Sausage & Macaroni Stir-Fry

I’m baaaack, you guys!

After a brief hiatus to go on vacation (that was very much needed, by the way), I’m back to blogging and most importantly—back in the kitchen.

First things first, let me tell you about my AMAZING vacation:

Rob & I took a week off to go to Montana and hang out with my family. After a few days in Great Falls, Montana, we drove 5.5 hours to the west to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. My super-awesome uncle rented a cabin on Cave Bay for my whole family (all NINE of us!) for 4 days. The view? Breathtaking.

We went to an amusement/water park called Silverwood, went shopping in downtown Coeur D’Alene, swam, tried stand-up paddleboarding (more like sit down paddleboarding for me), and ate a ton of food—like these perfectly seasoned and grilled steaks!

I really, really did not want to return to the real world, buuuuuut…here we are. We came back home to a completely devoid refrigerator and pantry, so I sat down and planned all of the meals I’m going to make for the next few days. After grocery shopping, the first meal I made was this easy-peasy “stir-fry”.

I use that term “stir-fry” loosely because YES—it is fried. And YES—it is stirred. But is it a true stir-fry? You be the one to judge.

Sausage & Macaroni Stir-Fry

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into medallions
• 2 medium carrots, julienned
• 4 cups cabbage, chopped
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1. Prepare macaroni according to package directions (about 7 minutes in boiling, salted water). Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the sausage and carrot and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
2.  Add carrots, cabbage, green onions, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to the skillet. Stir-fry until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Drain and rinse macaroni. Add macaroni to skillet with the meat and veggies. Stir until heated through.

Could a recipe be any easier than that? The only skill you need is to know how to boil water—which isn’t that hard at all, obviously. This was the best meal I could make after a long and stressfree vacation and resuming normal life. Easy, flavorful, and PLENTY of leftovers for the work week ahead!

This recipe comes courtesy of an old Baylor County Junior League cookbook. I’m not entirely sure that there is anything quite like it on the interwebs, which is refreshing! I was a little concerned that since there is no sauce to mesh everything together, it wouldn’t be very tasty. Boy, was I wrong. This skillet dinner combines well with all of the flavors.

You could kick it up a notch and add 1/2 cup sour cream to the skillet to give the dish a nice Hungarian flavor…but I think it’s fine on its own. Try it out this week if you’re running low on time to make dinner! This recipe takes only about 30 minutes from prep-to-plate.

xoxo,

Leen

PS: I can’t stop thinking about that gorgeous lake, so here’s another pic of us in front of it!