blue artichoke

Last night we had German food; when the weather is cold and snowy, sausage, noodles and beer really hit the spot. I made a casserole, as this is casserole season at the Blue Artichoke homestead. It was quite easy to make, smelled great while cooking, and tasted pretty good. Here’s the recipe:

German Sausage Bake

Christmas with Southern Living, 1988

6 oz. wide egg noodles, uncooked
Veggie cooking spray
1# kielbasa, sliced
½ c. chopped onion
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and coarsely chopped, ~2 c.
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
14-½ oz. chicken broth
¼ c. flat beer
1 T. spicy brown mustard
1 t. caraway seeds
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
2 c. shredded Swiss, divided
1 c. soft, fresh breadcrumbs, such as rye or pumpernickel
2 T. butter, melted

Cook noodles as directed; drain well and set aside.

Grease a large skillet; add sausage and cook over med-high heat until browned, stirring often. Add onion; cook 2m, stirring often. Stir in apple; remove from heat and set aside.

Melt 3 T. butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, 1m. Gradually add chicken broth and beer; cook over med heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in mustard and next 3.

Layer half of cooked noodles in a greased 13x9” dish. Spoon sausage mixture over noodles; sprinkle 1 c. Swiss cheese over sausage. Top with remaining noodles. Pour sauce over noodles. If desired, cover and chill overnight. Let stand at room temp 30m before baking.

Cover and bake at 350 for 45m or until thoroughly heated. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1 c. Swiss cheese. Combine breadcrumbs and 2 T. butter; sprinkle over casserole. Bake 10m or until cheese melts and breadcrumbs are browned. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

This week going to be a little different. Today kicks off Get in Shape Girl Week (anybody remember the Get in Shape Girl exercise equipment targeted to little girls? I had the exercise mat and a stick with a long ribbon on it; I made up some stellar ribbon-twirling routines…). Anyway, this week includes a colon cleanse. Those of you who know what that is know how gross this can be. For those who don’t, here’s a rundown. The colon is sometimes called the body’s trash can, because it stores your body’s waste. Sometimes the colon gets a little lazy or clingy (scientists are busy testing both hypotheses) and stores the waste rather than taking out the trash. This means you can be carrying around pounds (I read somewhere it can be up to 25 pounds!) of, ahem, crap; that’s right, you’re taking it out for a walk, to a movie, bowling and just hanging out with it. Gross. A colon cleanse takes out the trash. And part of a colon cleanse (heretofore known as The Cleanse) is a very bland diet of chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables. I don’t eat fish, so I’m going to try to sneak in shrimp and see if I can fool the colon, who will probably be too busy to notice. I'm also searching for some source that says I can eat oatmeal or Bran Flakes this week. And if this goes well, maybe I'll try to clean out some other body part next week. I promise there will be no more potty talk.

Getting to Know All About You: What trendy diets have you tried (i.e., Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig... and so on)? Was it difficult to keep up with? Did it work?