Dinner: A Quick Fix

If you have any form of a family living in your home, and you take some responsibility for meal preparation, then on some occasion (probably many) you’ve undoubtedly made your way home agonizing over what you were going to cook for dinner.  Let me first say that I am extremely grateful and thankful that I have a job, a home, a family, and food in my cupboard to prepare a meal. With that said, I always feel like I have to be the one to decide what’s for dinner and sometimes it’s frustrating.  I’ll ask my husband, what he’d like for dinner and his response is always the same predictable but pleasant response, “what ever you want to cook.”  Some days, I want to say, how about sautéed Alpo?  To give my husband credit, he’s trying to be accommodating by leaving the decision to me and not demanding steak and potatoes or a four course meal every night.


Anyway, when it comes to dinner, especially when schedules are tight and I am limited on time, I pride myself in creating a quick dish that can be prepared in one-pot. You know- throw everything in one pot and hope it’s edible.   One pot means less preparation, less time, and less cleaning- all of which can be appreciated if you have limited time. The only requirement that’s extremely important to me is that the meal is somewhat healthy- translation: low cholesterol, lower calorie, and low fat.  With all of this said, and with encouragement from a few readers, I’ve decided to post some of my quick recipes.  I am not a chef nor do I have any professional training, but I do enjoy cooking.   So beginning with this post, I will occasionally post recipes.  If it sounds appealing, by all means, try it.  If it sounds disgusting, try it anyway, you might be surprised. Substitute the ingredients that you don’t like.  I don’t eat red meat, so you’ll see turkey where you might prefer beef.  If you try the recipe, please share with readers and myself what you liked or disliked.  If you have a favorite recipe to share, please do so.  We’re all in this together and I grow tired of eating the same meals week after week. 

                    Turkey Kielbasa Vegetable & Pasta Dish

2      14 oz packages of Hillshire Farm Turkey Polska Kielbasa
1      10 oz bag shredded carrots
1      16 oz Wish Bone (or any brand) Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing or plain Italian
5-6   Minced fresh garlic cloves
1      5 oz bag of fresh baby spinach (I prefer organic)
24    Cherry tomatoes (you can add more, that's about all I had in the refrigerator)
1/4   Cup of olive oil (this is an estimate, I don’t measure)
1      Tablespoon (approximate) of Durkee Grill Creations St. Louis Style Smokey
         Mesquite Seasoning
1      Tablespoon brown sugar*
1      Tablespoon or teaspoon crushed red pepper*
1      Box of Bow Ties pasta (preferably whole wheat) or whatever kind of pasta you favor

Cut the kielbasa in whatever shape you prefer.  I prefer to cut them in half, then half again. Toss in large skillet.
Mince garlic and toss in skillet
Add olive oil
Stir and cook on low until garlic softens
Add full bottle of vinaigrette dressing
Add Carrots
Cover and cook on higher temperature until carrots are tender.  When carrots are tender, simmer on low and add the tomatoes.
Boil water and cook pasta
After pasta is cooked and drained, stir in baby spinach and simmer on low until spinach has cooked down. Fresh spinach cooks quickly, so don’t leave it for more than 5 minutes.
Serve over pasta and enjoy!

*I love the combination of sweet & spicy- if you don't like this flavor, skip one or both ingredients.

This amount easily serves three adults and one child in my family; however, the adults in your family may eat much more than mine, so judge accordingly.