Sausage Suppers - TownNews

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021 Page 3The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

Sausage SuppersCold evenings call for hardy mealsCatherine J. MoserFeatures EditorThe Chronicle-News

Many of you are sausage fans. I know I am, for sure — it’s a huge crowd. And it’s pretty hard not to be a fan with such a great array of wonderful tasting sausages available to choose from. From breakfast sausage to brats and ev-ery other kind in between, sausage can make for some mighty fine meals all year around.

Sausages were always a favorite with my gang when the kids were growing up. Sausag-es and pancakes were a family favorite served along with the fried eggs and hash browns on the side. It was pretty much a weekend menu fixture that never got old or boring. Some-times, we’d have this feast for dinner just to break up the week. Farmer’s supper they call it — if you haven’t had breakfast for supper in a while then it’s about time for a delicious change up. Don’t you think so?

Now, I love to serve pan-seared and cooked brats with all kinds of egg dishes. Not many meats complement the world of egg recipes like sausages do. But whether you like hot,

mild or sweet ground sausage patties or links, brats, smoked sausages or game meat sau-sages, you can be sure any of them will offer the diners in your household a very appealing and hardy meal.

Fresh steamed or grilled brats also taste amazing when served like hot dogs inside a beautiful fresh bun with sauerkraut or dill pickle relish, jalapeño slices and a generous sprinkle of cheese shreds. This sausage pro-duction makes a quick and easy supper any night of the week and is very satisfying to boot. Happy and full tummies are sure to walk away from a supper table like this.

Italian sausage can make all the differ-ence in the taste of a one-dish pasta supper. And again, whether you like to use hot, mild or sweet sausage it’s entirely up to you. You can bet any of these choices will be yummy and a great addition to the herb, spice, veggie and sauce combo you’re cooking up to go with your favorite pasta.

Don’t be afraid to buy sausages in their cas-ings. They are easily removed with a simple zip down the side from a sharp knife and a quick peel and will brown nicely in pieces as

you chunk up the links with a spatula. Re-member not to chop your chunks too small as you’ll want a nice healthy-sized piece of meat to go with every bite of pasta goodness on ev-eryone’s plate.

Cabbage, onions and smoked sausages were made to go together. They love each other. There’s just something special about the great flavor this trio creates when browned and cooked together. A great option is to serve the mix over a hot bed of buttered white rice and here again, you’ve created a quick, delicious meal that everyone will enjoy. Another way to enjoy this trio is to add chopped boiled po-tatoes in what we always called German stew. Nothing else is really needed, except perhaps a bit of Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce as a dipping condiment. It is still one of my very fa-

vorite wintertime meals and warms the body heart and soul any chilly evening.

I’ll bet that if you sit for a bit and think about it, you can come up with some pretty amazing sausage dishes all on your own. If you’ve been cooking for very long, you prob-ably have a number of meals you create us-ing delicious sausage as their base. And if you haven’t cooked sausage in a while, I hope you’ll add it to the grocery list, pick up several packages this week and see what awesome suppers are just waiting for you.

Happy cooking and eating, everyone!

—Questions or comments? Please email:

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~ One-dish dinners that are filled with earthy goodness ~

Spanish-Style Noodles with Chicken & Sausage

3/4 pound skinless, bone-less chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/2 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, diced 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 bay leaves 3/4 cup tomato puree 12 ounces spaghetti, bro-

ken into 3-inch pieces Grated Manchego or Par-

mesan cheese, for garnish (optional)

Bring a large kettle or pot of water to a boil. Season the chicken and sausage with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and the marjoram. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add the chicken and sausage and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves and tomato puree to the pot. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring, until the oil turns deep red and the onions are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. If the onions are sticking, add a splash of water and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add the spaghetti to the onion mixture and stir-fry until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken and sau-sage and enough boiling wa-ter to cover the pasta by 1/2 inch. Simmer, stirring once

or twice, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper then gar-nish with cheese, if desired.

Baked Brats with Apples, Onions & Potatoes

2 large tart apples, cored and cut into cubes

1 1/2 lbs. fingerling pota-toes

1/2 lb. baby carrots1 large red onion cut into

wedges2 tablespoons fresh sage

chopped2 tablespoons fresh rose-

mary chopped2 tablespoons honey3 tablespoons olive oil1/2 teaspoon salt or to

taste1/4 teaspoon pepper or to

taste4 links pork sausages,

such as Brats

Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees.

In a large bowl combine the apple cubes, fingerling potatoes, baby carrots, onion, sage and rosemary. Drizzle the honey and olive oil over, season generously with salt and pepper then toss really well so that everything.

Arrange the veggies and apples in a large shallow roasting pan. Arrange the sausages in and around the vegetables.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Spaghetti with Sausage & Cauliflower

Kosher salt 12 ounces spaghetti

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for driz-zling

12 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

6 cloves garlic, sliced 1 small head cauliflower,

broken into small florets 1 bunch scallions, chopped 1 cup grated pecorino Ro-

mano or Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spa-ghetti and cook as the label directs. Reserve 2 cups cook-ing water, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the ol-ive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Clear a space in the pan, add the garlic and cook until just golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook until the edges are browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water, cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 8 more minutes. Uncover and boil over high heat until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 2 more minutes.

Add the spaghetti to the skillet along with the scal-lions. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Toss for a minute or two to wilt the scallions and coat the pasta with the sauce, adding up to 1 cup cooking water, if needed, to loosen. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the cheese and toss. Divide among shal-low bowls and drizzle with more olive oil, if desired.

