Archive for the ‘Pork – Sausage’ Category
Pigs in Blankets
This is a recipe from my childhood, first being mentioned in a Betty Crocker cookbook in the 60's using packaged crescent rolls. When I was little, my Mom simply used hot dogs with the crescent rolls, now days there is many options for the sausage. This is just a guide and can be made in as many ways as there is types of sausage. Have fun and enjoy.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 tube crescent rolls
- 8 hot dogs, or sausage of your choice
- dipping sauces of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F) or according to the crescent tube instructions. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Open the crescent rolls and separate into the 8 triangles. Lay a hot dog/sausage on the wide end of a triangle of dough. Roll the hot dog in the dough and place the roll on the baking sheet with the pointy end of the roll on the bottom. Repeat until all the hot dogs are rolled. I used cheese filled smoked sausages.
- When the rolls are golden brown, about 10-15 minutes, remove from the oven, place on a serving plate, enjoy with dipping sauce of your choice.
Notes
For the US, these are certainly low cost per serving, for Thailand, I have never seen the crescent rolls in tubes although I have made crescent rolls from scratch so I have included that recipe here for those that would like to make those.
Shortcut: Crescent Rolls (Bread Machine).
My Mom and I have made these for years.
Smoked Sausage & Veggies
This is a basic recipe that can be tailored as you like.
Ingredients
- 1 package smoked sausage, (12 oz / 340 g)
- ¾ cup water
- 1 onion, cut into wedges
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 250 grams snow pea pods, stems removed, (8 oz)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons cold water
Instructions
- Slice the sausage at an angle into about ½ inch or slightly thinner slices. Prep the onion, bell pepper, and pea pods.
- Add ¾ cup water to a large non stick pan on medium heat and when hot, add the sausage. Cover and cook until the sausage is hot and heated through.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, pea pods, and ginger, and mix together. Cover and cook until the veggies are tender yet crisp, about 4-5 minutes.
- Mix together the cornstarch and the 2 teaspoons of cold water to make a slurry. Stir the slurry and soy sauce into the pan. Stir and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Serve over hot cooked rice, egg noodles, or pasta of your choice. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Smoked Sausage & Peppers
This is my very basic recipe for the common dish called Sausage, Peppers, and Onions. I make this as a side with pasta dishes, and typically the Sausage, Peppers, and Onions dish is a main dish. No quantities are given here, just use what you want. And this could not be easier, just smoked sausage and peppers, let the sausage season the peppers.
Ingredients
- smoked sausage, sliced at a bias
- bell peppers, your choice of color, sliced into strips
Instructions
- Prep the bell peppers and sausage. For this I used 2 yellow, 1 orange, and 1 green. For the smoked sausage, I used two 340 g / 12 oz packages.
- Heat the cooking oil in a non stick pan on medium heat, when hot, add the sausage and pepper and stir together.
- Cook, stirring once in a while until the peppers are softened and tender and the sausage heated through.
- Serve as a side dish.
Notes
Variation of a common dish, Sausage, Peppers, and Onions.
Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage
These sound very good, on my to make list, and I will make the Italian sausage as well. As written, this may make as much as two 9x13 baking pans. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 50 jumbo pasta shells, see Step 1, (500 g / 1 lb)
- 500 grams fresh mushrooms, chopped
- 1 kilo bulk Italian sausage, Shortcut
- 500 grams Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, (1 lb)
- 500 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded, (1 lb)
- 100 grams Parmesan cheese, grated, (4 oz)
- 3/4 cup pasta sauce, Shortcut
- 6 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups Cottage cheese, Shortcut
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 egg
Instructions
- For the pasta shells, there is jumbo and regular. Either one would work well, I will verify this when I prepare this.
- Heat a large non stick pan on medium heat and saute the mushrooms until they have released their water and are nicely wilted. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the shells. Cook the shells until just tender or slightly before tender, then drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set the shells aside.
- While the shells are cooking, heat the same non stick pan used for the mushrooms on medium high heat, when hot, add the sausage and break that up as it cooks. Cook the sausage through.
- Once the sausage is cooked through, drain the fat, then add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Mix together and cook for about 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add HALF of each shredded and grated cheeses and mix those together (reserve the other half of each cheese for a topping to be used later), then add the cooled sausage, cooled mushrooms, all the cottage cheese, bell pepper, and egg. Mix together.
- Using a teaspoon, stuff each shell and arrange in a 9x13 baking dish. When the dish is full, repeat with the second dish.
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Cover one or both dishes with foil. You can freeze one dish at this point for use at another time. If you freeze one dish, freeze half of the reserved cheese as well.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and top with the reserved cheeses and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes. If using a frozen dish, no need to thaw, just cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes, then remove the foil and sprinkle with the thawed, reserved cheese.
- Remove the dish from the oven, cover with the foil previously used and let it cool for 10-15 minutes then serve and enjoy.
