Beer-Glazed Sausage and Apples

I love New Year's.  I'm one of those people who always writes New Year's resolutions (and I've done so for a long time).  I also used to write a lot of poetry on New Year's Eve.  The problem with resolutions, as pretty much anyone who has ever tried it will tell you, is that it's really hard to keep up with them.  Even if your resolution is something you are excited about it can still be hard to keep it up.  And if I get off track I tend to just stay off track instead of figuring out how to get back on.  But last year I tried something different.  I actually read about it in a parenting magazine as a suggestion for kids, but I thought it would be great for adults, too.  Instead of making several resolutions I made a couple for each month of the year.  Some were just for that month but some were things that I maintained the rest of the year.  I really, really loved it.  I still didn't keep up with all of them, but for the important ones I really did.  I resolved to start praying for Jeremy every day a bit more intentionally, and I've been reading through this book and praying for him daily ever since.  One month my resolution was to go to bed by a certain time and get up at a certain time each day.  I did not keep up with going to bed on time (I've pretty much given up on that), but I did keep up with getting up.  I don't get up early every single day but it has become at least the norm for my lifestyle.  And it's GREAT.  Getting up early gives me some alone time before my son is up that I can use to spend with the Lord.  Also last year, I resolved to start a blog and I did (maybe I should have resolved to keep up with it).  This year I wrote down goals for how many blogs I expect myself to write each month.  I allowed for busy seasons (having a baby) and less-busy seasons (summer break).  I made check boxes for each month of the year.  And I LOVE lists.  More than I love lists, I love crossing things off lists.  So I really hope those check boxes motivate me to stay on track.

Speaking of busy seasons, it's been about two months since I blogged.  I am hanging my head in shame right now.  I actually cooked this meal in September.  Ha!  Over the past two months in this house we've had three holidays, two colds, and one yucky bout of RSV.  So yeah...things were a little hectic.  But life is a bit slower now, at least for the next 6 to 7 weeks until baby girl graces us with her presence.  So for now, I'm off to check a box.

Beer-Glazed Sausage and Apples

Very slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, fall 2012

• 1 12 oz. bottle Belgium-style wheat beer (I used some out-of-date Leinenhugel's)
• 1/2-1 tsp. crushed red pepper, depending on your preferences
• 1 14-16 oz. package smoked sausage (I used kielbasa) cut in 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 lb. fresh green beans
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 2 medium cooking apples, cored and thinly sliced (I used granny smiths to counter-balance the sweetness of the glaze)
• 2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. finely shredded orange peel 
• 1 carton baby white mushrooms (12 ounces) 

In a large saucepan bring 1/2 of the beer and the crushed red pepper to a boil. Next, add the sausage and green beans. Reduce the mixture to a simmer, cover, and cook 5-8 minutes until the beans are tender. Drain and set the meat and beans aside. In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of the butter, and add the mushrooms.  When mushrooms are about two-thirds done, add the apples. Cook until the apples are just tender. Transfer mushrooms and apples to a platter. Add the sausage and green beans to the skillet you cooked the apples in. Cook the mixture, turning occasionally, until the sausage is browned on all sides. Once the sausage is browned, remove it and the beans from the skillet and drain any excess fat. Next, carefully add the remaining beer to skillet (mixture may foam) and stir to scrape up the browned bits. Add the remaining butter, brown sugar, vinegar, and orange peel to the skillet. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil the glaze gently, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until slightly thickened. Place the sausage and green beans back into the skillet to coat in the glaze. Then, fold in the apples and mushrooms. Cook over low heat until heated through.

This dish came out a little sweet for my liking.  If you like sweet, you will like this.  If you want to lessen the sweetness, you can just reduce the brown sugar.  Or, if you want to counteract the sweetness a bit I would suggest going for the entire teaspoon of red pepper, sticking with a tart apple, and using a spicier sausage.  Enjoy!

Easy Use It Up Ideas

Today was my first day actually grocery shopping for real.  I am happy to say that I did NOT get carried away, although I did have to hold myself back a few times (like the moment I almost bought more chips, even though our chip cabinet is kind of overflowing).  I actually enjoy grocery shopping and part of that is because I am a couponer.  There is a big thrill in watching the total go upupup and then go back down as soon as I scan my shopper card and hand over my coupons.  Today I also stopped by the clearance center (as usual) and bought a ton of canned goods that were dented and marked 50% off or more.  I only bought the ones we would actually use, not the things we don't use.

