Stewed Sausage with Onions, Garlic and Peppers

Ah! Talk about comfort food! This weekend I decided to make it "extra special" when it comes to food! I just felt industrious and wanted to make something that would be extra warming and inviting... perfect to enjoy in a rainy day... but different from what I usually make...  at the same time I knew I would have busy days so I wanted to make something delicious, yes... but also practical and not too time consuming...

so... when I went to the store I decided to buy "Italian Sausage". I never buy that kind of thing so I knew it would definitely be a "twist" and something different from what I always cook... and ah! I am so happy I did... I also had some cookbooks from the library and I used them for inspiration to put this together... I hope you will try it and let me know how you liked it... This is something I am definitely going to be making again!

Stewed Sausage with Onions, Garlic and Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. raw sweet Italian sausage (in its casing)
• 3/4  lb. raw mild Italian sausage (in its casing) -you can buy the whole package with one pound and just leave one sausage out)
• 1 large white onion (chopped)
• 1 large green bell pepper (seeded and cut into chunks)
• 1 large yellow bell pepper (seeded and cut into chunks)
• 4 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
• 2-3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano 
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 1 14 oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• roughly chopped fresh basil for garnish

Directions:

In a big bowl mix the onions, green/yellow pepper and garlic. Set aside

• Using a very large skillet, heat the oil over med-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the sausages and turn occasionally making sure all sides are browned (this will take about 10-12 minutes). Stir in the oregano and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook for a minute or two. Add the diced tomatoes with the juices, the water and the 1/4 tsp. salt; simmer for 3 minutes.

• In the bottom of a slow cooker arrange ONLY half of the onion-pepper mixture and then cover with half of the sausages and their sauce, cover with the rest of the onion-pepper mixture to form another layer and top it all with the rest of the sausage/sauce. Cover and cook for 4 hours on low. Serve and garnish with fresh basil. You can serve this with pasta or buttered egg-noodles with grated parmesan or just serve it in a bowl and enjoy with some delicious artisan bread. 

 Honestly... you will love me after you eat this! ;)



© Paloma K.

Potato and Corn Chowder with Fresh Avocado

 Hello! Here I am just real quick, like always, because I just can't find the time to blog consistently... Maybe some day ... when my girlies are older... we'll see... but I refuse to give up my blogging and sharing about cooking and baking... it's just part of what I love! So... today I am just wanting to share this delicious recipe that I recently stumbled upon.... see, I've been getting cookbooks from the library for inspiration... I can't afford to buy too many cookbooks neither I have the space to store them or have them around our apartment... So... I thought I could use the wonderful resource of the library to get cookbooks and get inspired... and it's great! If you're not doing it yet, I encourage you to do so!

So, I got this book called "Chicken for Dinner" by Williams-Sonoma, since chicken is definitely a staple, nothing could go wrong... except that the book constantly calls for wine in the recipes... and that was a turn off for me... We don't drink and I am not going to be buying wine just for cooking... right? especially because you do want good wine if you're going to cook with it and.... the fact that the book is called "chicken for dinner" for some reason gave me this idea that all ingredients would be pretty basic... maybe wine should be a basic? I don't know... I just know I am not buying wine... LOL! But... I was pleasantly surprised with simple, comforting, inexpensive and yummy recipes like the one I am sharing right now... ready? Here it goes...

Potato, Corn and Avocado Chowder
Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma: Chicken For Dinner"

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
2/3 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlice, minced
8 medium-large red potatoes peeled and cubed
1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed
8 cups of chicken stock (or hot water mixed with about 3 tbsp. of chicken bouillion)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste (if you used chicken bouillion be really careful when adding salt as the chicken bouillion is salty by itself)
2 cups corn kernels (you can use frozen)
1 cup half and half
1 avocado (pit, peel and chop right before serving)

In a sauce pan over med-high heat, warm the olive oil. Once the oil is hotadd the onion and sautee until translucent (about 5 mins). Stir in the garlic and potatoes/sweet potato. Saute for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour stock or hot water and add half of the chopped cilantro. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling reduce the heat to low and let it simmer uncovered for about 22 mins. Taste and season with some salt and pepper.

Add corn and half and half. Simmer for an additional 5 mins. and mash some of the potatoes if you want to thicken the soup a little bit more.

Ladle the chowder into soup bowls. Top with the avocado and remaining fresh cilantro (dividing it all evenly).

Enjoy!

Paloma.
© Paloma K.

Delicious Appetizer - Battered Cauliflower

Hello everybody, here I am ... working hard at being a wife, mom, choir member, church member, community member, and every single role I have... I do enjoy my "blogger" role as well! But I've had to make sure all my priorities are in order and there's so much to do that my blogging has taken a toll! I do need to keep it up though because it's my very way of expressing myself, it's a personal outlet... I just LOVE IT and love you all! (or like they say here in the South... "y'all")

Today I want to share with you a delicious, inexpensive and great way to make a delicious appetizer or side dish... in Spanish we call it "Coliflor lampreada" (which I guess the closest translation would be "battered cauliflower") ... My husband is not a big fan of cauliflower but he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES this dish! He eats the cauliflower florets like if they were chips when I make it like this... and last night (he had it for dinner) and even said: "I wish my mom could've tried this" (she passed away before I met him) so I know it's a huge compliment...

So here goes MY battered cauliflower recipe... it's very basic and you can get creative with it... adding some herbs to the batter, etc...

Here's how I make it:

Coliflor Lampreada

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cauliflower (steamed or boiled just until fork tender but not falling apart on its own)
• 2 eggs (divided)
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper 
• 2 tsp. salt
• About 2 cups of vegetable oil (I prefer Nutrioli soybean oil for this)

Directions:

• When the cauliflower has been cooked and cooled divide it in small florets, season them with some salt and black pepper.
• Mix flour, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. black pepper and 2 tsp. salt together, coat the cauliflower florets with the flour mixture, set aside the "floured florets"
• In a mixer bowl, with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form, with the mixer still running on high add the egg yolks one at a time and keep mixing until you have a spongy looking yellow batter. 
• While the eggs are mixing pour the 2 cups of oil (or more if needed) in a wok or a big saucepan at medium/high heat until it's very, very hot (ready for deep frying)
• Add the cauliflower to the egg batter making sure the egg is perfectly covering all the cauliflower.
• With a  spoon carefully place the battered cauliflower florets in the oil (don't throw them or hot oil will splash) and just turn it to make sure all sides have a nicely golden color (you can do 4 or 5 florets at a time, don't do them all at once so you can handle them properly and make sure they all are evenly fried)
• Place the florets on paper towel to remove the excess of oil. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!!

© Paloma K.