Pots & Plots

In the category of things that make you go mmmmmmmmmmmm, I present to you, my mother-in-law’s sausage dip–lightened up, of course.  This pairs great with homemade tortilla chips or, as my husband prefers, Fritos Scoops.  With sausage and cheese, what’s not to love?  Your favorite carnivore will thank you

.Ingredients:

• 1 lb turkey sausage (original recipe calls for pork, but I slashed the fat by 74%)
• 1lb Velveeta cut into 1/2 ” cubes (I used 2% Velveeta, cutting more fat)
• 1 7 oz can of mushrooms, drained (I have yet to make this with fresh mushrooms.  If you try it, let me know how it turns out)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes and chiles
• skim milk

Directions:

1. Brown the sausage over medium high heat.
2. Drain and rinse cooked sausage to get rid of any extra grease.
3. In a 2 quart microwave safe dish (think Corningware), add the cubed Velveeta, the sausage, the undrained can of tomatoes and chiles and the mushrooms.  Add a splash of milk (This really depends on how thick or thin you like your dip.  I suggest starting with a splash and adding more as you get it melted.)
4. Microwave in 1-2 minute increments, stirring well after each session in the nuker.
5. It’s finished when all the cheese is melted and everything stirs together smoothly.
6. Reheats well.

You could also make this dip in a small crock pot, though I’ve never tried that either (don’t have a small crock pot).  This is great for a party.  We make it every Super Bowl.

Potatoes are an inexpensive, low-fat food. Forget low-carbing it. As far as I’m concerned, a life without potatoes is just…sad. We wind up having this dish at least twice a week. It’s a serious family favorite.

Ingredients:

• any type of thin-skinned potato (I normally use either red potatoes or Yukon golds)
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• coarse ground pepper
• paprika
• garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Scrub potatoes clean
3. Dice potatoes into approximately quarter inch chunks and toss into a bowl
4. Drizzle with olive oil (don’t overdo it–you just want enough to coat them)
5. Give the potatoes a good stir to coat with the oil
6. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder
7. Give them another good stir to coat with seasonings. Add more seasonings as necessary to fully coat.
8. Spray a pyrex baking dish with cooking spray (you can use a metal pan, but I find they stick more to that)
9. Bake for 35 minutes, until potatoes are golden brown.
10. You’ll want to let them cool a few minutes before trying to remove from the baking dish, so they unstick themselves.

I always make extra of these, as they go wonderfully with scrambled eggs in the morning. You can pair them with almost anything. It’s a very versatile, flavorful dish. You can change up the spices as much as you wish. The constants are salt, pepper, and olive oil. I’ve used herbes de Provence, Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, and Greek seasoning to good effect. But this particular combination is my favorite.