I am watching Extreme Couponing while I write this.  I'm feeling both inspired and disgusted.  Some of these people go through tons of work and spend tons of time to get tons of free stuff that they then donate to food banks, animal shelters, and friends in need.  I think that is awesome.  Whenever someone is having a food and toiletry drive, it is nice for me to be able to pull things out of my stockpile to donate.  But I want to be careful of my attitude.  In 1 Chronicles David was ordered to build an altar to the Lord and went to Araunah to buy his field.  Araunah, in his exuberance, offered to give everything to David for free.  David replied, "I will not . . . sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."  I think that attitude is important to keep in mind.  I can give a bag full of toiletries to someone and feel great for passing on a lot of good stuff that hardly cost my family anything. And if I can't afford to give anything other than time and effort to them otherwise, then that is great.  But when I give them stockpile items just because I don't want to spend money or give something that is uncomfortable, I am no giving sacrificially.  Every situation is different and depends on what God as laid on your heart.  But a sacrifice, by its own definition, cannot cost nothing.

I think Araunah is important here too.  He had a great heart - he wanted to give as well.  But in his generosity, he needed not to take away from David's giving.  Sometimes we can get so excited to give something or do something for someone that we don't give them the opportunity to do what God has called them to do.  It's hard to learn to let someone help you, but sometimes we need to remember that perhaps the lesson is for them, not for us, or for both!

A lot of the couponers on this show, though, seem pretty ridiculous to me.  I understand the thrill - getting 2 or 3 things free is so much fun.  Getting 20 or 30 is probably a huge rush.  I'm grateful for how hard my husband works so I can stay home with my son, and couponing is one of the ways I help and try to show him my gratitude.  But we both recognize that time is still more important than money.  Jeremy doesn't work late hours because he wants to have quality time with me and Malachi.  And I just don't see the need to put 40 hours a week into couponing to save money but end up feeling like I'm still working and getting no time with Malachi!

There is also a difference between good stewardship and greed, and James reminds the rich "It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure."  I always want to look at my motives - why am I buying all this?  Will it actually help our family?  Will we actually use this down the road (before it expires)?  Can I give this away?  Can I leave enough on the shelf to respect other shoppers?

That was a big rabbit trail.  All that to say that a couple weeks ago I got a can of refried beans for about 20% of the normal shelf price.  Because I wasn't doing my regular shopping I didn't have any frozen burritos in the house and let me tell you - I love me some frozen burritos.  I don't know why I love them so much, but I really do and they make me super happy.  So I decided to make some myself.  I mean, seriously?  It can't be that hard....

Except it can.  Jeremy will tell you, I STINK at rolling burritos.  I just can't do it right.  My stuff always falls out, and he always does it for me.  I made 4 burritos, and by the fourth one I had it down.  Woohoo!  Ingredients: refried beans, tomatoes with green chilis, cheese, tortilla.  Freeze.  Reheat later.  Eat.  Be happy.

Another fun and easy thing I like to make is homemade applesauce.  It is seriously SO MUCH BETTER than jarred, it's plenty sweet without added sugar, and it's pretty easy.  The hardest part is peeling, coring, and slicing all the apples.  I used a lot of apples for this.  Maybe 10-12?  Peel them, core them, slice them.  Put them in a stock pot with about half an inch of liquid (you can use water, apple juice, or apple cider).  Simmer them slowly with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until they mush easily with a wooden spoon.  Then you can either put them through a food processor to get the very smooth texture you would find in the store, or you can mash it with a potato masher for more textured, rustic applesauce - definitely my preference.  I also add some cinnamon at the end.

Different types of apples cook at different times.  Really firm apples like Granny Smiths take longer than soft apples like Golden Delicious.  Also, different apples create quite a different taste.  Granny Smiths alone would make a much tarter applesauce.  Pink Ladies alone make it super sweet.  If you care, think it through.  I personally don't care much.  I used a mix of varieties and textures and cooked them all for the same amount of time because I like my applesauce rustic and I'm not too picky.  Do what you prefer.

