Italian Chicken Sausage Quick Meal

I tried to think of a fancy name for this recipe, but it's pretty straight forward. Don't let the lack of my imagination in the name department turn you away however, because this recipe is simple, has minimal ingredients, and taste fabulous! The featured ingredient in this recipe is Al Fresco Sweet Italian Sausage. Al Fresco has an entire line of gluten free chicken and turkey products that are also free of artifical ingredients, nitrates/nitrites, MSGs, and preservatives. Not all of their products are dairy free, so be sure to read the ingredients if this is a concern for you. The local IGA in Remington carries this brand along with most Meijer stores.
This recipe also calls for a microwave steamer. If you don't own one, I highly suggest investing in one (or two!). They are an excellent kitchen utensil for the on-the-go cook! I used the Large Pampered Chef Steamer in this recipe. The small Pampered Chef Steam is also great for vegetables.

Italian Chicken Sausage, Pepper, Onion, and Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 package of Al Fresco Sweet Italian Sausage, sliced into rounds

1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks/squares

1 red onion, cut into medium chunks/squares

5 idaho potatoes, washed and cubed

1 tablespoon olive oil

Seasoning Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large skillet. Add sausage, bell pepper, and onion. Cook on medium heat until cooked thouroughly, approximately 10-15 minutes.

Place the potatoes in a microwave steamer. Season with pepper and seasoning salt. to microwave steamer. Microwave on high for 5-10 minutes, depending on the power of your  microwave. If you are unsure, start at 5 minutes, then add 2 minutes at a time.

The end result?

Meat & Veggies cooking on the stove

Potatoes still steaming!!

Meal complete in approximately 30 minutes!

Mothers always know best

And they are usually right too, even when you think you've "won", the glory is usually short lived when someway, somehow, it hits you. She was right!. I had one of those moments this morning. For the most part, I have truly enjoyed the mother/daughter relationship dynamic of my twenties. Phone conversations everyday about grown up topics, surprising her with gifts she has always wanted with my adult salary, planning my wedding, and asking for advice on how to be a good wife. However, as she often likes to remind me, she will "always be my mother" which entails protecting me and looking out for my well-being....even when it infuriates me.
One way she does this, is buying me things that she feels is crucial to my survival, even if I already have a dozen. "One more doesn't hurt" she says, or "this one is better" she explains. Even when I see no logical use for the item in my life, "There will be a day when you need it". I know I will never win the battle of explaining to her my lack of need for this item, no matter how subtle or blunt I am, yet I still feel the need to challenge her motherly instinct.
This Christmas, she gave me one of these things, which is a pretty common household item, a box of Q-tips she found on sale. My first daughterly rebelious thought was, why would she feel the need to buy Q-tips on sale, they only cost about $3.00 anyway. I can surely afford a box of Q-tips. My second, less rebelious but still frustrated thought was, why out of all the gifts and stocking stuffers she has gotten us, would she hold on to this box of Q-tips just for me to take home, four hours away? With it being Christmas, I decided not to challenge her to a verbal debate over Q-tips. I thanked her, tossed the box of Q-tips in with all the other wonderful gifts her and my stepdad showered us with, and went on my merry way. Once home, I put the box under the sink with all our other surplus supplies, and forgot about them.
Forgot about them that is, until this morning. I am a Q-tip junkie, which is perhaps why my mother felt the need to get me a large box and two additional travel packs in my Christmas stocking. I find at least four uses for a Q-tip every day. This morning at 7:00a, I reached for my daily Q-tip fix in the top drawer only to find I was out. Instantly I was annoyed seeing how I was just at Wal-Mart and CVS the day before. And then I remembered Mom had gotten me a box for Christmas. I was so excited to not have to waste another lunch break to the store and go all day with the feeling of wet ears. Then another thought hit me, of that Christmas visit where I was so annoyed with this small gesture and the seemingly uneeded box of Q-tips. I smiled and shook my head. I will have to call her this evening and thank her for always thinking of me, let her know that she will always be my mother, no matter how old I get, and at least this time, she did know best.

My mom and I at our wedding.

Picture taken by Marvelous Things Photography

First Recipe Post

I know, I know! I promised I'd also share gluten/dairy free recipes for all you allergy friendly cooks out there! With my last basketball season as cheer coach under full swing, it has been difficult to cook gourmet GF/DF recipes lately. However, just because life gets busy, doesn't mean my food sensitivites go away. Which brings me to my inspiriation for the next few posts, quick, easy, and scrumptious recipes for the busy woman! It is a common but understandable myth that gluten/dairy free cooking is complicated and time consuming. I say understandable because I have spent a lot of time with my nose buried in cookbooks and magazines that would appear to prove this myth as true. Now don't get me wrong, if you are wanting to make a bread from complete sratch, be prepared to spend several hours in the kitchen, which I do when time allows me. However, in my almost three years as having a diet completely free of gluten, dairy, and red meat I have conjured up several of my own delicious dishes that do not required a cookbook or internet search! And remember, most of these ingredients can be adjusted to fit your allergy needs. If I say soy cheese but you don't have a dairy allergy, then please indulge in some creamy mozerella for those of us that can't!

Quick Bake Mini Pizzas

Ingredients:

1 jar of pizza sauce or italian style marinara (if you are watching your sugar, be sure to pick one with low grams of sugar)

Small 100% soft corn tortillas (rice tortillas also work, but are larger)

1 bag of soy shredded mozeralla cheese

1 teaspoon of olive oil

Pizza Toppings (of choice). I use:

1 package of turkey pepperonis

1/2 chopped green pepper

1/2 chopped onion

1 roma tomato (sliced)

Fennel Seed (if you like)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quick sautee the green pepper, onion, and other veggies of choice in 1 teaspoon of olive oil until just softened.

Place tortilla shells on a greased cook sheet/pizza pan. Use as many as you like for how many people you are serving. Spread pizza sauce on tortillas. Sprinkle fennel seed on the sauce. Add pepperonis, then sauteed vegetables, tomato slices, and finally cheese. It is important that you put SOY cheese on last, as it takes longer to melt, so you want it to have the most exposure.

Cook in oven approximately 15-20 minutes until cheese melts. If this is your first time using soy cheese, a lot of brands do not melt to the consistency of dairy cheese. If the rest of your ingredients are cooked, but the cheese is still not quite melted to your preference, just pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.