My son came home and asked what we were having for dinner.  It’s a fun game we play.  One of us asks what we are having for dinner and the other responds -”I don’t know, what are you making?”.  If he’s cooking, sometimes I’ll tell him what to make, and if it’s me – I’ll figure something out.  Tonight, I didn’t want to slave over the stove, but I remembered something my husband said when he brought home the market bag.  He said that we should cook up the green beans and corn fresh and fast while we have them and not wait because they’re always best when they’re fresh.

I have a metal strainer insert that I use when I want to steam or blanch.  Then I can either keep the ingredients from getting waterlogged because it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot, or in the case of blanching, I can raise the strainer draining the water off without getting burned pouring it off. Tonight I filled the strainer with corn on the cob, green beans, potatoes, sausage (from an area farmer) and set it inside  a stockpot.  I poured a bottle of beer and 2 cups of stock over top – knowing they would drain to the bottom of the pot and would be my steaming liquid.  If I had a steamer that fit better, I probably would have more liquid left in the bottom to use as a sauce, but you could add a cup of water to keep it all  from evaporating off.  I added really fragrant spices that gave off such a great aroma.

If my husband was a shrimp eater, I might have added some of that too. It would work well with any type of meat, like chicken or smoked sausage.  This was a really easy throw together meal, something you could let steam in the pot while you are helping the kids with homework or posting on your blog, or relaxing with the newspaper or book.  It’s a no fuss no muss, even my college son could cook it type of meal.

Fast and Easy – Steamed Sausage and

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Really easy dinner of steamed sausage and vegetables. One pot meal that does the work while you relax.

Author: Diana

Recipe type: Main

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 Sausage links – or 1 large smoked sausage
• 3 ears corn on the cob broken into 5 or 6 pieces
• 2 cups large rough chopped potatoes
• 2 cups fresh green beans tips cut off
• 1 tsp allspice
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp ground cumin seeds
• ½ tsp cloves
• salt to taste
• 1 bottle beer or Ale (I used Killians Irish Red)
• 2 cups Chicken Stock

Instructions

1. Scrub the vegetables clean and prepare to the right size.
2. Throw all of the ingredients into the steam basket. Turn on the heat and steam the food until it’s done.
3. Slice the sausage links into the bowl, spoon in the rest of the ingredients, and drizzle some of the steam juices from the bottom of the pot over top of the meat and veggies.

Notes

You may not need as much broth, if your steam basket fits in tight to the pot and doesn’t allow steam to escape. However, if it the basket doesn’t fit tight and you want more broth(you will), you may want to add water.

2.2.8

A few of us online were discussing the best way to cook our corn.  Corn on the cob always brings me back to the summer days growing up when we all sat at the table slurping our salted, buttered corn, getting the kernals stuck between our teeth and braces, but oh so worth the cleanup.

Let’s talk about our favorite ways to cook our corn on the cob.

• Boil – We always stripped the husk and the silk, then threw the ears into a big pot of boiling water for about 20 minutes, or until the corn softened enough to poke with a fork.  This is a delicious way, though if you cook too long, it can get a little water soaked.  I’m amending this to less than ten minutes for a couple of ears.  Twenty minutes is for about eight ears.

• Grill – This is the way we had the most variety.   I peeled back the husks then pulled out the silk, put back the husks and soaked the corn before grilling.  Gailann just stuck the corn on the cob onto the grill.  Deb soaks the corn, then sticks it on the grill.  I’ve also tried removing the silk, and then grilling without soaking.  I declare Deb the winner.  We found out that peeling back the husk and silk after it has grilled to be easier than before hand, plus the soaking helps to steam it.  Warning, the husk will get a charred look to it, but the taste is perfect.

• Microwave -  This is a cool way to do your corn, cool as in you aren’t standing over anything hot, like water or a grill.   I husked the corn and peeled the silk, salted and buttered it, then microwaved it for 4 to 6 minutes turning it half way.  Gailann says she uses plastic wrap, but I didn’t.

• Corn off the cob – a twitter friend suggested uncooked corn cut from the cob and used fresh in a salad without cooking it.  This is my next experiment, it sounds like a really delicious way to have corn.

So, what is your favorite way to cook corn on the cob?   Next up, corn poop – it’s a mystery!  No, we won’t really go there.