Once a month, Anjalie & I have special play-dates on a Friday evening. It is important for Mum-Dad to have a special quality time (no kids talk or kids) for the growth of their relationship and bonding. Similarly, I found setting some time aside for my daughter allows me to have some quality time bonding with her and talking about some of the trivial and important things we have overlooked so far. This is especially important for me since I work full time so have less time "with her". Tonight is one such special night. Usually on these nights I prepare dinner earlier (if I can) or cook things that I can put in the oven while we play. But I also bear in mind to make some of her favourites since I want it to be special. Sausage casserole ticks both boxes for me. It takes less actual cooking time, spends most of it in the oven, one-pot meal (so no need to make anything else other than salad) and it is also our favourite dinner. I keep away from red meat, so, I tend to use chicken/turkey or quorn/couldron sausages. Naz prefers the former and both Anjalie & I prefer the quorn sausages. I am sure this recipe will work for any of your favourite sausages. Simply make sure it is all cooked thoroughly before serving. Recently, I added a sausage casserole recipe with tomato sauce. I do this one as a variation. They are pretty similar and this one will work a treat if anyone is fussy about tomoatoes in their food :)
You will need:
6 sausages
2 carrots - sliced into finger sizes
2 med. potatoes chopped
1 med. onion - sliced
3 cloves garlic - grated
600 ml vegetable/chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
1 tsp dried herbs (thyme, oregano, basil etc)
a small dash of chilli/pepper sauce (optional)
salt & black pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fans assisted). Heat oil in a hob-safe casserole pan or sauce pan to medium heat and fry all the sausages evenly. I do them 3 at a time to make sure that they are cooked even (my pot is a bit small).
Remove sausages, add onion & garlic to the oil and cook until transparent. Add the flour and cook for another 2-3 mins.
Skip if using meat sausages:
Mean while, blanch potatoes in hot water for 10 mins and add carrots to blanch in the last 5 mins.
Add sausages, veggies, tomato puree, herbs and the stock. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Pop them in the oven and cook covered
if using meat sausages - for 60 mins
if using quorn/veggie sausages- for 30 mins.
Serve warm with crusty Rustic bread and side salad.
Tip: Reduce the stock amount by 100 ml if you want a thick gravy.
You can use minced meat instead of sausages.
You can add a can of beans or pearl barley for more variety.
You will need:
6 sausages
2 carrots - sliced into finger sizes
2 med. potatoes chopped
1 med. onion - sliced
3 cloves garlic - grated
600 ml vegetable/chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
1 tsp dried herbs (thyme, oregano, basil etc)
a small dash of chilli/pepper sauce (optional)
salt & black pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fans assisted). Heat oil in a hob-safe casserole pan or sauce pan to medium heat and fry all the sausages evenly. I do them 3 at a time to make sure that they are cooked even (my pot is a bit small).
Remove sausages, add onion & garlic to the oil and cook until transparent. Add the flour and cook for another 2-3 mins.
Skip if using meat sausages:
Mean while, blanch potatoes in hot water for 10 mins and add carrots to blanch in the last 5 mins.
Add sausages, veggies, tomato puree, herbs and the stock. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Pop them in the oven and cook covered
if using meat sausages - for 60 mins
if using quorn/veggie sausages- for 30 mins.
Serve warm with crusty Rustic bread and side salad.
Tip: Reduce the stock amount by 100 ml if you want a thick gravy.
You can use minced meat instead of sausages.
You can add a can of beans or pearl barley for more variety.
Hmmmn... Not sure my kids would find it kid friendly with the large portions of carrots in this. They usually only want to eat food with no vegetable. So I think baked beans must be added.
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