Zucchini and Sausage Skillet

 Zucchini and Sausage Skillet

• 2½ tablespoons olive or avocado oil
• ▢4 fully cooked sausages, sliced into circles ¼ inch thick
• ▢2 medium zucchini, cubed
• ▢1 onion, cut into ¾ inch pieces (close to same size as zucchini)
• ▢1 bell pepper, any color, cut into ¾ inch pieces (close to same size as zucchini)
• ▢½ teaspoon salt
• ▢½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢½ teaspoon dried basil
• ▢¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ▢¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢1 teaspoon garlic, minced

Optional: Fresh basil for garnish. I chose not to use bell peppers in my recipe. I did add Parmesan cheese before serving. 

Instructions 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add sliced sausage. Sautè, flipping sausage frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes or until sausage slices have some browning. 

• 2. Remove from pan and set aside.
• 3. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1½ tablespoons of oil to skillet with the zucchini, onion, and bell pepper. 
• 4. Sprinkle with salt, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Stir. Let cook until the onion is translucent and peppers and zucchini are close to tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• 5. Add sausage back to the skillet along with minced garlic. Stir. Cover so everything heats through for 1 to 2 minutes. Taste. Add extra salt if desired. Garnish with chopped fresh basil (optional).
• 
  

It was delicious. 

That's it ***

 

Pea Salad (short)

 I was given a bag of canned goods as a Christmas gift. You never know what you're going to get. Among the cans given were 2 cans of  Sweet Green Peas.

I wasn't familiar with the brand and sweet green peas are not on my yummy list. However, I was not going to discard them. If I didn't use them I'd give them away.

Luckily, there was a recipe on the back label. I've never had pea salad but judging from the recipe,  it contained many of the same ingredients as in potato salad, pasta salad and broccoli salad. I like all of those. 

This is the outcome of the recipe. It was delicious and I will be making it again. It doesn't hurt to try out something new...in most cases.😉

SHORT: Black-eyed Pea Salad

 Wanting a meatless meal but also wanting to get the necessary nutrients and protein, I tried this salad. I'd heard about it but, had never tried it.  I did make some substitutions and negations.  The following recipe is from Taste of Home.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 each small green, yellow and red peppers, finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

• dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine peas, tomatoes, peppers, onion, celery and basil.
2. For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, oregano, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oil until blended. Drizzle over salad; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 3 hours before serving.

Substitutions and Negations

*I used peas I'd cooked. I  overcooked them but, I'll know better next time.

*I used a regular tomato. No red onion so I used white. No celery so I used cucumber. No basil so I used salt and pepper, added cheese.

*I used bottled vinaigrette  dressing.  

I enjoyed the salad and I'd make it again.

That's it🥗🥗🥗

Broccolini-It's the skinny one

Broccolini®, known in Europe as asparation and in the United States as baby broccoli, is a trademark of the Mann Produce Company, which developed the hybrid between broccoli and gai lan, also known as Chinese kale. The unique vegetable resembles broccoli or asparagus in physical appearance, with long stalks topped by delicate buds. (picture and text copied from wisegeek.org)

I took a chance on planting a few back in September.I knew it was a cole crop You understood correctly, "cole" not "cold". Others in that family are cabbage, broccoli, brussels  sprouts, cauliflower. I call them the stinky veggies because most give off an odor when cooked. It's my understanding that it's the sulfur in them that's released when cooking.

I started out with one pot but since I had  eight plants I had to find more pots.

 This is just after planting. I eventually added another pot. I left them in a sunny area. When we had cold snaps, I didn't bother covering them since they are cooler weather  crops. I did  fertilize them once using the bottled directions.

You can see they've grown quite a bit.

You can see where the broccolini heads a beginning 
to set. In the meantime I've discovered that the leaves on broccoli and broccolini are edible, You cook them the way you would any other greens.

                        I ATE THE LEAVES

I cut a few leaves from the larger plants. They aren't very large so they aren't tough or bitter. I washed them and tried them on a towel.

Placing a little oil, onion  and garlic in a cast iron pan, I added the chiffonaded leaves, salt and pepper. I sauteed them the way I would spinach, then added a little water, placed a top on it and let it steam a few minutes.  Larger leaves may require more cooking similar to collards.

 

After plating, I tasted the results and it was delicious. I plan to do this again but I'll give my plants a chance to grow before I pick it bald.