Apple Sausage Sizzle

Tonight I decided to whip up something simple and inexpensive, using staples that I already had in the pantry and/or fridge.  I had 1/2 turkey kielbasa in the freezer.  The other ingredients are always on hand at my house.  Turns out the family loved this meal!

This meal would actually work well for breakfast, too! It would also work well for camping- all of this food can be prepped ahead of time and cooked at the campsite.  Do you tailgate?  This would make a great breakfast tailgate idea!

Choose an apple variety that has sweetness and is crisp, so that it will stay crisp even after warming.  I chose Pink Ladies.

Apple Sausage Sizzle

1/2 lb Turkey Kielbasa, sliced and halved into bite-size
2 Apples (I chose Pink Ladies), sliced
Olive Oil, maybe 1-2 Tbsp
Dried Sage, about 1/2 tsp
Pure Maple Syrup, about 4 Tbsp
1 cup Quick Grits
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste

Cook the quick grits according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, warm up the oil, sage, and maple syrup on medium high heat.  Once it's warm, Add the apples and sausage, mix well and saute until it sizzles and begins to lightly brown, about 10 minutes.  You want your apples to remain crisp.

Serve over the grits, crack some pepper and add a sprinkle of cheese.  Serves 4.

Camping Trip - Memorial Day Weekend 2012

We had a lovely Memorial Day weekend.  We started early, by loading up the car and heading to the American Heritage Girls Inaugural NC Camporee.  We camped out in Carthage, NC at Camp Durant.  It was a nice camp and the kids had fun.  My oldest daughter got to shoot BB's, make a paracord bracelet, and learned more about first aid.  We all had our share of hiking and roasted marshmallows.  It was nice to have some down time, away from everything.  I used my smartphone as a clock and nothing else, disconnected from the world.

One of the things I took pride in during the camping trip was the food.  I tried to keep it camp-like, but still  good and healthy.  Here was our menu:

Friday dinner: 

Grilled chicken (marinated in Italian dressing)

Brown Rice (the pre-cooked in a bag kind)
Black Beans
Mixed Veggies
The latter 3 were cooked together in 1 pot for ease.

Saturday Breakfast:

Scrambled Eggs

Grits

Apple Slices

Saturday Lunch:

PB&J on wheat

Carrot Sticks and Red Bell Pepper slices

Chips

(Saturday's dinner provided by the camporee staff consisted of hot dogs and chips.)

 Sunday Breakfast:

Pancakes with Pure Maple Syrup

Fresh Blueberries

Snacks:

Trail Mix

Grapes

The food turned out great. The chicken and fresh fruits/veggies were all prepped in advance. We had more than enough room in the cooler for other things, and there was plenty of food to cover lunch on Sunday (more PB&J).  I also had in the cooler the Horizon milks that are individual-sized for both breakfasts.  We brought a separate water cooler and drank water and Nuun tablet drinks during lunches and dinners (we tried the pink lemonade, orange and fruit punch tablets).

Tip: You can keep pre-mixed pancake mix (ready to pour) in a cooler for several days.  I used the mix we keep on hand in the pantry, which has oatmeal, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, etc.  YUM!