Review: Field Roast Grain Sausage + Recipe
Have you tried these sausages? I will go out on a limb and say they are the best tasting sausages I have ever had. Notice that I didn't say "best tasting
vegetarian sausages" - nope, best sausages ever!
I'm also a big fan of the Field Roast Celebration roast, which has become our new tradition for Christmas dinner. And here is a quick tip - cook a variety of veggies in your crock pot and add the celebration roast for the last 30 - 45 minutes to heat. It will be much juicier than the suggested cooking method on the package. I'll try to remember to post my recipe in the fall.
The only wish I have is for the company to reduce the amount of salt they use in their retail products. I'm sure they would taste just as awesome with half the salt, and then I would feel comfortable eating them more often than just as an occasional treat.
So here is a quick recipe with the apple sage sausages. It's reminiscent of the eastern European dishes I grew up eating.
Sausage, Potatoes, and Cabbage Fry Up
For 2 servings:
2 Field Roast Apple Sage Sausages (don't forget to remove casing), sliced
2 medium potatoes (or equivalent of smaller potatoes), cubed or sliced and boiled until tender
1 very small head cabbage, sliced (or about 1/2 - 2/3 of a bag of coleslaw mix)
1/2 med onion sliced (I like using a sweet onion, but that is optional)
2 Tbsp canola oil, divided
Freshly ground pepper
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in wok or non-stick skillet on med high. Cook onion, add cabbage and some pepper to taste (I like lots), and cook until both are ready to eat and hopefully, a bit browned. Remove to serving bowl.
Heat other Tbsp of oil and add sliced sausage and potatoes. Cook until heated and browned a bit. You can also add pepper for these.
Stir together in serving bowl. Salt if desired.
Traditionally this type of recipe would use butter rather than canola oil. Some of my family will make similar dishes using half oil and half butter to get the flavor and browning of butter but still keep it a bit healthier.
Do You Tofu?
For the longest time, I only ate tofu at restaurants. I liked it, but I never tried to cook with it. Nowadays, I cook with tofu several times a month. It's not only healthy and delicious and cheap; it's also super easy and versatile.
I almost always purchase extra firm organic tofu - the kind that is refrigerated. (Unless the recipe asks for silken tofu to blend.) At most regular grocery stores, you can buy this for under $2. It has 4 servings; I usually plan two meals from the package (or one big meal that leaves leftovers).
First, pierce the package over the sink and let most of the water drain out. Then cut it open and take out the block. Although, if you are in a hurry, you can skip the pressing step (really), I usually go ahead and press the tofu for about 20 minutes. Sure you can buy a tofu press, but I like to just put the tofu on a plate, cover with a second plate, and place a full kettle on top! Cause, hey, the kettle is right there in the kitchen, and it's pretty heavy when full, and it fits nicely on a plate! Lazy at it's finest.
When pressed, drain off the extra liquid and place on a cutting board. Then cut up the tofu for whatever recipe you are making. The day I took these photos, I was making a curry one day and stuffed poblanos later. That meant half into cubes and half crumbled to make a ricotta-type cheese replacement.
The cubes were than placed on parchment paper, sprayed with olive oil, and baked at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. The crumbled tofu was mixed with 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast and stored in the fridge for the next day.
Here's the finished baked tofu, which was added to my curry:
It's that easy! I like to also bake tofu sticks with some seasonings added to use in wraps and other sandwiches (Mrs Dash lemon pepper is awesome). You can also make cutlets and bake or grill those - especially good when marinated first. Of course, you can pan-fry or deep-fry tofu (like restaurants do), but I prefer the healthier and less messy baking method. With parchment paper, clean-up is practically non-existent! And don't forget the
shake and bake option.
I'll be including more tofu recipes down the line, so I thought I'd share the basics here.
What We Ate Last Week #18
Monday: dinner out at Double Dave's (pizza buffet)
Tuesday: Black beans & rice, sauteed mustard greens, and corn-on-the-cob
Wednesday: Pasta Primavera (adapted from this
recipe)
Thursday: *Pescatarian Meal* Salmon cakes (I used whole wheat panko crumbs in these - nice), fries, and sauteed spinach
Friday: *New Recipe* Tofu, sweet potato, and broccoli stir fry over brown rice - using
Stonehouse27 tamarind & garlic sauce (review of these sauces coming soon)
This was more of a quick throw-together than an actual recipe. Just baked tofu, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and garlic stir-fried in some canola oil -- then add the sauce. Delicious!
