Beer Glazed Kielbasa

 

Kielbasa is something I have recently discovered…and it is amazing.  This recipe is simple but does take a little bit of time.  The results, though, are definitely rage worthy.  Enjoy this dish, write home to mom about it, and most importantly…rage on!

Ingredients

1. Kielbasa
2. 1/8 C Brown Sugar
3. 1 Beer(I used a dark beer, but your choice for this)

Quick Directions

1. Slice kielbasa into 1-2 inch sections.
2. Pour 1 can or bottle of beer into a sauté pan.
3. Add brown sugar and stir till mixed.
4. Toss in kielbasa and turn heat on high.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Cook until sauce reduces to a sticky glaze, stirring occasionally.
7. Enjoy!

Detailed Directions

Start by slicing your kielbasa into 1-2 inch sections.  I didn’t bust out a ruler, but I would guess mine were mostly about 1 inch.  For this recipe, they don’t have to be super close to the same size as it is a bit of a long cook time.

 

 

Once you have it sliced up, you are almost done with the prep.  Open your favorite beer, I used a dark beer but you can use almost any beer here.

 

Pour the beer into the pan, add the brown sugar, and mix.  Once you have that  squared away, add in the sliced up kielbasa and turn the heat on high.  Let it go until you have a boil.  Once that is achieved, reduce heat to a simmer and let it go.

While it is cooking, you may have to adjust the heat as liquid cooks out.  Less liquid=easier boil.

Stir every few minutes and make sure it is only at a simmer.  A perfect time to work on your side dishes.  I made scalloped potatoes and corn to compliment the kielbasa, but you can make whatever takes your fancy!  I did forget to time this dish, but I think it took about 30-40 minutes to reduce the beer into a sticky glaze.

 

To make the glaze for this recipe is very simple, so don’t go getting scared!  Just simply keep the liquids at a simmer and they will do the work.  You will eventually have a pretty  tasty sauce that sticks well to the kielbasa as the liquid cooks out.

 

Once the beer has reduced into a sticky glaze, the  kielbasa is done.  So go enjoy it!

Yes there is more!

There is a lot you can do by following these simple steps.  You can replace the beer with soda and follow the same steps.  Only thing with using the soda is that you wouldn’t need to include the brown sugar for those.  I’ve used lemon-lime sodas for great success, have even used a cherry lemon-lime soda that was sublime.  Experiment here, not only with different beers.

This also would work great with different ring-bolognas and similar to kielbasa meats.  Don’t be shy in your kitchen.  It is after all…your kitchen.

Grilled Zucchini and Carrots

The grill is not just for cooking your favorite meats!  The veggies have a great place  on  you’re grill too.  Often, the twice baked potato or carrots and potatoes find a place on my grill but there is room for other options.  This recipe is simple, fast to prep, and tasty!  Rage on.

Ingredients

1. 2 Zucchinis
2. 1-2 Cups Baby carrots
3. 1 or 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
4. Worcestershire Sauce
5. Olive Oil
6. Butter
7. Salt and Pepper

Quick Directions

1. Peel zucchinis and slice into 1.5 inch strips.
2. Cut carrots in half lengthwise.
3. Place carrots onto a piece of foil, then put zucchinis on top.
4. Drizzle olive oil and Worcestershire sauce over top.
5. Sprinkle garlic evenly over top.
6. Melt 2 Tbs. of butter in microwave and pour over top(can just slice thin from the stick and put squares evenly to save a step)
7. Shake salt and pepper over everything.
8. Wrap tightly with the tin foil.
9. Grill for 15-20 minutes, flipping every 5-8 minutes.
10. Veggies will be tender, carrots still a little crisp when finished.
11. Enjoy!

Detailed Directions

Start by rinsing the zucchini under cold water.  Peel them and cut the ends off.  If you don’t mind the skin, it can be left on and won’t hurt a thing.  Then slice them into about 1/2 inch thick strips.  Cut them about 1.5 inch lengthwise, about the same length as the baby carrots.  Once they are done, cut the carrots in half lengthwise.

