Polish Mistakes or Sausage Yummies

Well Game Day is fast approaching.  Time for finger food that wont get on the carpet when people start cheering.  Ok, I am not a football fan but I do like watching the commercials. I will be serving an assortment of snacks including Polish Mistakes.  Why are they called Polish Mistakes? I have no idea. I do know that they are super delicious though.  One of my dad's friends started bringing them to his bar for Super Bowl parties a long time ago.  I have tweaked the recipe just a touch to make them a little more colorful. We call them Sausage Yummies at my house so no one is offended by the silly name.

Polish Mistakes

(or Sausage Yummies)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground sausage

8 oz. Velveeta Mexican cheese

1/8 cup red pepper, finely minced

1/8 cup green pepper, finely minced

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 package of rye or pumpernickel squares (aka cocktail bread)

Directions:

Brown sausage in skillet. Just before the sausage is cooked through, add the peppers (this keeps them a little crisp) and garlic. While the sausage is cooking, cube the cheese into manageable pieces. Put the cubes of cheese into a medium sized bowl. Drain the fat off the sausage and pour the mixture onto the cheese. Mix well.  If the cheese doesn't melt all the way, put the bowl into the microwave for 30 seconds.  Spoon about a tbsp of the mixture onto each cocktail rye piece and place on a cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes to allow them to set up a bit. Next, put them in plastic bags and freeze. You can keep them in the freezer for about a month.Take out as needed and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees in a conventional oven or 13 minutes in a toaster oven set on 450. This makes about 64, which is approximately how many slices of bread you get on one package.

The bead will be crunchy and the meat/cheese will be hot and bubbly.  This is a great appetizer because you can get out as many or few as you need and cook them in batches.

Serrano Crisps with Goat Cheese and Apple

This was the one of the best brunch recipes I have tried in a long time.  I made it the other day when Matt's boss came over with his lovely wife.  The combination of flavors and textures was out of this world! This is so easy and yet so elegant.  Try this recipe and your guests will be super impressed.

 Serrano Crisps with Goat Cheese and Apple

Ingredients:

12  thin Serrano slices (about 1/3 lb.) *Don't have Serrano on hand? Try Prosciutto!

2 Macintosh apples

1/2  (4-oz.) package goat cheese, crumbled

Freshly cracked pepper

Honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°. Arrange Serrano slices in a single layer on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a paper towel-lined wire rack. Let stand 10 minutes or until crisp. Core apples, and cut crosswise into 12 thin rings (6 per apple). Arrange on a serving platter. Top with Serrano and crumbled goat cheese; sprinkle with freshly cracked pepper. Drizzle with honey just before serving.

Angi's Famous Skillet

This is my "famous" recipe simply because I often make it for Sunday brunch.  It's easy to walk away from if you need some coffee or a moment to chat with friends. It is also very adaptable so feel free to make your own veggie and meat (or no meat) choices. You can also change the amount to meet the hunger of your crowd.  I usually make enough for about 10.

Sunday Morning Skillet

4 cups diced or shredded potatoes

1 doz. eggs

2 cups shredded cheddar

2 tbsp of milk (although water works if you have none)

1 pound ground sausage

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

2 tbsp minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1 healthy dash of olive oil

Fry the sausage, onion, garlic and peppers in a large skillet, drain and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper

In the same skillet that you cooked the sausage, add a healthy dash of olive oil and fry the hash browns.  The potatoes do not have to get crisp, just heated through.

Add the sausage mix

Stir to combine.

Once the sausage is hot again add the egg mixture.

Stir frequently so the eggs combine with the potato/sausage mix.

Once the eggs are no longer runny, add the cheese.

Stir to combine and continue stirring until the cheese is melted.

I serve this with sour cream and hot sauce on the side. It is always a huge hit and we rarely have leftovers.

YUM!

Mac and Cheese with Ham

Have you been to oui, chef? If not, you should.  I got this mac and cheese recipe from him the other day.  It is the BOMB.  Seriously.  We ate it all in 2 days. Mind you, I modified the recipe a tiny bit to suit my household, but don't we all?  That being said, he still deserves the credit for this dish. He got it from a cookbook that he credits on his site.  Look there for more info.
  
Mac and Cheese with Ham

Ingredients:

1 pound elbow macaroni

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 pound ham steak, diced

6 tbsp butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups 2% milk

1 pound coarsely grated cheddar cheese

2 tbsp prepared horseradish

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350℉ and lightly butter a 9x13" baking dish.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.  Cook per package instructions until just al dente, drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking.

