Sausage Pepper Stir Fry

We, working moms know the dilemma of what to pack for lunch. Gone are the days when kids were happy and satiated with PB&J or cold cut sandwiches. They want something new, something exciting, something worth sharing with their friends at the lunch room table. My son is no longer in high school. still, I felt this urge when he was home for summer and working. Every single day of the week, he would call me after the lunch hour, telling me how his lunch was. Most of the times, I got an A+! This was one of those A+ lunches I made for him that he still remembers and requests to make it for him.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Sausage and Peppers Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 medium green pepper(you can add more colored peppers if you want)

2 Hot Italian Turkey sausage, casing removed and cut into chunks(for vegetarians, use Soy chunks)

1 medium potato, parboiled and cut into cubes

2 small zucchinis, sliced

2 tbsp oil

2-4 cloves crushed garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt

 

How to:

In a hot skillet on medium high heat, heat up the oil.

Add garlic, seasoning, red pepper flakes and saute for about 2 minutes.

Now add all the other ingredients with salt and stir fry on high heat.

Once the veggies are caramalized, remove from heat and serve with hot steamed rice or pasta.

This stir fry is good to eat on it’s own or make a wrap!

Enjoy!

 

Jalapeno Jam!

 

Last September, my co worker gave me a bagful of jalapeno peppers. She and family went pepper picking! I was like, really, pepper picking?! She said they wanted to do something different this time and ended up with bushel of jalapeno peppers and didn’t know what to do with them. So she asked me if I would like to get some and I didn’t say no. I know I could make the poppers or at least pickle the peppers. And then I realized I had 2 big bottles full of pickled jalapeno! So that idea was cancelled. Then I thought about making jam. I wasn’t sure how hot it would turn out to be but to my sheer luck, the peppers were farm fresh so very tender and kind of mild. They still had a bite but not too too hot.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Jalapeno Jam

Ingredients

12 tender small sized Jalapeno peppers

1 cup sugar free apple juice

1 cup white vinegar

1 small granny smith apple, cored and cubed

½ cup sugar

 

How to:

Place everything except sugar in a blender and puree

Place in a sauce pot and cook on medium high heat until you get the jam like consistency.

Store in a bottle and refrigerate it for about 2 months.

I like to eat this jam on crackers with cream cheese spread

Enjoy!

 

this is soo good

 

 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Over summer, I always grill about 3-4 lbs of chicken breasts, cut them in the strips and store them in freezer safe bags. They are ready for wraps or fajitas. One less thing for me to worry about. Come home, pull out the bag, in the morning, assemble wraps and lunch is ready to go.

This time around, I used the same grilled chicken strips for pizza. I wanted to make bbq pizza for a long time now and didn’t get to it. Finally over the weekend, I just threw in some peppers and onions and saute them with chicken. Quickly made pizza dough and we had a satisfying supper with lots of greens on the side ready for us.

Here’s how I made it.

Bbq chicken pizza

Ingredients

½ lb grilled chicken breast strips(salt and pepper the chicken breast and grill it till it cooks. Cut into strips)

1 medium onion, julienned

1 each medium red and green pepper, sliced

1 cup marinara sauce

½ cup bbq sauce

About 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Basic Pizza Dough
1 pkg. dry yeast
3/4 c. warm water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T. oil
1 tsp. sugar
3 c. flour

Mix ingredients together, adding flour last. Cover and let rise 1 hr.

How to:

Pre heat oven to 450° F.

Roll the pizza dough into 12 “ circle.

Place it on a greased pizza pan.

Spread marinara sauce(or your favourite pizza sauce) on top of the rolled dough.

Scattered chicken, peppers and onions on top.

At this point, I like to sprinkle some garlic powder on top of the chicken and veggies as well.

Now sprinkle liberally with cheese.

Finally, drizzle with bbq sauce and stick the pan in the oven.

Bake till about 20 minutes, or the bottom is nicely golden brown and cheese is melted.

Pull it out of the oven.

Cut into slices and serve.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Gremolata

I realized one day that I haven't cooked with butternut squash in a long time! Not goo…I think. Being a squash lovely, this is just not forgivable I told myself! And guess what, following Saturday grocery shopping, first veggie I picked up was butternut squash. I wanted to try something different this time with the gorgeous vegetable. I've made soups, smoothies, raviolis with it..so this time, I came up with this easy, pretty side dish. Roasted butternut squash wedges gremolata!

My family loved my asparagus gremolata. I always keep the basic ingredients at hand to make gremolata which is nothing but the mixture of bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, olive oil. The hardest part of cooking this squash is to peel the thing. Once you get the beautiful orange flesh opened up, you are all set to make this lovely dish.

Butternut Squash Gremolata
For gremolata, please refer to my Asparagus Gremolata Recipe!
Ingredients
1/2 butternut squash, cut into wedges
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

How to:
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Brush the cookie sheet with a bit of oil, arrange squash slices on it.
Sprinkle with gremolata mixture and then top with olive oil.
Roast for about 20 minutes until the squash becomes tender.
Crank up the oven to 425°, sprinkle cheese on top of wedges, roast for further 10 minutes or so until the cheese browns up.
Sprinkle some more parsley and serve.