Ever since I made my version of Kielbasa Stew from the recipe at La Mia Cucina, I’ve been dying to try out a version that used different types of sausage. Knowing that, I suppose it was somewhat advantageous that a tummy bug caught hold of me earlier this week, and that a good soup was the only thing on my mind. It was also fortunate that even though it was the day before payday, I had everything I needed in the larder to whip up a soup.

You keep calling it a soup. I thought the recipe was for sausage stew?

OK, you got me. It is a stew, but only in light of the absolutely outrageous amount of meat and chunky veggies it contains, and the fact that they were stewed. Usually I would have made a roux before adding the stock, but as I said, I was having tummy trouble, so I avoided thickening the broth at all.

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

This comes straight from my little sister. I’ll admit it’s been a while since I made this myself, but it was a staple in my home growing up and I intend to make it later in the month. It reminds me of my mother, and dinners we shared when I was a kid with a far less refined palette. to be honest, I don’t mind the “less refined” part. This is just great food and deserves to be simple.

What follows is the recipe as I received it in my email with only minor changes (spelling and grammar): Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]

I made this particular dish to participate in the “day that really Schmecks, part 2” event from Confessions of a Cardamom Addict. I found the idea of checking out some Mennonite cooking very interesting to say the least, and I even managed to find a recipe that fit my “Cook don’t bake” strategy to kitchen life. (Not easy since I don’t own any of Edna’s books, and with a deadline of the 29th of January I decided to use the Sausage and Vegetable Bake recipe I found at Loving Spoonfuls.In very un-seat of my pants manner, I followed the recipe to the letter, not allowing myself to deviate or get creative in the slightest. This was, after all, a tribute to Edna Staebler, author of Food that Really Schmecks, and a tribute to Mennonite cooking in general. For once, I was going to do what I was told on the page. No changes, using just the highest quality ingredients I could lay hands on. Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]

The weather here in Texas has been on the cold side for the past few days. Temperatures in the Twenties with ice and freezing rain. It’s horrible weather to go and do anything in, but perfect weather for a good stew in front of a roaring fire.

I had originally planned to make either a beef stew or a pork stew with some leftover pork roast I had in the fridge, but realized that neither my beef or pork larder was large enough for a stew that would produce leftovers. I did have a ton of sausage though, so off I went to search the food blogs for a sausage stew recipe.

The inspiration for this stew was found at La Mia Cucina. The original post and recipe can be found here, and I want to thank Lis for posting. Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

Perhaps a little on the low brow, college-dorm side of life, but quite tasty nonetheless! This is a take on a dish that I usually make with smoked sausage or polska kielbasa. Not what I’d call light fare in either case, but it does have a good amount of veggies thrown in.

In truly Seat of my Pants fashion, this dish was cobbled together with whatever I could find at the ready when I discovered that I had not only forgotten to pull anything out for dinner, but that it was very late in the evening and I needed something for Mrs. Seat of Her Pants to eat in a hurry. Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]