In a large, heavy bottomed saute pan or skillet set over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Add the ham and cook until browned (this too me about 5 minutes) remove from the pan and set aside.

Set the pan back over medium heat, melt the butter, whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly (this took me about 3 minutes) until the mixture turns a light tan color.

Add the milk to the pan, whisking constantly, and bring the sauce to a simmer.  Simmer for about 2 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken.  Take the pan off the heat and stir in the grated cheddar and horseradish.

Pour the pasta into the pan of cheese sauce, add the ham and stir gently to combine.  Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, sprinkle the top with the grated Parmesan.

Bake in the oven, uncovered, until the top is golden and bubbly (about 35 minutes in my oven).  Next, take the dish from the oven and sprinkle the top with a light coating of breadcrumbs, put it back in the oven for 5-10 more minutes.

Let this dish sit on your counter for about 10 minutes before serving. It is even better the next day.... if you have any leftovers!

BBQ Pork Chops in the Crock Pot

Those of you who know me, know I love to use my Crock Pot. I have a big one for when company comes, and a small one for Hubby and I.  Today I made a BBQ pork chop recipe out of things I had in the fridge.  You can modify the sauce recipe any way you like, or use a bottle if you want.  It wont hurt my feelings, I promise!

BBQ Pork Chops with Potatoes, Carrots and Onion

(in the Crock Pot or Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:

3 to 6 pork chops (any size will do - use what you like!)

4 red potatoes -cubed into 1" pieces

about 20 baby carrots

1/4 cup chopped white onion

1/4 tbsp. Kosher salt (more or less to taste)

1/4 tbsp. Freshly Ground Pepper

Sauce: (I made this up from stuff I had on hand because I didn't have enough BBQ sauce)

1/4 bottle BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original because it rocks)

1/4 cup ketchup 

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

2 tbsp. Spicy Brown mustard

1 healthy dash of Liquid Smoke (not necessary, but I have it in the pantry)

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.  Dip your pork chops in and coat well on both sides.

Place them in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Cut up your potatoes and onion and mix with the baby carrots in the BBQ sauce bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add one cup of water. Toss to coat. Place on top of the chops.

Turn the slow cooker to Low and cook all day.  This really depends on the amount of chops.  I used 3 so I cooked for 8 hours.  You will need to cook at least an additional 1 hour for 6 chops.  Hopefully you know your slow cooker and can adapt this cook time to fit your needs.  If you are in a hurry, cook on high for half the time but use a food thermometer to make sure your internal chop temp is 160°F.

I served this with peas and biscuits.  The chops were very tender and the sauce was great!

Chicken Bacon Sausage

This recipe was submitted by my pal Cedan Bourne-Nisson. He's from my old-school Utah Shakespearean Festival days and he is a serious carnivore!

Chicken-Bacon Sausage

(you will need a meat grinder)

Note: If apples are in season I often chop up an apple and add it to the mix pre-grind. Core the apple, but leave the skin on.

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken thighs

1/2 lb your favorite bacon

1 large/medium clove garlic

3 table spoons kosher salt (I like Diamond Crystal)

1 table spoons fresh ground black pepper

1 tea spoon crushed red pepper (more or less as you like)

6-10 leaves fresh basil (I like Thai, but whatever)

1/4 cup olive oil

A splash of really cold white wine (whatever you have on hand)

Ice

One large mixing bowl, and one medium mixing bowl

Meat Grinder with small die

Directions:

First off, put your whole meat grinder and the bowls in the freezer. Two hours would be good, four would be better.

When your hardware is good and frozen go ahead and put your chicken and bacon in the freezer for a bit too. You don't want to freeze it, but you want it to be good and firm - this will make cutting it up much easier.

Chiffonade the basil and set aside

Dice the clove of garlic.

Cube up your slightly frozen meats (about 1/2 inch cube);

mix the meats, garlic, crushed red, salt, and black pepper together.

Place this whole mix in the refrigerator while you set up your grinder.

Fill the larger bowl with ice, and place the medium bowl in the ice.

Place your grinder so that the meat will fall into the medium bowl.

If you have an apron, you might want to put it on: Sometimes this spits.

On low speed, run the chicken/bacon mix thru the grinder.

Remember: Heat is the enemy. Don't force it... but work as quickly as you can.

When everything is all ground up add the basil.