Winter Butternut Squash & Sausage

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

1 pound sweet loose Italian sausage, casings removed, torn into small pieces

3 ounces Parmesan, finely crumbled

1 teaspoon kosher salt1 teaspoon coarse ground

black pepperCooked gnocchi or other

favorite pasta, optional

Preheat oven to 400 de-grees F. Cut butternut squash in half and turn cut side down onto greased sheet pan. Roast until squash is fork tender — about 45-50 min-utes. Remove from oven, cool slightly, scrape seeds out, peel and chop into bit sized pieces.

Brown garlic and sausage in butter over medium-high heat. Once sausage mix is brown and fragrant, add squash, cheese, salt and pep-per. Stir to combine and heat thoroughly.

Serve immediately with crusty bread.

NOTE: Cooked gnocchi or any other cooked favorite pasta such as penne or riga-toni is an excellent addition to this dish, if desired. Cook pasta according to package directions and add along with the squash after brown-ing the sausage.

Fusilli Pasta with Sausage, Artichokes & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 tablespoons of oil reserved

1 pound Italian hot sau-sages, casings removed

2 (8-ounce) packages fro-zen artichoke hearts

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 3/4 cups chicken broth 1/2 cup dry white wine 16 ounces fusilli pasta 1/2 cup shredded Par-

mesan, plus additional for garnish

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh Ital-ian parsley leaves

8 ounces water-packed fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed, optional

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high

heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces with a fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the artichokes and garlic to the same skillet, and sauté over medium heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and sun-dried tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the fusilli in boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring of-ten, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta (do not rinse). Add the pasta, sausage, 1/2 cup Parmesan, basil, and pars-ley to the artichoke mixture. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the mozzarella. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve, passing the additional Parmesan cheese alongside.

Skillet Cabbage, Onions & Sausage

1 lb. kielbasa smoked sausage

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large onion, chopped3 garlic cloves, minced1 medium head cabbage,

cored and chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 2 lbs.)

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Halve the kielbasa length-

wise and then slice it into 1/2-inch pieces. Heat a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1/2 table-spoon oil and the kielbasa. Toss to coat and then cook un-til browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the kielba-sa to a plate.

Return the pan to the stove and reduce the heat to medi-um low. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the on-ion. Cook, stirring occasion-ally, until the onion has soft-ened. Add the garlic, cabbage, salt, and pepper. Toss well to combine. Cover and cook, stirring every 4-5 minutes until the cabbage is wilted, about 12 minutes.

Stir in the vinegar and re-turn the kielbasa to the pot. Stir and cover for about 3 more minutes, until the cab-bage is tender and the kielba-sa is hot. Taste and add salt, if needed.

Chicago-Style Brats5 hot dog or soft hoagie

buns 5 brats5 dill pickles, sliced1 tomato, cut into 10 thin

wedgesSweet pickle relish, as

desired1 onion, dicedYellow mustard, to taste1 small onion, dicedPickled jalapeño slices Celery salt, to tasteMozzarella cheese shreds,

optional

Pan sear or grill brats ac-cording to package directions.

Assemble as desired. Serve with potato chips and favorite beverage.

Images by Pinterest and Pixabay

Fusilli Pasta with Sausage, Artichokes & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Baked Brats with Apples, Onions & Potatoes — SO GOOD!

Spanish-Style Noodles with Chicken & Sausage

... Continued from Page 1Highway of Legends becomes Colorado’s newest ‘American Byway’the efforts of Colorado citizens to share it with everyone,” said Nathan Boyless, chairman of Colorado’s Scenic and His-toric Byways Commission, in the release. “The open road beckons, scenic travels!”

The Highway of Legends offers “dra-matic settings that have inspired tall tales among Native American nomads, Spanish explorers, and Anglo and Hispanic settlers for hundreds of years. From the impen-etrable heights of the Sangre de Cristos and Spanish Peaks to the ominous red rock abutments of the Dakota Wall and the Devil’s Stairsteps, this land is truly larger than life.”

There is also an extension to this byway that stretches from the town of Aguilar on

I-25 west over the 11,248-foot Cordova Pass, reconnecting to Colorado Highway 12 at Cuchara Pass. The 35-mile extension fol-lows Huerfano/Las Animas County Road No. 46 through the San Isabel National Forest.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in total, announced 49 similar new designations to the America’s By-ways collection including 15 All-American Roads and 34 National Scenic Byways in 28 states.

“Through their many unique qualities, each of these new additions to the National Scenic Byways program helps America’s roads tell our national story,” said FHWA Executive Director Tom Everett. “These

special routes offer travelers exciting new opportunities to explore the nation, from coast to coast or close to home.”

The “Reviving America’s Scenic By-ways Act of 2019,” enacted in 2019, re-quired the U.S. Transportation Secretary to solicit nominations for designation of All-American Roads and National Sce-nic Byways, resulting in 63 nominations. Each application was reviewed by subject-matter experts on historic preservation, design, cultural resources, and visual impacts, tourism and economic develop-ment, highway safety, federal lands, and Native American history and culture. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Commerce also provided input.

“Scenic roads have always been popu-lar with travelers, and support a wide ar-ray of area businesses too,” Everett added. “Whether hotels, eateries or gas stations, Scenic Byways and All-American Roads support the nation’s small business com-munity and are economic drivers for en-tire regions.”

The historic Highway of Legends links the southern Colorado towns of Trinidad, La Veta, Walsenburg and Aguilar.

—For more detailed scenic byway maps and great vacation getaway ideas go to the Colorado Vacation Directory at https://www.coloradodirectory.com/maps/legends.html