Notes
I will price this when I prepare it. For now I will say Fair cost per serving based mainly on the cheese used.
Shortcuts: Italian Sausage, Tomato Sauce, Cottage Cheese.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sausage Stuffed Shells
This was a new recipe for me to prepare as I have never used jumbo pasta shells. This is a simple recipe that is delicious! Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
Ingredients
- 22 jumbo pasta shells
- 400 grams smoked sausage, diced, (14 oz)
- 750 grams Ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese, (1½ lb), Shortcut
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley, or 2 cups fresh, chopped
- 1½ cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, (6 oz / 170 g)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 cups spaghetti sauce, Shortcut
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling then add the pasta shells and cook until just tender. Drain.
- While the pasta is cooking, dice the sausage. Dicing the sausage probably takes the longest time. (The sausage I used was Hillshire Farms that weighed in at 14 oz / about 400 g. The photo shows the type of sausage used and the amount of diced sausage from one link.)
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F) and get out a 9x13 baking pan.
- Add the ricotta or cottage cheese to a mixing bowl, crack in the egg and mix together. Add the basil, oregano, and parsley and mix that in. Then add the Mozzarella and Parmesan and mix that in.
- Now add the diced sausage to the cheese mixture and mix that in.
- Add ¾ cup of the spaghetti sauce to the 9x13 baking dish and spread that evenly over the bottom (tilting and shaking the pan works great). Take a drained pasta shell and fill using about 1½ heaping teaspoons of the filling, place the filled shells in the pan.
- Repeat filling the shells and placing in the dish in order. I could have easily put in 21 shells, 3 rows of 7, but miscounted and I had one break, so the lower left corner I just put the broken shell and excess filling. 22 shells are stated in the ingredients, this is to allow for one breaking during cooking, and if it does not, just go ahead and squeeze that one into one of the rows.
- Take the remaining spaghetti sauce and pour that over the middle of the shells. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place on the table in the pan and serve family style.
- Spoon onto plates and enjoy with sides of your choice.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Cottage Cheese, Spaghetti Sauce.
Best-Ever Beans & Sausage
This is an easy and tasty dish to put together, and geared towards using canned beans but I have listed the shortcuts to prepare from dry if you desire to. This recipe makes a lot! To use beans you cooked, use 1½ cups cooked for each can. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo bulk spicy pork sausage, or bulk breakfast sausage, (2 lbs), Shortcut
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 can pork and beans, (28 oz / 794 g)
- 1 can red Kidney beans, rinsed and drained, (15 oz / 425 g), Shortcut
- 1 can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained, (15 oz / 425 g), Shortcut
- 1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained, (15 oz / 425 g), Shortcut
- 1 can Pinto beans, rinsed and drained, (15 oz / 425 g), Shortcut
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, (15 oz / 425 g), Shortcut
- 1 ½ cups tomato ketchup
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F) and grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- Heat a large pot on medium heat, add the sausage, onion, and green bell pepper. Crumble the sausage with your spatula and cook the sausage through. Drain the fat. (I used breakfast sausage.)
- Add the ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard to the pot and mix together.
- Add all the beans and mix together.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool for several minutes.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Spicy Pork Sausage, Kidney Beans (Pressure Cooker), Great Northern Beans (Pressure Cooker), Black-eyed Peas (Pressure Cooker), Pinto Beans (Pressure Cooker), Chickpeas (Pressure Cooker).
Variants: 1. The use of breakfast sausage is highly recommended! 2. Top each serving with a fried egg or two. 3. Use a can of black beans instead of black-eyed peas, drained. 4. Reduce ketchup to 1 cup and add 1/2 cup BBQ sauce. 5. Use baked beans instead of pork and beans.
Sausage Sandwich
Now a true British Sausage Sandwich would be Cumberland or Lincolnshire sausages on a floured bap with ketchup or brown sauce. However, this being Thailand, floured baps are quite scarce in a province where there is very few westerners, but I do make some excellent Cumberland sausage so that part is possible for me. But, I am going to make these with a bit of a twist. Here is 3 versions for you to enjoy.
Ingredients
1st Version (Asian)
- 4 links Arabiki sausage, in Thailand, these are 4 links to a pack
- 2 slices wheat bread, toasted
- ketchup, or Kewpie mayo, as desired
2nd Version (American)
- 1 link Italian sausage
- ½ onion, sliced
- 1 hamburger bun, or white bread
- Cream cheese, softened
3rd Version (British)
- 3-4 thin links Cumberland sausage
- 1 hamburger bun
- ketchup, or HP brown sauce
Instructions
1st Version (Asian)
- Stab the sausages with a fork along the length, this prevents bursting. Heat a non stick pan with a teaspoon of oil, when hot, add the sausage and cook until browned.
- Toast the bread, add the sausage links to one slice, top with ketchup or Kewpie mayo as desired.
