Smothered Potatoes with Sausage

Take some flavorful smoked sausage, a bunch of potatoes, a generous helping of thinly sliced onions and cook them all down till the potatoes are on the verge of crumbling and the onions practically disappear.  Add a few peas for color and you’ve got smothered potatoes with sausage, one of the easiest one pan meals your whole family will love. 

When I was growing up, this dish made an appearance on our family dinner table with great regularity. It was so easy that my sister and I could even make it on our own. When our mother went back to work, the two of us took turns cooking dinner each night.  I’m not talking gourmet meals. We ate a lot of Hamburger Helper. And Tuna Helper. We were pretty good at spaghetti sauce too and even learned how to smother round steak with onions. But smothered potatoes with sausage was my personal favorite. 

We used either red potatoes, which didn’t need peeling or larger potatoes that did. Either way, the best part was smashing the potatoes into flavorful juices at the bottom of the pan and trying to make sure the bites of sausage came out even with the bites of potato in my bowl. So good! 

Of course, once I had a family of my own, I continued making this great dish but I started adding the peas for color. And because we love peas. Did you know that the average British person only eats about 9,000 peas per year? No idea how many the average American eats but we figure it’s far below the British average. We have made it a personal family goal to try and up the numbers, throwing peas in everything from pasta carbonara to beef stew. I suggest you do the same. 

Smothered Potatoes with Sausage

A little less sausage or a couple more potatoes really won't make a difference in this tasty dish. I give my amounts as a guideline only. 

Ingredients

1 lb 8 oz or 675g smoked sausage

Olive oil

2.2 lbs or 1 kg potatoes, whole small ones or peeled, quartered

larger ones

2 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

2⁄3 cup or 100g frozen garden peas, thawed (We like the little ones called petits pois.)

To serve, optional: crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes

Method

Cut your sausage into pieces. 

Put the sausage and a good drizzle of olive oil in a skillet large enough to eventually hold all of your ingredients. You will need a skillet with a good fitting lid.

Heat over a medium flame and cook for a few minutes until the sausage starts to brown and caramelize.

Add in the potatoes with a cup or 240ml water. Stir to mix any tasty sticky bits from the pot into the water.

Pile the sliced onions on the top and close the lid. 

Turn the flame down to medium low and cook for about 40­-45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the onions have practically melted into an oniony gravy. 

Check from time to time and add more water, if necessary. If you are using peeled cut potatoes, they will probably take a shorter time to cook and will need more water, as they soak up what's in there.

When the potatoes are tender, add in the peas. Cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper but keep in mind that smoked sausage can be salty so do check before just adding both. Serve, if desired, with crushed red pepper to sprinkle on.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with potatoes. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe. Check out the potato dishes below. 

• Cheesy Crockpot Tater Tots by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Flying Saucer - Toaster Sandwich /Jaffle by Sneha's Recipe
• Gnocchi and Team Gorgonzola Cream by Culinary Cam
• Matar Bateta Nu Shaak by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Potato Smiles |by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Smothered Potatoes and Sausage by Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Brown Butter Sourdough Waffles

These brown butter sourdough waffles get most of their rise from the baking powder and egg but all of their flavor from the sourdough starter and brown butter! They are fluffy inside and crispy outside. 

I had a love affair with brown butter a few years ago. It seemed to go so well in everything from wine sauce for lobster ravioli and braised baby turnips to shortbread cookies and banana muffins. In fact, I think I have shared six or maybe even seven muffin recipes with brown butter! It's so good, y'all! 

When I was looking at ways to add more flavor to a waffle batter, I suddenly remembered my old love. The reunion was sweet!  Brown butter adds a lovely subtle flavor and I think it also helped the waffles cook up crispier on the outside. 

Brown Butter Sourdough Waffles

My sourdough starter is 100 percent hydration meaning that whenever I add an amount of flour to feed it, I also add an equal weight of water. If your starter is thicker, you may need a little extra milk to thin the batter to a good consistency for waffles. All ingredients should be at room temperature so the butter doesn't harden up again before you can whisk the batter. This recipe make 6-7 Belgian waffles.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons or 42g unsalted butter

1/2 cup or 120g sourdough starter discard (unfed), at room temperature

1 cup or 240ml milk, at room temperature, plus a little extra if your starter is thick

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 cup or 125g flour 

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Canola or other light oil for greasing the waffle iron

To serve:

Your favorite syrup

Butter

Method

Brown your butter in a small pan, over a medium flame, watching it carefully as after it has completely melted and stirring occasionally. It will take a few minutes but the milk solids will separate out and start to brown. 

