Roasted Potatoes and Sausage!

15 Jan 2023 1 Comment

by A Dreamer in Potatoes, Sausage, Sheet Pan Meal Tags: , ,

Made this last night – easy and very satisfying – perfect cold day meal.

Sheet pan of roasted potatoes and sliced chicken sausage
We like easy around here

Prep is 10-15 minutes, cook time is 30 minutes.

Ingredients & supplies

  • 1 pound baby potatoes, quartered or chopped. (I chopped up mine in my awesome veggie chopper.)
  • Olive Oil
  • Your favorite sausage, sliced – I used 2 links of Gilbert’s Smoked Gouda Chicken Sausage here. You could use keilbasa, smoked sausage, andouille, whatever floats your boat.
  • Your favorite seasoning blend, probably a few tablespoons – I used McCormick’s Roasted Garlic & Herb seasoning
  • Cookie sheet w/edges to keep things from rolling off
  • Parchment paper for the cookie sheet – not required, but makes cleanup MUCH easier

To cook

  • Quarter or chop the baby potatoes, throw in good sized bowl
  • Drizzle just enough olive oil to coat
  • Shake a bunch of your favorite seasoning blend on and mix well (this is an “eyeball it” thing)
  • Slice sausage, set aside
  • Spread potatoes on cookie sheet
  • Put in oven at 400 degrees
  • At the 15 minute mark, move around the potatoes a bit, and add the sausage on top. (I made the mistake of putting it in at the start, it was a tad overdone, but still tasty!)
  • Cook for 15 minutes more.
  • Enjoy!!

Snacks!

07 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in Chicken, Cuisine, Indian, Quick Prep, Sides, Snacks, Trader Joe's, Turnovers Tags: , , , ,

So, I found myself on my own tonight and was sorely tempted to get take out, but I’m trying to not spend too much money – and I remembered that there were still some heat & eat goodies in the freezer from Christmas. Took a peek and decided it was time for Trader Joe’s Mini Chicken Tikka Samosas!

Box of Trader Joe's mini Chicken Tikka Samosas "chicken, vegetables, and Indian spices wrapped in crisp, flaky pastry"

They fit the bill for the night – very tasty, very easy, and I didn’t have to leave the house. If you’re worried about Indian food being spicy (a normal concern) – no worries here. They do have a slow building heat to them, but not “oh god my face is on fire” spicy. Personally, I think they’re better with some kind of dipping sauce of some ilk – if you’re feeling fancy, you could go with plain yogurt with dill and garlic or something along those lines. Or you could go with what I did, which was a dollop of sour cream on the side.

I ate half the package myself. And the rest is going to get popped in the toaster oven tomorrow for lunch.

20 minutes from turning the oven on to ready to eat. And I threw parchment paper on the cookie sheet, so easy clean up to boot.

Next time you’re at TJ’s, give them a whirl.

New Year, Let’s Eat!

06 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in Chicken, Pasta, Quick Prep Tags: , , ,

OK, so there was a time I would have called this a lazy day meal, but no – we’re not lazy.  We’ve all been dealing with a minimum of SIX YEARS of collective trauma, including but certainly not limited to, bad people in charge, a pandemic that won’t go away, an insurrection, and other things I am sure I have simply blocked out.  Oh, and we’re currently missing half of our federal legislature. 

In short, YOU ARE NOT LAZY.  YOU ARE TIRED AND IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE.

So, I want to take a minute to tell you about a nice “Fuck, I’m tired” meal kit I picked up at the grocery store.  It’s Chef Rana’s Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. 

Package of Chef Rana's Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo meal kit

It’s very tasty, AND VERY EASY.  You literally take the fresh(!!) pasta out of the bag and loosen it up and put it in the cooking container (which is included.)  Cut the corner of the sauce pouch, pour over.  Open bag of chicken, place on top.  Put two paper towels over the container and pop it in the microwave for 8-9 minutes, give it a good stir, and it’s done.

Because the prep is so fast, it’s good if you can’t stand for long periods of time, or you could even easily put it together sitting down at your kitchen/dining room table.  I usually make some garlic bread to go with it.  Add a salad or some veggies (frozen peas in butter sauce comes to mind!) and you have a total meal.  If you’re having a “we’re having pasta with a side of pasta” night – it will still work, it is filling and satisfying.  

It runs $15 at my market, but you’re getting 2 pounds of food there.  Still cheaper than MickeyD’s for four.  Or two for that matter. And it has a decent fridge shelf-life, so you don’t have to buy/make it the same day.

I took a snap after it came out of the microwave – but I’d already stirred it and all the chicken sank to the bottom, LOL.  I swear, there is chicken in there!

Square black container with egg noodles and cream sauce