- Top with the second slice of toasted bread, cut in half, enjoy.
2nd Version (American)
- Butterfly the sausage. Heat a non stick pan with a teaspoon of oil, when hot, add the sausage and cook until browned.
- In another pan, saute the onion until softened and starting to brown.
- Spread cream cheese on the top and bottom of the bun or on one side of each slice of bread. Place the sausage on the bottom of the bun or a slice of bread, top with the onion, top with the other half of bun or slice bread, enjoy.
3rd Version (British)
- Stab the sausages with a fork along the length, this prevents bursting. Heat a non stick pan with a teaspoon of oil, when hot, add the sausage and cook until browned.
- Add the sausage links to the bottom bun, top with ketchup or HP sauce as desired.
- Top with the other half of the bun, enjoy.
Notes
If making the Cumberland or Italian sausage yourself, this is a Low cost sandwich, if buying the sausage, this could be Fair to High priced per sandwich. I will mark this one as Fair priced for now.
Arabiki Sausage 101
Arabiki sausage is a smoked Japanese coarse pork sausage in sheep casings, the casing give it a distinctive snap when bitten into. Here in Thailand, they come plain and also with cheese. These are typically small sausages, about the size of a finger, and these have to be cooked first. Oddly, the only brand of this sausage I have ever seen is only available at none other than 7-11. These come 4 sausages to a pack, which makes a nice single serving. These can be used in many ways.
Ingredients
- 1 package Arabiki sausage
Instructions
- Here is the two types, plain smoked on the left, and with cheese on the right.
- Heat a non stick pan and add the sausage, figure 4 sausages per serving, here I am cooking 4 packages.
- Turn occasionally and cook until browned.
- Serve with a potato and or vegetable side dish.
- Now with the pan fried sausages, serve as is, or slice and add to your favorite mac & cheese, add to a pasta dish.
- The directions on the packet are to microwave in the package (have to open the package first) for 45 seconds. Keeping them in the package prevents fat from splattering all over in your microwave, then they are ready for use.
- Another way to prepare these is to slice in half at an angle add to a pot of broth then serve with an Asian noodle soup, then you could stretch 1 package into say 2 servings.
- Another way to prepare these is to run onto skewers and place on a grill, turn often until nicely browned.
Notes
One package of 4 Japanese sausages is about 42 Baht. Figuring 4 sausage per serving, this is about $1.32 per serving. If adding to say a mac & cheese, you may only need to add 1 package, then the cost per serving would be less than $1 per serving.
Common preparation methods for Arabiki sausage. Lee Thayer.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Longanisa II (Filipino Sweet Sausage)
Sounds excellent and on my too cook and taste list. I have enjoyed this in the Philippines some 20 years ago or so, I really need to make this. I will determine the number of links after I make this.
Equipment
- Meat Grinder if grinding the pork yourself.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo pork butt or shoulder, (2 lb)
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- sausage casings, natural hog or collegan
Instructions
Grinding Yourself
- Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, place in a large mixing bowl, add all remaining ingredients except the casings, mix well.
- Assemble your meat grinder with the medium plate (3/16 inch holes), run the meat mixture through the grinder. Once everything is run through, mix again with your hands to make sure the mixture is really mixed. Now ready to stuff.
For Purchased Ground Pork
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients except the casings.
- Mix with your hands to thoroughly combine the mixture really well. Now ready to stuff.
Stuff the Casings
- Use casings of your choice, natural hog or collagen casings and follow the providers instructions to prepare the casings.
- Stuff the sausage with your preferred method, tie off the links, ready to cook now or freeze for later use.
To Cook
- A sort of poach and fry is preferred.
- Add sausage to a large pan in a single layer, add water to cover the sausages by halfway. Bring to a simmer and cook, turning the sausage occasionally, until most of the water is cooked off.
- Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and cook the sausages, turning them as needed to make nice and golden brown sausages.
- Serve as a breakfast side, or as I will do, as a dinner side with some sunny side up eggs and fresh hash browns.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Scottish Lorne Sausage
This sounds very nice, on my to make and taste list for sure, and no casings involved in this. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 500 grams ground pork, fatty pork, pork belly is perfect, (1 lb)
- ½ cup ice water
- ¾ cup bread crumbs, Shortcut
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix thoroughly using your hands.
- Place the meat mixture into a loaf pan and firmly pack it to make a level 'loaf'. Place the pan in the freezer until it stiffens up yet is still able to be sliced.
- Remove the pan from the freezer and turn upside down on a cutting board.
- Slice into ½ inch slices.
- Fry up the slices now, or place the slices in a plastic container with parchment paper between slices and place in the freezer for later use. Enjoy.
Notes
I will price this next time I buy beef, for now I will say Fair cost per serving just based on the use of beef.
Shortcut: Bread Crumbs.
