Sheet Pan Kielbasa, Potatoes and Veggies

I'm very late to the sheet pan dinner craze but this is one that will be on rotation forever. I've already made it twice and it's just so, so good.



I love that you can make this however you want with whatever veggies and meat you want. It's a one-pan meal that hits all the right notes with minimal cleanup.

Sheet Pan Kielbasa, Potatoes and Veggies

1 package (14-16oz) precooked sausage or kielbasa cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/2" half-moons
1 medium onion (red, white, whatever you have), cut into bite sized pieces
2 broccoli crowns, separated into florets
1 small head cauliflower, separated into florets
1/2 lb red potatoes, peeled and cut into small, bite-size pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper, or to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or mozzarella, Monterey Jack, colby, whatever you want)

Preheat the oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with a couple sheets of aluminum foil.

Combine the sausage, onion, broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with the oil, paprika, onion and garlic powders, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well. Dump onto the baking sheet and spread out in an even layer. Put sheet pan in the oven.

Roast for 25 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and test to make sure the potatoes are fully cooked (use the tip of a knife). If they aren't, put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked through, top with the shredded cheddar cheese and put back in for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka with Pickled Onions

I already have a chicken tikka recipe that my whole family absolutely loves, but when I saw this Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka on Smitten Kitchen I knew I had to make it. Just reading the ingredient list was making my mouth water and I loved the idea of everything cooking on one sheet pan. Of course Steve and Katie were skeptical when they saw me putting it together, but once they tasted the amazing flavors they were hooked.



I made only slight modifications - using Greek yogurt for the marinade and sour cream for topping, adding some lemon juice to the marinade and a different recipe for pickled onions. If you love Indian flavors you really need to try this one. It's delicious!

Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka with Pickled Onions
As seen on Smitten Kitchen, picked onions from Bon Appetit

For the chicken
1 3/4-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
1 5-oz container plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 pounds chicken thighs or halved chicken breasts (mixture of both, skin-on, bone-in)

For the vegetables
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pounds (about 4 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 3/4 pounds (1 small head) cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Garnish
Pickled red onion
Dollops of yogurt/sour cream
Chopped cilantro

Combine ginger, garlic, yogurt, lemon juice, salt, spices and sugar in a freezer bag. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly. Let marinate overnight in the fridge.

Heat oven to 425°F. Coat a large baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. In a large bowl toss the potatoes, cauliflower, salt, cumin and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil together until evenly coated. Spread evenly on the baking sheet.

Remove chicken from marinade and nestle in the vegetables. Roast in oven for 40-50 minutes until chicken and vegetables are cooked through. Test the potatoes with a knife to make sure they're cooked through.

To serve, top with pickled red onion, dollops of yogurt/sour cream and chopped cilantro. Serve right in the pan.

Pickled Onions
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Separate the onion rings and place in a small bowl. Whisk the vinegar, water, sugar and salt together until the sugar and salt dissolve, then pour over the onion rings. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover and chill. Drain onions before using.

Recipe Swap: Bang Bang Cauliflower

Time for another Recipe Swap! This month's theme was Super Bowl snacks/appetizers. I had a hard time narrowing down my choices from my friend Mary Ellen's blog. She has a ton of great appetizers and dips that I wanted to make, but since I didn't host a Super Bowl party I didn't want to make something that would yield too many leftovers. I finally settled on Bang Bang Cauliflower because (1) I'm on a cauliflower kick lately and (2) I love anything made in the Bang Bang style a la Bonefish Grill.

This was addictively good. I made it as a snack on Super Bowl Sunday and we had to stop ourselves from eating a whole (small) head of cauliflower in one sitting. This was incredibly easy to make, although I wish I'd made a double batch of the Bang Bang sauce. I thought using a small head of cauliflower I'd be OK with one batch but there wasn't enough of the sauce (for my tastes) to go around. This is best served piping out from the fryer so only make as much as you think you'll eat. I attempted to reheat leftovers and it was a big, fat fail.

SP told me if I was going to make this for a party he'd recommend cutting the cauliflower pieces into even smaller florets, just to make it easier for people to eat. I'm already thinking this would be a great dinner entree - you could batter and fry some other veggies like zucchini, onion, parboiled potatoes or sweet potatoes, or carrots to make it more of a complete meal.

The only change I made was to sub the Bang Bang sauce recipe I used for these Bang Bang chicken skewers since I had all the ingredients on hand (and knew we liked the flavor). This was a definite winner. Thanks for an awesome dish, Mary Ellen!

Bang Bang Cauliflower
As seen on Mary Ellen’s Cooking Creations

Batter
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup cold water
1 3/4 cup flour, sifted

Bang-Bang Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
2-4 teaspoons sriracha, or more to taste

1 small head cauliflower or half a regular head, cut into florets
vegetable or canola oil
2 scallions, chopped

Place the egg yolks in a large bowl. Add cold water gradually and blend well. Add the flour all at once and stir briefly so it's all mixed, but still has lumps and clumps. Make the batter as soon as you are ready to start cooking - you don't want it sitting around.

Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a large bowl big enough to toss all the cauliflower with it later.

