Chicken Bratwurst Kebabs

This is the third of the experimental Gold'n Plum chicken sausage recipes. I was a little stumped about what to do with chicken bratwurst, other than just grill and eat them! 

All of these chicken sausages I received from Gold'n Plump were not pre-cooked in any way, so the challenge, especially with a chicken product of any kind, is to make sure they are thoroughly cooked before you consume them. 

I can usually trace back a thought process for how I come up with a recipe, but I have to say I can't recall how this popped into my head, but somehow I knew this would turn out. And really, what a great way to expand your budget, I got 15 kebabs out of one package of brats!

Chicken Bratwurst Kebabs

This is the before grilling shot

To prepare the bratwurst:
1 12 ounce can or bottle of beer (any kind will do)
1 package Gold'n Plump chicken bratwurst

Place brats and beer in a saucepan, and simmer until brats plump and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Leave in pan and let cool completely. Remove brats from beer, and refrigerate until ready to assemble the kebabs.

For the vegetables:
1 package ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 each, red, yellow and green bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 pound button mushrooms (larger ones can be cut in half or quartered)
1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks

Mix together the ranch dressing mix, rice wine vinegar, olive oil and pepper. Place in a one gallon plastic bag, and add peppers and mushrooms. Coat all, and place in refrigerator for 3 or more hours, or overnight. Do not add pineapple to marinade.

When ready to assemble, slice the bratwurst into 1 inch chunks, then arrange peppers, mushrooms, pineapple and bratwurst on skewers. Grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, until browned.

My apologies for the quality of this final picture. Between the smartphone camera and the picnic cocktails, the quality is not the best !

Grilled Sausage and Tortellini Soup

I decided to try another of the Gold'N Plump chicken sausage package I was asked to sample. This was is a parmesan Italian sausage. I tossed this on the grill with some other items, but as usual, we had WAY too much food to eat, so we had a massive amount of leftovers. 

These weren't spicy like the other sausages we had, they were fairly mild in flavor, but had that nice char from grilling. I thought about re-purposing them on a pizza, but it was a cold, rainy day, so soup sounded like a better idea. 

I just threw this together with ingredients we had on hand, and it was a great way to use up the left over sausage. We always have home canned spaghetti sauce on hand, but store bought will do as well. And yes, I really did use frozen tortellini ! I know...not homemade pasta, but it was quick, easy, and tasty on a rainy summer night.

Grilled Sausage and Tortellini Soup

1 package Gold'n Plump Chicken Parmesan Italian Sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart spaghetti sauce
4 cups water
4 tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 package frozen, prepared tortellini
Grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

Grill or cook sausage, according to package directions, let cool and slice. In a large dutch oven, saute onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add spaghetti sauce and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add tomatoes and spices, and stir. Add tortellini, and simmer until tortellini are puffy and soft, about 30 minutes. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese;

Honey Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

It's going to be a hot one out there today, so I wanted to make something cool and fruity to enjoy.

I purchased blackberries on sale, and they were so plump and sweet, but as I normally do, I bought more than we could eat. I decided making a frozen dessert would allow me to use them before they spoiled. Combined with our honey, I have to say this is one of my best inventions for the ice cream maker so far. And the color is really fabulous !

Honey Blackberry Frozen Yogurt 

2 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup honey, divided
2 cups plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Place blackberries in a blender with just enough water to make them liquefy, and blend. Strain to remove all of the seeds. Place the blackberry puree in a saucepan, along with 1/4 cup of honey, and simmer on low until reduced by half. Cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, remaining honey, and vanilla and almond extracts. Place mixture in ice cream maker, and process according to manufacturers directions. When the yogurt is half way through the freezing process, add the blackberry puree. Freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.

Mango Honey Crisp

I found this recipe last year sometime, the source seems to be from http://sdoeden.areavoices.com/, although I am not quite sure. I have made this so many times, I have it committed to memory.

I generally like to use local ingredients for my dishes, but both Ray and I love mango. I can satisfy my locavore need by using honey from our hives, which I did for this dish. And this is so simple to make, I had it put together and in the oven in under 10 minutes.

I wished I had taken a picture earlier, when it first came out of the oven. As you can see, Ray really enjoyed it. This was all that was left this morning.

Mango Honey Crisp 

2 fresh mangos, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup flaked coconut
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375. Toss mangos with honey, and place in a buttered 8 by 8 baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients until crumbly, and spread over the top of the mangos. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and bubbly. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving warm with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

You can easily double this for a 9 by 13 pan, or divide into 4 individual ramekins.

