Tag Archives: skillet dinner

Cheesy Pork and Tomatillo Skillet

Uncategorized, , , , ,

Trust me on this one, if you’re gonna cheat, this is the babe you should be doing it with! Calories aside, it’s worth cutting back earlier in the day to imbibe in this decadent cheesy concoction.

If you are looking for a reason to make a meaty, cheesy, saucy skillet dip for dinner, look no further. Great when eaten with tortilla chips but just as great scooped into a bowl and devoured with a spoon, this one-pan dish comes together in around 45 minutes. Serve up to four as a main course, or just let your guests have at it as an appetizer.

Bright and acidic tomatillos are the star here; often sold in their papery husks, this tart fruit softens and gets sweeter as it cooks, adding freshness to the otherwise rich and oozy skillet (thank you, melty pepper Jack cheese).

Pork is a natural friend to green chiles and cumin, but feel free to use any ground meat—or meat substitute—you have on hand. If the contents of this skillet doesn’t disappear in the first go around, thank your lucky stars there will be leftovers.

Cheesy Pork and Tomatillo Skillet

  • Servings: 4-8
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 large poblano chile, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
  • 3 medium tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, coarsely chopped
  • 2 4-oz. cans diced green chiles
  • 8 oz. pepper Jack cheese, coarsely grated
  • Cilantro leaves with tender stems and tortilla chips (for serving)

Directions

  1. Place 1 lb. ground pork in a medium bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. ground cumin, and 1 tsp. smoked paprika. Using your hands, gently mix to incorporate.
  2. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook pork mixture, undisturbed, until browned and beginning to crisp underneath, about 3 minutes. Break up meat into ½” pieces with a wooden spoon and continue to cook, stirring often, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a small bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving fat behind; set aside.
  3. Add 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, and 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, to same skillet; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is slightly softened and garlic is starting to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Add 1 large poblano chile, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced, and 3 medium tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, coarsely chopped; cook, stirring occasionally, until poblano is golden in spots, about 1 minute. Add two 4-oz. cans diced green chiles and 1 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until almost all liquid is evaporated and tomatillos are mostly softened, 7–9 minutes. Remove from heat.
  4. Heat broiler. Add reserved pork mixture to skillet and stir to combine. Top evenly with 8 oz. pepper Jack cheese, coarsely grated. Broil until cheese is melted and starting to blister in spots, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly.
  5. Top with cilantro leaves with tender stems. Serve with tortilla chips.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Kendra Vaculan for Bon Appétit

Kielbasa Skillet Dinner

Uncategorized, , ,

“Kielbasa,” the Polish word for “sausage” typically carries a more pronounced garlic flavor and is lightly smoked. When you purchase kielbasa in the grocery store, it has already been smoked and pre-cooked so you are automatically saving cooking time with this ingredient.

While microwaving the potato pieces also saves time, the results are uneven. In fact, they were nowhere near done after four minutes, so I zapped them for another four. If you can spare a bit of extra time, I suggest boiling the potatoes in water until soft for a more uniform tenderness.

After the fact, we thought the softened potatoes should have been browned with the onion to get a crisp on the outside. It’s nearly impossible to do so in the crowded pan with all of the sausage.

Our conclusion? The original recipe (as listed below) was too sweet with two tablespoons of brown sugar. If like us, you prefer a more savory flavor, cut back on the brown sugar to—at most—one tablespoon; and increase the amount of Dijon mustard. Finally, using only half an onion seemed a bit underwhelming so an entire onion was chopped.

Kielbasa Skillet Dinner

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. red potatoes (3-4 medium), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 Tbsp. water
  • 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1-1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 3/4 1b. smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions

  1. Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave, covered, on high until potatoes are tender, 3-4 minutes (ours took 8 minutes); drain.
  2. Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; sauté onion and kielbasa until onion is tender.
  3. Add potatoes; cook and stir until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Stir in brown sugar mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Stir in spinach until wilted. Stir in bacon.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe for TasteOfHome.com

Turkey Sausage Skillet

Uncategorized, , ,

Meet weeknight cooking at its best! Combining a few flavorful ingredients like turkey sausage, onions and garlic, with pantry staples such as crushed tomatoes and Italian herbs, then utilizing a simple cooking technique, this recipe builds flavor with every step. And it’s easy-peasy!

Yum and Yum!

Sliced onions and peppers are sautéed in the drippings left behind from cooking the sausage. Aromatic garlic and herbs get added toward the end, so they have time to bloom without getting overcooked. Acidic tomatoes help release any flavor stuck to the bottom of the pan after the other ingredients have been cooked, to the benefit of the entire dish.

So the end result is a single-dish dinner alive with richly spiced sausage, silky cooked vegetables, all bathing in a tomatoey pan sauce over a bed of egg noodles. To keep it low-carb, just nix the noodles.

Turkey Sausage Skillet

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. Italian turkey sausage links, cut into 1-inch slices
  • 2 onions, peeled and sliced thin 
  • 2 bell peppers of different colors, halved, seeded, and cut into strips
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 pkg. egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
After browning the sausage slices on both sides, transfer to a plate and cut into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle on chopped oregano and cover to keep warm.
  • Add chopped garlic to sautéed onions and peppers
  • Add cooked sausage and chopped basil
  • Mix thoroughly and heat through

Directions

  1. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add sausage slices and cook for about 10 minutes, until no longer pink inside (165°).
  2. Leaving as much fat in the pan, transfer to a plate and chop into smaller pieces. Sprinkle on the chopped oregano, and cover to keep warm.
  3. Reduce heat to medium and add the onions, peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender.
  4. Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to package directions.
  5. To the skillet, stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
  6. Stir in the crushed tomato and cooked sausage. heat to simmering while stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes until completely heated through and piping hot.
  7. Serve over cooked egg noodles and garnish with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

http://www.lynnandruss.com