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.

Spring Dinner Outside

We've had ridiculous weather this year, especially over the last couple of weeks.  Crazy heat, roller coaster temperatures, and I think there's been about 10 inches of rain at our house over the last 2 weeks.  But pollen season seems to be long past us, and today was absolutely one of the most beautiful days so far.  It was only 80 degrees outside in the hottest part of the day.  It wasn't humid, the bugs weren't out in full force, and the grass wasn't so wet that we couldn't walk on it.

So needless to say, we fired up the grill, put the umbrella up, tablecloth on and enjoyed dinner outside.

I did a very simple boneless chicken breasts in olive oil, onion powder and Italian seasoning, letting them sit for 20 minutes while the grill was warmed up.  My husband grilled them to perfection, along with the apricots.

 I whipped up a simple mixed greens salad, and some delicious strawberry lemonade.

Strawberry Lemonade

2 cups water plus 2 quarts water
Zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar
2 pints of strawberries, hulled and rinsed
Juice of 5 lemons (about 3/4 cup)
Ice

First, warm the sugar and zest on high heat with 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan.  Boil and stir until the mixture is clear and the sugar is no longer grainy.

Blend your strawberries in a food processor.  Then in your drink pitcher, combine the berries, lemon juice, sugar water, and additional 2 quarts water.  Then add ice to cool it down.

Serve over ice.

Now sit back and enjoy the effort!

Patriotic Mesh Wreath

I like making mesh wreaths, but sometimes I just don't have the time to make the ones I imagine myself making.  I've been pondering the design and creation a patriotic wreath for months now, and haven't been able to commit the time.

It just so happened that (on our way home from camping last weekend) we were driving through the small town of Siler City, NC and decided to stop for dinner.  We pondered over where to eat, considering the slim number of choices , and then decided on a locally-owned restaurant that had a gift shop attached.  That is when I fell in love... with this wreath.

It was perfect.  Not exactly what I would have made, but better in some ways.  Simple, yet almost just like a large flag.  It's large, but with my tucked-in porch it is very visible from the road, which is what I wanted.  One less thing to worry about having the time to do.