Worked until 6PM on my Nutrition Education questions – that’s a reason for celebration!!! Straight outta the wine cube.
Matt and I could not figure out what to do for dinner. We knew these Applegate Farms Sweet Italian Chicken + Turkey sausage would be involved, along with some peppers, but we didn’t know how.
Ideas included:
- Pasta with Ragu
- Frittata
- Omelet
- Pasta with leftover squash soup
- Stir-fry
Matt had brought home a fresh mini loaf of sourdough, so that moved to the high priority spot as the starch of dinner over pasta.
I was craving brussels sprouts and we happened to have some in the freezer, although they were freezer-burned a bit. Story of my life.
I debated a sauce for the stir-fry and remembered we had a sample of Tribal Moose Cranberry BBQ Sauce delivered recently.
And then I remembered we had actual cranberries in the freezer from last fall!!
After blanching the frozen brussels for a few minutes in near-boiling water to warm them to the core, we blanched the cranberries just until they started to pop
Meanwhile the sausage + peppers were getting brown in a skillet and we tossed in the blanched cranberries + brussels.
Then drizzled with the Tribal Moose and served with the crusty bread
The bread was awesome – crusty + chewy + dotted with butter on the underside, which slid into the bowl and got on some cranberries and I died and went to heaven!
+ Dinner portion
Stood on a chair to get this! And still couldn’t get the whole shot. Say goodbye to overviews!
This is going to be the new overview shot –
Didn’t need a snack this afternoon ’cause I was working hard, but I did get this fun package from The Healthy Apple Amie! Love KIND bars and haven’t had one in ages –
***
Currently nibbling on a Bliss Milk Chocolate and about to go watch a movie with the husband.
Goodnight!
Daria (Summer of the CSAs) says
Interesting flavor combination! I would never think to do brussel sprouts and cranberries together.
Elizabeth (The Dallas Celiac) says
Super creative idea. I bet the italian sausage paired really well with the sweet cranberries.
Whitney @ Lettuce Love says
It is too funny that you were craving brussel sprouts — I thought I was the only one that had such craving 🙂 Your dinner looked wonderful!
Katharina says
I’m loving all these beautiful pictures! What an awesome hunk of bread 🙂 Enjoy your Friday night, Kath!
Amanda says
That looks amazing! I probably never would have thought to put those ingredients together, but I bet it was awesome.
Jessica says
Ok, so you have totally convinced me to try overnight oats, so right now in the fridge I have pumkin pie mix (that is all they had at the store:( And plain yougurt and oats…
I hope I like this….
I just started readying your blog, I dont run but i do walk everyday I like you gained much weight in college and have gotten back to a healthier lifestyle…..
Thanks for this new idea….
I am almost excited to get up for breakfast in the morning already…
Jocelyne says
I love the look of this meal – it’s so super fallish and incredibly creative! You didn’t really say if it was as delicious as it looked – but I’m going to assume that it was! Thanks for a great blog.
Meredith (Pursuing Balance) says
What a lovely fall meal!
Kath says
Jessica,
Sounds awesome!!
Jocelyne,
It WAS delicious!!!!!!!!!!
Kath
Brie (The Fit Bride) says
Yum! I loooove cranberries.
Lizzy says
i would never think to put cranberry’s or brussels together and the combination looks amazing!!!!! the tartness of the berries with the brussels had to be lovely!
K says
“Story of my life.” Haha – that cracked me up! I love using that saying!
Oooh, sourdough! I’d love to try baking some of that but the whole idea of the starter intimidates me. KIND bars are one of my favorite brands. Glad you got some more 🙂
Emily, homecookedem says
What a creative and delicious looking meal!
I’ve never tried the KIND bars. Do you have a favorite flavor?
Meghan@traveleatlove says
Mmmm cranberries = fall in New England 🙂
kelly says
Okay, that dinner looks so delicious! Yum, yum, yum and yippee for fall!
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says
Congrats on working hard on your Nutrition Education! It always feels good to get ahead of the game. 🙂
LOVE this dinner Kath. You always impress me with the variety of foods and flavors you think to mix together. Sounds amazing!
What a great package. I’m totally with you on the KIND bars… YUM!
Morgan (lifeafterbagels) says
I might die of hunger just looking at your delicious meal, especially the brussel sprouts and cranberries. I am in desperate need of groceries.
Jenn (www.j3nn.net) says
OMG, crusty bread + butter = my weakness. Props for eating only that piece… I would have eaten the whole loaf LOL. 🙂
Jenn
Jenna says
Your dinner looks like the perfect fall dinner 🙂
Enjoy your movie with the hubby!
Maggie says
Ahh I love your pics 🙂 They are beautiful.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
Mmmm my mouth is watering over that bread! And the wine!
Stephanie says
We had chicken sausages tonight too, they are so good! I, however, LOVE your flavor combo w/ the cranberries and b.sprouts – plus that yummy lookin’ sauce 🙂 yummmm!!
Mara @ What's for Dinner? says
Your cranberry pictures are just beautiful!! Looks like a great meal 🙂
Erika says
Even though I’m a vegetarian, that meal looks FABULOUS! Glad you enjoyed it!