When the butter has become a light copper color, remove the pan from the heat, pour the butter into another vessel and set aside to cool. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter, sourdough starter, milk and egg until well combined

Add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt, and continue to whisk until smooth. 

If the batter seems too thick, add more milk as needed to thin out the texture. 

Preheat the waffle iron and lightly brush it with the oil. 

Ladle your waffle iron manufacturer’s recommended amount of the batter into the waffle iron making sure not to overfill! My first two are always a little smaller than they could be because I’m afraid to overfill and make a mess.

After that, I get braver!

Cook for 3-5 minutes - or as long as recommended by your waffle iron manufacturer - until golden and crisp. My waffle iron has a light that turns on and off to let you know when it has preheated sufficiently and when the waffles are cooked. Very handy! That said, I usually leave mine in just a little bit longer for extra toasting. 

Keep the waffles warm in a low oven as you cook each batch but if you like them crispy, do not cover with foil. This will cause them to soften from the trapped steam.

Serve warm with the syrup of your choice and more butter, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

Today for Sunday FunDay, we are celebrating Candlemas, that date on the Christian calendar when baby Jesus was first presented at the temple. The tradition is to make and eat crepes or pancakes, a custom attributed to Pope Gelasius in the 5th century who offered galettes to the pilgrims who came to carry candles in processions to mark the 40th day after Christmas. 

But, according to Sortir á Paris, it also has origins in pagan festivals. "In those days, Candlemas referred to the fertility of the earth. Farmers used to bake crêpes with surplus flour from the previous year. With their round shape and golden color, pancakes symbolized light, sunshine and the return of fine weather."

Whatever the reason, Christian or pagan, I'm always up for making batter for crepes or pancakes and today our host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm said waffles are fair game too! Check out the great recipes we are sharing today.

• Food Lust People Love: Brown Butter Sourdough Waffles 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Lefse 
• Our Good Life: Pancake Puffs 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Roasted Vegetable Crepes 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Sourdough Pancakes 
• Culinary Cam: Strawberry Japanese Soufflé Pancakes

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Homemade Golden Mushroom Soup

So much better than the canned stuff from Campbell’s, this homemade golden mushroom soup is made with loads of mushrooms, beef stock, milk and a touch of tomato.

When I was growing up, my mom never failed to have a few cans of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup in the cupboard because it was so useful in a lot of recipes back then. The hey-day of casseroles. But we also just loved opening a can, diluting it with milk and sipping it nice and hot out of a big mug. 

It wasn’t until I was much, much older and doing my own shopping that I discovered their golden mushroom soup which, in my opinion is much richer in flavor since it’s made with beef stock. Whether I’d have liked it as a child, who can tell? 

The sherry I add in at the end is optional but I discovered what a huge improvement in flavor it gave when I first made Anthony Bourdain’s mushroom soup. It’s only 1 tablespoon in the whole pan but the sherry lifts the soup into gourmet territory. It’s that good. Try adding it and see if you agree! 

Homemade Golden Mushroom Soup

This soup is easily made gluten and dairy free by using a gluten free flour mix, non-dairy butter and almond milk. A good friend of mine uses those to make regular cream of mushroom soup for her grandbabies and they love it!

Ingredients

1.5 lb or 680g baby bella or swiss brown mushrooms

1/4 cup or 57g butter or dairy free butter

2 cloves garlic 

1 medium onion (approx. weight 5 3/4 oz or 163g)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

3/4 cup or 96g all-purpose flour or gluten free flour mix

4 cups or 960ml beef stock

2 cups or 480ml milk (I use 2%/semi-skimmed) or almond milk

Fine sea salt

1 tablespoon sherry, optional

Optional for garnish:

Reserved small mushrooms, from amount for soup (see note in Method below)

Drizzle olive oil

Chopped parsley

Method

Puree the garlic and onion in a small food processor. Set aside. 

