Pork Sausage and Carrots Three Ways

What a busy few weeks it has been! Shelby turned one, and we had a fantastic little party with lots of family from out of town. The week leading up to the party was hectic, full to the brim with party preparations on top of all the things that keep us busy every day. This week, mostly at night after Shelby goes to sleep, I've been preparing SCD legal foods to freeze. The plan is, once we restart the diet, there will be plenty of quick, heat-and-eat foods that are legal. This time, James will not get Hulk Smash Hungry.

Monday night, I made sausage. I had no idea how easy sausage is to make. I used this recipe from Joyful Abode, except I substituted honey for the sugar, omitted the onions, and didn't use thyme or cloves because I had none. It turned out fabulous anyway.

Instead of making little patties in the frying pan, I formed the meat into a log and rolled it up in some parchment paper. Aluminum foil probably would work better, but we're picky about aluminum and food. I baked it at 300 degrees until the meat thermometer said the internal temperature was 160.

Fully cooked ground pork sausage log, ready to slice!

Once the log o'sausage cooled, I sliced it into patties. I put the patties on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in the freezer, then transferred them to a large freezer bag. Now we have fully cooked sausage patties that can be heated in the microwave or oven or, even better, browned in a frying pan. I'll take more pictures of the process when I do it again. I plan on making spicy turkey sausage next time.

Tuesday night, I made carrots three ways; honey glazed, balsamic garlic, and garlic cumin. Each version used a pound of carrots.

Three pounds of peeled & trimmed organic carrots.

I washed, peeled, trimmed, and sliced three pounds of carrots. Sound like a lot of work? It was. I would've used my spiralizer, but most of the carrots were too thin.

Sliced carrots, one pound per bowl.

To make the basic recipe, combine one pound of carrots and two tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add one-third cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the remaining liquid is gone.

But that's a little boring. Plain carrots will be found in yummy chicken soup. We need carrots with flavor. So I made honey glazed carrots by adding three tablespoons of honey and one tablespoon of water.

Honey glazed carrots in the works.

And I made balsamic garlic carrots. I used balsamic vinegar instead of water and added one tablespoon of granulated garlic.

Balsamic garlic carrots about to boil.

I also made garlic cumin carrots by adding two tablespoons of my pre-mixed seasoning blend. I originally made this blend to season sweet potato fries, but now I use it for almost everything. It has garlic, cumin, paprika, white pepper, and a tiny bit of sea salt.

Garlic cumin carrots cooking.

It smelled so good in this house. The poor dog was going crazy.

I thought it would be really tricky making all three at the same time. I got them all in their pans one after the other, but then they were ready to be covered at different times and finished at different times. Different pan sizes, burner sizes, and ingredients made...well, a difference.

Honey glazed carrots.

Balsamic garlic carrots.

Garlic cumin carrots.

Once the carrots were all cooled off, I portioned them using a silicone mini loaf pan and a silicone brownie pan that makes neat flower shapes. Then I slipped them into the freezer.

Six portions each of yummy carroty goodness.

In the morning, I popped the big carrot cubes out of the trays and put them into labeled freezer bags. Now we have heat-and-eat carrots that pack a flavor punch.

Bags of portioned chunks of frozen carrots.

I didn't make anything last night because it was the Fourth of July. And I might not make anything tonight because, well, I'm posting about carrots. But soon, I will be making chicken soup, zucchini, yellow squash, beef bone broth, and turkey sausage. We'll be restarting the diet soon. Next Monday, if things go the way I plan. Or later if we're not ready yet.

Basic Carrots:

1 lb carrots, peeled, trimmed & sliced

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c water

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add water. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Honey Glazed Carrots:

1 lb carrots

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c + 1 tbs water

3 tbs honey

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and honey. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Balsamic Garlic Carrots:

1 lb carrots, peeled, trimmed & sliced

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

1 tbs granulated garlic

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add balsamic vinegar and garlic. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Garlic Cumin Carrots:

1 lb carrots, peeled, trimmed & sliced

2 tbs olive oil

1/3 c water

2 tbs garlic/cumin blend

Combine carrots and oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid is gone.

Rachel's Awesome Garlic Cumin Seasoning Mix:

1 part white pepper

2 parts paprika

3 parts cumin

4 parts granulated garlic

a few pinches sea salt

Combine and sprinkle on everything. Especially good on butternut squash fries, which are a wonderful SCD legal substitute for my former love, sweet potato fries.