Slow Cooked: Spicy Sausage Dip

I made this dish over the weekend. We were supposed to all hang out and watch football. That did not happen and my husband and I were left with all this food to eat. What a shame!

Spicy Sausage Dip

2 16oz packs of spicy italian sausage
2 15oz cans diced tomatoes with chilies
4 8oz packs cream cheese
Zesty Onion, Chipotle or Citrus Habanero Olive Oil

Slit open the sausage casing and crumble the sausage into a large pan. If needed, add a little olive oil. Brown the meat, stirring frequently. Should be about 10 minutes. Drain out the fat and toss the meat in the crock pot.

Stir in the tomatoes with chilies and cube the cream cheese and add that too. Drizzle in some of the olive oil, 1-2 tbsp at first and stir to coat everything well.

Turn the crock pot to low and let cook for 1 hour. Stir occasionally to really mix in the cream cheese. Taste for spice and add a little more olive oil if desired.

Cook for 1 more hour and serve. Great with crackers, or veggies, dip away!

Slow Cooked: Potatoes

I'm discovering you can slow cook almost anything. It just takes a little ingredient alteration and of course, time.

I never would have thought to put whole potatoes in a slow cooker. But thanks to the wonders of the internet, someone's idea floated around long enough to make it to me. I don't know who you are original person, but you are brilliant. Thank you.

This recipe is really for one potato. You just scale it around how many potatoes your crock pot can hold.

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Potatoes

1 tbsp Olive Oil per potato

Scrub your potatoes clean and poke them with a fork several times all around. Cut squares of tinfoil to wrap them in. 

Oil your potato on all sides. Wrap up.

Place in the crock pot on low for 5-8 hours or high for 2-3.

Break open and serve with your choice of toppings.

The Double Bacon and Cheese

Rubbed with Bacon Olive Oil and topped

 with crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar

The White Truffle Garlic

Rubbed down with White Truffle Garlic Olive Oil

 and topped with sauteed mushrooms and a

 little Black Truffle Sea Salt.

And the Zesty Onion!

Rubbed with the Zesty Onion Olive Oil and 

topped with sour cream and pickled jalapenos. 

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.

Zesty Onion Hero

A Hero. This memorial day, go thank one!

Maybe with this hero. The sandwich. Which was supposed to be all grilled, but it was raining, so it's roasted instead. Oh well.

My favorite thing about cook outs is the grilled vegetables. Nice and caramelized, little crisp bits on the ends. I am not a vegetarian, but a grilled veggie sandwich is heaven. The best thing about this is that you can modify this for however many people you need to feed.


Zesty Onion Hero
serves 2

Long rolls
1 bunch scallions
1 bell pepper
1/2 an onion
1/2 an eggplant
1/4 cup fresh salsa
Zesty Onion Olive Oil
cumin
salt and pepper
4 slices pepperjack cheese

Slice the veggies very thinly. Just trim the hairy bits off the scallions. Toss with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch salt. Set aside to marinate for at least ten minutes. You will need a grill basket for the best results, but a bit of folded tin foil will do the job in a pinch.

Heat your grill, this doesn't have to be super hot just for veggies. Do this while you are doing other things. Keep this off the direct heat unless you want truly crispy vegetables.

Brush the bread with oil and lightly grill. Just a little. Set the veggies down on the grill and sprinkle with a bit of cumin and black pepper. Depending on your heat level, it shouldn't take more than 5 to 10 minutes to finish off. Toss them around with tongs to keep the scallions from burning. Everything should be well browned.

Top your roll with cheese and pile on the veggies. Scoop on a tablespoon or two of fresh salsa and bite into spicy, crisp, cook-out heaven.

Other good add ins are portobello mushrooms. asparagus, green beans, broccoli rabe, spinach or watercress. And of course, bits of chicken if you want it. But don't leave off the scallions! It sounds odd, but it is the best! Just ask Greg at Sippity Sup. (He gave me the first idea to grill scallions, waaayyy back in February.)

So thank a hero and eat good food. Happy Memorial Day all!

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Pork Chops with Hot Slaw

Pork chops can be very boring, unless you cook them in a flavored oil! So that's what I did today. I was in the mood for some spice, so I used the Zesty Onion Oil and tossed some of our red pepper paste in the slaw. No boring pork chops here!

