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 ***

 

I Tried This

I've had some time on my hands and so decided to try out a few new things.

PLANT NOODLES

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

So far I haven't tried either of these with meatballs and tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese. But it's coming.

MAKING IT EASY

BUTTER ME UP

I had a choice of two butters.

The differences are very slight. The plant butter melted fine on my baked potato and tasted just as delicious as the regular butter.

Coffee Break

CRAFT sort of

Welcoming Spring and it's holidays can be a little difficult when you can't get out to get the craft materials you need and they aren't in your stash.

I'd gotten this plaque from $ Tree before the Pandemic.  Crafting makes me feel better. 

Left - the plaque as I bought it from $ Tree

Right- outlined the eggs with markers. Painted the rabbit, added features and a cowboy hat. Painted the burlap tie yellow and added glitter. Highlighted the greenery. Added a pink jeweled nose. Highlighted the wording, "Happy Easter."

I wanted to add more  because it still looks too plain but this craft fix will have to do for now.

Keeping me company while blogging were these two albums.

That's it***

Oven Roasted Parmesan Brussel Sprouts

Not everybody likes brussel sprouts. I mostly have them steamed. So far I haven't had them in a slaw or fried. Here in the south  we fry just about everything.

I've got to say this alternate form was easy and delicious.

This recipe is from Together As Family

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs brussel sprouts (trimmed & halved)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Very lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, combine brussel sprouts (that have been halved and ends trimmed) with the remaining ingredients. Toss together to coat all the brussel sprouts.
3. Spread onto the cookie sheet making sure they are not touching.
4. Cook for 16-18 minutes. Serve immediately.

I gathered the items and ingredients I'd need. 

Rinse and pat dry before cutting in half. You want ROASTED not STEAMED, I chose not to cut off the ends since they'd already been done. Plus cutting off the ends causes the sprout to unravel into brussel sprout leaves instead of halves. Although, I found out later that those crispy leaves can be mighty tasty.

Here are some of the sprouts halved. It's important to halve them so that the seasoning can get all the way through.

Into this bowl I added all of the ingredients and mixed them with my hands. 

I laid out the sprouts face down on parchment paper making sure they didn't touch. 

Here the sprouts are out of the oven. No, the Parmesan is still white because for one thing it's the cheap kind in the green container and  because I forgot to add it. So, I sprinkled on the Parmesan and ran the whole cookie sheet back into the oven for a few minutes. Turned out great.

No, these aren't burned.  You want your sprouts to have a char on them. Remember me saying the leaves are tasty and crispy?  I found myself examining the sprouts, tearing off the charred leaves and eating them.  I'm assuming it's very similar to the way kale chips turn out. 

This recipe is now in my Favorites file.

That's it***