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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ale-Braised Sausage and Peppers

i love reading annie's eats. and that's where i got this ale-braised sausage and peppers recipe! we served it over couscous.

one of brad and my favorite things to do at night (besides watching dexter!) is cook supper together. it's nice to just hang out in the kitchen and make something delish. so, that's what we did with these sausages and peppers...we stayed in the kitchen creating this amazing meal! ...and we may have drank the left over newcastle :)




Ale-Braised Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 lb. cooked sausages, such as kielbasa, sliced
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1-2 large red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
3 tbsp. flour, divided
1 ½ cups ale (we used newcastle)
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the sausages and cook, stirring and turning often, until browned, 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and sauté until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook, stirring, until golden, 1-2 minutes.

Whisk in the ale until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Add the thyme and the chicken broth, whisking to blend. Bring to a simmer. Return the sausages to the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the flavors are blended, about 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the sausage, peppers and onions to a serving dish. Increase the heat to medium-high and whisk in the remaining tablespoon of flour, whisking constantly until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Pour thickened sauce over the sausages and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

current obsessions.

~this cheese. my friend britton brought it over the other night. remember how i told you i was eating cheese for supper? well, this is why! it's amazing. yumm. i had it for breakfast this morning. truth. you must taste it now.


~dexter. thank you netflix. a show that both bradley and i enjoy!! i mean, wow. we are on season 4. we watch it a lot all the time. i'm going to be sad when we catch up to real time!


~thanks to michabella i found this website for kate spade e- valentines day cards. i love valentines day. cheesy or not. :) my vday message to you:


~sex and the city on E! i mean, i have always been obsessed with sex and the city and with E! so now my these loves of mine are together and it makes me happy.happy.happy! although, i do hate how much of sexgets cut out.ha. boo.

Monday, February 7, 2011

still here.

i haven't been doing menu mondays because brad is out of town every week.
:( we are moving to north carolina soon and he is there during the week and home only on the weekends. i move at the end of the month. either way, i haven't really been cooking. in fact, to be honest-i sometimes just eat cheese for supper. that's bad, right? the other night i added chips to my cheese. it was like college nachos. chips covered with cheese and microwaved. blahhhh.

speaking of chips and cheese... this was my favvvvv commerical from last night. gross but delightful.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

cucumber boats!

i found these and thought were so cute. i have made them a few times and have loved them everytime!! perfect app for a party!



source: leslie sarna

cucumber boats filled with hummus.

what you need:

2 English cucumbers (English have a more dense center and won't fall apart)

1 container of hummus

1 red bell pepper

what you do:

Cut the cucumber into approximately 1 inch pieces. Using a melon baller scoop out the inside to make a little cup.

Next, fill up the cup with a teaspoon of hummus.

top with bell pepper

so cute and so yum!

Monday, January 17, 2011

menu monday!



trying to switch it up a little this week. no chicken! haha... we will see how that goes :)

monday. pork chops with blue cheese sauce served with potatoes of some sort.

tuesday. movie night! we are going to cinnebar and eating there :)

wednesday. sloppy joes. this will be my first attempt!

thursday. enchiladas & yellow rice. (i froze the sauce a while back! it's going to be an easy dinner!! yayy!)

friday. burgers with homemade oven fries.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Bacon-Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Bacon-Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken

source: rachel ray! this chicken is SO good!! you need to make it! you need to taste it!! :)

what you need:

4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Black pepper
4-5 ounces blue cheese crumbles
A handful arugula leaves from bulk bins, chopped
A handful baby spinach leaves from bulk bins, chopped
4 slices bacon

what you do:

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Using a small sharp knife cut into the thick end of the chicken and make an incision reaching 2/3 the way down the breast. Loosen up the incision with your fingers to make a hole. Season the chicken with pepper. Combine the cheese with arugula and baby spinach and stuff the breasts. Spiral-wrap the breasts with the bacon tightly to cover the meat evenly. Place chicken on a nonstick baking sheet and roast 20-22 minutes until bacon is crispy and chicken is firm.

step by step.

cut the chicken and stuff.


wrap with bacon.


bake.


enjoy.

Monday, January 10, 2011

menu monday


we have been so out of wack since christmas! this week i think we are back to normal:) yay!! im excited to try beer sausage tonight...i'll let you know how it goes!

monday. ale-braised sausage and peppers

tuesday. crock-pot rotisserie chicken w/ veggies.

wednesday. venison steak w/ potatoes and veggies.

thursday. general tso chicken w/ rice.

friday. crab cake sandwiches w/ sweet potato fries.