Cara (Cara Craves...) says
That is one uber creative meal!
You are talented when it comes to creating cool combos with different foods…always very impressive.
Cynthia (CK: cynthials) says
Hi Kath! I was making oatmeal tonight in the crockpot and thought of you. Just stopped by to say hi and check out how everything is going. Hope you are doing well and that school is coming along alright. So many people have disappeared from CK, it is a lonely place anymore. Are you on Facebook? If so, please look me up! http://www.facebook.com/cynthia.sauer
angieinatlanta says
Oh man, I love throwing dinner together like that; getting creative in the kitchen is more than 1/2 the fun!
Mike says
Camera… try messing with your aperature (aka the Fstop)… For depth shots, manually adjusting your aperature to a higher Fstop will increase your depth of view, and hopefully bring more things into focus. Unless, of course, you’re trying to keep everything out of focus except your dinner (which looks great). So go from f/2.0 to a f/8.0. Of course, with a smaller aperature, you will have slower shutter speed, so you’ll have to hold the camera steady or brace it on something… Otherwise, use a flash!
Kerry says
That looks great! I have some cranberries in my freezer too, and I think I’ll take them out this weekend for a dish.
Deanna - the unnatural mother says
Never in my life would I put that combo together, with that being said, it looks delish!!!! Gotta get me some….
Heather says
Crusty bread and butter is amazing. I love the idea of cranberries with brussel sprouts – what a great combo. I need to recreate that soon!
Have a great night!
Jemima says
Whoa! Your dinner was just filled with things I love! Sourdough – totally my favourite kind of bread! Love brussel sprouts, maybe a little weird but true 🙂 And cranberries… Mhmmm!
maria says
I’m not a brussel sprouts fan, so this wasn’t the most appealing dinner to me. BUT it looked pretty. That bread, on the other hand looks DELICIOUS! 🙂
-maria
Jenna says
dinner looks great! my caf at school has KIND bars but i have yet to try them, they look good though 🙂
jenna
Jac says
oo..dinner looks yum.. so does the sourdough..
Madelin @ What is for breakfast? says
What an interesting dinner!
Steph says
Your dinner sounds and looks amazing!! I can’t wait until Fall 🙂
Dawn (HealthySDLiving) says
I would never think to put cranberries and brussels sprouts together–I love it!
I just made brussels sprouts for the first time the other day and I’m obsessed!
BroccoliHut says
I freeze my cranberries too! I’ve forgotten who told me that trick, but it’s great–I always buy like 5 bags when they’re way on sale at Thanksgiving. Love the idea of pairing them with Brussels sprouts.
Jen- says
What movie did you watch? Love your way of thinking through a meal…I do that very thing. It usually turns out to be the BEST dinner of the week/month. Problem is…I can’t remember to make it again as it was a process not a recipe. LOL!
KUDOS!
Liz says
Very creative dinner! Total yum!
Lara (Thinspired) says
What a lovely and creative meal! I bet the cranberries went great with the sausage. I love it!
christie, honoring health says
Super creative dinner and beautiful shots. I was wondering if the new photos are taking more time than your previous photos (which I always adored)?
Christina says
I always admire your reasonable dinner portions. Did you have to transition into eating smaller portions and was it difficult for you? This is tough for me. Love your site!
Jessica says
OK!!! I am a super fan of overnight oats…..what other combinations could i do…hmmmmmmm
Thanks
Julia says
I just love the colors of that dish: beautiful red and green!
Have a great weekend!
xxx Julia (Taste of Living)
Susan says
This is a wonderful post Kath!! I love seeing how everything came together, and the photos are stunning 🙂
Shannon says
What a clever idea! I have some cranberries in the freezer too…I wonder what I can come up with.
Kristin (Kristins Nibbles) says
How creative! That looks absolutely fabulous. You definitely have a knack for “throwing things together”!!
xo
K
Kath says
Emily, homecookedem,
Love the apricot coconut the best!
Cynthia,
Long time, no talk!! Hope you and Katie are doing well!
Mike,
No flash! No flash! No flash!!!!!!!!!!
All of my settings here were intentional.
christie,
No, not really. Just forcing me to change up my shooting style a bit, hopefully for the better! I am taking MORE photos, so that’s taking longer, but that’s just me having fun with photography.
Christina,
For the longest time we used to JUST make enough for two. No more so we couldn’t eat more. We’d measure out the portions, so we knew they were a reasonable size. That really helped with portions. Now we’ve been just throwing things into a pot and I’ve had to eyeball my portion. Remember you can always go back for more!
Kath
CaSaundra says
I love Applegate Farm sausages, and the way you used em’ is awesome! I love how you always create such great dishes with what you have on hand–I need to try and do that more often!
Amanda @ Cakes and Ale says
Don’t you just love throw-together meals like this? It’s so fun to be creative… looks like a great autumny recipe!
Lynn @ The Actors Diet says
I don’t think I’ve ever had cranberries outside of a sauce – good to know they freeze so well!