I am participating in a Johnsonville promotional program and have been provided with free product and compensation in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.
I like to cook and I am good at
it. Part of my success is that I am able
to maximize flavors. One quick way to
add flavor is using sausage. A good sausage can transform a dish by
infusing it with flavor, which decreases the effort needed by the cook to make
the dish taste good. One could say that
sausage is the working mom’s best friend.For that reason, I was excited that I got an opportunity to review Johnsonville Sausage. Forget the sponsorship, I totally would have tried it for free! Since I use sausage all of the time I naturally thought this was an ideal promotion for me. As usual, I put everything I had into the review. I hope you find this post informative!
I was familiar with
Johnsonville sausage, but didn't know that they had been providing good food for families since 1945. I also only associated the company with grilling. I remembered the “Johnsonville Brat”
commercials from my childhood. For that
reason, I originally planned to cook the sausage on the grill, top it with
peppers and onions and call it a day. Instead,
I made beans and rice for my family. Since
we have beans and rice all of the time, I thought that would be a fair way to
evaluate the quality of the sausage.
Since we don’t eat pork, I was
very pleased to see that Johnsonville has several non-pork options. I chose to
review the apple chicken sausage.
Johnsonville Sausage is a good economical choice for your family.
Here’s what I learned. This is a good value product. The texture of the chicken apple sausage is what you’d expect. It was firm after cooking and appealing to the eye. It was mild tasting with a touch of sweetness. Other brands that we have tried have had a more distinct apple taste with visible chunks of apple and other subtle flavors were twice the price. So, for families on a budget, the Johnsonville product is a great option to provide good tasting, low fat protein.
Recipe
Ingredients
1.
1 Package Johnsonville Chicken Apple Sausage
2.
2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
3.
1 cup of Jasmine Rice (rinsed)
4.
1 large onion (chopped)
5.
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
6.
½ large mango
7.
3 large fresh basil leaves
8.
Turmeric
9.
Seasoning salt (one that includes cumin)
1.
3 Tablespoons Olive oil
 |
| Getting my ingredients prepared |
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| Mango, a surprise ingredient for summer |
Directions
·
Prep Time 10 minute
·
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. (Do not fail to follow the directions like I did this time and burn your rice. People don't tend to like it nearly as much!)
Sauté the garlic, onions, and basil in the olive oil for 5
minutes. Add the beans and the mango. Season to taste. Sauté that bean mixture for about 10 minutes.
 |
| The bean mixture before adding the sausage |
While the sausage is already fully cooked and packed with
flavor, it still needs to be sautéed to
complete this dish. I sauté it while it’s in one piece and then chop it up and
mix it into the bean mixture. It retains its shape and does not shrink considerably like other brands because it's made without any fillers.
 |
Cooking the sausage
|
You can use another pan for that or pour the bean
mixture out of the pan and into a bowl, sauté the sausage in that pan and then
mix it together.
Voilá a tasty dish for your family!
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| Beans and rice with Johnsonville Apple Chicken Sausage |
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