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Tag Archives | Easy Dinner

Make These Five Delicious Chicken Burgers Now

Published on July 27, 2017 | in Blog By

Burgers: One of summer’s all stars and one of our very favorite things to eat any season of the year. But if you’ve realized that eating all that ground beef might not be the healthiest way to get through the warmer months, there’s another way to eat burgers without the guilt: Chicken burgers.

Now, before you go running away because of a flashback to a super dry, flavorless patty of the past, remember that using great ingredients and a little cooking sense will keep you on track and sated. For all of you trying to be a little healthier, we salute you. Here are five delicious chicken burgers you should make now.

Rachael Ray’s Chicken Sausage Burgers with Balsamic Onion BBQ Sauce
Honey, fennel seed, garlic, balsamic… what’s not to love about something so flavorful? Start with ground chicken and pancetta, and build from there with this rad recipe from Rachael Ray.

Chicken Sausage Patties with Apple and Sage
A classic combination, apples and sage are great with everything from pork to fish to apple sauce. So, of course they turn ground chicken breast into one of your next favorite summer burgers. Try this Epicurious recipe and tell us what you think.

Greek Chicken Burgers
Greek food is one of our very favorites, with bold, fresh flavors kicking our mouths into gear. Oregano, basil, feta cheese, and sundried tomatoes are the key to this super highly rated AllRecipes recipe for Greek chicken burgers. Bonus: Including prep time, they take under 30 minutes to make.

Green Chili Chicken Burgers
Ready to get zesty? A mix of green chilis, jalapeños, and green onions give plenty of zip and pizzazz to these excellently rated AllRecipes burgers. Not enough flavor for ya? Well, fear not, because they’re topped with cheese and guacamole, to make up for the super healthy chicken base, we suppose…

Serious Eats’ Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burgers
There are few sites we trust more with a recipe than Serious Eats. So, when they put together this Spicy Buffalo Chicken Burger recipe, you know it’s going to be good. All the classic flavors you love with your wings are accounted for, minus all that fryer oil. Plus, there’s plenty of that buttery saucy goodness mixed right into the burger. Yes please!

What’s your favorite chicken burger made with Isernio’s Ground Chicken?

Chicken burger recipes to make right now. #chickenburger #healthyeating

Mac ‘n Cheese, Please!

Published on July 8, 2017 | in Blog By

All year long, there are funny little food holidays that celebrate things like chocolate and pepperoni sticks and ice cream sandwiches. They’re very specific and very frequent, and we kind of ignore a lot of them. But apparently July 7 is national Macaroni and Cheese day, and it’s hard to ignore something that delicious — especially when you add Isernio’s sausage to the mix.

The cool thing about mac ‘n cheese is that there is really no wrong way to make it. It’s all about personal preferences and it’s a very forgiving dish. For many of us, it was one of the first things we ever learned to cook by ourselves, and whether or not that involved pouring powdered cheese from a box into a stove, it was a pretty cool thing to know how to make.

These days, we recommend you leave the powdered cheese to the kids, and focus on using great ingredients to make your macaroni and cheese shine. Here are some great ideas:

Hot Italian Mac ‘n Cheese
It’s a proven fact that our Hot Italian Pork and Chicken Sausages are one of the most versatile foods on earth, fitting in well in everything from lasagna to sandwiches to breakfast casseroles. But when you’re taking it to cheeseville, add in flavors that will complement it. With spices like paprika, fennel, and garlic pumping up the flavor, it does well with any kind of cheese, but especially fontina, jack, and pecorino. Toss in some roasted red peppers, maybe a little extra garlic, and top it all with breadcrumbs before popping it in the oven. Bellissimo.

Chicken and Double Feta Mac
Colorful and flavorful is a solid combo, every day of the week, and our Chicken Spinach Feta Sausage accomplishes both of those feat on the regular. To make it into mac, we like to pop it out of the casing, and sauté up the sausage until it browns a little, then set it aside. In the same pan, you can add tomatoes and mushrooms, letting things soften, and then toss in a little spinach to wilt at the end. Mix the sausage with the veggies and fold it into a cheese sauce made with a Quattro Formaggi cheese blend, then toss in your choice of pasta — lumache is especially interesting and delightful. Before popping it in the oven, crumble feta over top of the pan; or, if you’re not going to bake it, just add crumbles into your bowl for a little extra burst of salty, cheesy goodness.

Summery Chicken Mac ‘n Cheese
It’s always a good day for mac ‘n cheese, but summer is an especially lovely time to make a big batch highlighting great seasonal produce. That’s why our Chicken Basil & Sun Dried Tomato Sausage goes so well in this dish. We like to bump up the basil factor and make a bit of a non-traditional mac. When we make our cheese sauce for this one, we use fontina, a little cream cheese, and a bit of tomato sauce. The creamy sauce is more gooey than stretchy, and is perfect with big bites of the sausage and rigatoni or another totally tubular shape. Tuck in chiffonade basil, a few capers, and chopped Mama Lil’s goat horn peppers for a truly good meal.

