One Pot Dinner: Sauerkraut, Carrots, Potatoes & Sausage

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

I'm often looking for new ways to cook sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is a lot more versatile than many people think and it doesn't have to be sour. My Dad loved fried sauerkraut!

One pot cooking is so easy. For this recipe, I played with a version of slow cooked sauerkraut that I have used of Julia Child's that calls for soaking and draining the sauerkraut. The more it is soaked and drained, the less sour it is.  For this recipe, I soaked a 12-ounce package of  kraut in cold water for 10 minutes, drained and rinsed, and then repeated this step twice more for a total of 3 soakings--30 minutes of soaking and then draining. The rest is easy!

In an oven safe casserole dish, saute until soft:
1 medium onion, sliced
3 t olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves

To this, add:
drained kraut
3 peeled and sliced carrots
2 c cubed potatoes

Once the vegetables were coated with oil, add:
2 links kielbasa, chunked
4 c chicken stock
2 t caraway seeds
2 T dried parsley
1 t thyme
Pepper to taste (no salt needed)
Bring the stock came to a boil,  cover, and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes. Served with a slice of thick bread---a perfect winter meal.

Carrot Soup

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

This soup is really tasty. This time of year when I have carrots in the garden, I make huge pots of it and freeze. One of those "wow" soups, it's simple and elegant.
I love using carrots in different ways and this recipe uses carrots along with a sweet potato and a baking potato (although today I dug potatoes from the garden.)

Saute in 1 T butter:
1 med onion minced

Add to the pot:
2 c sliced carrots
2 c chicken stock

Simmer until the carrots are tender. While they are cooking, microwave:
1 large sweet potato
1 large baking potato

Cut open the potatoes to cook and then scrape the potatoes (minus skins) into a food processor. Add the carrots, onions and broth and puree until smooth.

Return to the pot and:

3 c chicken stock
2 T fresh dill
salt and pepper

Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Potato & Green Bean Salad

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

This is one of my favorite summer dishes, a simple blend of summer's best vegetables. I made this yesterday but I started by going to the garden and digging potatoes, picking the tiny French green beans that I grow, pulling an onion and cutting some dill and chives. Ok, so I can't do this most of the year but right now, it's a delight.

Basically, this salad is a blend of potatoes, green beans, an onion, herbs such as dill, chives, and tossed in a simple, light dijon mustard, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar dressing. In the spring, I will use pea pods or asparagus instead of beans. This can be served warm, at room temperature or chilled. My favorite is room temperature. Take this to a potluck dinner and it will disappear!

Toss together:
2 c cut potatoes, simmered until almost tender
2 c green beans, steamed
1/2 onion, chopped
3 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 t dijon mustard
2 T chopped chives
1 T fresh chopped dill
salt & pepper to date

Potato Kielbasa Gratin

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

This is today's clean-out-the-fridge dish. Some friends stopped by just as it came out of the oven and it was a hit. Kind of like a frittata, but topped and finished differently.

Saute in a seasoned iron skillet for about 5 minutes:
1 med onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 med potatoes, diced

Add and then saute another 5 minutes:
1/2 lb diced kielbasa

Mix together:
4 eggs
1 c milk
1/4 t cayenne
1 t sweet paprika
2 T diced chives
salt and pepper to taste

Pour the mix over the eggs. Top with seasoned bread crumbs and 1 1/2 c grated cheddar cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven until the top is browned and bubbly, 15-20 minutes.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Updated

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

After stopping at Zingerman's deli in Ann Arbor for a corned beef sandwich--$11.50 for a 1/2 sandwich--we got hungry for corned beef. We love good corned beef but because we don't get home from work until after 5 p.m., we don't have time to prepare it during the week. On the weekends, we want to play in the kitchen with foods that need more fiddling--corn beef just needs time.

My rule with corned beef is to cook it long and slow. So I got out the slow cooker! I rarely use this but thought it would do what I wanted with the corned beef. And it did. I put the corned beef in the cooker, covered with water and added 1 t each of pepper corns and mustard seed, 1/2 t of whole cloves, and 2 bay leaves. I cooked the corned beef on low heat for 7 hours and then on high for another hour. It was perfect! The long and slow method let all of the fat cook out of the meat. It was tender, juicy, lean--and gone. We finished off a 3 pound corned beef in one meal! With this long and slow method, there is a lot of shrinkage. But I would have liked enough for a sandwich.

Our favorite accompaniment for corned beef is a blend of 1/2 part Dijon mustard and 1/2 part horseradish; mix portions to your liking but we use a lot! This is a very tasty blend that is spectacular with corned beef.

While Mom used to do a boiled dinner with cabbage and potatoes added to the boiling corned beef pot, I have updated the veggies. I roasted the Yukon Gold potatoes--tossed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 375 degrees F for 20-25 min. turning occasionally.