Then, using a wooden spoon (or a stand mixer with paddle attachment) stir the mix for a good minute. Then add the olive oil and chilled white wine. Mix for another minute.

That's it.

Use it loose, stuff it into casings, poach it (maybe in some white wine?), add it to pasta, or rice. If you have some french bread, pickles, lettuce and mustard you can make a really nice sandwich.

Should keep for 3-4 days refrigerated, or a couple months frozen.

Enjoy

Awesome Meatballs

This recipe is so good and so easy! A long time ago I used to have Italian Night when I worked for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. One night some of the crew delivered 10 lbs. of ground beef and 10 lbs. Italian sausage and asked me to make as make meatballs as I could. I was up to the challenge and this is the recipe I created.

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. Italian sausage (mild or hot)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup Romano cheese, grated

1 tablespoon fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano

1/2 cup warm water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine meats in a large bowl. Add eggs, garlic, cheese and spices; mix well. Add in breadcrumbs and mix again. Add water and mix a final time. The mixture will be a little gloppy from the water, but it will make the final product so tender!

Form into balls. This will make 16 meatballs. (Less if you make them bigger.) Spray a broiler pan with non-stick cooking spray and place meatballs. I use this type of pan so the grease drains.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Your time may vary. You are looking for a nicely browned meatball. If you don't put them in sauce, you need to make sure the internal temp comes up to 160 degrees before eating!

Or...Drop meatballs in your sauce and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cooper's Tail Waggin' Good Chili

For those of you who don't know... Cooper is our pup. He's really cute and loves to hang around the kitchen while I cook.

1 lb. stew meat, cut into 1/4" pieces (trim off as much fat as you can)
4 hot Italian sausage links, taken out of the casings
1 lb. ground turkey

1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium white onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
4 jalapenos, diced (keep the seeds of only 2 peppers)

2 tablespoons Cayenne
2 tablespoons Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Cumin
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 tablespoons Chipotle chili fakes
1 teaspoon Salt

2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
2 14 1/2 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

2 15 oz. cans of spicy chili beans
1 15 oz. can of dark red kidney beans

1 12 oz. unibroue beer (or whatever you like - a medium ale)

Fry the sausage and turkey together in a large, heavy bottomed pot.
Remove and drain the meat in a colander.
Sear the stew meat in the same pot.
Remove the stew meat to the colander.
Pour just enough of the beer into the pot to deglaze. Scrape all the brown bits off the bottom.
Add a tiny bit of olive oil and saute the onions, green and red peppers, jalapenos and garlic.
All all the meat back into the pot.
Add the rest of the beer.
Add all of the dry spices.
Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes.
Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the beans.
Simmer for another 30 minutes or so.

Serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar.

This is not a "burn you face off right away" chili, it is a slow burn - make you sweat type of heat.

YUM!

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham in the Crock Pot

 5-6 large potatoes, sliced about 1/8" thick
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cups of your favorite cheese, grated (I like Parmesan, Asiago, Provolone or Colby)
8 oz. cubed ham
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced (one clove)
1 teaspoon Adobo


Spray non-stick cooking spray in your Crock Pot. Layer potatoes, onions, ham and cheeses alternately in pot and put the butter on top.
In a bowl combine milk, salt, pepper, adobo and garlic.

Pour milk mixture over potato and cheese layers in the Crock Pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, until potatoes are tender.


You can also put in 1/2 teaspoon horseradish if you like it a little spicy!


YUM!

Pasttata

I got this recipe from the Food in my Beard guy. I was looking for a good way to get rid of some left-overs and he delivered. The link is to his actual recipe with cool photos and stuff so look at it if you can't figure out what I mean.

Pasttata (pronounced: pas-ta-ta) (heh heh)

3 small zucchini (chopped into bite sized pieces)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 ground turkey (or pork or sausage or beef - whatever)
1 medium onion
1/4 teaspoon of: sage, marjoram, cayenne, rosemary (or whatever you like)
1/2 lb. leftover cooked spaghetti noodles
6 eggs
2 cups cheese of your choice (I used fontina, Parmesan, mozzarella, brie)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the meat in a large oven-proof skillet and drain off grease. (On medium heat)
Cook the zucchini in the skillet (if needed) with the onion, garlic, tomatoes, and dry spices.
Add the meat back in and mix well.
Add the spaghetti noodles and mix well.
In a bowl, mix the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.
Pour cheese and egg mixture into pan with all the other ingredients.
Use tongs to incorporate it all together.
Let it begin to cook in the pan like you do a frittata.
Once it is mostly cooked (eggs are no longer runny) put it in the oven to finish it off.
I say about 30-40 minutes in the oven. Look for it to begin to brown on top.
Take out of the oven and let rest 3-4 minutes.
Turn out onto plate and add the last 1/2 cup of cheese.
Put back in oven for a minute to melt the cheese.

