Balsamic and Spinach Chicken Sausage Saute

If you haven't had a chance to try the Italian Chicken Sausage from Whole Foods Market, do yourself a favor and pick some up on your way home! I'm not a huge meat fan but these are delish, easy on the pocket, and super filling. They are flecked with fresh garlic, oregano and just ohhh soo good. I wasn't sure about which kind I was going to buy ( I don't think I've ever made raw sausages before.. cant even believe that haha) but the guy tending the meat counter was an enormous help! He narrowed it down by giving me a list of all the gluten free options, and was just an overall awesome guy. Thanks dude out there if you ever read this:) 

I paired these sausages with the classic combo of olive oil, fresh garlic, fresh baby spinach, and tomatoes.  To go along side I made a pesto and parm rice ( recipe to be posted soon). The nutritional highlights of this are the iron filled spinach, paired with the lycopene containing tomatoes, both nutritional  powerhouses. The lean protein from the chicken is filling and gives you a protein boost perfect for an after workout, or really anytime meal. 

In a large skillet saute 4 fresh cloves of garlic, 1/2 small onion, and 2 Tbs olive oil for 2-3 minutes

 Add in 3 chopped tomatoes, cook for a few more minutes

Add in enough fresh baby spinach to fill the entire skillet, this will look like entirely too much but will wilt down

Salt and pepper, dash

Place a few slits in the top of the sausages to allow them to cook and not burst. Place on top of the wilting spinach. 

Add in 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Cover and let cook for 7-9 minutes. Sausages will be firm to the touch. So yummy I hope you love this! P.S these would also be perfection on the grill!!

Ginger Soy Salmon Filets

Salmon. One of my favorite dinner proteins. Tasty, nutritious, versatile, and cooks in minutes. Perfect in my book. Salmon is total brain food, giving you a good dose of inflammation reducing Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Perfect to add to your families weekly dinner repertoire. Introducing it early in life will definitely increase the likelihood of your kiddos liking it and them building a taste for it. The recipe below is super kid friendly as well. Salmon can be pricey so my favorite way to incorporate this on a regular basis is to purchase it in frozen filets. Its convenient, defrosts quick, and leaves you with perfectly portioned pieces. I purchase mine from Whole Foods Market, which I know seems like it would be more expensive, but oz for oz  happens to be a really good deal. They've always got some on sale. I feel like if I'm going to have animal sources of protein it's important to learn a bit about sustainable farm and fishing practices. If your interested, check out that link. Really interesting stuff.

This recipe incorporates fresh garlic and ginger. Full of antioxidants and flavor, try incorporating both of these as much as possible into your diet.  Fresh ginger is great added to warm water with lemon or tea, and I like to keep it in the freezer so none goes to waste.When buying ginger, it will look like a gnarly, twisted root (which it is). If dirty just give it a rinse, chop off a 1 inch piece and peel it. Now your ready to chop it into pieces as big or small as you'd like. 

Ingredients:

2 defrosted Salmon filets

2 pieces of aluminum foil, large enough to form packets around the Salmon

1 inch of ginger root chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped (1 for each piece of Salmon)

2 Tbs low sodium soy sauce or Tamari

Drizzle of sesame oil (small drizzle onto each filet, optional)

Place one Salmon filet on each piece of aluminum foil, top with garlic/ginger, soy, then sesame oil. Close the aluminum foil to create a packet for each.  Place each package on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until Salmon feels firm to the touch and flakes with a fork. 

Canning Tomato Sauce

My goal every year is to grow and store enough food to make it through to the next season. I love the idea of not relying on anyone else to make all the meals that I need. I know exactly what's in the food, and exactly how it was processed. Nothing better. Each year I'm reminded of just how much work this is. I TOTALLY get how it was a SERIOUS full time job to make ALL your own food back in the day. Serious, back breaking labor.  I imagine everything tasted like perfection. I've gone through half my years worth of tomatoes so far and got about 8 medium sized mason jars worth of sauce. Not too bad, but definitely hoping for a larger amount from the second half. There are many ways to can but this is how I do it. A great resource is America's Test Kitchen: Foolproof Preserving

How I start is to get a large sauce pot and small sauce pot on to boil with lots of water. Set a bunch of clean towels out on the countertops. Lay out the cleaned canning utensils, check out what these are here if your new to canning.  The utensils with the weird handles are grippers to pick up the hot jars, the funnel is for easy pouring into the jars, and  the long stick with a magnet on the end is to pick up the jar lids without having to dirty them with your hands.

Place 4-5 jars at a time in the boiling water. Let boil and steam for 60 seconds. Remove with canning tongs and set on clean kitchen towels. Place the lids into the other pot of boiling water and do the same. Set aside

In a sauce pot add:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 head of fresh garlic chopped

1 small onion chopped

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbs salt

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Fill pot up to the top with chopped tomatoes ( I had a mixture of Beefsteak and San Marzanos)

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Let cook down stirring occasionally. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 hours. Bring to a sauce consistency by using an immersion blender. 

Take the funnel and  use it to help fill each jar leaving a 1/2 inch of head room at the top of the jar. Using a clean towel clean the rims. Using the magnet add the lids, followed by the metal seal. 

If you've got a full on canning set up, place the jars in the canning rack and place into the boiling water. If not, use the canning tongs to place the jars into boiling water. Boil for 35 minutes. Let sit in the water for 5 more minutes. Remove and set out for 24 hours to rest. After they rest remove the seals, wipe the lids clean if needed, then place the seals back on and fit it on snugly. Store for up to a year!