In the mood for German food this week?

I happen to love sour kraut.  As a matter of fact, I have never met a sour cabbage dish that I didn't like.  But, I know that I am in the minority.  In my slow cooker today is a meal to make even the most devout sour kraut hater change their mind. 

First I cook up 1/4 pound of maple cured bacon.  I dice the bacon before I cook it to make it cook faster and I cook it to a few seconds shy of crispy.  Remove bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.  In the bacon fat, saute a large onion that has been sliced very thin until it is translucent.  Mix the onion with 3 cups of drained sour kraut.  Add a tablespoon of spicy whole grain mustard and 3 granny smith apples that have been diced and add the bacon back into the mixture.  Pour into the bottom a slow cooker.  Lay 1 1/2 pounds of kielbasa on top of the mixture and cook on low for 6 hours.

Italian Sausage and Barley Stew

I have been trying to eat more whole grains.  So, today in my rice cooker is a new invention of mine.  Here is what I did.


Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound hot Italian sausage
2 red bell peppers, cut into once inch pieces
1 hot pepper, diced (all I had in the house was a jalapeno, but I think it would be best with a cherry pepper or some other Italian style chili)
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup pearl barley
3 cups liquid (I mixed beef broth with water, but all water would do)
1 tablespoon oregano
2 bay leaves
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
(salt to taste)

In a skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the hot sausage.  I removed it from the casing and used a potato masher to separate it apart.  Add the peppers and onion and stir to combine.  When the vegetables are softening and the sausage is browning, add the garlic and stir to combine.  Remove from heat.

Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a rice cooker.  Add the pearl barley.  Stir to coat the barley.  Pour contents of skillet over the barley and stir to combine.  Add liquid, oregano, oregano, bay leaves and tomatoes.  Again stir to combine.

Cook on white rice setting or mixture setting if your rice cooker has one.  Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.