Cheesy Potato Sausage Casserole

One of our favorite new dishes this year has been the sausage and potatoes skillet meal.  I have only one child who won't eat it (doesn't eat potatoes in ANY form) but the rest of us devour it...TWO skillets worth! 

So when I saw this on Pinterest, part of me thought, "I already have a meal like that...I don't need another."  But what I couldn't get past was the fact that cheese was involved.  The only thing that can make foods better for me is cheese (or chocolate, depending on what kind of food it is :).

So I gave it a try.

And I loved it.

I have a feeling I will be alternating between the two from now on. Still love that skillet meal in all of its simplicity and with the right herbs/spices involved.  But there is something about gooey cheese on potatoes too...

It is hard to see much of the cheese in the picture; it all just kind of melted into the dish.

But it was there.

Dancing on my taste buds.

Yum.

Ingredients:
6-8 potatoes, peeled and sliced (I used my mandolin on a medium slice, I think I used 6 and had PLENTY of potatoes)

1 lb smoked sausage.  I like the beef.  The one change I would make to this recipe is that I would use TWO lbs. instead. I wanted more sausage. :)

1 medium onion diced (I do not like cutting onion, so I totally cheat with frozen chopped onion :)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 stick butter

1/2 lb (around 12 slices) American cheese or other preferred cheese. I got REAL American cheese from the deli for this. Oh yum.

Directions:
Boil sliced potatoes until tender.

Slice sausage and heat in the skillet.  The original recipe had the sausage and the onions sauteed separately.  I just did it all together. :)

In a casserole dish, alternate layers of potatoes, sausage and onions, and cheese.  So I had potatoes, sausage and onions, cheese, potatoes, sausage and onions, and cheese.

Top with salt and pepper.

The original recipe called for using the butter by dotting the top with it.  I honestly think I forgot to do that.  The cheese on top was enough richness for me. :)  I don't think I used butter at all.

Tightly cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Happy cooking!

Reba

Grilled Shrimp Boil Kabobs

Yet another recipe I discovered via Pinterest.

Shrimp Boil Kabobs.

I mean, shrimp, sausage, potatoes.  What more could I want?

I am not a huge corn eater but I figured someone in our house would.  They make the kabobs so pretty...

This was easy to throw together.  Peeling the shrimp took the longest time.

Just thread on a skewer, baste and grill, and then eat.

Simple.

And delicious.

My "directions" will be fairly vague since amount would depend upon the size of your family.

Ingredients:
Corn cobs (cut into thirds)

Shrimp, peeled and deveined (1/2 to 1 pound)

small new potatoes

andouille sausage (cut into small "rounds")

Scallops (optional)

1/2 stick butter

2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

Directions:
Boil the new potatoes in lightly salted water for about 12-20 minutes.

Thread items onto skewer.

Grill on medium high heat for about 8 minutes.

Take melted butter and Old Bays out to the grill and baste the foods throughout the cooking process (the shrimp should be pink).

Oh, the original recipe used a little Tabasco but my family would have balked at that...

Reba

Enjoy!

Reba

Skillet Sausage and Potatoes

When I saw this recipe on Pinterest, my mouth was watering.  I will eat potatoes cooked just about any way.  And I like smoked sausage. 

Then one day I was planning our weekly menu. I was perusing the recipes I had pinned on Pinterest when my hubby spotted this one and indicated he wouldn't mind trying it.  So I added it to the menu then shopped for the necessary ingredients.

Tonight I finally made it.

And I will definitely make it again.

It was a hit.

Even my pickiest eater ate it.

My non-potato eater ate it.

And I ended up with only about 1/4 cup left over for my lunch tomorrow...

I followed the original recipe fairly closely.

