Sauerkraut and Sausage
Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook Copyright 2006
1 (32-ounce) jar sauerkraut
3 large garlic cloves, pressed I just peeled the cloves and added them
1 onion, chopped
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
¾ cup apple cider
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (14-ounce) package smoke beef sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces I used turkey kielbasi
Combine first 10 ingredients in a 3-quart slow cooker. Add sausage. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours.
Makes 4 servings.
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Last Wednesday, when I was planning this week's menu, a cold front had just come through. I thought that fall had finally arrived and I selected a few cool weather recipes. Well, summer wasn't quite finished and the temps have creeped back up into the 70s. I should be grilling, but I'm sticking to the menu.
Being of Polish ancestry, this type of dish is no stranger to me. Although, if my mother had put this together it wouldn't have included caraway seeds, apples, apple cider and probably not even garlic or brown sugar. But you know, it would have been good even without all the extras. A good smoked sausage cooked with just good kraut and onions is still pretty flavorful.
I wasn't sure if I should rinse the cabbage or not. The instructions didn't mention it and the package didn't mention it. I know some people do rinse it but I didn't. The kraut was a bit on the tart side but that's what the mashed potatoes are for - to balance out the tartness of the sauerkraut.
This is my contribution to Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays. I just learned an interesting tidbit from the World's Healthiest Foods Site - "the breast cancer risk of Polish women triples after they immigrate to the U.S., rising to match that of U.S.-born women". Polish women who consumed 4 or more servings of cabbage or sauerkraut during adolescence,were 72 percent less likely to develop breast cancer as adults. So feed your young daughters lots of cabbage. You'll protect their health and their innocence (since after eating all that cabbage, boys probably won't want to get to close to them).
That statistic is kind of scary. Although I know that anyone can get breast cancer, I've always felt a bit of relief that there was no family history of it, yet my parents were the first generation raised outside of Poland. They still ate a lot of cabbage while growing up. I probably ate more than the average non-Polish American in my lifetime but not several times a week, not even every week.
Only one more week until the the drawing for the cookbook giveaway!
A Blast From The Past: Here's another good cabbage recipe, one for Cole Slaw from July 2006.
Question of the Day: Is there a history of breast cancer in your family?
Summer is the 70's? Wow, that's fall here! As far as I know, the only relative I've had that had breast cancer is an aunt. She's healthy and doing well (more than five years out).
ReplyDeleteNo, thank goodness. We have diabetes, heart disease, polycystic ovaries, thyroid issues, and we are all fat. But no breast cancer, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteThat sausage and kraut looks sooooo good. I can only imagine the mutiny if I tried to serve it. Maybe I can make some (the plain version, no sweet stuff) and enjoy it for a meal or two myself, then make soup of the rest and freeze it. Hmmmmm.
My Mom has breast cancer. That recipe looks great - like what my German great grandmother used to make
ReplyDeleteNo, there is cancer in my family (3 generations), but no breast cancer.
ReplyDeleteAnd WOW! - 70's is definately Fall in our area. Right now we are having cooler 'Fallish' temps for us, and it's in the mid to high 80's.
Well, let me clarify that summer is really 80s and 90s here but it seems to dip right into the 60s when autumn arrives.
ReplyDeleteAs my sister Wanda said, no breast cancer, but every other kind, and many, many cases.
ReplyDeleteDH and I love sausage and sauerkraut and have it often. My Mother (Irish) loved it and my Father (German/Czech) hated it. Go figure!
Jan
Breast cancer...no. Mental illness...Lots!
ReplyDeleteBreast cancer...no. Mental illness...Lots!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness no breast cancer in my family. Just the tendancy to be overweight. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI love sauerkraut/sausage and I usually always rinse my kraut. I like to chop up an apple in it too and I add some beer and onions and call it done. Yummmmmmmmm-y.
My aunt had breast cancer.
ReplyDeleteAs for the recipe, my mother in law is of Polish descent. She wouldn't use apple cider, etc., in kraut -- she'd use bacon fat!
That's an interesting piece of info on the cabbage. I used to eat a lot more cabbage when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteI do like turkey kielbasi, but I don't really care for sauerkraut. My mom used to make stuffed cabbage when I lived at home. I miss it.
No breast cancer that I know of, just fibroids.