One year ago today this blog posted its very first recipe. That first dish was truly “by the seat of my pants” cooking, and though not the most glamorous I’ve ever done, it’s still something I’m quite fond of. The photo… Horrible. That first day saw three visitors. My wife, a friend of the family and myself. All of us were amazed that I’d actually started this thing, though I’m not sure any of us thought that what I was doing would last for more than a few weeks.

In the twelve months to follow this blog has come a long way. It has done so because of the support of the food blogging community, its readers and of course, my wife, who has supported this venture unwaveringly throughout the past year. (not necessarily in that order.) Without all of you, I would never have stuck with this, but I am so very glad that I have!

There are many people I should thank for their support, but to be honest, I couldn’t name them all in a post you would be willing to read through. There are those who made a huge impact when I first started, so please let me take a moment to thank; Elise, Jasmine, Lis, Bryllin, Lisa of Homesich Texan Fame, Shawnda – the Foodie Bride and of course, Dr. Biggles. All of you helped me keep movin’ on at the beginning.

As for the rest of my fellow bloggers, though I may not have time to mention you all here, just let me say this:

You freakin’ rawk!

In celebration of CbsoP’s first blogiversary, I decided to revisit that initial recipe. This time around wasn’t so very seat of my pants, but I did change it up significantly. For one thing, I wasn’t in the mood for mozzarella and asiago, I was in the mood for feta.

The introduction of feta cheese brought with it a need to change out some of the other ingredients as well. For one, I don’t think feta goes well with broccoli, so I just increased the amount of spinach. …Feta with reg-lar ol’ breakfast sausage… Not happnin’, we’ll just skip that part altogether. As for the rest. Well… I winged it. but hey, that’s what this blog is all about, isn’t it!

Smoky Sausage Ragout Redux

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package wide egg noodles
• 1 pkg -2 Lil’ Smokies Sausages, cut in half. (The minus 2 part because I ate two while I was working on this!)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 oz. Chopped Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained.
• 10 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 to 3 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• 2-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Make noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Sauté onions in 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until translucent. (About 3 minutes.) Add Garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Add mushrooms and cok until browned on both sides and the size has nearly halved, adding more oil if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes to vegetables and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Add spinach, stirring to combine well. Add sausages and noodles, toss together and check for seasoning. Reduce heat to low and allow to just simmer for about 5 minutes, or until everything is piping hot.

Serve topped with crumbled feta. Enjoy!

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

Not a whole lot, honestly. This for me falls into the realm of comfort food. It was quick, easy to make and it tasted good without the work of a gourmet meal. If you don’t like Lil’ Smokies you may feel free to use kielbasa or any other sausage that floats your boat.

Links to other recipes like this:

• Smoky Sausage Ragout With Broccoli, Spinach and Egg Noodles, by Cooking by the seat of my Pants.

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