Get a piece of foil out and start by placing the carrots on the  bottom.  Next put the zucchini on.  Drizzle with olive oil(you don’t need a lot) and Worcestershire sauce.  Next get the minced  garlic into the party.  If you want to make prep even easier, just use granulated garlic or garlic powder.  I prefer granulated as it will spread a little easier and won’t clump together but both work.
Now you can either melt about  2 Tbs. of butter in the microwave, or do like I did and just cut thin slices off of the stick and place them evenly on top of the pile.  Once that is done, shake some salt and pepper over everything and wrap it tightly in the foil.  I had to use 2  sheets to get everything covered nicely.

Next get it on your grill!  Try to keep it off to the side so its not at the hottest part of the grill.  Now, because the carrots take longer, you will want the carrot side to be on the bottom when you first place it onto the grill.  This way they will be closer to the heat and it will help to get things cooked evenly.  Let it go for about 5-8 minutes before flipping for the first time.

Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes.  Cooking time will vary depending on how hot the grill is, there will be more fluctuation if using charcoal too.  Once you think it is done, you can easily test it by trying a carrot and if it is tender with a slight crisp to it, you are good to go!  Rage on!


In Closing
This method of cooking can be used for a wide range of vegetables.  I have used about the same method for potatoes and carrots.  I imagine using squash would work great, or sweet potatoes…it has tons of potential!  Don’t be afraid to try things out. 
The base seasonings are simple enough, but you can easily turn it up a notch by adding a dash of ground cayenne pepper or chili powder.  Maybe toss in some lemon pepper?  Why not is the question.

Oven Roasted Chicken

It has been a little bit since I last posted.  I do apologize for that, but promise many more posts will be coming!  Today I just wanted to get a quick post up about roasting chicken in the oven.  I don’t have as many pictures of this but it isn’t hard to do!  Rage on.

Marinade

1. 1 cup Olive Oil
2. 3 T Soy Sauce
3. 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
4. 1 tsp. Ground Ginger
5. 1/4 cup Brown  Sugar
6. 1 tsp. Salt and Pepper

Whisk ingredients together, rub chicken with marinade till well coated, cover and refrigerate.  I let it sit overnight, but at least an hour will work.

Quick Directions

1. Whisk marinade together.
2. Make sure chicken is fully covered in marinade.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Overnight is better.
4. Bake in a pan covered with tin foil at 275 for 2 hours or until internal temp of 165.
5. Uncover, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes to crisp skin.
6. Enjoy.

Detailed Directions
I used a whole chicken for this.  Don’t be afraid of doing the same, just make sure that the insides aren’t still inside before you go to bake.  Sometimes the organs are stuffed inside in a little package and you don’t want to leave that in there.  Also, don’t be afraid to follow this recipe but use boneless chicken breasts or quartered chicken.  If you do use those instead, make sure to bake them a lot less as they are smaller and it won’t take as long.

Once you have selected your chicken, get marinating!  Whisk together the marinade, place the chicken into a bowl and pour the marinade over it.  Go ahead and get your hands dirty here.  You want to make sure everything is covered in the tasty marinade to really get the flavors developed.  If using a whole chicken, try your best to get inside as well as under the skin.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  If you have the time, let it marinade overnight, flipping the chicken once about halfway through.  The longer you let it go the more flavor you will get into the meat.

Onto the baking.  The easiest  way to prepare a tasty chicken is to just roast it in the oven.  Put the chicken into a baking pan, make sure to include the marinade, and cover with foil.  Bake at 275 for 2 hours or until the chicken is 165 internally.  Make sure to temp a few spots as a whole chicken can take awhile to cook all the way through.  Once you hit that sweet spot, remove the foil and turn the heat up.  Bake at 350 for another 30 minutes to get the skin nice and crispy and your dinner is ready!

Other Things
If you are using chicken breasts or chicken quarters, you won’t need to bake as long.  It will all depend on the size of the chicken your baking, but as long as you make sure it temps at 165 your good to go.  Also, if there is no skin on the chicken, you don’t need to worry about the crisping step.

There are a lot of ways to go with this method.  You can change the seasonings up a lot, imagine a bit of paprika and lemon juice?  I think that sounds pretty good.  Just remember a good marinade has an acid in it, spices, and oil.

