Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Soup

This was really good.  We had it for dinner last night, I had it for lunch today, and I'm actually kind of looking forward to having it for lunch again tomorrow.  And I don't normally care for leftovers or soup.  

Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Soup
12 oz andouille sausage or chorizo (I used chicken andouille sausage), diced
1 small onion, very fine dice
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 small can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in about 2 tbsp water (optional)
6 oz bag baby spinach
grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

In a large pot, saute the onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until they are beginning to soften.  Then add the diced sausage, up the heat to medium-high and cook for about 5-10 more minutes.  (You want the onion to be really soft and translucent, not browned.  If it's starting to brown, lower the heat).

Add the tomato paste to the sausage and onion mix, and stir to coat.  Then add the stock, diced tomatoes and beans.  If you like your soup with a slightly thicker base, add the cornstarch.  If you don't mind thinner soup, omit it.  Simmer, uncovered, for about ten minutes.

Add the spinach a few handfuls at a time, stirring until it's wilted.  Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.  (We had grilled Iberico cheese sandwiches alongside.  So good!)

Ger-pocolypse, 2012

I was all impressed with myself that I was going to get a good cooking post up today.  We're eating good stuff this week:

Fajitas (Monday):

1 large bell pepper (color of your choosing), sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, sliced in about 1/2 inch slices
flour tortillas
grated cheddar cheese
optional: sour cream, guacamole, salsa

Saute the pepper and onion in about 2 tbsp olive oil over high heat (I recommend a cast iron skillet, if you have one).  When the peppers and onions are blackened and soft, remove to a bowl. 
Over high heat again, saute the chicken until slightly blackened and cooked through, about 6 minutes.  Toss the peppers and onions back in the pan to reheat.
Serve in flour tortillas topped with cheese and whatever other toppings you desire.

 Ham and Cheese Biscuits and homefries (today):

 Your favorite biscuit recipe*
about 1/2 lb deli ham, sliced thin
4 oz. cheddar cheese
deli mustard

Preheat the oven to 425.
Mix up the biscuits, then divide the dough in half.  Press or roll half the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick across and roughly rectangular.  Cut the rectangle into six even pieces and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Top each biscuit with two slices of ham, folded, then some of the cheddar.
Press the other half of the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle, and spread lightly with the mustard.  Cut into six slices and top each sandwich, mustard side down. 
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the tops have lightly browned.  
I served with homefries and pineapple.

*I love the Moosewood Cookbook biscuit recipe.  If not for the threat of dying of scurvy, I might try to live on them.  But you could do any recipe, including Bisquick or (and I really don't recommend this) biscuits out of a can. 

 Southwestern Hamburger skillet (tomorrow):

 Yeah, I'll get this one up tomorrow.  It's only half done anyway.

So there I was, cooking up tonight's dinner AND tomorrow's dinner, because that's how I roll, when for some reason I go into the sunroom and notice that the cover is not on the gerbil cage.  How long has the cover been off the gerbil cage?  I have no idea.  But I do know that there is only one gerbil in said gerbil cage, where previously there had been two.  

See?  One.  Two.

 And up close.  Two.

Did I mention that we have two dogs that would be more than happy to consume misplaced rodents?  Did I also mention that that fact dawned immediately on the 7 year old whose gerbil had gone missing?  Cue the waterworks.  And the burning dinner.

I was luckily able to salvage the homefries (we're still out of ketchup, as we have been for two weeks) and get the biscuits out of the oven.  They were super tasty, but I didn't get pictures of the completed meal.  

And, since I like a good narrative arc, we did a little poking around after dinner and found the escapee gerbil underneath an armoire.  We scooped that little bugger up and plunked him back in his home, where his brother gerbil is adamantly refusing to let him back into their shared little gerbil house.  It's a squeakfest in there.  But Lea was elated, and I think we all learned a valuable lesson in putting the top back on the friggin' cage.

Let's hope tomorrow's dinner comes with a few more pictures and a smidge less drama.

On the grill, obviously

When it's 90 degrees out and I just spent the whole day at the beach, I'm not always one for firing up the oven and making things even toastier.  Dinner tonight was pork burgers, grilled brussels sprouts, and those yummy garlic fries again (I had to use some more of the scapes).  The bad news is that I burnt the fries this time.  The good news is that the rest of dinner was good, and many of the fries were salvageable.  

Pork Burgers
1 lb ground pork
1/3 c. panko
1/4 c. milk
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp mustard (I used dijon, but whatever floats your boat)
hamburger rolls for serving


Mix all the ingredients in a bowl using a fork, then form into 5 patties.  
Preheat the grill to medium-high and then cook the burgers for about 6 minutes per side (you want them cooked through, but not dry)
Note:  Apparently, if you like sauerkraut, these would be good topped therewith.  However, I think sauerkraut is vile, so I can't speak to that point.  

Grilled/Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Hear me out on these: they're good.  Forget all your preconceived notions about brussels sprouts (including the way that boiled brussels sprouts smell - blech).  Even the kids like these.  Pete won't eat them (wuss), but that just means more for us.


About as many brussels sprouts as you can hold cupped in your two hands is enough for 4 people.  (I never weigh things at the grocery store).
olive oil
sea salt


Wash and cut the brussels sprouts in half if they're small, in quarters if they're large, trimming the woody end.
Toss into a grill basket or on a baking sheet.
Coat with olive oil (I don't know - 3 tbsp?)
Season generously with sea salt.


If you're grilling, grill on medium high heat until the sprouts are both soft and browned (it's okay if they blacken in spots), probably about 20 minutes.  Stir them occasionally.


If you're roasting, heat the oven to 400-450 (depending on what else you're cooking) and cook until they are both soft and browned (it's okay if they blacken in spots), probably about 30 minutes.  Flip once during cooking.


Honestly, these brussels sprouts don't even need bacon.