she cooks…he cleans

If you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner idea, these sausages could be just what you need!  I found these at Whole Food and picked them up to have on hand for one of those days you just don’t feel like cooking from scratch.  Whether it is a long day at work, you forget to thaw the roast, or your neighbor’s Rottweiler runs off with your pork chops, it is good to have a back-up plan!

Bilinski’s has been making all-natural chicken sausages since 1989 and traditional sausages since 1929, according to their website.  They have both “all natural” and “certified organic” chicken sausages available in a variety of flavors.  All of the chickens for the sausage were raised humanely in Lancaster County, PA, and were not given antibiotics or growth hormones.  The sausages are preservative-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, and made only from skinless leg and thigh meat from the chickens.  Now that we have all that data out of the way, I bet you’re wondering “how did they taste?”

First, since the sausages are fully cooked, you only need to reheat them.  I put them in a non-stick skillet over medium heat, just enough to brown the outsides a bit while rolling them around in the pan.  You don’t want to overcook them, so just get ’em hot.  To accompany the sausages, I sliced up some red and yellow bell peppers and onions, and cooked them over medium to medium high head until they were soft and lightly browned. 

The sausages we tried were “Apple Chardonnay” and “Roasted Red Pepper and Asiago”.  They were very mild sausages with subtle flavors.  I can’t say that I could pick out the chardonnay or asiago, but the apple and roasted pepper flavors were notable.  The apple sausages were a little sweeter, the pepper sausages were a little more savory – but both were delicious.  Leftover sausages were also great with eggs for breakfast!  I look forward to trying out more of the chicken sausage products by Bilinski’s! 

It’s friday, been a long week…so as ZZ Top sang, it’s time to “mellow down easy…”. I’ve got just the stuff. First up, one of my favorite Muddy Waters albums, his mid-’60s release Folk Singer. Muddy going unplugged long before such a term existed. Featuring Waters with Buddy Guy on guitar and the great Willie Dixon on bass, this is a bewitching take by Muddy on some of his greatest songs. Mellow might not be the right word- this record smokes, but softly.

Next up, Blues & Ballads from Lonnie Johnson and Elmer Snowden. Most folks aren’t familiar with them, but one listen and I think this could be a favorite. Two great guitarists, singing the blues, slow and easy. Don’t get much better than this!