Slow Cooked: Candy Sausage Bites

This is a very different kind of crock pot meal. It's not even much of a meal. It's party food. And it's the fasted slow cooker recipe I've ever made. It only take 1-3 hours, but you can have it on warm for much longer. If you use precooked sausage, it can be ready in 30 minutes.

This is football food!

Candy Sausage Bites

2 lbs sausage, spicy or mild is up to you
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup horseradish
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp Zesty Onion Olive Oil
2 tbsp Vanilla Balsamic

Chop the sausage into small bite sized pieces. It is easier to slice if you put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Or you can use precooked sausage. That slices nicely. Put the sausage and the onions into your crock pot.

Mix together all the sauce ingredients in another bowl. Whisk well until smoothly combined. Pour over the sausage and onions and stir to coat everything well.

Cover and turn the crock pot on to high about 30 minutes, or until boiling. If using precooked sausage, you can reduce the heat to low and start serving now. If you are using raw sausage, reduce the heat to low and let simmer at least one hour.

The longer this sits, the thicker the sauce will get. If you want it really thick, remove the lid once you reduce the heat to low.

Pork with Black Beans and Escarole

I know that pork and beans are a classic pairing. Add greens and you have a perfect soup. But I find that that works best with ground pork or sausage and I had a couple pork steaks still in the freezer from last week. So instead of soup, I sliced up the pork and made this awesomeness!

Pork with Black Beans and Escarole

serves 2-4

2 pork steaks

1 sm head of escarole, rough chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tbsp Blood Orange Olive Oil

1 tbsp Vanilla Balsamic

salt and pepper

1 tbsp Basiks, Southwest Blend

Heat the olive oil to medium high heat and add the pork steaks. Cook 2 minutes each side, or until you get a good sear on them. Remove from the pan and let cool a little. Slice into strips and return to the pan. Add the Southwest Spices(optional) and the salt and pepper. Finish cooking now, give them 2-4 minutes a side. 

Add the black beans and the escarole and stir to combine. Cover and let simmer together about 3 minutes, or until the escarole is well wilted and the beans are heated through. Stir in the Vanilla Balsamic and serve!

Sticky Balsamic Chicken

I was craving fried chicken wings this week. I decided to be healthier and make this. It's pretty awesome and solved my craving. Yay chicken!

Sticky Balsamic Chicken

10 chicken drumsticks
3 tbsp Olive Oil*
1/4 cup Vanilla Balsamic
1/4 cup molassas
2 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Arrange your chicken in a large casserole pan. Brush the olive oil over them and bake 20 minutes. *I like to use the Jalapeno or Chipotle for this one. Gives it an extra zing!

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a large bowl. Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the sauce over top. Turn them to coat and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. Turning once while cooking.

Store Snack

My mom got a call last month from a customer who told her that the Vanilla is fantastic on watermelon. So we made it here today. What a great snack!