Friday, June 15, 2012

Kielbasa and Vegetables

I hadn't thawed anything to cook today, and needed to make something fast and easy, if I was going to make anything at all in time for lunch.  Kielbasa thaws really fast, and it's pre-cooked, so it seemed like a good idea.
My mom always cooked kielbasa with carrots and potatoes, and some water so it would all steam together. I don't have any potatoes at the moment, and I'm trying to cut back on starches in every-day meals... and I had some cauliflower that REALLY needed to be used up...
This is what I came up with.

Chop up an onion.  Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a fry pan.
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Start sauteing (on high or medium-high, depending on your stove--I wanted it to sound "sizzilly") the onion as you chop up three carrots.  Add the carrots.
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Continue to saute as you chop up some cauliflower.  (I used up the end of a head--maybe a couple of cups.)  I wasn't exactly sauteing--more like stirring occasionally.  But I liked how the onions and cauliflower started to caramelize on the sides.
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Continue to saute as you halve/quarter 8 oz of mushrooms.
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Continue to saute as you slice a 13 oz kielbasa (this one was turkey).
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Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt (mine is kosher salt) and some black pepper. (I measured the salt after I poured it into my hand--it was just under 1/2 teaspoon.  I was curious.)

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Smash up 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seed with a mortar and pestle and add that.  (If you have ground mustard powder on hand, I'm sure that would be just about the same.)
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The mushrooms throw off quite a bit of liquid.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, probably reducing the heat to medium, until the kielbasa is warm and the vegetables are cooked as much as you like them.
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We decided that it was very good.  It's different from just carrots and potatoes, but I might actually prefer this!

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