This is such an easy, flavorful meal, but it’s a bit of a splurge (on account of the sausage), so we only have it occasionally. It’s also best eaten right away – not as leftovers – but you probably won’t have anything left anyway.
The original recipe came from one of my husband’s students. Husband is a high school English teacher and apparently talks about food quite a bit in class. A few years ago, one of his students brought in a recipe for Sausage Skillet Dinner – reportedly, her dinnertime favorite at home. Beyond that, I’m not sure of the recipe’s origins, but we’ve doctored it a bit and made it even better.
This recipe makes four servings, but it’s easy to adjust – sometimes I just add more potatoes to stretch it. It’s also not entirely a skillet meal, so I hope that part isn’t deceiving. It looks like a lot of steps, but it comes together quickly, especially after you’ve made it a time or two.
Sausage, Potato, and Apple Skillet Dinner
2-3 russet potatoes (or more if using smaller potatoes)
Olive oil (enough to coat potatoes)
Seasoned salt (I will have a recipe for this next week)
1 kielbasa sausage
1 small onion
1-2 small red apples
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sucanat
½ tsp caraway seed
Parsley to garnish
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut two large potatoes into wedges and toss in enough olive oil to coat. Whether you leave the skin on is your preference – I peeled mine because I wasn’t using organic potatoes. Throw in enough seasoned salt to your taste, and toss to coat. Bake on cookie sheets, evenly spread out and not overlapping, until desired crispiness is reached. Don’t let them go too long, though, or they will be hard – remember that they will still continue to cook once you take them out of the oven.
2. About 15 minutes into the potatoes’ baking, chop the kielbasa into diagonal, bite-sized pieces. We use sausage with no nitrates, preservatives, etc. – Wellshire and Applegate Farms are the brands we usually go with.
Brown the sausage in a cast-iron skillet for about ten minutes on medium heat; since this sausage is already cooked, we’re really just heating it through and giving it enough of a browning to make it look mouthwatering. Yeah!? Meanwhile, cut onion and apple into wedges. I left the skin on the apples because these are organic. Then combine vinegar, sucanat, and caraway seed in a measuring cup and set aside.
3. When sausage is done, remove to a warm platter. Melt butter in skillet, then sauté onion and apple until apples are just tender. If potatoes aren’t done yet – which they might not be – just turn off the heat on the skillet until they are.
4. When potatoes are done, add them, along with the sausage, into the skillet. Give the vinegar mixture a stir and pour over the skillet mixture, tossing it to coat. Garnish with some parsley (fresh or dried) and serve!
I will try to get my seasoned salt recipe up sometime this week, but as usual, I make no promises. So often, life gets in the way — but thankfully so. After all, I would have no reason to write if it weren’t for the sweet, quotidienne toils of earthly existence. Every day is a blessing, and I’m blessed with the everyday.
