Make-Fast Mondays: Bratwurst with Beans and Greens

I’ve been firing up the oven a lot lately, the direct result of a long string of gloomy, rainy days (but please keep it coming, El Niño). Chase the gray away by making this delicious, cozy, quick meal!

Bratwurst with Beans and Greens 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
12 ounces bratwurst or smoked sausage, sliced (I used Saag’s Natural Chicken Bratwurst)
3 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups diced tomatoes (from two cans; you’ll have a little bit extra)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped greens (I used a mix of kale and spinach)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet or other oven-proof pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, smoked paprika, thyme and pepper flakes. Cook for another 3-3 minutes so everything’s nice and warm. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the greens. Season with salt and pepper, then put skillet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Sticking to resolution with superbly smoky soup

This is how Milk Pail Market, one of my favorite Mountain View grocery stores, encouraged visitors to kick off 2015:

That’s a resolution I can get behind every year, and sure enough I recently picked up some fantastic oak-smoked cheddar from these guys. Great on its own, but also quite delightful melted into this soup.

Smoky Cheddar Potato Soup 
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced small, ¼ cup reserved
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
48 ounces vegetable broth
2 cups grated smoked cheddar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Warm olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic, onions, smoked paprika, cayenne and bell peppers and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes. Increase heat, add potatoes and broth to pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Using a ladle or glass measuring cup, scoop three cups of soup into blender. Puree soup and stir back into the pot. Remove soup from heat and stir in cheese until it’s melted into the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of red bell pepper.

Rice, rice baby

Chris and I are trying to mix up our carbs a bit so we’re not shoveling spaghetti into our mouths all the time.
This recipe is adapted from one found in of my oldest cookbooks, “On Rice” by Rick Rogers. I bought it, used at a bookstore in downtown Chico, when I was in college. Although I’ve had this book for many years, I haven’t started cooking with it until recently. I used less oil and broth than the original recipe called for, doubled the garlic, amped up the dried oregano, used smoked paprika (the recipe called for Hungarian paprika) and added some diced stewed tomatoes.

Chicken San Juan
Adapted from “On Rice” by Rick Rogers
Steamed rice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into square-inch chunks
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup thawed frozen peas
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, in juice
½ cup medium pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick frying pan. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add onion, red pepper, garlic, oregano and bay leaf. Cover and cook until the vegetables soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in broth, peas, tomatoes and paprika and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for a couple minutes, until ingredients are heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf. Serve over rice.

Firing up the barbecue? Try these burgers

It was a beautiful early spring evening, and I was determined to do some grilling. Good thing I had ground turkey in the fridge and a produce drawer full of flavorful goodies. These burgers ended up quite flavorful, with a nice little kick from the spices and the chipotle cheddar.

Spicy Turkey Burgers
1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Chipotle cheddar or pepper jack, one slice per burger
1 strip cooked turkey bacon per burger
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons hot sauce
Red bell pepper, sliced
Avocado, sliced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
4 Kaiser rolls, sliced open and toasted
Salt and pepper, a dash each

Whisk mayonnaise and hot sauce in small bowl and place in refrigerator.
Combine turkey, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in bowl. Form four patties and place on plate. Place patties on grill, cooking roughly five minutes on one side before flipping over. Add cheese to each patty and cook for another five minutes or so, until cooked through.
Place burger on half of bun. Spread mayonnaise on top half of bun. Garnish each burger with a slice or two of avocado and red pepper, a pinch of chopped cilantro and strip of turkey bacon (tear or cut it in half first).

Spicing up Sunday with homemade hummus

We had a big, late breakfast this morning, and I planned on making a hearty dinner later, but wanted a quick, healthy snack to keep the energy up in the middle of the day.

So, while at the grocery store this afternoon I picked up some garbanzo beans and decided to take a crack at making hummus. I would have added tahini, but apparently my local Safeway doesn’t carry the sesame seed paste used in a lot of hummus recipes.

Nonetheless, the dip turned out pretty well and has a fresh flavor, thanks to lemon juice, and a little something extra from the smoked paprika, my newly discovered favorite spice.

Smoky Hummus
1 14-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
Juice from one large lemon
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 clove garlic

Throw all ingredients in food processor or blender, and mix until ingredients form a paste. Serve with pita chips and vegetables.