This step is optional: Set aside and slice a few small mushrooms to pan fry and use as garnish.

Trim any hard stem ends off of the mushrooms and discard. Chop the rest of the mushrooms into small pieces. 

In large saucepan, sauté the chopped mushrooms in the butter over a medium high heat until they have released their liquid, it has evaporated and the mushrooms have turned a lovely golden brown. 

Add in the pureed onion/garlic and the tomato paste. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the onion is cooked. A good indication is when the onion aroma has turned mellow instead of sharp.

Remove the pan from the heat and sift the flour over mushrooms to coat, stirring well between each addition until all of the flour has been added. 

Stir in the beef stock a little at a time mixing well until all the flour dissolves. Add the pepper. 

Return the pan to the stove and bring the soup to a boil, stirring often until it  thickens, about 7 minutes.

Reduce the heat and whisk in the milk. Cook over a low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat as soon as soup reaches your desired thickness. 

Taste for salt and add a little, if needed. Depending on the saltiness of the beef stock you used, you might not need any.

If you set aside a few small mushrooms and sliced them for garnish, fry them till almost crispy in a nonstick skillet with a drizzle of olive oil. 

Stir the sherry into the soup. 

Garnish each bowl with some chopped parsley and a few of the fried mushroom slices.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today I’m hosting. I chose soup recipes for our theme because, and y’all probably know this, January is National Soup Month! If you have not been celebrating, fear not. It is followed quickly on by National Soup Day on  February 4th.  Check out the lovely soups my blogger friends are sharing: 

• Bacon Cheeseburger Soup from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Cabbage Roll Soup from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chicken and Dumplings Soup from Palatable Pastime
• Chicken Enchilada Soup from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Homemade Golden Mushroom Soup from Food Lust People Love
• Keto Broccoli & Tomato Soup from Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Lemony Spring Vegetable Chicken Soup

This Lemony Spring Vegetable Chicken Soup is a light, flavorful bowl of comfort food, with tender chicken, asparagus, new potatoes, carrots and peas.

This recipe is adapted from one in delicious. magazine from 2023. The original recipe was supposed to be accompanied by a gremolata made from the hard stems one trims from the asparagus because they aren’t typically edible. 

This is a fabulous idea except that right when I get home from the store with asparagus, I cut off those ends and discard them. Then I put my asparagus in a jar or glass with water in the fridge door, much like cut flowers. A trim assures that the asparagus can suck up some water, which keeps them lovely and fresh for much longer than normal. If only I had seen this recipe first! 

Cut the ends at angle for better uptake of water. 

So, two days later, when I did trim more to make the gremolata, I had to use tender ends instead. (I also substituted green onions for parsley).  No idea how the woody ends would have tasted but my gremolata was lovely. I’m leaving the original instruction in case you have woody ends you’d like to use. Let me know how it turns out! 

Lemony Spring Vegetable Chicken Soup

Use the vegetable amounts as a suggestion. If you have a few more potatoes and asparagus or a few less carrots and green peas, it doesn’t matter. Go with what you’ve got. This is a protein rich soup with one chicken breast per serving. 

Ingredients to serve 4

For the soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb 9 oz or 600g total)

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to finish dish

11 1/2 oz or 325g new potatoes, preferably Jersey Royals, scrubbed and sliced into thick coins

10 1/2 oz or 300g spring carrots, scrubbed and sliced into thick coins

1/2 cup of 120ml dry white wine

4 cups or 946ml chicken stock

10 1/2 oz or 300g asparagus, before trimming

7 oz or 200g petit pois or small sweet peas, defrosted if frozen

Juice 1/2 lemon

For the asparagus gremolata:

Trimmed ends asparagus in soup ingredient list

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 spring onions, green part only, sliced finely, plus extra for garnish, if desired

2 small cloves garlic

Zest 1 1/2 lemons

Juice 1 lemon

To serve:

Asparagus gremolata

4 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or sour cream (one for each bowl)

Lemon zest

Finely sliced green onions, if desired

Method

First thing, we’ll start the gremolata. Snap or trim the woody ends from the asparagus. Cut the spears in halves and set aside, then finely slice the woody ends into discs. Put the discs in a small sieve over a bowl and sprinkle with salt to soften them a little. 

