Sweet & Sour Sausage

Many of you might remember of my love affair with smoked sausage, aka kielbasa. I know that it is not good for me. But why does it taste so good then? Anyway I had to try this recipe when the "perfect storm" occurred. #1, I saw this recipe in the Oct/Nov 2010 Simple & Delicious. #2, I had just clipped a coupon for "save $1 on 2 Hillshire Farms products." So there you go. I am making a meal for someone tonight who just had a baby. So I am spreading my love of smoked sausage all around. I bet they will be thrilled to get this; it's not pasta and it's not chicken. I was SO thankful for all the meals I got with all my kids and after my hip surgery, but no one ever brought me smoked sausage. So I think this will be a refreshing change. =o) I doubled the recipe to have enough for us and them, but this is in the original form, which they say makes 4 servings.

Sweet & Sour Sausage
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbsp canola oil (I left this out...seemed like the sausage would have enough fat in it already)
Hot cooked rice (we have had a LOT of rice this week...3rd meal so far...oh well, we'll have it like 7 times per week in Haiti, right?)

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice; set pineapple aside. In a small bowl, combine the preserves, cornstarch, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and reserved juice. In a large skillet, saute the sausage, onion, and green pepper in oil until vegetables are tender. Add sauce mixture and pineapple to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice.

Well I don't know about that family, but we certainly liked this. It came together really quickly, which is always a plus for us. I'm not against things taking a long time, but I also like when they do not. Of course I have to keep this one because of how much I love smoked sausage.