You know I have a bone to pick with the person who said “Life gets easier when you get older!”
Okay, listen up buckaroo.. you lied! It’s challenging, tiring, stressful, demanding.. and that’s all just how a normal Monday is for me! LOL, I work 14-18 hour days 6-7 days a week, work 2 FT jobs plus take care of a house, yard, and Mr. Fantabulous. I’m still waiting for the ‘easy’ part.
Or maybe ‘Easy’ showed up at my doorstep while I was at work and skipped me? Maybe… yeah, I’m thinking that. I’m sure ‘Easy’ will show up… when I’m long gone. Oy! Remember when you were little and how you used to fight with your parents, babysitter, or an adult when they told you that you had to take a nap?
I mean back then, that was the meanest thing ever. You were gonna miss something! But now.. God what I wouldn’t give to have my boss come into my office and tell me “Lori, you’ve worked hard enough. Go home and take a nap!” Doesn’t that sound amazing?! I could so see the look on the payroll when they looked at my timesheet and saw Title: Forced Nap Time, Hours: 2, Billable: YES
However, one thing that has made my life easier as I have gotten older is the crockpot. This recipe is one my Mom used to make all the time when I was little. It was something she would throw in the crockpots in the morning, we’d go tend to the gardens then by lunch it was ready. Now she always, ALWAYS served baked beans on the side with this. I was one of those weirdos (and still am) who would get a bowl of this stuff and put my beans right on top. I’m a ‘mixer’ if you will when it comes to food.
As you can see this is a simple meal with simple ingredients. It’s rustic. Homey even. It’s not the prettiest but it sure is tasty. See we didn’t have much growing up. Heck, there are times the older kids went without just so I, the baby, could have something. However, my parents always made sure we had food in our bellies, a roof over our heads, heat to keep us warm, and the most important ingredient… LOVE!
Sure I didn’t get my first real pair of brand-new jeans until 10th grade. I didn’t have Jordache or Candies. I had hand-me-downs and gently used stuff. I never had a brand-new bike.
I can remember one year, about a month or so before Christmas I went with my Mom and Dad to the local junkyard as my Dad said he had to get a car part. Christmas morning I went out to see what Santa brought me and there, out in the kitchen hallway was a “new” purple bike with a white banana seat and streamers.
Here my Dad managed to have the guy at the junkyard throw in the broken bike and some used tires. My dad worked on that for days on end to make it look perfect. He kept putting white shoe polish over and over on the seat just to make it look brand new. He welded, sanded, and painted it. My Mom made the streamers. I’ll never forget that Christmas.
So while we didn’t have the material things, I had so much more. I will never trade one single day of my childhood as I learned some of the most invaluable lessons ever.
Love. Respect. Integrity. Honor. I learned to appreciate the true things in life. Money was nice, sure but I didn’t need that to make me laugh, smile, or feel. All I needed was love. If you have that, then that’s all you need.
Now it’s funny when I decide on what types of recipes to post here. I do my very best to try and accommodate everyone’s tastes and likings while keeping certain allergy and dietary restrictions. I do my best to provide substitutions when necessary. However, I was on the fence as to whether or not to post this. Normally I can predict what will be a hit or not but with this one I was unsure. I thought maybe it was too simple.
So like anyone with a family, I went to to my TKW Facebook Family and asked for their input. If family isn’t going to be honest with you then no one will, right?
It was met with an overwhelming ‘Yes, Please!’. They keep me grounded and close to my roots. This dish is all me. I’m all about comfort foods and this dish of kielbasa, hot dogs, taters, and sauerkraut is pure comfort!
Comfort Crock Pot Kielbasa & Hot Dogs
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby potatoes, skin on and cut into 1” pieces
- 1 (16 ounce) bag sauerkraut, (bagged, not canned) with liquid
- 1 lb polska (or turkey) kielbasa, cut into 1” slices
- 4–8 beef/pork or all turkey hot dogs, cut into 1” slices
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped small
- 1/2 cup gala apple, peeled and chopped small
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup stock (beef, chicken or pork)
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1–2 tablespoon olive oil
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a 5-6 qt Crock Pot, add in half of the sauerkraut, 1/4 cup onions, 1/4cup apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika.
- Add olive oil to large skillet over medium-high heat and brown kielbasa slices until nicely caramelized on each cut side. ~5-7 minutes per cut side.
- Place the caramelized slices in the crock pot.
- Add the hotdogs to the skillet and brown on all sides. ~3-4 minutes per side.
- Add on top of the kielbasa.
- Add the remaining sauerkraut, water, stock, onions, apples, brown sugar, chili powder and smoked paprika.
- Cover and cook for 1 hour on low.
- Add potatoes and cook for another 3 hours or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Sprinkle top with parsley and serve.
Notes
If you don’t have one, I recommend this 5-6 qt Crock Pot! I have it and love it!
I would also suggest serving this with a side of baked beans. It goes PERFECTLY with it!
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