Happy Macaroni and Cheese Day!

Macaroni and cheese - three great recipes! #macncheese

Cook Dad a Gourmet Meal With These Delicious Recipes

Published on June 18, 2017 | in Blog By

What are you doing this Father’s Day? If you’re still making plans, we have a few suggestions, and of course they all revolve around cooking.

One of our favorite family traditions is cooking a delicious Sunday meal together. And whether your Father’s Day plans revolve more around getting out of the house and running around all day, or hanging close to home — and close to the stove — there’s a great recipe for all types of nights.

Little Time:
Arugula & Mixed Green Salad with Sausage and Fennel
Looking for a light lunch or dinner that also ticks the box of “hooray, I’m eating a salad!” but without sacrificing flavor? This one is fresh and fabulous, with fennel, arugula, and a quick olive oil and balsamic dressing.

Medium Amount of Time:
Chicken Chile Lemongrass Dumplings
Dumplings aren’t just the perfect food to get by the dozen at your favorite Chinese restaurant — they’re also a fun family project. It sounds complicated, but it’s really not much more than a little prep, some time to let the ingredients meld together, and having enough hands to put the little packets together. Enlist your siblings to roll out the wrappers and you’ll be feasting on healthy little dumplings in no time.

Lots of Time:
Sunday Sauce: Ragu Napolitano with Italian Sausage and Pasta
One of the all-time classic, best recipes, this super thick sauce fuses together amazing flavors in a dish that takes over three hours. Thanks to its long braise and slow cook time, the sauce is rich with meat juices from short ribs and sausages fusing together. The result is a stunning family favorite that also makes amazing leftovers.

Happy Father’s Day to all our favorite dads! 

Easy Sausage Vegetable Bake – Fall Comfort Food

Published on October 8, 2015 | in Uncategorized, Blog By
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Rusted Van Photography

There’s a definite chill in the air these days, the leaves are starting to turn yellow, and at least here in the Great Northwest the rainy days have returned – that means it’s time again for our favorite fall comfort foods.  There’s nothing better than a warm, hearty dinner this time of year, and with such a bounty of vegetables available from the fall harvest, the time is perfect for a recipe like this one for a Sausage & Vegetable Bake.  This recipe was developed by our friends Kim H. and Cicely W. (of Rusted Van Photography) – not only is it full of fresh colorful vegetables and delicious sausage, it has the added bonus of being super easy!  We’ll turn it over to Kim and Cicely from here to share their recipe:

 

Easy Sausage Vegetable Bake

Adapted by Kayotic Kitchen: http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/lazy-sunday-casserole

We love this easy recipe! A delicious combination of vegetables and sausage links that bakes up to perfection in the oven. It is so easy to adapt to your family’s tastes and we can almost guarantee you will find yourself adding it to your regular dinner rotation during the fall!

 

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Rusted Van Photography

 

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 Isernio’s Hot Italian Sausage Links (Pork or Chicken)
  • 5 red potatoes
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • ½ pound carrots
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • salt (to taste)
  • freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
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Rusted Van Photography

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and chop all of your vegetables into similar sized chunks (1 1/2 inch-ish chunks), evenly spreading into a large roasting pan. Cut onion in wedges in order to keep them in “chunks”.

Grate the garlic and add to a small bowl with the oil, italian herbs and chicken broth. Pour over all of the vegetables, gently tossing to ensure all vegetables are covered. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cover with foil and bake for approximately 45 minutes.

While your vegetables are baking, prepare your sausage, according to package directions and cutting each sausage into 2-3 pieces. No need to cook entirely through, just until browned on all sides as the sausages will finish off in the oven.

When your vegetables are fork tender, add sausages. Pour balsamic vinegar over entire mixture. Bake uncovered for an additional 25-30 minutes, flipping sausages and gently tossing vegetables halfway through this final bake time.

 

Note: Do yourself a favor and take the time to get regular carrots vs. pre-washed baby carrots – the difference in the flavor is WELL worth the extra effort

 

This recipe has endless combinations! If you don’t like something, leave it out or replace it with another root vegetable! Diced butternut squash, acorn squash, fennel, turnips, beets, brussel sprouts, and rutabaga all work wonderfully in this recipe! Even an apple would be a yummy and unexpected addition to this vegetable bake! The key is to keep them all similar in size to ensure even cooking.

 

(Thanks again to Cicely at Rusted Van Photography for the photos!)