Dinner with Kirkland Signature Pesto on Pasta with Sabatino's Sausage and Normandy Vegetables- A True Costco Meal

We like to cook but sometimes it is nice to have a meal at home that you put together yourself but is also a real time saver.   That was this dinner.  I started by turning on the Griddler and getting it warm. At the same time I got the water boiling for the pasta.  For a sauce for the spaghetti I chose the Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.  This is an excellent pesto at a great Costco price.

For the meat serving I chose the Sabatino's Smoked Mozzarella with Artichokes and Garlic Chicken Sausage. Being a chicken sausage they are somewhat lower in fat than beef or pork sausages but they taste great. They are also fully cooked so all you have to do is get them warm.  However we do like to brown them for maximum taste but that is your choice.  While I used our Griddler for quick indoor cooking these are also fabulous over a charcoal grill.

They were on sale at Costco earlier this year and we tried them in part because of that.  But we will definitely consider buying them again for their great taste and convenience.  They come in a three pound package with four smaller packages of four each for a total of 16 sausages.

For the vegetables we had some Kirkland Signature Normandy Style Vegetable Blend.  Having frozen veggies on hand is a nutritious and convenient strategy.  All you have to do is microwave them and you are ready to eat.

While we cooking the pasta I microwaved the veggies and grilled the sausage.  Dinner came together very quickly and easily.  And it was a breeze to serve.

This meal was complete with vegetables, meat and pasta.  It was also darn tasty too and pretty affordable.  Add in the fact that it came together in minutes make this a real winner for a weekday supper or an easy weekend lunch. Actually, it is a fine meal anytime but when you need some speed this really rocks!

Enjoy!

Chicken Sausage and Quinoa Soup

This post was primarily written by my lovely wife as I was out walking the dog on this pretty but crisp day.

It is spring and that brings thoughts of grilling sausages in our household.  So this last weekend while at Costco, we perused the sausage section and came home with a package of Sabatino's Smoked Mozzarella with Artichokes & Garlic Chicken Sausage   It comes in two sealed packages that contain eight sausages each.

Our first menu item with this is a soup that starts with the standard mirepoix of celery, onion and carrot sauteed in olive oil with a spoonful of chopped garlic and a little salt.  Four of the sausages were sliced and sauteed in the pan.  Next was added a couple of quarts of homemade chicken stock which we made from the last two rotisserie chickens we bought.  Finally, a cup or so of cooked quinoa was added to bulk up the soup and it was done.

This was very filling and yummy.  There is a lot of flavor in the sausages so it doesn't require much other seasoning but in the future a little garam marsala may be added to warm up the flavor.

To serve with the soup, a piece of naan bread from Costco was cut into slices and toasted.

Aside from having another successful main dish, we were thrilled with how well the naan bread toasted and what a great compliment it made to the soup. I am sure we will be toasting some of it again soon!