

6 ounces lean ground lamb

1 teaspoon red curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped carrot

1 jalapeo pepper, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3/4 cup brown lentils

2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

3/4 cup light coconut milk

1 (15-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped

Preparation

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add lamb and next 4 ingredients (through red pepper); sauté 4 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add onion, carrot, and jalapeño; sauté 4 minutes or until lamb is browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste; sauté 30 seconds.

Add lentils; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in broth and next 3 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Ladle about 1 cup lentil mixture into each of 4 bowls

Courtesy of Cooking Light

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/indian-spiced-lentils-lamb

Coq au Vin _ A good & hearty winter meal

Coq au Vin

Courtesy of Canadian Living Jan 2005

Yep, I had been hanging onto this recipe for that long

A definite hit in our household

Mouth watering aromas filled the house while dish is simmering on stove

Quite easy to prepare

The puffed pastry looks like a lot of work but surprisingly easy to do

Not only added that special touch but was very tasty too!

Dish fed 4 and I was able to freeze 2 servings for another day

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)

2 T butter

2 cups pearl onions

2 cups button mushrooms

1 cup chopped onions

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

pinch of salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

1.5 cups of wine (half a bottle, I used South African Cabernet Sauvignon)

1.5 cups of chicken broth

2 T of tomato paste

1 T brandy

2 T chopped fresh parsley

Puff Pastry Stars: 

1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

In a deep stir fry pan, heat 1 T butter over medium high heat.  Brown chicken in batches, about 10 min.  Remove to plate.

Drain fat from pan, add pearl onions and mushrooms and fry until brown.  About 5 mins.  Transfer to a separate plate. 

Add remaining butter to pan, fry chopped onions, thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaf until onions have softened, about 8 mins.

Add wine, stock, tomato paste and brandy; bring to boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up any brown bits.  Return chicken to pan.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 mins.

Return mushroom mixture to pan; simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until reduced to consistency of maple syrup and juices run clear when chicken is pierced, about 20 mins.  Discard bay leave.  Stir in parsley.

Puff Pastry Stars:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to ¼ inch thickness.  Using cooking cutters to cut out shapes/stars of various sizes.  Place on baking sheet; brush with egg.  Bake at 400 F until golden brown; about 15 mins.  

the Sandwich... BLT and Farmer's Market Beets & Goat Cheese... so good!

Sunny day but cold; strong bitter winds; want to say coldest day of the year but that was Wed at -30 degrees!  The sun was glorious!  Crazy as this might sound but there were people actually surfing out on the lake this morning!  I left hubby & good friend to venture off to the grocery store; I then stopped off to see my in-laws before making a few more stops before getting home. 

Time to eat:  BLTs with fresh field tomatoes (my dad would never ever knowingly eat hot house tomatoes; they did not agree with him, yet he had to have at least 1 tomato every day!) and smokey bacon…  Sandwich was well worth the wait I was told. 

Its now suppertime time and neither one of us are “starving” for which I am glad because tonight’s fare is a simple rustic dish.  Using pickled beets that I picked up at the German Country Christmas Market, so worth the $9 price tag!  They are simply gorgeous!  Infused Olive oil given to us over the holidays from a friend who hails from Kingston, ON; coupled with herbed goat cheese, salad greens and a freshly made loaf of French Bread, sliced, slathered with olive oil and lightly toasted under the broiler.  

I did fry up some left over steak but frankly it was not needed.  

Oh, and let’s not forget the bottle of South African Cabernet Sauvignon.

God is good!