Tag Archives: turkey sausage

Turkey Sausage, Mushroom, and Potato Gratin

We’ve been so lucky in the Philadelphia area lately because the weather has been nice and warm, averaging in the 70s. But this past weekend, the temperate dropped to the 50s, the skies turned gray and down came the rain. Despite the fact that it brought a rainbow on Saturday afternoon and blue skies had returned by Sunday afternoon, it sent me right back into hybernation mode and all I wanted was comfort food. I initially thought that this recipe for Turkey Sausage, Mushroom, and Potato Gratin would be good for Easter but in my comfort food rage, I couldn’t stop myself from making it a little bit early.

I have to tell you that I looooooove turkey sausage. Pretty much any recipe I’ve made for this blog with turkey sausage has gotten my highest rating. I loved sausage as a kid, especially when smothered in maple syrup, and I regularly snacked on veggie sausage links when I was a vegetarian (and still do!). So, it shouldn’t surprise you when I tell you – I. Love. This. Dish! In fact, this is probably one of my favorite dishes I’ve made recently. Filled with creamy potatoes, spicy sausage, earthy mushrooms and topped with Swiss cheese and fresh thyme, this is a comforting dish that would be great for either brunch or dinner. I hunkered down with a bowl of this on Sunday afternoon while I watched The Shining for the 600th time. Comforting indeed!

The ingredients:

Heat sausage in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5 minutes or until browned, breaking up the sausage into crumbles. Remove the sausage from pan and wipe the pan with paper towels.

Melt the butter in the pan and add onion, sautéing for 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 6 minutes. Add the potatoes and salt and sauté for 5 minutes or until browned.

Stir in the cooked sausage and broth and remove from heat.

Spoon the mixture into a baking dish coated with cooking spray and top with cheese. Cover and bake in a 400°F for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with thyme before serving.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

White mushrooms

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Sausage and Spinach Risotto

It snowed in the Philadelphia region this past weekend and it was icy, gray, and cold. Saturday was the kind of day where you didn’t want to go outside but stay curled up on the couch with a warm bowl of something and a cozy blanket. I wanted something a little more stick-to-your-ribs and comforting than soup so I decided to make Sausage and Spinach Risotto.

This risotto is made with arborio rice, mushrooms, spinach, and sausage and cooked slowly until creamy and dreamy. (I used Thin ‘N Trim’s Spinach & Red Onion Chicken Sausage but I bet sweet turkey or pork sausage would be good here too.) I messed up making this and left the mushrooms in the pan the whole time (the recipe says to cook them, set them aside, and add in at the end) but it turned out fine. I love the salty addition of the cheese at the end too so don’t leave that off or you might need to add in some salt. As I’ve mentioned before, I love risotto and don’t mind that it takes time and patience to make. It was exactly what I wanted while the sleet fell against my windows and I stayed nice and warm inside.

The ingredients:

Bring broth and water to a simmer in a small pan and keep on low heat. Add oil to another pan and cook mushrooms and salt over medium-high heat until browned (about 8 minutes). Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside.

Add sausage until browned. Then add shallots and garlic, cooking 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium and add rice, cooking for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir in wine, and cook until liquid is nearly absorbed. (Ahh, fragrant!) Stir in 1 cup of broth mixture and cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue adding remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until each portion of broth mixture is completely absorbed. Stir constantly.

Once all of the broth has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat and add mushrooms and spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.

Serve topped with cheese.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Pre-cooked chicken sausage for sweet sausage
Shaved parmesan cheese for Romano cheese

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Garlicky Spinach-Sausage Gratin

I can’t seem to get enough spinach lately, I’m not sure why. I’m not complaining though, there are worse things that I could be wanting to put in my body. This Garlicky Spinach-Sausage Gratin has tons of spinach and tons of garlic and satisfies that crazy spinach craving. Sausage is sautéed with onion and garlic, mixed with a combination of milk and egg, and stirred with gobs of fresh spinach to make a thick and creamy spinachy-custard. The topping of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, once baked, provides a slight saltiness and subtle crunch to this hearty and comforting dish. I didn’t follow this recipe exactly and used precooked spinach-garlic chicken sausage (ironically, it’s what I had in the fridge) in place of the pork sausage, 1% milk instead of 2%, and store-bought bread crumbs instead of a fresh baguette. Leaving the sausage out and reducing the milk slightly might make this a good vegetarian dish or even a side to a meal. I liked this straight out of the oven as a meal in itself so next time you are craving spinach and want something other than salad, keep this in mind. With so much garlic though, you might want to keep a stick of gum nearby.

The ingredients:

In a large pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add in sausage, salt, and red pepper, cooking thoroughly.

Add flour to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. In a bowl, combine milk and egg, stirring well. Add to the sausage mixture and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.