the week of recipes part I

All right.  We're kicking off the week of the black bean, chickpea, apple themed menu, found here.  So far I tried three new recipes that I've never made before, and they were all delicious and super easy.  So tonight the menu was, bake sausage with sauerkraut and apples, potato-pea mash, and spiced applesauce cake.  All I can say is, delicious!

Main Dish

Baked Sausage and Sauerkraut with Apples

adapted from Whole Foods Market

1 large onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 rosemary sprigs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 vegetarian sausages
About 1/2 to 3/4 of a jar of sauerkraut (depending on how much you want)
1/2 cup vegetable broth

3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 bay leaf 3 firm cooking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional) 

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a large oven-safe skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Sauté onion and rosemary sprigs until onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add olive oil to the skillet. Add sausages and cook, turning, just until skins are browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove sausages to a plate.
Add sauerkraut and sautéed onions to the skillet. Place sausages on top.  Pour vegetable broth slowly all over the top. Add bay leaf to the middle of the dish. Cover with a lid or foil and transfer pan to oven. Bake for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare apples by melting remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add apples and sauté until just tender, adding brown sugar, if desired. Apples will cook in about 5 to 10 minutes. To serve, spoon baked sausages and sauerkraut onto a serving platter. Top with sautéed apples. Serve
piping hot with spicy mustard on the side.

Side Dish

Potato and Pea Mash

from Apple for Jam

together it creates...

A Very German Dinner

Then...dessert.

I made this cake about two days ago.  I was supposed to have photos of the entire cake, but let's just say that we ate it so fast, that I literally had to make a mental note to not eat it all tonight before taking a few snapshots of it.  It's that good.  If you have a kid whose birthday is in the fall or something, this is the best, moist, perfect birthday cake!  Or, if you just want cake, make it....

Spiced Applesauce Cake

from Smitten Kitchen

little weasley waiting to eat our food.