Sausage and potato skillet supper

Comfort food, plain and simple. Even though this skillet supper of turkey sausage, potatoes, mushrooms and peppers might look like cold weather food, when you need it, you need it. And I needed it a couple of weeks ago, on one of the hottest days of the summer. I can't explain why, but as I stood, sweltering, over the stove, the aroma coming up from the pan made me happy, and that's what comfort food is supposed to do.

My supermarket carries several brands of smoked lean turkey sausage, which is fully cooked, and I'm sure yours does, too. Choose your favorite for this dish. Add more potatoes, or more sausage, or more mushrooms, whatever you like. Proportions are not terribly important, as Julia Child used to say. Skillet suppers are great to have in your repertoire for busy school days or work nights, when you don't have time to fuss. Remember this recipe when the weather turns cold. It would be just a good after a day of shoveling snow as it was in the heat of the summer.

Sausage and potato skillet supper

From the pantry you'll need: onion, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, parsley, kosher salt, fresh black pepper.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small bell pepper (any color), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
8 baby red-skinned potatoes, cut into quarters
7 oz smoked turkey sausage (fully cooked), cut into 1-inch pieces
4 baby bella mushrooms, cut into quarters
2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
2-3 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a large, nonstick frying pan, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring a few times.

Add the potatoes, stir to coat with the oil, and cook for 6-8 minutes, until the potatoes seem to be half cooked (pierce with the top of a knife; the knife tip should go in most of the way) and starting to brown a little bit on the edges. Then, stir in the sausage and mushrooms, and let them cook until the mushrooms are no longer raw.

Make a well in the center of the pan, and whisk in the vinegar, mustard and parsley. (You're making a warm vinaigrette dressing.) Stir to coat the vegetables. Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste; you will definitely need pepper.

Serve hot.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More one-pot comfort foods:
Chicken and shrimp jambalaya, from The Perfect Pantry
Spaghetti squash boat with clams, zucchini, peppers and olives, from The Perfect Pantry
One pot Greek chicken and lemon rice, from RecipeTin Eats
One-pot chicken fajita pasta, from Skinnytaste

Sausage and potato skillet supper

From the pantry you'll need: onion, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, parsley, kosher salt, fresh black pepper.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small bell pepper (any color), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
8 baby red-skinned potatoes, cut into quarters
7 oz smoked turkey sausage (fully cooked), cut into 1-inch pieces
4 baby bella mushrooms, cut into quarters
2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
2-3 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a large, nonstick frying pan, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring a few times.

Add the potatoes, stir to coat with the oil, and cook for 6-8 minutes, until the potatoes seem to be half cooked (pierce with the top of a knife; the knife tip should go in most of the way) and starting to brown a little bit on the edges. Then, stir in the sausage and mushrooms, and let them cook until the mushrooms are no longer raw.

Make a well in the center of the pan, and whisk in the vinegar, mustard and parsley. (You're making a warm vinaigrette dressing.) Stir to coat the vegetables. Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste; you will definitely need pepper.

Serve hot.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More one-pot comfort foods:
Chicken and shrimp jambalaya, from The Perfect Pantry
Spaghetti squash boat with clams, zucchini, peppers and olives, from The Perfect Pantry
One pot Greek chicken and lemon rice, from RecipeTin Eats
One-pot chicken fajita pasta, from Skinnytaste

Comments

Aaaaaah-----comfort foods!!!!! Use to do local made Italian sweet sausage or Usinger’s (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) true German bratwurst for the sausage and potatoes mixed with pan sauté cabbage or Italian yellow squash and zucchini. Add bread, regular wine and cheese and life can’t get any better except if you add chocolate or ice cream dessert with ice wine!!!

It definitely sounds delicious and comforting; just what you need sometimes!

Ken, chocolate ice cream would be the ultimate comfort food dessert for me!

Kalyn, there are some days when nothing but comfort food will do. This is an easy one-dish recipe for those days.

Delicious dinner last night, adding steamed broccoli and cherry tomatoes, omitting sausage. I can see many seasonal options coming! Mushrooms are important here...

Susan, sounds great! I think mushrooms and mustard are key.