Friday, April 24, 2015

Two birds, one pot...

After a long bout of tummy troubles, the family is back on track, which means, I have to start really cooking again.  Once again I utilized the one pot method this week.  What can I say, I'm a creature of habit.
 
 
Wednesday night I decided to make a dish I call "Sausage Al Forno."  Basically it is sausage, cut into small slices mixed with a whole bunch of veggies.  For this time, I used these veggies.
 
 
 
Mise En Place
 
 
All items used for the meal, except for the butter and the garlic (which I buy in bulk) were purchased at Aldi.  I used the Kirkwood Turkey Jalapeno sausage, which was $2.49 per package.  Here's the recipe:
 
 
Ingredients
1 small zucchini
1/2 can (32 oz) diced tomatoes
6 - 8 large mushrooms, sliced thin
1 large tbsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 green pepper, diced
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
3-4 Kirwood Turkey Jalapeno sausage, cut into 1 inch thick pieces
1 small onion, diced (not picture)
1 1/2 cup chicken broth (not pictured)
 
Directions
In a large pan, heat butter.  Add garlic, simmer till fragrant.  Add onions.  Cook till translucent.  Add peppers, mushrooms and zucchini.  Cook for approximately 3 minutes before adding tomatoes.  Add sausage and chicken broth.  Simmer until veggies are tender.  Serve over pasta or quinoa.  Top with Priano parmesan cheese.  

 
Voila!

 

On Thursday, I felt a stir fry coming on because at work, they were serving chicken lo mein.  (I work at an elementary school cafeteria)

In my freezer, I had some ham steak, purchased at Aldi's.  I also had some canned mushrooms and canned peas (not from Aldi's, but canned mushrooms and peas are sold there) as well as some Soy Vay Island Teriyaki marinade.  Quinoa served as the "grain" or rice in this dish.  Here's how it works:

Ingredients

2 ham steaks, diced
1 can peas
1 small can mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp. garlic
1 cup quinoa (prepared to package directions)
1 tbsp butter
Soy Vay Island Teriyaki marinade


Directions

In a large wok, heat 1 tbsp. butter.  Add garlic, heat till fragrant.  Add mushrooms and peas, with juices.  Add diced ham and 1/2 bottle of Soy Vay marinade.  Add water if needed.  Simmer on medium for about 30 minutes.  Serve over quinoa. 



(It was so good, I couldn't wait to take a picture.  Om nom nom nom)
 
 
The marinade is a bit of a splurge, costing approximately $5.49 per bottle at Lowe's of all places.  But it is worth the cost.  I use the bottle for at least two, sometimes even 3 meals, so the cost evens out.  Other items, except quinoa were or can be purchased at Aldi for minimal cost.  For approximately $6.50, I could purchase everything, minus the quinoa.  The meal served 4, with enough leftovers for 2.  Minimal cost maximum flavor. 
 
 
I would like to see Aldi carry a quinoa-only product.  They sell a quinoa brown rice mix, but I don't like to eat grain, so this doesn't work for me. 
 
 
 
 
Make sure to come back later this week to get some product reviews, more recipes and more fun stuff.  Follow me on twitter @camp3082

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