Ingredients:
2 pounds Russet potatoes, cleaned and sliced.  I used my mandolin (and my safety glove :) and sliced thin slices

1 package smoked sausage (I used Hillshire beef smoked sausage), cut into pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

sage (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp, I just used "fresh" sage and cut it up into small pieces

garlic (the original recipe calls for one clove...I like garlic.  We had two), minced

The original poster mentioned an optional dash of Cayenne or hot pepper.  We opted not to.  :)

Directions:
Spread olive oil in skillet(s).  I used two skillets to make sure my potatoes cooked through.  Place the potatoes on the skillet and cook at medium high.  When one side begins to get crispy, flip them.  I had to double/triple layer the potatoes.  After a while, we just stirred them.  Not nearly as fancy looking for the picture, but it didn't stop us from eating them.

When you are nearing the end of the cooking stage, add the sausage, onion, sage, and garlic.

Reduce heat to medium.

Serve when the onion and potatoes are tender and ready to be eaten.

Enjoy! 

We had ours with big dinner rolls (yum) and would have had a salad but we went the easy route...carrots and Ranch.

Very simple, very delicious. 

Reba

Cowboy Stew

We finally made it through the rotation of kids (one a week helps me plan a meal to cook with me during that week). So this week we rotated back to child 1. When I asked him earlier this week what we should make, he said (without hesitation), "Cowboy stew".

I think my exact words were "Are you sure about that???"

In our school district, for several years now, the first graders have had a rodeo unit (I believe it started as an economic unit because of the annual rodeo our town hosts). As part of that unit, the kids make "cowboy stew" to try.

So I went to the first grade teachers and asked for the recipe.

Oh joy.

There is no set recipe. You just kind of throw beans, hot dogs, brown sugar, and barbecue sauce in a crockpot or a pot on the stove and cook.

Sounds easy enough but I actually do much better with an actual recipe. I may not follow it to a T but I at least know where we are headed.

I sure didn't with this one.

So we just made it up as we went along.

We ended up adding a can each of great northern beans, chili beans, kidney beans, and black eye peas in a large pot on the stove. We then added a bottle of Sweet Ray's barbecue sauce. And we decided to use Little Smokies (cut in thirds) instead of hot dogs.

I could NOT bring myself to add the brown sugar because I had already calculated the calories for this recipe without it and the calories were UNREAL. Barbecue sauce is FULL of calories.

Anyway, once it was boiling (set on high), I turned the stovetop down to a low/warm. We let it cook about two hours, stirring constantly.

I will be honest, it wasn't my favorite. I mean, it was like "pork and beans".

But it wasn't terrible either.

And it was very filing (which was good since I didn't eat much after seeing the calories for this thing).

And for a cold night, it was warm in the tummy.

Child 1 thinks it would have been that much better with brown sugar. :)

But it was fun anyway.

Reba

Hopping John

I really thought I had shared this recipe which just shows what a blur December was. :) Because today when I searched for it, it was not there. Oops.

So here is the recipe for Hopping John.

We eat this on New Year's if we are with my parents. You know, supposedly eating black-eye peas on January 1 is good luck. Now I don't really believe in luck, but I never turn down a reason to eat sausage, ham, rice, and beans. :)

If you are a Southerner, you have probably eaten this. If you aren't, you may think it sounds crazy.

But it really is good. I promise.

Even my picky picky eaters will eat this.

In fact, tonight the pickiest ate 5 bowls.

And one of my children who gags at anything the color green will eat this up in a heartbeat, celery and all. In fact, he wanted this for his birthday meal. So that is what we had.

You can either cook this on the stove or in a crock pot. If you know me at all, you know which way I went.

Ingredients:
1 cup celery, sliced (I just sliced a couple stalks)

2/3 cup onions, chopped (I used a yellow)

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil or bacon drippings

2 (10 3/4 oz) cans chicken broth

1 (16 oz) bag frozen black eye peas or 15 oz can black eye peas (I used the can...I have had trouble getting frozen to cook thoroughly)

1/2 lb ham, cut into cubes (I totally cheated on this...bought a package of already cubed ham :)

4 oz smoked sausage, sliced (I just used the Lil Smokies/cocktail wienies and slice them in half)

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 bay leaf

3 cups cooked long-grain enriched white rice

Directions:
Saute' celery and onion in vegetable oil or bacon drippings until tender.

