My Mother’s notebook, Recipe 1–Stir Fry Pineapple Sausage

Our household was predominantly German, so the fact that the first recipe I found in the note book was a sausage dish is not a surprise.    This one appears to have been cut out of a Swift Premium Brown and Serve package, a brand that was well loved in our family due to its cost.  The recipe looks like one of those Asian fusion attempts by a mainstream company to update its image as healthier fare.

Since I’m a vegetarian, I decided to swap out the Swift Premium sausages for some Trader Joe’s veggie links.   Here’s the recipe.

Stir Fry Pineapple Sausage

8oz Sausage links

24 oz pineapple chunks in juice, (reserve 3/4 cups of the juice)

1 cup sliced celery

1 green pepper cut in chunks

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup of water

1 TB cornstarch

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 cup of dry sherry (this was a staple in our house btw..my mom liked her sherry in cooking)

2 medium sized tomatoes, cut in wedges

1/2 cup of almonds, blanched (Optional)

Cut sausages in half or rounds (which ever you prefer).  Brown in skilled or wok.  Add celery, green pepper and mushrooms.  Stir-fry until tender crisp.

Combine sherry, pineapple juice, ginger, water and cornstarch.  Add to skillet and cook until thickens.   Add pineapple chunks and tomatoes.  Cook an additional 2 minutes.  Sprinkle with almonds.

REVIEW

This was an easy weeknight meal and took about 20 minutes to prepare.   While my husband really liked it, my kids and I thought it was a bit bland.  It tasted like a very 1980s American twist on sweet and sour pork.    If I was to make this one again, I would probably add either some soy sauce or more ginger.   A bit of vinegar would also boost the flavor index on this one.  So a 5/10 on this one.