Join Me for the Hillshire #StartYourGrill Twitter Party + $550 in Prizes on Weds (4/30) at 3pm EST! #shop #cbias

Now that it finally feels like spring and summer, we can finally start grilling! American Craft Sausage from Hillshire has some awesome new flavors that you have to try while you are tailgating at the ballpark or grilling out in your backyard. These links are handcrafted and smoked in small batches using a natural hardwood blend for premium flavor and quality. They start with the best cuts of 100% pork and contain no MSG. This American Craft process ensures that all you taste is exceptional sausage. The must-grill flavors include: Jalapeno & Cheddar, Garlic & Onion, and Smoky Bourbon.

The Jalapeno & Cheddar sausage would go perfect with a toasted brioche (egg) roll with a side of Tex Mex Red Cabbage Slaw, while the Garlic & Onion sausage on a toasted seed roll with thick cut pub fries would be excellent or try the Smoky Bourbon sausage on a toasted hoagie roll with thick cut sweet potato chips would be divine. Are you hungry yet? If so, you can go check out a demo at one of your local Walmart store! There is nothing better than trying a product first and realizing you love all of the flavors!

Here in Massachusetts, the spring weather is just getting started.  We look forward to grilling more this spring and summer, and Hillshire American Craft Sausage links will make it so much easier!  Just grill them, serve them on a bun, and pair with your favorite sides, like potato, pasta, or chickpea salad.  Personally, I love my sausages topped with grilled onions and red peppers.  How do you like yours?


Join me at the #StartYourGrill Twitter Party on SoFabChats!

DATE: April 30, 2014

TIME: 3:00 PM ET

PRIZES: 5 – $100 Walmart Gift Cards

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HOST: @blm03

CO HOSTS: @WisconsinMommy, @_Karen, @MsMissy62

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Easy Recipe: Sausage-Onion-Pepper Scoops

This is a super-easy contraption that I created by accident.  I figured it would be a tasty finger food to create for Super Bowl Sunday, so I thought I would share it.  We often make sausages with onions and peppers to either serve whole on sub rolls or cut into pieces on top of rice.  Well one night, my sausages and veggies were almost cooked perfectly, but I did not realize we were out of rice until I opened the cupboard.  I was forced to improvise and this is what I came up with . . .

Recipe:  Sausage-Onion-Pepper Scoops

INGREDIENTS:

1 package Sweet or Spicy Italian Sausage

1 large yellow onion

1 large yellow pepper

1 large red pepper

butter

Tostitos Scoops! Tortilla Chips

garlic salt

black pepper (optional)

Step 1.  Slice onion.  Then cute slices into quarters to create short strips.

Step 2.  Melt enough butter to coat the bottom of your frying pan or French skillet.

Step 3.  Add cut onions and cook over medium heat until onions begin to soften, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  Then turn heat to low and allow onions to cook until tender.

Step 4.  While the onions are cooking, cut the peppers into small bite-size pieces.  Then add them to the skillet and sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper, if desired.  Continue to cook the vegetables on medium-low heat until the peppers start to get tender.

Step 5.  While the peppers are cooking, place your uncooked sausages (approximately 6) on a microwave-safe plate.  Then microwave the sausages for 3 minutes on high or until there is very little red visible on the outside of the sausages.

Step 6.  Add the whole sausages to the skillet and continue to cook on medium heat until sausages are fully cooked.  You can cut them open to check for redness in the centers.

Step 7.  When sausage is thoroughly cooked, remove them and cut them into small chunks and combine them with the onions and peppers.

Step 8.  Fill a large plate or platter with empty unbroken Tostitos Scoops! Tortilla Chips.  Then fill each cup with the sausage, onions, and peppers.  It is important for taste and presentation for you to put some of each in every cup, including both colors of peppers.

These should be served freshly assembled because they taste best warm.  Also, the cups will eventually soften from the moisture of the vegetables.  If you have extra filling, you can refrigerate it and save it for a snack the next day.  You can also make this the day before and reheat the filling right before serving.

It is difficult to say how many the recipe yields because I served it to my family as a meal and did not think to keep count at the time.  I must say that my children loved it!  They found it much easier to eat than a whole sausage and peppers on a roll.  If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it.



All ingredients for this recipe were purchased with our own funds and no compensation was received for sharing this recipe with our readers.

Easy Recipe: Polish Sausage and Pierogies

Recently, Johnsonville sent me a new polish sausage recipe to try. The recipe was for Polish Sausage and Pierogies. Not one person in my family, including myself, had ever tried pierogies before. Since we all love Johnsonville Polish Sausages, we were happy to give the recipe a try.

I do want to point out that there are different ways to prepare the frozen pierogies. We tried to bake them and they came out a little dry on the outside and had no flavor. So I am going to suggest to saute them in a little butter in the recipe below.

Recipe: Polish Sausage and Pierogies

INGREDIENTS:

2 packages (16oz each) frozen pierogies

1 package (16oz) Johnsonville Polish Sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp butter

chopped fresh parsley

Step 1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet. Saute pierogies until tender and thoroughly heated. Remove pierogies from pan.

Step 2. Melt an additional 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet. Add sliced onions and saute for approximately 15 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally.

Step 3. Add cut polish sausage to onions. Cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Stir occasionally to ensure sausages cook evenly.

Step 4. Add cooked pierogies to sausage and onions. Stir and heat for 1 minute.

Step 5. Serve immediately. Sprinkle with parsley.

This recipe yields approximately 6 adult size servings. To view more easy sausage recipes, visit Johnsonville.com .

Thank you to Johnsonville for sending us a complimentary product sample to try out this recipe.

Easy Recipe: Johnsonville PigTails & Fries

Everybody knows that I only make easy recipes with five ingredients or less. The one I have to share today is from Johnsonville's recipes and only uses two ingredients. It is also super-easy to make. Usually we modify recipes to suit our family's taste, but there was nothing to change about this particular recipe, although I would love to try it with onions someday.

This recipe can be prepared either baked or fried. We opted for baking because it just seemed healthier than deep frying something that is already rich in oil.

Recipe: PigTails & Fries

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (approximately 28oz) frozen curly fries

1 package (13.5oz to 16oz) Johnsonville Polish Sausage (can be substituted with other varieties of smoked sausage)

Step 1. Preheat oven at 450 degrees.

Step 2. Slice each sausage in half lengthwise. Then slice each half lengthwise into three long strips.

Step 3. Spread fries out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 17 to 20 minutes, turning fries about halfway through the cooking time.

Step 4. Spread sausage strips out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Strips should curl and begin to brown.

Step 5. Immediately serve sausage strips together with fries while still hot.

Yields approximately 6 servings.

We tried to serve ours with rice because the sausage and the fries were a bit spicy. We were expecting our children to eat all their rice and leave the rest of their food, like always, but instead we were surprised. They actually ate all their PigTails & Fries and were too full to eat their rice.

In addition to being both kid and adult-friendly, this dish only costs about $0.91 per serving. So it would be a cost-effective dish to serve or bring to your next get-together. To find more Johnsonville recipes, visit Johnsonville.com and Tailgateville.Johnsonville.com .

Thank you to Johnsonville for sending us complimentary product samples and product coupons to base this review upon.