Polish Sausage Soup

This recipe is from a family friend. I love polish sausage or kielbasa as most people call it. My husband and son love it too, which is great because my son is not a big meat eater. And I know that it is high in salt, but I decided to just leave the salt out of this soup as a compromise. This soup is awesome too because you can easily make this whole recipe in the crock pot, go to work and come home to a hot home cooked meal. Just leave out the barley, and add that 10 minutes before dinner. Yummy, and super easy. Perfect for winter!!

I always buy kielbasa and then it sits in my fridge because I don't know what to do with it. I think this is my only recipe that calls for it. So, if anyone has any recipes that call for kielbasa or polish sausage I would be more than appreciative.

Polish Sausage Soup

1 link of polish sausage or kielbasa
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can great northern beans, also called Navy beans
1/2 cup of quick cooking barley
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
2 32 oz. boxes chicken stock or broth
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot.
Add diced veggies and garlic, saute for 10 minutes.
Cut kielbasa into coins, about 1/4 inch thick.
Add chicken stock, tomatoes, beans and kielbasa.
Heat to boiling and add barley. Boil for 10 minutes or until barley and veggies are tender.
Eat many large bowls of this. Go to bed stuffed!!

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

I love Alfredo, and my husband loves it even more. All that creamy cheesy goodness....yummy!! We have tried every kind of jarred Alfredo sauce on the market, but none of them even came close to the real thing. I always thought Alfredo sauce would be a complicated drawn out process. I used to be incredibly afraid of any kind of sauce. (I burnt a bechamel sauce one time, and ever since have been traumatized.)Needless to say, my sister found this great super simple recipe for Alfredo sauce.

This sauce is so easy, you will never need another white sauce again. It is easily adaptable to fit any recipe that calls for a white sauce. I have since used it for Alfredo pasta, white pizza and lasagna. Watch for recipes to come that will use this sauce. I am not positive of the origin, but I will include a note to as where my sister found this, at a later time.

So no one ever said Alfredo had to be low fat, and this recipe is deffinitly not in that category. I am not even going to try and guess what the calorie or fat content would be per serving, especially since I usually eat two bowls. Everything in moderation is key!


Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

olive oil
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick butter or margarine
3-4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch chunks
1 head of broccoli, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 pound pasta, such as penne
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste


Heat oil in a skillet and brown chicken pieces.
Add Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile boil pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli and boil for the last five minutes of pasta cooking time. Drain.
In a small sauce pan, melt stick of butter.
Add Parmesan cheese and heavy cream, stirring until smooth.
Toss with pasta, broccoli and chicken.
Eat alot!!

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Everyone loves potatoes, right? My family is crazy for them. There are endless recipes that use potatoes, and since they are fairly inexpensive and very filling you can really get your moneys worth with them.

This recipe is my mother's, and she really does not measure anything anymore. All of her cooking skill is in her head, so when I asked her to write this one down for me, she gave me the "Are you kidding? " look! So instead, she verbally told me how to make this dish, which is a family favorite of ours. I made it just how she told me, layer by layer, and it did actually come out just like hers.

I was so proud of myself, I called her and told her as I was devouring a humongous bowl. My son ate all of his.....and some of mine! Yummy!


Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

2 cups cubed ham ( I use the precooked packaged kind you find near the bacon, don't be afriad.....its great)
8-10 potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
flour
salt and pepper
1 stick of butter
milk

Butter a casserole dish and preheat oven to 375
Slice potatoes thinly
place potatoes in an even layer on bottom of casserole dish
layer with ham cubes
sprinkle with salt and pepper
using a tablespoon, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour
break butter off into small pieces and sprinkle over the dish, leaving enough for several more layers
pour enough milk over dish to just cover the potatoes and ham
Repeat layers, potatoes, ham, flour and salt and pepper and butter until the dish is full, ending with a layer of potatoes.
pour milk over casserole until it comes to the top of the potatoes
I usually put my casserole dish on a baking sheet just in case it gets excited and decides to bubble over.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and top is golden brown and bubbly.

This makes a fairly good size casserole. We usually eat all of it in one sitting, that's how incredibly rich and delicious this recipe is!