Homemade applesauce is generally only cheaper if you buy your apples in season from an orchard or a farmer's market.  Apples can get really overpriced at the grocery store, so you want to think through the value before you take the venture.

Apple Cheddar Omelet

Several years ago my mom and I took a road trip.  A dear friend of mine was getting married in Connecticut, and we drove up together to attend her wedding.  We accidentally drove through New York City, which was "fun" if you don't count the Friday night traffic and serious car crash that happened right in front of us.  When we finally got to our hotel we ordered bacon and pepperoni pizza from some joint that managed to deliver it piping hot to our hotel within 10 minutes, and seriously, people, it was the best pizza I've ever had.  The next morning, we found some awesome little diner with comfort food and good coffee.  It's the kind of place I never expected to find outside of the south, but then the waitress arrived and said something along the lines of, "Whaddya want?" and I realized we were still in the north.  Whilst there, I ate the absolute best omelet I've ever eaten (sidenote: who knew "omelet" was so easy to spell?  I just tried omelette, omelete, ommelette, and finally gave up and clicked the stupid squiggly line and it was "omelet."  Ugh.  I really do try to foreign-ize all my words).  It was hot, it had white cheddar cheese and sage sausage cinnamon apples and sigh....  I have literally been thinking about duplicating that omelet ever since.

A few days ago that friend of mine came by to visit.  She's the kind of friend with whom I don't keep in touch well, and then when we get together I'm always thinking, "Why don't we keep in touch more????"  Anyways, it was a good visit, but that visit also reminded me of that omelet.  I did not have all the necessary ingredients, so I fudged, and it still came out pretty darn good.  But, if you want it to come out pretty darn better, substitute the yellow cheddar for white and the regular sausage for sage.

Apple Cheddar Omelet

• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 pound sausage
• 1/2 medium apple, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes (use a crisp, semi-sweet one)
• 1/4 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese

Crumble and saute sausage over medium heat until it is about 60% done.  Add chopped apple to the grease and cook until it's all done.  Remove from heat.  Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  Pour whisked eggs into the pan and allow to cook until it starts to bubble.  Fill one half with cheese, sausage, and cheddar, then fold.  Allow the cheese to melt and transfer to a plate.

*Disclaimer: The pan I used to make this omelet in is NOT a proper omelet-making pan.  It was a real pain in the neck when it came time to fold and transfer this omelet.  

The Perfect Saturday Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Every Friday night I decide I want to get up early and walk to the market to buy vegetables and eggs. Come Saturday morning, I usually change my mind. This morning we all took a family nap. It was great. It was so fun to all cuddle up in bed together. Then I started to make my favorite Saturday muffins, and discovered I was out of eggs and butter. I know. I put butter on pretty much everything, and I was out (maybe because I put butter on pretty much everything). And didn't I just say I needed to walk to the market for eggs?

One of my best friends in the world got engaged last night (yay!) and she and her new fiance came by to show me her ring. Then Jeremy went to the store for groceries. I made the muffins, and then we had breakfast...at 2:00 in the afternoon. Perfect Saturday.

Cinnamon-Apple Oatmeal Muffins

~1 cup of wheat flower
~1/3 cup of almond meal
~3/4 cup of oatmeal
~1/3 cup of sugar
~2 teaspoons of baking powder
~1 teaspoon of cinnamon
~1/4 teaspoon of salt
~1 large egg
~3/4 cup of milk
~1/4 cup of vegetable/canola oil
~1 large, crisp apple

For streusel
~3 tablespoons of flour
~3 tablespoons of packed brown sugar
~1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
~2 tablespoons of butter
~2 tablespoons of chopped nuts

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat the egg together with the milk and oil, then mix it with the flour mixture. Peel and chop the apple into 1/2-inch pieces and stir them into the mix. Mix the dry ingredients of the streusel topping together, then cut in the butter with a pastry knife or a fork until you have sticky crumbs. Then stir in the nuts. Grease a muffin pan and fill the cups 2/3 of the way. Sprinkle the streusel topping over each muffin. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 18-20 minutes. *Substitutions: You may substitute white flower for the wheat flower and almond meal. You can use any type of fruit you like. You may substitute rice milk or soy milk.