If there is one food I absolutely love, it is sauerkraut. I am a believer that you either like sauerkraut or you do not, but I do, and this week we had some of the best ever.
Our friends, Frank and Donna Macek, Bates City, brought us a package of homemade Polish sausage and homemade sauerkraut. It doesn’t get much better than that.
When I prepare sauerkraut I use boneless country style ribs or Polish sausage. Whichever meat I choose, one of the secrets to tasty food is the length of cooking time. With either meat choice I put them on early in the morning and cover it with water. Next cover the pot with a lid and cook for four hours or more on medium. Watch the pot and add water if needed. You want to have plenty of liquid when you add the kraut and the taste that will eventually make the dish great comes from the liquid.
Grouchy Bear will tolerate the kraut, but it is tolerable to him so he spends the day trying to convince me to give him some fried chicken or biscuits and gravy in addition to the kraut.
When meat is fork tender (ribs) remove from pot. Sausage may remain in the pot for the kraut. Allow the meat to cool, pull into small pieces and return to the pot. With either choice add the kraut back into the pot with the liquid and meat.
Cook on low for several hours. Twenty minutes before serving time mix a batch of Bisquick dumplings according to instructions. Drop the dumplings into the pot and allow to cook 10 minutes. Then cover the pot and cook another 10 minutes until dumplings are done.
If you have a Grouchy Bear be sure and make a peanut butter sandwich for him so he does not growl too loud.
Saturday night we went to the Annual Lone Jack Oyster Dinner. We met up with several people we knew and they all wanted to know why he was eating all that illegal, unhealthy fried food.
He informed them it was a healthy meal because fish is good for you. Even if the oysters were healthy he blew it when he ate about 10 or so of the “healthy fish” (each about the size of an orange) dipped in batter and deep fried in that healthy grease.
Arriving at home the Bear admitted he had blown it for the evening so thought he should have rich dessert before I made him return to healthy.
Since I always do what he says I made him a chocolate parfait dessert. Using sugar-free, fat-free chocolate pudding made according to direction pour some in the bottom of a glass. Add sliced bananas, another layer of chocolate pudding, fat-free whipped topping and a maraschino cherry.
Please don’t tell him how healthy it is or I will never get by with it again. See you next week.
