Kielbasa Apple and Onion Skillet #CrazyIngredientChallenge #Merlotme

Disclosure:  I received free samples of wine to participate in the #MerlotMe event taking place during the month of October.  All opinions posted on this blog are completely my own.

This month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge asked us to combine Apples and Rosemary, two ingredients that I am crazy about.  See what I did there?  Crazy Ingredient Challenge/Ingredients I'm Crazy About.....sigh....never mind.....

I was initially going to make a dessert of some sort but we are just finishing up Choctoberfest and I was craving something savory.

I had planned on making a skillet dinner for us and had pulled out some fresh kielbasa, red skin potatoes and onions for this purpose.  I thought, "hey, rosemary goes great with roasted red skin potatoes and apples pair perfectly with pork, why not incorporate these ingredients into my skillet?"

I was also still celebrating #MerlotMonth and Duckhorn Vineyards had provided me with 2 bottles of their Decoy line out of Sonoma County.  As you know the Napa and Sonoma areas of California have been devastated by fires.  One of the ways you can help is by buying their products and since it is October you may as well make it Merlot and join in the movement to bring this varietal the respect it deserves.

I decided to serve the Decoy Merlot up with this meal.  The Decoy is a wonderful, reasonably priced, every day wine.  Perfect for a casual home cooked meal before heading out to choir practice. And we had half a bottle left to enjoy after choir....now that's what I call a win/win.

I loved the earthiness that the rosemary added to this and it complemented the sweetness that the apples added.  It is not a beautiful dish but it was a fast, easy and delicious dish.  The wine is flavorful, fruity and dry it matched well with the fattiness and spice of the kielbasa.

Kielbasa, Apple and Onion Skillet

4 Fresh Kielbasa Links (1 lb total weight)

1 T. olive oil

4 Red potatoes, parboiled to fork tender and diced

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 small onion, diced

leaves of 1 stem rosemary, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the kielbasa, in a skillet, over med high heat for 5-7 minutes per side.  Remove to a plate and set aside.  Add the olive oil to the skillet.  Once heated, add the onions, cook and stir for a minute or two then add the potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Let cook without stirring or flipping for 5 minutes, until bottoms begin to brown. Flip and add apples and rosemary to the pan.  Cook and stir until apples start to soften.  Add the kielbasa to the skillet, turn the heat to med low, cover and cook until the kielbasa is warmed through and reaches an internal temperature of 145*   Print Recipe

Join us each month over at Crazy Ingredient Challenge as we vote on 2 subsets of ingredients and combine the winners into creative and fun recipes.  Here is what we came up with using Apples and Rosemary.

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