Freezer Finds

What can you do with bratwurst?  I mean other than boiling it in beer and grilling it?  I found at least 3 packages deep within the freezer.  All were bought on sale at one time or another this past year. While we are waiting for the trailer to sell we are trying to use up what we can.  The freezer is still half full so there's a chance that I may have to bring the canner back from storage.

We had a huge pork loin in there that Mars smoked on the pit a few days ago.  It came out sooo nice!  Needless to say we have been eating pork dishes for a few days. Of course, we have had sliced pork loin with a variety of vegetables.  Chopped pork and egg tacos too.  It's made a few really good sandwiches as well.  Tomorrow I plan on using the last of it for Carne Guisada .(with pork of course)
 
Now back to the question.  What can you actually DO with bratwurst?  I love www.allrecipes.com. They have a cool ingredient search engine.  Put in some of the ingredients you want and/or the ones you don't.  I came up with a Bratwurst soup that sounded ok and had some good reviews. I thought I would share it as it turned out really good.  Mind you I almost always just wing following a recipe depending on what I have on hand.

                 Bratwurst, Potato, Cabbage Soup

• 16 ounces bratwurst, casings removed
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1 medium head cabbage, chopped
• 3 cups milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces Swiss cheese, diced

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the sausage for 10 minutes, or until browned and crumbled. Drain well and discard the fat.
2. In a large pot over high heat, combine the browned sausage, potatoes, onion and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage, return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the milk and heat slowly to just under a boil. (Note: Don't try to do this too fast, or the milk will burn on the bottom of the pot.)
3. In a separate small bowl, mix the flour with the remaining milk, and add to the pot slowly, stirring constantly, so that the flour does not clump. (Note: Make sure you get out all the lumps because they will not cook out on their own.)
4. When the mixture in the pot thickens, add the cheese and stir off and on until the cheese has melted.

 After reading some of the reviews, I added some garlic, Tonys,  fresh cracked black pepper.  I didn't have swiss cheese so I used cheddar instead. I also was out of onions and so I used some of my dried ones.  I have to say it turned out really good.  I will definitely make this one again!

I have been trying to pull out all the stuff that wasn't sealed with the FoodSaver first.

I wonder what else is down at the bottom of that freezer?  I found two packages of venison I didn't realize we still had. There's some fake crab meat in there too.  I found that we have way more blackeyed peas than I first thought.  It's almost like a treasure hunt!!

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