C – What staples do you keep in your freezer or pantry?
For me, there are two major ones. Bulk sausage in the freezer and canned beans in the pantry. If I don’t have either of these items in my kitchen, my stocks must be low. I need to go to the store to buy more.
They are my go-to items when I have nothing in the fridge and I have no clue what to make for a meal.
I love sausage because I don’t have to deal with flavoring it. Something like chorizo bulk sausage can be made into taco meat fast or cooked and mixed into a salad with beans and fresh vegetables like this salad.
Beans are great protein source that don’t need a long time to cook, if you buy them in a can.
This salad is great if you are in a bind. You can whip it up with just a few ingredients that I usually keep in the refrigerator or in the pantry.
Also, I usually have onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, cilantro, olives and pickled jalapenos. It makes a great quick taco salad or a salad on it’s own.
I love the chorizo with white beans and all the crunchy textures of the fresh vegetables.
| Soup/Salad Tuesday: Warm Chorizo White Bean Salad |
- 1 Tbsp canola or other neutral oil
- 1 pound bulk chorizo sausage
- 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 roma tomato, seeds removed, chopped
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- In a medium saute pan add a little oil to the pan. Heat the pan on medium high and add the bulk chorizo. Break the sausage in to small pieces and cook through.
- Continue cooking for another few minutes until the pieces are slightly crispy almost like bacon. Drain the fat, saving about a tablespoon of fat in a small bowl. Remove the crumbled sausage from the pan.
- Add the reserved chorizo fat into the pan and add the drained white beans.
- Add some salt and pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Mix well and cook for about 2 minutes or until heated through.
- Turn off heat and place beans into a mixing bowl.
- Add chorizo, red onions, bell pepper, white balsamic, pickled jalapenos, tomato, olives and cilantro into the bowl and mix well.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
If you asked me how many packs of sausage in my freezer and how many cans of beans I have, I would say there is at least three different kinds of both.
I love having the variety and knowing that I never have to fear there isn’t any food in the house.