Put the green onions in another small bowl, then use a microplane or fine grater to grate the garlic and the zest of 1 1/2 lemons into it. The zest of the other half of the lemon can be used as garnish on the finished dish so definitely zest them both and set one quarter aside for serving. 

Season the chicken with the sea salt and black pepper.

Heat half the oil in a shallow sauté pan or casserole with a lid then add the seasoned chicken breast to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until all the breasts are a lovely golden brown.  

They will still be raw inside but don’t let that worry you. We will finish cooking them in the soup later. Transfer the breasts to a plate and set aside. 

Add the remaining oil to the pan, followed by the sliced potatoes and carrots. 

Fry for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the wine. 

Cover for a few minutes to allow the carrots and potatoes to just about cook through, then take of the lid and leave the wine to bubble until it is reduced by half (about 4 minutes.)

Pour in the chicken stock and bring up to a simmer. Nestle the chicken in the pan (it should be fully submerged in stock), then cover and simmer gently for 6 minutes.

While the chicken simmers, finish the gremolata by mixing the salty sliced asparagus with the green onion/lemon zest mix. Set aside.

When your six minutes of simmering are up, stir the peas and asparagus into the soup. 

Cover and gently simmer for 2-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. 

Add the lemon juice and a good few grinds of black pepper.

Divide the soup into four bowls, one breast each, and top with lemon zest and some green onions, if desired. 

Serve the gremolata and yogurt or sour cream on the side so everyone can add a dollop of each to their bowls. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are serving up comfort foods! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out all the links below. 

• Sneha's Recipe: Baked Vegetables Pasta Less Lasagna
• Karen's Kitchen Stories:BBQ Glazed Meatloaf with Sweet Potatoes and Pearl Onions
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Broccoli Cheese Pierogi Soup
• Culinary Cam:Comforting Beef Stroganoff
• Food Lust People Love:Lemony Spring Vegetable Chicken Soup
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Roast Pork Loin with Cherry Sauce

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Olive Cream Cheese Stuffed Celery

This olive cream cheese stuffed celery is a throwback recipe from the Sixties but it’s still just as deliciously tasty today. Savory, creamy AND crunchy. Mix, fill and munch! 

Not too long back, a friend of mine celebrated her 60th birthday by throwing a Sixties theme party. Guests were asked to contribute a dish from that decade and come dressed in Sixties attire. 

The fun food included salmon mousse made in a fish mold, deviled eggs, several Jello desserts, a spiky cheeseball shaped like a hedgehog, a multi-layered savory sandwich “cake” and pistachio marshmallow fluff, just to name a few. 

It was a super fun party and a delight to see what everyone brought and wore. At first I thought I didn’t have anything to wear that was Sixties worthy but then I remembered, I own a caftan! We need to bring those back. It is the most comfortable outfit ever for a party.

Olive Cream Cheese Stuffed Celery

This recipe makes a bunch of filling! My pictures show just half of the stuffed celery I made. Feel free to halve the quantities if you don’t need that many. I used the already cut celery stalks one can buy in a bag. 

Ingredients

2 lbs or 900g celery stalks, washed and cut into 3 sections each

2 packages (8 oz or 225g each) cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup, chopped, or 120g pimento-stuffed green olives

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

A few generous grinds of black pepper

Method

Thoroughly dry each piece of celery with paper towels. 

Mix the  chopped olives and garlic together in a large bowl.

Add in the cream cheese and black pepper in and mix until completely homogenous.

Use a plastic bag with a corner cut off or a piping bag to put a generous amount of cream cheese filling down the center indentation of each celery piece. 

Serve immediately or cover with cling film and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today my blogger friends and I are sharing nutritious nibbles. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on a Farm. Check out the links below. 

• Culinary Cam: Adventures in Bliss Balls 
• Sneha's Recipe: Beetroot Tikkis 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories : Fresh Tomato Salsa 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Fruit and Nut Bars 
• Our Good Life : Healthy Pizza Bites 
• Food Lust People Love: Olive Cream Cheese Stuffed Celery 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Peanut Butter Energy Balls (No Bake)

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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