Saturday: *New Recipe* Stuffed poblano peppers (grilled) and "Mexican" rice
I created a simple filling for the poblanos by using crumbled tofu and 2% Mexican style cheese - it was simple and absolutely amazing off the grill! The rice was done in my Zojirushi rice cooker
- just by adding a can of drained no-salt-added petite diced tomatoes, chopped jalapenos and black olives, and some Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
!
Sunday: *New Recipe* Egg salad sandwiches and tomato with avocado soup
This was a new soup recipe, from the cookbook Vegan Comfort Food
. Of course, I altered the recipe a bit - left some tomatoes chunky and made it thicker by skipping adding vegetable broth. I thought it was great soup!
See Previous Week Menu
What We Ate Last Week #17
Monday: spaghetti with Lightlife brand Italian sausage served with a side salad
Tuesday: *New Recipe* Seitan pot roast in slow cooker
This recipe was from the cookbook I recently reviewed, Vegan on the Cheap
. It didn't turn out very well, and I'm not sure if that's due to me or the recipe.
Wednesday: *Pescatarian Meal* Salmon burgers, roasted asparagus, and sweet potato baked fries
Thursday: *New Recipe* Pizza made on a polenta crust - used the rest of the Lightlife Italian sausage, along with mushrooms and olives for the toppings
The polenta crust recipe was also from the same cookbook mentioned above, although I used veggie broth instead of water for the liquid. This was quite good, except I would pre-bake the crust for longer than the 12 minutes stated in the recipe next time, but then I like a well-down pizza crust! I had never made polenta before the vegetarian cooking class we took last month, but I can see quick cooking polenta becoming a staple in my pantry.
Friday: *New Recipes* Carrot ginger soup and roasted baby beet & grapes salad served with toasted pita spread with Laughing Cow cheese wedges
Carrot ginger soup tasted yummy - easy recipe when using a food processor and my handy-dandy immersion blender
(the greatest kitchen gadget ever). The salad was very different, using roasted grapes (a first for me) and baby beets. We were pleasantly surprised by the flavor.
Saturday: PBB&J sandwiches with baby carrots and
Popchips
after lunch out at Qdoba (first visit to this restaurant - I thought it was a good option for vegetarians, and a so-so option for eating healthy)
Sunday: whole wheat pancakes, Boca sausage links, and cut-up fruit
See Previous Week Menu
Review: FiberGourmet Pasta
Most of the time, when I make a pasta dish, this is the brand of pasta that I use.
The main reasons are:
(1) the calories are lower than standard pasta - 130 cal vs the 200 cal or so for a 2 oz serving, and
(2) the great flavors available in the fettuccine.
Although the higher fiber count is a selling point by the company, as a vegetarian, I get plenty of fiber normally, so that is not a big influence on my decision to use this pasta.
But, keeping the calories low in a pasta that tastes great? That sold me!
The most recent order I placed from their
website, I got the shapes sampler pack that includes 3 each of penne, rotini, lasagna, and spaghetti. This is my first time to order the spaghetti and lasagna, which are newer additions to their line, but I'm sure they will be as great as the penne and rotini. I also bought a build-your-own-box of fettuccine. I got 6 boxes - 2 whole wheat, 1 garlic parsley, 1 Cajun spice, 1 red & black pepper, and 1 spinach. Garlic parsley makes an absolutely delicious pasta primavera, which I will probably make soon.
This pasta is more expensive, but it is one of those foods that I splurge on and justify by spending less on something else (for example, I buy most of my bread from a bakery outlet).
You can also buy many of the fibergourmet products through amazon, like the
pasta mini sampler
, which is a good way to give them a try. They are eligible for super saver shipping and subscribe & save purchase.
Recipe: Muffuletta Roll-Ups
This is a super quick sandwich, which can be served with a nice soup or a salad.