Caprese Juicy Lucy Sliders

I was asked to sample some new chicken sausages from Gold'N Plump, and develop some recipes using this new product. I am always up for a challenge, but when I received this big box of sausage, I have to admit I scratched my head a bit. 

The real challenge for me was to make it something other than just a sausage. Of course, I could make pasta, or a pizza, or some other standard fare, but I wanted to make something truly unique. 

We have recently been gorging ourselves on caprese salad, thanks to a massive purchase of fresh basil at the farmers market, so I decided I could incorporate those same ingredients with the spicy Italian chicken sausage and make something really unique. Even I was surprised at how easily this dish came together. The stretchy, gooey mozzarella cheese inside the sausage "burgers" was really fun to eat!

Caprese Juicy Lucy Sliders

1 package Gold'n Plump Spicy Italian chicken sausage
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 6 cubes
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 large fresh basil leaves
6 small ciabatta buns, buttered
Salt and pepper

Remove casings from sausages, and place meat in a small bowl. Divide
into 6 small portions, and place a cube of mozzarella cheese in the middle of each one.

Flatten out to make a burger shape, making sure the cheese is completely covered.



Place grape tomatoes a small, ovenproof (and grill proof) pan, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.




Salt and pepper to taste. Put the tomatoes on the top rack of a hot grill, stirring frequently. When the tomatoes start to burst, place the sausage patties on the grill.

Grill approximately 6 minutes, then turn. Remove the tomatoes from the top rack, and place the buns, buttered side down, on the top rack to brown. After an additional 5 minutes, remove everything from the grill. Let the sausage patties rest, while you puree the tomato mixture. Assembly the burgers, using the tomato mixture like a relish, and place one basil leave on each one.

Can you see the gooey cheese inside ?

Crunchy Swai with Basil Goat Cheese Potato Puree

It was destined to be a rainy evening, so I had to take a night off from grilling. Rainy weather always makes me want comfort food, and nothing is more comforting than mashed potatoes.

I had a big package of fresh basil left from my farmers market run, and it was on its last legs, so I had the choice of making pesto, or finding another recipe in which to use it. I remembered seeing an episode of "Barefoot Contessa" where she made a potato puree with basil, so I thought I would make up a version of that for our dinner. Ray likes the combination of goat cheese and basil, so I combined the two. It is heavenly, and the silky texture of the potatoes was a nice contrast to the crispy swai filet.

Crunchy Swai with Basil Goat Cheese Potato Puree

For the potatoes:
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Add basil leaves, and cook approximately 1 minute until they are bright green, then immediate immerse in a bowl of ice water. Remove and pat dry, and then chop the basil. Set aside. Add potatoes to the same pot of water, bring to a boil, and boil until they are very tender. Add basil leaves back to the potatoes, and then add the remaining ingredients. Puree with immersion blender or hand mixer until very smooth. Cover and let sit while you prepare the fish.

For the fish:
4 4 ounce swai filets
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

Mix together the bread crumbs and spices on a plate. Press fish filets into crumb mixture until both sides are well coated. You can do this while the potatoes are boiling. Put olive oil and butter in a large, non-stick skillet and heat until bubbly. Add the filets, and cook approximately 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Serve over the potato puree.

Italian Grill with Gnocchi

The weather was absolutely perfect, and I wanted to make the entire meal outside. I had planned some grilled Italian sausage with peppers and onions. I needed something to go with it, and we bought this new grill with one of those side burners, so pasta was not off the table! 

Normally, I would serve sausage with peppers and onions with a crusty roll, so the closest thing we had was gnocchi. I started a pot to boil on the burner, and got to cooking!

Italian Sausage Grill with Gnocchi

1 pound Italian sausage
1 each red, yellow and green pepper, sliced thinly
1 large sweet onion, sliced thinly
1 pound prepared fresh gnocchi
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese (optional)

To prepare for grilling:
Place the peppers and onions in a foil packet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter, and bring outside (this is for the gnocchi after it is cooked).

Preheat your grill on high, and start your side burner. Of course you can cook your gnocchi inside, but you will probably need a tag team! Place onion and pepper packet on grill first, and turn every 2-3 minutes for about 10 minutes. Then place sausages on the grill, and move the foil packet to the upper rack. When the water for your gnocchi, begins to boil, add the gnocchi, and cook for 7-8 minutes, until tender. Drain gnocchi and toss in the bowl with the garlic, olive oil and butter. Remove cooked sausages, and onions and peppers from the grill.

Assemble your dish with the gnocchi on the bottom, top with onions and peppers, then slice sausage and spread over the top. You can add parmesan cheese at this point if you like.