Queen Cuisine – Broccoli, sausage, oregano stir fry

I’ve been remiss in posting Queen Cuisine recipes the last two weeks. I have a good reason – we had been back from New York for less than 15 hours when my hubby snapped his achilles tendon, then he had surgery and has been recovering. Between all that excitement and chasing after the kiddos I haven’t had time to take photos of the meals I’ve been making! It’s everything I can do just getting the meals on the table!

BUT things have gotten a little bit easier the last few days and I made a family favorite – it’s a broccoli, sausage stir fry, so I thought I’d share the recipe. I don’t really have a fancy name, that’s just what we call it. It’s random. It’s a variation of a recipe my mom makes. The kids seem to like it – so I keep making it!

Ingredients:

Broccoli – about a pound or two, washed/rinsed and cut to to manageable sizes. It’s been on sale for $0.99 cents a pound a lot lately.

Package of sausage – I like Aidells. Look for it as a manager markdown (like pictured above) and freeze it until you’re ready.

Mushrooms – I prefer crimini because they taste meatier.

Onion

Parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

Pasta – your choice, we like Wacky Mac or Ronzoni Garden Delight.

Garlic

Oregano – Buy in bulk at Winco or your local co-op

Olive oil

Directions:

1. Get a pan of water boiling – to get your noodles cooking. You can pick the variety of noodles that you like best, but we like to use Wacky Mac or the new Ronzoni Garden pasta.
2. In another large saute pan (make sure it has a lid, for a later step), on medium high heat add a little olive oil and saute up diced onions. Once they start getting a little soft, add the sliced mushrooms. Saute.
3. Once onions and mushrooms are looking like they are browning, add minced garlic (a couple cloves?) and a bunch of fresh oregano. I’ve never measured. Add more if you like it, less if you don’t. Maybe a couple tablespoons. It should look like this:
   
4. Next slice up your sausages and add that to the mix. Cook it up until it it’s browned and heated thoroughly.
5. Wash and cut your broccoli and throw it in on top of all the other good stuff in the pan. Cover the saute pan and steam broccoli.
   
6. Watch broccoli, when it turns bright green and is steamed to your liking, add grated parmesan to the very top.
7. Then serve on top of cooked pasta!
   

My mom makes this with a Kielbasa sausage and she uses canned parmesan cheese. It’s really a flexible recipe. Just lots of oregano and garlic and you’re in business. Oh and good, fresh broccoli.

I use a food chopper and serve it up for the baby – she loves it! My son shows off his growing muscles from the broccoli (you can see them growing he says!). Then he helps feed his sister. Yes, they are still in pajamas at dinner time. Since daddy’s surgery we’ve been spending lots of quality time like this at home. Why bother getting dressed?

Hope you like it! I’d love to hear any variations you might have on this recipe.

You might also like these recipes:

• Easy Peasy Pizza (courtesy of Trader Joe’s)
• Greek Chicken and Orzo Skillet recipe
• Bacon-wrapped blue cheese dates
• Quinoa salad with arugula, craisins, pistachios, balsamic vinegar
• Tomatoes, Feta, Corn, Cilantro Salad
• My grandma’s roll recipe, plus a time-saving tip (BEWARE – You can’t eat just one)
• Moroccan Chicken with couscous