One last thing for those comfortable in the kitchen, you can make a super tasty stock with those left over bones and skin.  I’ll write up a blog at a later date using this oven roasting method to make chicken and noodles, but it will be a few weeks before I get to that dish.  Until then, enjoy your time in the kitchen, experiment, get excited, and most importantly….add a dash of rage!

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast is the best meal.  The foods that are typically eaten for breakfast are fantastic and I’m pretty sure it is ok to eat a “breakfast” meal anytime of the day.  Like breakfast, a good casserole is always a win.  First off it’s easy, secondly the leftovers are amazing.  This morning I decided to come up with a dish that would utilize some peppers that were getting old and satisfy the taste buds.  Rage on.

Ingredients

1. 6 Eggs, scrambled
2. 1/2 Red Pepper, diced
3. 2 Jalapenos, seeded and diced
4. 1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
5. 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
6. 6 Sausage Links(I used honey maple but regular works)
7. 1/2 a Package of Tater Tots
8. 1/2 tsp. Salt and Pepper

Quick Directions

1. Cook sausage links till done.
2. Dice the red pepper, jalapenos, and sausage.
3. Place into a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray or rubbed with butter.
4. Whisk eggs into a scramble with the salt and pepper.
5. Pour half of egg mixture over the sausage and peppers in pan.  Mix.
6. Sprinkle the cheeses over on top.
7. Cover cheese with tater tots, enough  to fill the top nicely.
8. Pour remaining egg mix over the top.
9. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top and eggs are no longer runny in center.
10. Enjoy!

Detailed Directions

Start off by browning the sausage links.  You want them fully cooked and normally I would say make sure they reach a temp of 165 inside, but  for this dish it is ok if they aren’t completely cooked in the middle since they will be in the oven for about an hour and should finish there.

 

While the sausage is cooking you can get the red pepper and jalapenos diced up.  Be careful with the jalapenos though.  If you like real spicy, go ahead and leave a little bit of the flesh and seeds inside but otherwise you will want to remove them.  Wear gloves if you have them, or make sure to wash your hands very well once you are done with the jalapenos.  And DO NOT touch your  eyes with that juice on your hands.

Add the diced up sausage, red peppers, and jalapenos into your baking dish.  I used a 3 quart Dutch oven but a small baking pan or casserole dish will work great.  When doing a big batch, go ahead and double the ingredients for a normal cake pan.  Also make sure to use cooking spray or grease the pan with butter.

 

Whisk the eggs and salt and pepper together.  You want a nice consistency for scrambled eggs here.  If you find yourself in a rage over something, take the anger out here.  You won’t hurt the eggs!

 

 

Pour half of the egg mixture over your sausage and  peppers and mix up.  Then sprinkle the cheese over this.

 

 

 

Now it is almost ready.  By now, you should have your oven preheating to 350.  Get the tater tots out and place a generous amount over the top of the cheese.  Nothing fancy here, just want nice coverage.

It is almost finished!  Take the rest of the eggs and dump them on top.

 

 

 

 

Toss the pan into the oven and let it cook until it is golden brown on top.  It will take a little bit, about 50-60 minutes.  To make sure the middle is done, take a spoon or fork and slightly pull the middle open and if its not runny then you are good to go.  Dish it out and enjoy.

 

 

The Weekend Fridge Cleaner

The nice thing about this dish is how versatile it is.  You can follow the simple steps listed above and easily add in other things.  Dice up an onion and toss it in with the peppers.  Bacon can be used as well, cook it and crumble it up and put it in with or in place of the sausage. Ham works just the same, chop it up and in it goes! The peppers add a delicious sweetness along with a subtle hint of heat but they aren’t for everyone, so leave them out if you want too. Mess around, find things in your fridge that are going to be tossed out soon and add them into the dish. Don’t be afraid to use regular ground up breakfast sausage instead of the links either. You are the master of your kitchen and as the man/lady in charge you can make up your own rage.

Italian Chicken Meatballs

Can you really go wrong with spaghetti and meatballs?  Well yeah you could if the meatball isn’t great.  Hopefully, you will agree with me about how delicious this one is.  It is a fairly simple recipe, but you will get your hands dirty.  Best thing about this is that you can easily make it ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to make the meal.  Rage on.