For the stovetop:
Add remaining ingredients except rice. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until the peas are tender.

Remove and discard bay leaf.

Add rice and heat through.

For the crockpot:
After sauteing the celery and onions, add all ingredients except for the rice to the crockpot.

I think I cooked it about five hours. I started off on high then switched to low.

I am trying to remember exactly.

Anyway, when the beans are cooked thoroughly, remove the bay leaf and add the rice about 30 minutes before serving.

Oh, and I made a double batch since we were having family over for our son's birthday. I think a regular batch would easily feed about 6. :)

Reba

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Not long ago, our oldest son said he really wanted some jambalaya. I have never made that so I am not sure where the request came from. However, if you knew this son and his eating habits, that request would have surprised you. Even a year again, he likely wouldn't have touched rice, shrimp, or tomatoes. Jambalaya (our version) has all three!

Not long after the request was made, a slow cooker jambalaya recipe appeared on Pinterest. I was intrigued; the picture of it made it look delicious.

So knowing it was going to be quite a bit cooler today, I planned to make it. I ran home at lunch, threw the ingredients in the slow cooker, and came home several hours later to a most wonderful smell. Jambalaya.

Here is the link to the original recipe. I stuck fairly close to it since this was my first time to make it, though I had to alter a couple things due to lack of supplies...

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes. When I say chicken breasts, I always mean skinless and boneless unless I specify otherwise. Oh, and I really haven't figured out how to cute it into cubes. I just use scissors and cut it into small chunks. :)
1 lb smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice (don't drain). Confession: I didn't check to see if I had enough diced tomatoes. I didn't. Luckily I had a can of mild Rotel which is mostly tomatoes. I used it too.
2 tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth (Note: I really used closer to 2 since that was the container it was in; I hated to waste any.)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Optional: shrimp. I really wanted shrimp in mine. However, I accidentally grabbed a bag of the frozen COOKED shrimp when I meant to get the frozen RAW shrimp. The cooked shrimp worked okay but I would have preferred the raw to let it "cook" in the seasonings.

white rice or instant rice (I used white long grain enriched; I believe I made 6 servings)
Note: The directions on the original call say to add celery which was not in the ingredients list, so I have no idea how much. However, my family would shun them anyway, so I did not add any.

Directions:
In a slow cooker (and of course, I used a liner), mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.

Cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on High.

If you are adding shrimp, add it about 30 minutes before eating. Shrimp cooks quickly.

Mix in cooked rice for about 15 minutes to warm through.

Enjoy! (We had cornbread muffins with it)

Sausage Egg Casserole

I know, I know, almost everyone has a recipe similar to this. But I am going to post it anyway. If anything, just so if I ever lose mine, I will know where to find it. :)

Oh, the brown spot? That is the sausage. For whatever reason, I am missing a piece of cheese. I don't know why.

We had this (and pumpkin muffins) for Easter breakfast. The nice thing about this casserole is that it needs to be prepared the night before. Then you just get up in the morning and stick it in the oven.

My kids will eat it sometimes though they are not really sausage eaters. We eat bacon more often.

Mark and I like it though. And it is a great dish to take for a brunch.

Anyway, here it is...

Ingredients:
4 slices of bread
1 pound sausage
6 eggs
1 cup milk
6 slices American cheese (or 1 cup grated cheddar cheese or Colby)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Line a greased 11x7 inch dish with bread slices (cut when necessary).

Fry sausage, drain.

Spread sausage over the bread slices.

Cover the sausage with cheese slices. (Don't forget one like I apparently did)

Beat eggs, milk, dry mustard, and salt. Pour over cheese.

Refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Happy cooking!
Reba