Porky vs. the Green Grocer

I love vegetables. My husband and oldest daughter love meat. Sometimes it is really difficult to balance the two out so that there is enough of both to make everyone happy.

Tonight I hit pay dirt with a dish that I put together after a visit to our local Produce Junction (my winter vegetable shopping hot spot) and my two favorite butchers, Thomson's Meat Market and Clover Farms.

So here we go. I am calling this dish Porky vs. the Green Grocer and here is the list of ingredients that I used this time. Any combination of meats and vegetables will work so feel free to change it up to make you happy.

1 lb. American Pie Sausage, removed from casing and diced (from Clover Farms)
4 slices pepper bacon, cut very thick, diced (Thomson's Meat Market)
5-6 slices hill billy bacon, diced
1 lb. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 onions, sliced
1 lb. brussel sprouts, cleaned and halved
1/2 - 1 cup chicken broth
2-3 tblsps. olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
about 2 lbs. red and russet potatoes, scrubbed really well and sliced thick
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup olive oil
5-6 garlic cloves

The first thing I did was scrub my potatoes really well, removing any eyes or blemishes that may be on them. I then sliced them in 1/4 inch slices. In a large 11x17ish baking dish drizzle a little olive on the bottom of the pan, layer potatoes with half of the onions and sprinkle the garlic cloves in between. Drizzle the top of the mixture with a little more olive oil and distribute the butter evenly over the top. Salt and pepper liberally to taste, cover with foil and bake till potatoes are fork tender in a 350 degree oven about 1 1/2 hours, removing foil for the last 15 minutes of baking to allow potatoes and onions to crisp up and become a little brown.

About an hour into the potatoes cooking I started my vegetable prep. Since the veg never takes as long to cook, I don't like to start it too soon or everything will be soggy till we eat it.

In a large heavy bottomed skillet set on medium - high heat drizzle a little olive oil. When olive oil is hot, add meats and saute till sausage is no longer pink. Push meats to the edges of the pan and add the vegetables. Stir vegetables and cook until onions start to become translucent and peppers start to soften. Salt and pepper to taste. Add about half of the chicken broth to de-glaze the pan, don't forget to stir up all the meaty bits, this gives great flavor to the vegetables.

Add the rest of the chicken broth and cover the pan and allow to cook on medium until the brussels sprouts are fork tender.

Serve over the roasted potatoes.

I got rave reviews from my husband, but alas, my daughter was not seduced by the meat flavored vegetables and still picked them out. I may never win on this as far as the kids are concerned, but my husband and I loved it. We are using the leftovers with some eggs today for lunch.

hugs,
dina