Great Dinner; American Spirals, Kielbasa and Asparagus
A Fast Easy Dinner that your family will love!
Recipes for: American Spirals, Fried Kielbasa, and Asparagus
American Spirals. This is a take off of a recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid. She called it American Spaghetti. I chose to use multi colored spiral noodles instead and renamed it 'American Spirals'. The multi colored spiral noodles give the meal a great visual appeal.
I will be frying up some Kielbasa to go with it. Kielbasa is polish sausage. You can use any variety of smoked sausage or even ring baloney. They all use the same method. My family's favorite is the kielbasa.
The vegetable served tonight is fresh asparagus spears.
A new twist on macaroni and cheese. Too delicious to pass up!
Ingredients
- 12 oz package of Spiral Noodles. I like to use the multi colored one but any will do.
- 14.5 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
- 1 - 8 oz package of Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 3 -5 drops of tabasco sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Bring water to boil, cook noodles per package directions (normally, around 7-8 minutes), until tender.
- Drain water from noodles and pour noodles back into the same pan.
- Add package of sharp shredded cheddar cheese to pan of hot noodles and give a quick stir to spread the cheese evenly throughout the noodles.
- Pour in can of stewed tomatoes, juice and all. At this time, you can add the garlic powder and hot sauce if you would like to use them.
- Mix until blended.
So Easy to Make!
Add shredded sharp cheddar cheese to the hot noodles.
Stir until the cheese starts to melt.
Add a can of stewed tomatoes.
Use a non stick 5 quart pan for easy cleanup - I use Calphalon Unison pans
I bought mine from Macy's Department Store. If you prefer to shop on line, you can buy it on Amazon through this link.
Mom always served up Fried Kielbasa with the American Spirals - I have been carrying on that tradition
My family loves fried kielbasa.
Cut sausages into 2-3 inch pieces, then slice them in half lengthwise, but not all the way through.
The skin of the kielbasa will hold the two halves together for a nicer presentation.
Fry until they are browned. I cook some until they are very dark. Most of the family likes these best.
I have others in my clan that prefer them to be just lightly browned, so I make sure I pull a few out early before they get dark.
Fried Smoked Kielbasa - How to fry up Kielbasa
This is a simple, but delicious, way to serve smoked kielbasa. I hope you enjoy it!
Cook Time
Prep Time: 5
Total Time: 15
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 - 14 oz Packages of Smoked Kielbasa
Instructions
- Cut sausage into 3 inch lengths, then cut in half length wise.
- Add butter to large frying pan or griddle.
- Fry over medium heat until darkly browned.
Cut sausage into 3 inch lengths, then cut in half length wise - Then all you have to do is put them into a hot frying pan on medium high heat.
I add a pat of butter to get them started. I then fry them until browned. Some of my family likes them very dark, others prefer them only lightly cooked.
I cook them to various degrees of doneness to satisfy everyone.
TIP: I normally preheat my pan before adding the sausages, but it is not mandatory if you forget.
If you don't have a non stick frying pan, you may want to use cast iron - Cast iron frying pans are great for frying up these sausages!
I used a non stick pan to make these sausages. But if you don't have one, or don't like to use them, then I would recommend the 12 inch cast iron frying pan.
Asparagus is the vegetable I served with this meal. - Vegetalbes are not only good for you, but when served with the meal, they do more.
Benefits of serving vegetables with your meals.
1. Good for you.
2. Low in calories.
3. Add visual interest to the plate. If it looks good, it will taste better.
4. Gives the taste buds variety. The taste of these asparagus will add a refreshing break from the tasty saltiness of this meal.
Asparagus - Tips and tricks for perfect asparagus
Asparagus is easy to make, but there are a couple of things that may be helpful to know.
When I first started cooking asparagus, it came out tough and stringy.
I will show you how to pick out fresh asparagus, and then show you how to prepare it.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Fresh Asparagus
- 1 TBS Butter
- Mrs. Dash Original
- to taste
Instructions
- Place cleaned asparagus, with ends snapped off, into covered glass casserole dish.
- Add 1/2 inch of water to bottom of dish.
- Microwave for 6-7 minutes depending on how firm you like it.
- Microwaves vary, so you may want to experiment a bit.
- Drain off water. Add Butter and sprinkle lightly with Mrs Dash.
Select fresh asparagus
Asparagus Steamer - An option to the microwave method
I made my asparagus in the microwave. Place asparagus in a covered glass casserole dish with a half inch of water on the bottom and nuke for 6-7 minutes.
Unless otherwise noted, photos in this lens were taken by me, June Nash
Copy right under creative commons 3.0, some rights reserved
Are these instructions easy to follow?
Were you able to fix it up in 15 minutes?
Did you change the recipe, like I did my mom's? I would like to hear about the variations you may have given it.