Ingredients

1. 1.5 lbs. Ground Chicken
2. 1 lbs. Ground Italian Sausage(whatever your favorite is)
3. 2 T Fresh Parsley, rough chop
4. 2 Slices of Bread(I used 2 white heels, but the middle regular slice is fine)
5. 1 Egg
6. 1 Garlic Clove, minced
7. 1/2 Tbsp. Garlic Chili Sauce
8. 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
9. 1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
10. 1/2 tsp. Salt and Pepper

Quick Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Rip bread into small pieces before adding.
2. Mix well, but don’t over mix.
3. Form into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until 165.
5. Makes about 24 meatballs.

Detailed Directions

Get all ingredients into a bowl.  Make sure to shred the slices of bread into small chunks before adding them.  I have heard soaking the bread in milk will help make a more moist meatball, but I didn’t try this so I can not confirm.



Go ahead and go in there with your hands.  It will combine the ingredients well and won’t over mix which can cause the meatball to be tougher.  You just want to make sure everything is incorporated or close to it.



Once you have it mixed, use some cooking spray on a baking pan and get ready to form your balls!  Try to make about 1 inch balls.  This doesn’t have to be exact but you do want each one to be about the same size as the rest so that they will cook in the same amount of time.

Bake them at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Pull out the thermometer at 15 minutes and see what you have.  We want 165 for the meatballs.  An easier way to get the thermometer into the center is to put it through one, then stack that on another ball and push the thermometer through it as well.  This way part of the thermometer that will get the temp should be inside and get the actual temperature.

Once they are finished pull them out and let them cool if you don’t plan to use them right away or get ready to add them to your favorite tomato or Alfredo sauce.  They will work great with both!  Enjoy!



Things to Consider
The nice thing about baking these meatballs is how many applications this opens up.  You can cool them down, and have a stand by ready to go in your freezer.  Or have dinner almost complete for tomorrow’s dinner when you don’t have as much time in the kitchen.  They work great in Alfredo sauce or tomato based sauces, the choice is yours!  If adding them to a sauce, I suggest you add them before the sauce is warmed up in a sauce pan or frying pan.  Heat on medium and let the sauce and meatballs come up to temp together.  This will also help the meatballs take on a bit of the sauce flavor to make the dish more cohesive.  If you like spicy, don’t be afraid to use spicy Italian sausage, or even add a dash of your favorite hot sauce into the mix.  The choice is all yours and you should not be afraid to remember that.  Rage on.

Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad

Sometimes, I am sure a recipe has already been created to satisfy what I am wanting to eat.  This dish, however, I could not find anything about.  I had to wing it, and it turned out way better than I ever could have anticipated.  Luckily, I didn’t make too much or I would have been devouring it all night long.  I love to experiment, but I like to go into my experimentation with a bit of an idea of what others have done that they felt was worthy enough to share.  Feel free to share this gem.  Rage on!

Ingredients

1. 1 6oz Package Chow Mein Stir-fry noodles(the uncooked kind)
2. 1 T Sesame Seeds
3. 2 Green Onions, thinly sliced
4. 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
5. 1 T Oil(vegetable or olive oil works fine here)
6. 2 T Granulated Sugar
7. 1 tsp. Brown Sugar
8. 1/2 tsp. Soy Sauce
9. 1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
10. 3 T Peanut Butter(crunchy is what I used but either works)
11. 2 cups of the crunchy Chow Mein Noodles(the already cooked kind)
12. 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts(this is optional)

Quick Directions

1. Cook the pasta for about 3-5 minutes or until done but not much past al dente.  Cool.
2. Mix sesame oil, vegetable or olive oil, both sugars, soy sauce, ground ginger, sesame seeds, and peanut butter till combined.
3. Wash and cut green onions.
4. Combine dressing with noodles, then fold in the green onions and chopped nuts if you decided to add them.
5. Top with the crunchy noodles shortly before serving so they don’t become soggy.
6. Enjoy!

Detailed Directions
Start by cooking those noodles off.  The noodles won’t take long, only about 3-5 minutes once added to a pot of boiling water(remember to stir a little bit so they don’t stick while cooking).  Once they are done, rinse in cold water and place in the refrigerator.  They will stick together a bit, but you should be able to separate them just fine when stirring in the sauce.  However, if you like, you can take a knife and cut them up a bit with a rough chop to help the process out.