Heat oil in a large pan about 1/4 inch deep. Dip cauliflower into the batter, and then drop it into very hot oil. Cook a few minutes per side until crispy and golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack or paper towel-lined plate to drain. Toss with the sauce and top with the scallions.

To see what other Super Bowl snacks/appetizers were made for the swap click on the links below.

Cauliflower Gratin

This was one of two side dishes I served with the turkey meatloaf - Ina's Cauliflower Gratin. Cauliflower isn't a vegetable I cook with regularly, but it's a great alternative to broccoli or other cold-weather vegetables. And bonus, SP and Baby Girl both love it.

When I think of gratins I think of heavy, cream-laden dishes but this was surprisingly light. The sauce is made with milk, not cream, and there's only 4 tablespoons of butter for a 3-lb head of cauliflower.

We all loved this. I can't wait to experiment with more cauliflower dishes this winter.

Cauliflower Gratin
Recipe from Ina Garten

1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (from one slice of bread)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Pork Chops and Mashed Cauliflower

This was Monday's dinner - breaded pork chops and mashed cauliflower:


It doesn't look like much on the plate, but it was really tasty and easy to prepare (a huge plus since we had to run to the supermarket after we finished eating). I was going to do my pork chops the way I always do, but then I remembered I was out of eggs. I had to improvise, so I pounded the chops, seasoned them with salt and pepper on both sides and then spread them with a very thin layer of mayo before coating them with breadcrumbs. This made them taste slightly richer, but mayo is mostly eggs anyway so this worked out rather well.

For the cauliflower I cut the head into small pieces and boiled it in salted water with a few cloves of crushed garlic for about 15 minutes. Once the cauliflower was nice and tender it went into the food processor with a tablespoon of cream cheese, a splash of milk, 2 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper. I pureed it until it was nice and smooth and adjusted the seasonings. It was smooth and creamy with just the right amount of garlic flavor to make it interesting. I think this is a great way to eat cauliflower.

Meatloaf with Smothered Mushrooms and Cheesy Cauliflower

I saw Rachael Ray make Meatloaf with Smothered Mushrooms and Cheesy Cauliflower last week and it looked really tasty, so I put it on this week's menu.


Unfortunately I'm not sure if it was a winner or a failure. The meatloaf was good. I used ground beef for the meatloaf patties and they were pretty good because of the combo of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and grated onion. And I really enjoyed the smothered mushrooms in a sherry, beef broth and splash of heavy cream sauce, so that part of the meal worked.

What really disappointed me was the Cheesy Cauliflower. Now granted, I didn't buy the Boursin cheese (I actually meant to but forgot to put it on the shopping list), so it was missing that particular flavor. I tried to compensate by adding some garlic cloves to the cauliflower as it cooked and I still mashed the cauliflower with the chicken stock, Pecorino cheese, salt and pepper, but it had a really watery consistency. I tried boiling out some of the liquid, but it never got smooth like I was expecting it to. I've heard mashed cauliflower can be a stand-in for mashed potatoes, but mine didn't work out that way. I ended up adding a splash of heavy cream in an attempt to make them a little more interesting, but while the flavor was good, the texture was all wrong. I'll have to try to find another recipe for mashed cauliflower since I love cauliflower and it's a good, healthy vegetable.

Kicked Up Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

I'm not sure how the head of cauliflower got into my fridge. OK, the truth is it was on sale at the supermarket again and I feel like we need more vegetables in our diet in winter. Since we really enjoyed the Cauliflower Mac & Cheese I made last week I thought I'd made it again, with a few twists.


I had the day off yesterday so I was watching Ina. She was making mac & cheese with bacon and blue cheese, which I thought was a great idea. I cooked 6 slices of bacon in the toaster oven at 400 degrees until they were crispy. The cauliflower florest cooked in boiling salted water for 5 minutes and then I cooked half a box of cavatappi in the same water. Once they were cooked the pasta and cauliflower went into a large mixing bowl along with the bacon and some chopped parsley. I made a cheese sauce using butter, flour, 2 cups of milk, half a chopped onion, smoked paprika, 2 bay leaves, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper and shredded cheddar cheese. The sauce was tossed with everything in the mixing bowl and then put into a buttered baking dish. I topped it with some panko and baked it for about 20 minutes.

The addition of the bacon was fantastic, although I can imagine bacon and blue cheese would be beyond rich. At least the cauliflower lets me believe mac & cheese can have some healthy qualities, although I know I'm deluding myself. That's the problem with winter - I want to eat hearty meals because it's so darn cold outside, but all the hearty meals end up being really unhealthy. I need to work on this.

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

The latest issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray has a kid-tested recipe for Cauliflower Mac & Cheese. I had a head of cauliflower that needed to be used up, so I figured I'd try it out:


I absolutely loved this dish. The cauliflower added something interesting and different to the regular noodles and cheese, the sauce had great flavor from the sharp cheddar and the Dijon mustard and it was really easy to make. SP also thought it was good, but he said it was a bit soupy. I didn't want to make too much of it since I didn't know if it would be good, so I cut the pasta in half, but left the sauce proportions alone. Next time I'll probably make my usual mac & cheese recipe and just add the cauliflower.