The cabbage was cut into wedges and steamed until a bright green and then tossed with a little melted butter and fresh dill (from my AeroGarden!), salt and pepper.

The presentation of the lean, red corned beef, the crisp, golden potatoes and the bright green cabbage was indeed an updated version of the Corned Beef and Cabbage we grew up on.

Ahhh, Frittata!

By Perry Washburn

Ok, make sure you have read Kathie's post on frittata below first, as this is a response to hers. But I thought it might be worth pulling out for another view.

Frittata is one of our favs, but we almost always make these stove-top, not baked. This comes from making dozens of these while camping...huge skillet, but no oven! I have a series of cast iron skillets I use for these, which I choose depending on the size of the crowd. My 15-inch skillet gets nearly double Kath's ingredients, and will feed a mob. The even heating and heat retention of cast iron, or a good skillet (I have All-Clad) helps at the end of this dish.

I made one of these Sunday morning for breakfast. I cheat with the potatoes, as I do for camping. Wash the potatoes, stick them with a fork, put on a paper towel and microwave for 5 minutes. For camping, these go into a plastic bag, once cooled, then into the cooler. For home use, just wait until they are cool enough to handle. Cube, perhaps 1/2 inch. Get the oil (or BACON GREASE!) hot, and add the potatoes. Ideally, you are looking for a single layer. Let them sit, don't be messing with them, until they are browned. Try to turn in layers with a spatula, to ensure more even browning. Again, once turned, try not to mess with them. The goal is to get the taters browned, staying in cubes, not mushed. You may need to add more oil half way in.

When the potatoes are getting close to done, add the onions. I consider this a must - potatoes like this are not "right" without onions. Don't be tempted to put the onions in too early. One of the reasons I microwave the potatoes is to get them done more quickly. I get impatient standing over a skillet waiting. And I DESPISE uncooked potatoes. But if you put the onions in before the potatoes are cooked through, you can end up with burned onions, which is about as bad as uncooked potatoes.

The rest of the ingredients - Kath uses bacon, peppers, chives - is up to personal preference. On Sunday morning, I hit the freezer for leftover pizza fixings and came up with some cooked sausage. I like all kinds of sausage, and concur with the chorizo! I also love leeks, green onions, celery and all kinds of peppers. For the skillet version, put the harder veggies - celery for instance - in with the onions. Add the softer ones like bell pepper when the onions are nearly translucent.

At this point, pour in the eggs/milk. Let it set and brown on the bottom. Cut into quarters and turn. Immediately sprinkle with cheese, and cover with a lid. When the cheese is melted, and eggs are browned on the other side, you are in business.

Bacon Cheese Potato Frittata

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

It was clean out the refrigerator night. So I made a frittata! This Italian egg dish is so versatile and can have veggies, cheese, or meats in it. For this dish, I used leftover bacon bits, along with a leftover chopped onion, green pepper, and fresh chives from my AeroGarden and some cheddar cheese that needed to be used. This is an excellent dish....a perfect dinner for the two of us but could be a great breakfast treat as well.

I love frittatas both with and without potatoes. If you are not using potatoes, add more eggs. For a more filling frittata, the potatoes really help make it a one dish meal. In the summer months, I'll throw in garden veggies with kielbasa or chorizo and make a simple dinner dish. This dish served 2 of us for dinner with leftovers and was outstanding!

Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Yukon Gold Potato Frittata

1/2 pound bacon bits or pieces
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 minced garlic clove
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced
4 eggs
3/4 c milk
2 T chopped fresh chives (or whatever herbs you have--mine came from my AeroGarden)
1 c shredded cheese, I used cheddar
2 T olive oil

Saute the bacon until cooked but not crisp in a well-seasoned (of course) cast iron skillet. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towel. Drain off the bacon grease (yes, get rid of it!) and add 2 T extra virgin olive oil.

Saute the onion, green pepper, and garlic. Remove the veggies from skillet--I added it to the plate with the bacon bits. Add the sliced potatoes and saute until they just begin to brown--do not cook completely through. The thinly sliced potatoes become like a crust on the bottom of the frittata. To the skillet, top the potatoes with the bacon and sauteed vegetables but do not stir--leave the potatoes intact as the bottom layer.

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs with the milk, chives (or any fresh or dried herb--super tasty with basil!), salt, pepper (I used Penzey's black and red). Add to the skillet. Top with the grated cheese.

Frittatas can be both stove top or oven baked and we do both. For this version, I used the oven just to be a bit different. I put the skillet in a 350 degree F oven and baked for 10-15 minutes until the cheese browned. Cut into pie shaped wedges and enjoy!