Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies - Keto

This turned out so good and took little prep time and 16 minutes of cook time!  Fresh veggies, polish sausage, and just the right amount of spices made for a perfect Summer dinner! If you are looking for a keto meal, this is a great one and it can all be cooked at the same time on a sheet pan! How easy is that! 

You can find the receipe below! 

Sheet Pan Recipe - Click Here! 

Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies - Keto

Freezing Brussels Sprouts

Plunging into water.

For the past few weeks I have been ordering a basket of veggies and fruits for $15.00 from bountiful baskets, and about a week and a half ago I had a freezer day and frozen some of those veggies.  For the next few days I will be sharing my home freezing successes.  I was nervous at first, because I really didn't know what I was doing, but once I got my home freezing book out and started doing it, it was really easy and actually kind of fun!

This is what I received this week in my bountiful basket!

Freezing Brussels Sprouts!

Brussels Spouts actually freeze very well!  To prepare them for the freezer you first have to wash them and trim off any outer leaves and stems that remain.  I sorted them into small, medium and large sizes.  After sorting then you water blanch small sprouts for three minutes, medium sprouts for four minutes and then large sprouts for five minutes.  If you choose to steam blanch your sprouts, small ones should be blanched for four minutes, medium-sized for five minutes and large sprouts for six minutes.  Immediately following blanching, plunge into ice water until completely cooled and then drain thoroughly.  After they are thoroughly dried, you can transfer to freezer bags or containers and place in the freezer.  

My sprouts before the blanching process.

Freezing Q&A:

Why the ice water plunge?

This was a question I had when I first started reading up on freezing veggies.  Little did I know how important this step actually is.  If you don't cool down your vegetables as soon as they emerge from the boiling water or steam, they will get soggy.  So, it is very important not to skip this step!

The sprouts ready to be put in the freezer!

Freezing Brussels Sprouts

25 pounds of carrots!

If you read by blog earlier this week, you will recall my joy over discovering Bountiful Baskets, www.bountifulbaskets.org, and that I also mentioned ordering 25 lbs of carrots for only $8.50, to be picked up today. Wow, let me just say that 25 lbs of carrots is a lot of carrots! I am so pleased with today's basket. For $15.00 I got a bag of red potatoes, 3 onions 4 green peppers, one red pepper, a package of blueberries, a head of cabbage, a bag of green beans, a bundle of asparagus, a stock of romaine lettuce, 2 grapefruit 8 oranges, 6 apples and 3 tomatoes. I am so pleased with this food co-op and can't wait to plan this week's meals! Now to start peeling and freezing some carrots!

25 pounds of carrots!

Chicken Pot Pie

With winter in full force here in Wyoming, what better pie to warm up with than a good old fashion homemade Chicken Pot Pie!  My family was thrilled when they realized I had this bubbly dish of yumminess baking in the oven.  Definitely some good comfort food for these cold winter days!

PRINTABLE VERSION
What you need:
2 pie crusts (I use Pillsbury refrigerated crusts, two come in a pkg)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 small to medium Russet potatoes
2 carrots
1/2 can peas
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 stalk of celery
1/4 cups of milk
salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:
1.  Preheat oven to 425.
2.  Prepare crusts according to directions.
2.  Put chicken in a pot of boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes.  In the mean time, peel your carrots and potatoes (I leave the skin on my potatoes) and cut up, along with the stalk of celery and add to the boiling chicken.  Boil for another 5-7 minutes until veggies are slightly tender.
3.  Remove the boiling pot from heat and drain.  Remove the chicken and cut up into pieces.
4.  Mix together the chicken, carrots, potatoes, celery, peas, chicken soup, milk, salt and pepper.
5.  After mixture is combined, place in the prepared pie plate.  Place second pie crust on top and pinch edges together.
6.  Cut slits in the top of the crust.
7.  Cook for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and mixture is bubbly.

*You may want to cover your crust edges the last 15-20 minutes of baking to avoid burnt edges!

Mixture combined and placed in pie plate with bottom crust

Add top crust, pinch edges together and cut slits in top crust

 Bake, Slice and Dig In!

just a little glimpse of our town today after a whole bunch of this white stuff got dumped on us during the night!  A little winter wonderland in Wyoming this weekend!

Chicken Pot Pie

Egg Rolls

 I love Egg Rolls, but making them from scratch, at home, has always intimidated me.  I finally conquered my fear, bought all the ingredients and found out that not only are homemade egg rolls delicious, but they are also so simple to make, it makes a ton and is so much cheaper than buying the packaged ones in the freezer section at the grocery store. I baked mine instead of frying them, but I will also include the directions for frying if you prefer that method.

PRINT THIS RECIPE


What you need:
1 pkg Egg Roll Wraps (24 count)
1 lb lean ground pork
1 tsp minced ginger (i used ground ginger)
*2 cups cabbage, finely chopped
1/4 lb bean sprouts
*1/2 cup carrot, shredded
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
*I used the packaged slaw mix for the cabbage and carrots and used about 3 cups total.


**Canola oil if frying
    Non-stick cooking spray if baking
    Olive oil as needed if baking
    Optional sauce for dipping


How to make them:
Stir-fry meat and ginger in skillet over high heat until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes.  Add cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots and green onions, cook 2 minutes.  Stir in oyster sauce.  Let mixture cool.

1.  Use 2 tablespoons filing for each egg roll.  Place filling diagonally on wrap.

2.  Fold bottom corner over filling; roll snugly half-way to cover filling.

 3.  Fold in both sides snugly against filing; moisten edges of last flap.

 4.  Roll wrap up and seal top corner; lay flap-side down until ready to cook.

Frying option:
In a large skillet, heat oil to 350 degrees F and place rolls flap down, a few at a time, turning occasionally, until golden, 2-3 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.

Baking Method:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place rolls on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray.  Lightly brush the tops with olive oil and bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

I had a ton of left overs, so i wrapped each one individually in parchment paper and then placed them in zip lock bags.  Be sure to label your bags and make sure you use them within two months of freezing.  Thaw at room temperature before using and then bake at 400 degree F, for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Egg Rolls