Mix the sauce together.  It will take a little bit, but it is supposed to be thicker to cling to the noodles nicely.

 


Wash and slice the green onions into nice little rings.  They don’t have to be uniform, but try to keep them close.



Combine everything together except for the crunchy noodles.  Once that is done, the dish is complete…except for the crunchy noodles.  Add those on top not long before you plan to serve it.  Otherwise they could become soggy and will really take away from their purpose of adding a nice crunch.



Closing Thoughts
There are several things  you could add to this dish, and they are all your choice.  The color is not really the greatest as is, but some thinly sliced carrots could really add a nice pop or even some red peppers diced up in there.  More green onions would add more of that nice green accent.  Toasting the sesame seeds for 4-8 minutes at 300 would add another dimension to it also.  Don’t be afraid to experiment on my experiment.  Cooking is not for everyone, my only hope is to bring those timid people into the kitchen.  It is more fun when more people join the rage!   Rage on my friends.

Artichoke Pasta Salad

A delicious pasta salad goes great with almost any meal.  For me, they shine most next to a grilled burger on a warm summer evening.  This recipe has loads of flavor but you can easily add more ingredients to hit the spot just right.  Rage on.

Dressing

1. 2 T and 1 tsp. Sugar
2. 1/2 tsp. Granulated Garlic
3. 1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
4. 1 T Fresh Parsley, rough chop
5. 1 T Red Wine Vinegar
6. 1 T Water
7. 1/2 tsp. Salt and Pepper
8. 4 T Olive Oil

Whisk all ingredients together except the olive oil.  Slowly add the olive oil while whisking to blend.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 of a 12oz. package of Tri-color Rotini Pasta
2. 14oz. can of Artichoke Hearts(quartered or whole)
3. 1/2 Red Pepper

Quick Directions

1. Cook the pasta to al dente, cool.
2. Dice half of a red pepper.
3. Rinse the artichoke hearts well, then rough chop.
4. Whisk Dressing together.
5. Toss all ingredients together except for the dressing.
6. Add dressing and mix well.  Make sure to mix before serving as the dressing will settle at the bottom.
7. Enjoy!

Start by cooking the pasta.  Get a pot of water boiling, add a couple of pinches of salt to that water.  Toss the pasta in and cook for about 8-9 minutes.  Pull one out and taste it, if its still got a small amount of crunch and isn’t complete mush then we are ready to rock.  Drain the water and rinse in cool water or put it into the refrigerator to cool it down.

While the pasta is cooling down, go ahead and get the pepper and artichoke hearts washed.  Especially rinse the artichokes well to get that briny can taste washed out.  Dice them up, the hearts can be roughly chopped but try to keep the red pepper dice uniform.  Make sure you remove the seeds and the middle part of the pepper as well as nobody wants to eat that.

Follow the above directions for the dressing.  Just make sure to add the olive oil last and to slowly add it in while whisking.  This will help the dressing to emulsify, or basically get the oil and vinegar to combine.  You don’t want the dressing separating!

That is pretty much the hardest part of this recipe.  Once all of these steps are completed, start by putting everything into a bowl except for the dressing and tossing till well mixed.  Then add the dressing and toss again to get everything well coated.  I like to let the dressing soak into the rest of the salad so I like to have it on at least 30 minutes before serving, and then give it another stir right before serving to get the dressing that settled back in play.  If you are making this a day ahead, don’t be afraid of all the dressing settling, just give it a stir 30 minutes before serving and then again right before and it should be a rage.

Other Thoughts

This salad is light and the fresher the ingredients the better.  Feel free to use fresh artichokes if you know how to properly clean them and have the time to add that into your prep.  Some other great items to add are garbanzo beans, black olives, and sunflower seeds.  Feel free to experiment and take a chance.  If it doesn’t turn out like you hoped, don’t tell anybody about  it and omit it next time!  Fresh herbs are never going to hurt this salad either.  Think fresh basil and oregano….yum.  If you decide to add any of these ingredients, just start small because you can always add when you think it needs more but you can never take it out.  Rage on!