Homemade Meals In No Time

It has been so great being on winter break. I can not tell you how much I needed this time off from school. My body has been screaming for rest, so the past few weeks I have done nothing but cook, read, watch movies, nap, shop, etc. Though, I know life is not going to be like this for too much longer. School starts at the end of the month, and I need to remember that it is during those busy days that I do not have a lot of time to make a nice meal for my sister and I. However, I have discovered a lot of recipes that take no time at all and do not come from a box that says, "just add water", and I will be sharing one with you today!


A few weeks ago, there was a sale on polish sausage at my local grocery store. Being the polish sausage lover that I am, I about skipped up and down the meat department with joy when I discovered this. Yup, I like it that much.  Woops, I mean LOVE. Whenever I make polish sausage, I cook it on the stove and serve it on top of some pasta. Well, I wanted to do something different, so when I found a recipe for a polish sausage casserole, I had to try it. It is super easy, extremely affordable, and can feed a whole family.  


Before I share this recipe, let me just make a disclaimer: I am currently watching the office while I type this so I apologize if "that's what she said" randomly appears for no reason. ;)
Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 32 oz. shredded potato (frozen or fresh)
• 16 oz. polish sausage sliced into thin rounds
• 1 lb asparagus 
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the oil (or melted butter) in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread the chopped onion and then the shredded potatoes evenly to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake this first layer in the oven for 20 minutes, to crisp it up.

(Thanks to my brother, andrew belle, I now how a fantastic knife to cook with)

While that is baking, you will begin making your cheese sauce. Here is what you will need: 

Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 cup low fat cheddar cheese 

Cheese sauce cooking directions:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Then add the flour, dry mustard, and salt & pepper. Whisk the mixture together, allowing it to slightly brown and become smooth and just bubbly. Pour in the milk and whisk until smooth and thick. Then add the cheese and whisk again until the cheese has melted, remove from heat.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and cover the top of the potatoes with the thinly sliced polish sausage. Place uncooked asparagus over the top of the sausage and pour the cheese sauce evenly over the top of the asparagus. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the casserole and put into the oven to bake for 40 minutes. 

I hope you like it! If you are wondering, I got this recipe off of food.com. Now, eat up and have a wonderful afternoon. 

**My twin sister, Maggie Fortson, has been so busy editing photos for her photography business and still takes the time to take photographs for my blog. Thanks for all the help, Maggie. Check out her work at www.maggiefortsonblog.com