For each sandwich:
- 1 flatout flatbread (or any other thin flatbread, such as tortillas)
- 6 - 8 slices of 2 or 3 varieties of vegetarian deli slices (for example, Yves or Tofurkey or Lightlife)
- 1 slice of cheese (or grated cheese)
- mix of 8 - 10 olives, any variety (or 1 - 2 Tbsp of prepared muffuletta mix or olive salad
)
(1) Chop olives, if not using prepared jarred variety (I have an old-fashioned chopper which, although squeaky, still works great for small amounts).
(2) Put deli slices, cheese, and chopped olives on flatbread
(3) Toast in toaster oven or regular oven just long enough for cheese to melt and everything to get warm but not so long that the flatbread gets crisp (I usually do 200 degrees until I see the cheese has melted, which takes just a few minutes)
(4) roll up and serve
That is super lazy!! But, still, very good.
What We Ate Last Week #16
Monday: *New Recipe* Garbanzo, peanut, & kale soup with naan
This was an absolutely delicious soup that uses peanut butter. It's from the cookbook New Vegetarian
by Robin Asbell. Photo is blurry, but I wanted to share anyway.
Tuesday: *New Recipe* Bowtie pasta with roasted cauliflower
We have been trying to give some vegetables we aren't big fans of a chance, so I thought this recipe was a good idea for cauliflower. The recipe roasts cauliflower with red onions, and then adds raisins for the last 10 min of roasting. Roasted veggies are combined with pasta and Parmesan cheese. It was quite good, and is certainly one we would eat again!
Wednesday: Sweet potato and spinach salad (One of my favs, which I can share if readers are interested)
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Muffaletta roll-ups (recipe coming later this week) and salad wedges
Saturday: PBB&J sandwiches with baby carrots and
Popchips after lunch out at Red Robin
Sunday: *New Recipe*
Black Bean Cocoa Quinoa
This was very delicious and easy to make. I would give the following advice if you want to try the recipe: (1) use more bell peppers, perhaps 2 or 3 of different colors and be sure to use a nice big onion (2) in my rice cooker, the quinoa took way longer to cook than the recipe suggests, so start it much sooner and avoid waiting around like we did (3) I can tell she is from Ohio when she says that the recipe, as written, may have a "kick", if you like spicy food, increase the hot spices by 2 or 3 times (4) this is at least 3 servings, so plenty for leftovers.
See Previous Week Menu
Cookbook Review: Vegan on the Cheap
I recently checked this cookbook out of my library (which I try to do before purchasing any cookbook). This is the cookbook that contradicts the commonly held belief that eating vegetarian or vegan is expensive - every recipe even includes an approximate cost per serving of between 50 cents and 2 dollars.
Because these recipes include many "from scratch," they are not completely lazy-friendly. Nonetheless, many of the recipes feel do-able. I am actually going to finally try making my own seitan because the recipe in this cookbook doesn't seem scary! I also like how the author includes options for each recipe like the "splurge a little" suggestions that will make it slightly more expensive, but usually a bit easier.
I would like to add this cookbook to my collection because I could see myself eventually trying many of the recipes, so it is going on my wishlist!
What We Ate Last Week #16
The pantry/freezer/fridge clean out project is mostly complete, although I still have a few items to use up. It was such a good idea that I plan to repeat it each September and March. My new project is to try to actually make many of the recipes I have gathered recently, whether on the internet, from magazines, or in cookbooks. Of course, I will likely do a bit of altering to the originals, because I rarely make a recipe exactly as written. So in upcoming weeks, I will be attempting new recipes, which I will try to mark and include a comment about.
Monday: Papa John's Pizza
Tuesday: Lightlife brand hotdogs with sauerkraut and fries
Wednesday:
TVP chowder with potato rolls
Thursday: Sushi salad (an attempt to make a salad that had many of the flavors of sushi - pretty much unsuccessfully!)
Friday: *New Recipe* Lasagna roll-ups with tofu ricotta - a combination of 2 recipes I found on-line. The tofu ricotta was an excellent substitute, although I have since found some simpler versions than the one I made. The lasagna roll-ups were ok, but not as good as regular lasagna, and not really less work as the recipe indicated.
Saturday: *Pescatarian meal* grilled tuna burritos (tuna salad made with green olives, bbq sauce, and mexi-cheese wrapped in tortillas and grilled on the stove top) plus raw veggies on the side
Sunday:
Stuffed grape leaves
See Previous Week Menu