Pork Chops with Hot Slaw

1 pkg (4) pork chops or pork steaks
2 tbsp Zesty Onion Olive Oil
1/2 head escarole, rough chopped
2-3 carrots, cut in matchsticks
1 apple, diced
1/2 cup raisins
2-3 tbsp fresh dill
2 tbsp red pepper paste

Preheat your oven to 350degrees. Heat the oil to medium high in an oven safe pan large enough for all the meat. Season with salt and lightly brown each side. Cover lightly with a sheet of foil and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes.

Remove the chops to a plate and put the pan back on the stove top. Toss all the slaw ingredients together with the pan juices and warm through until the escarole is wilted down. About 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Mushroom and Artichoke Pasta

I have been cooking for my mother lately. She isn't as fond of cooking as I am, and since I see her at work all the time, I get to bring her lunch at least once a week. Now I'm sure that you have realized that I am a big fan of mushrooms by now. And she is a big fan of artichokes, so I decided to combine those too things into a really delicious meal that takes very little time to prepare.

It went over well.

Mushroom and Artichoke Pasta

1 lg onion, sliced thinly
3 tbsp Zesty Onion Olive Oil
1 can of artichoke hearts, drained
1 lb mushrooms, quartered
chopped fresh parsley
2-4 leaves chopped sage
1 pkg penne pasta, cooked
1/2 cup Port Wine

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion. Saute 5-7 minutes. It should be slightly caramelized by now. Add in the mushrooms and a little salt. Cook for 3-5 minutes then add the wine and artichokes.

Increase the heat to a simmer. Let it cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the parsley and the sage and stir to really pull it through everything. Stir the pasta in and make sure that everything is warmed through.

Serve with really good bread and enjoy!

Toasted Crostini with Eggplant and Mushroom Appetizer

I served this at Christmas with the appetizers. It's so simple, I think I'm bringing it to a New Years party too.

Toasted Crostini

1 long baguette
1/4 cup Olive Oil
    I like Zesty Onion* with this, or just Italian Herb
1-2 tbsp Italian Table Blend spices

Slice the baguette into thin slices. Heat the oven to 350degrees. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the spices.

Bake about 7 minutes. But watch them, mine took about 6 minutes. My sister-in-law made these, but her oven took almost 10 minutes. They should be golden brown.

Serve with the Mushroom and Eggplant* appetizer.

*Available in stores or by phone right now. The olive oil will be up soon.

African Groundnut Stew

While this hearty stew is traditionally made with peanuts, I love to use cashews with it. Sorry I couldn't get this up yesterday. This is one of my favorite winter foods. And I got to use our newest oil!

It is also very easy to make this vegetarian. Use more sweet potatoes, throw in some carrots and use a veggie broth instead of chicken broth and it's still the best comfort food around!

African Groundnut Stew
Inspired by Simply Recipes

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 Chicken Thighs
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into medium pieces
2 tbsp Zesty Onion Olive Oil *
2 tbsp Citrus Habanero Olive Oil
1 28oz can tomatoes
2 small onions, diced
1 cup cashew butter
1 cup roasted cashews
1 3inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
6-8 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper, at least
Salt and Black Pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, for serving

In a large soup pot, heat the Citrus Habanero Olive Oil to medium high heat. Rinse the chicken and sprinkle with salt. Add to the pan, skin side down and cook about 10 minutes, flipping once to brown all sides. Pull them from the pan and set aside for later.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and saute the onions for 2-4 minutes. Add in the garlic and the ginger and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Stir often to make sure nothing is sticking. Add in the sweet potatoes and stir to coat everything well.

Add in the chicken, broth, tomatoes, cashew butter and coriander. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Taste for salt. Simmer about 45 minutes. Add in the cashews. Simmer another 30-45 minutes. The chicken should be falling apart.

Remove the chicken to another bowl and shred the meat. Discard the bones and skin. Add the meat back into the stew along with the cayenne and a few tablespoons of black pepper.

This stew should be spicy and thick, warming from the inside out. The best kind of food for winter.

* Our new Zesty Onion Olive Oil isn't on our website yet. Available in store or by phone only right now!