Cut it like a pie and serve.

I found the spaghetti noodles make it a much heartier meal than your average frittata. Serve with some dinner rolls and a salad for a filling meal. YUM!

Angi - Smoke free and Healing for Twenty Days, 9 Hours and 3 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 1 Day and 9 Hours, by avoiding the use of 408 cigarettes!

Pulled Pork in the slow cooker

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 12 hours

3.75 lbs. pork shoulder or butt (you strain off all the fat in the end - but if you prefer the meat to be tougher you could get a pork loin)
2 large onions (I used yellow this time but you should pick your fave.)
1 cup ginger ale (or your favorite beer!)
18 oz of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original)
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Adobo
1/2 tsp. Red Pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic (minced)

Slice the onions into nice sized pieces and put in enough to cover the bottom of the crock pot. Use the rest of the onions on top of the roast.
Combine all the dry spices and sprinkle over the roast.
Put the roast in the crock pot and put the garlic on top.
Pour the ginger ale over the top of the roast.
Cover, turn on low, cook 10 hours. (if you are in a hurry cook on high for 6 hours)

Turn off the crock pot and let it cool a little. (about 10 minutes or until it stops boiling - don't burn yourself!!)
Dump contents of crock pot into a big strainer and let all the fat drain off. Rinse the meat with water and pick out the bones and any pieces of fat that didn't melt. Let the water drain off and dump it back in your crock pot.
Use tongs or 2 forks to pull the meat apart. (It should be falling apart!)
Add the BBQ sauce and turn on low.
Cook for another 2 hours.

Serve on a nice bun with cole slaw on top and bread and butter pickle slices. I made oven baked potatoes to serve alongside . You should do whatever you like best!

MMMMmmmmmmmm

Freezes really well when tightly wrapped in plastic.

Angi - Smoke free and Healing for Eighteen Days and 11 Hours, while extending my life expectancy 1 Day and 6 Hours, by avoiding the use of 369 cigarettes!

Prosciutto and Artichoke Fritatta

Angi's Prosciutto and Artichoke Fritatta

*You need a skillet/pan that can go from stove top to oven.

Serves 4-5

10 eggs (you can use eggs substitute but it will not come out as firm as using real eggs)
1 jar artichoke hearts (in brine) - - side note: you can use 1 fresh but you have to cook it first!
1 package prosciutto (about 6 oz.)
Splash of milk (or water if you are trying to lower the fat content)
1/2 a medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (or 1 clove of fresh garlic)
2 or 3 good shakes of Adobo seasoning
1 or 2 good shakes of Cumin or Chili Powder (optional but adds a nice flavor!)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
A dash of olive oil
Shred about 10 ounces of your favorite cheese.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Dump the artichoke into a strainer. Let the brine drain off and dump onto a pile of paper towels to get the excess. (Too much brine will make your fritatta bitter!)

Cut prosciutto slices into smallish pieces. I use a pair of kitchen scissors to get the size I like. Put a dash of olive oil into an oven safe skillet on the stove over medium heat. Saute the onion until it starts to get soft. Add the prosciutto and get it nice and warm; stirring often to keep from burning. Add garlic and artichoke.

While garlic is getting soft in the pan, whisk 10 eggs with the remaining seasonings, milk, and half the cheese. Dump this all in the pan and treat like scrambled eggs for a minute or two while it starts to set up. The idea here is to get it mostly cooked before it goes in the oven. Once it starts to set up, scrape the pan and move all the ingredients around. Do this two more times or so. It should still be slightly runny when you put it in the oven so it can set up correctly.

Put in preheated oven for about 30 minutes. You should check it after about 20 minutes, since all ovens are different. It looks like an egg pie when done. NO runny spots when you move the pan around.

Take out of oven (use hot pads!!!!!) and put on a heat resistant surface. Run a spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen. You can also push the spatula under the eggs if you have a crappy pan. Let this rest for about 5 minutes before putting a plate on top of the pan and turning it out. (Flip it over!)

Use your spatula to pound on the bottom of the pan if it doesn't come out.

Use the rest of the cheese on the top of the fritatta and let melt.

Enjoy!