Balsamic Grilled Sausage and Summer Vegetables

Finished Product

Grilling is not my thing--I usually put Andy in charge of fire, but since he works until 7 tonight, I'll give it a go. When I go outside to start the grill though, I realize I forgot one important thing: we're out of propane! Looks like I can either pack up the kids, run to town and get a refill or I can get out my grill pan for the first time since the move. I got up at 4 am for work so I'm guessing lazy will win.

Balsamic Grilled Sausage and Summer Vegetables
Woman's Day Magazine, July/August 2015

Active time: 15 minutes              Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini (about 10 oz), halved lengthwise
• 2 medium yellow squash (about 10 oz), halved lengthwise
• 4 plum tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium eggplant (about 8 oz), quartered lengthwise
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• kosher salt and pepper
• 8 small sausage links (about 1 1/2 lbs total)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• small fresh basil leaves, for serving

Yummy Veggies!

Up until a few years ago, I had never eaten a squash in my life, let alone prepared one. Now I enjoy them (mostly as a side at restaurants), but rarely make them. As for eggplant, I've never even tried it. Therefore, my trip to the market this week involved a bit of googling (see tips section for how to pick the perfect summer veggies!).

Directions:

1. Heat grill to medium-high. Brush the cut sides of the veggies with oil and season with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.
2. Grill the sausages, covered, turning occasionallya nd brushing with 1 Tbsp vinear, until cooked through, 12-14 mins. Grill the veggies just until tender, 3-4 mins per side (1 min for the tomatoes); transfer to a cutting board.
3. Cut the grilled veggies into 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Toss with the remaining Tbsp vinegar and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Fold in the basil, if desired. Serve with sausages.

Per serving: 415 calories

Finally something quick and easy! Chop veggies, throw on grill--no prep, no measuring, no mess. Had I had propane it would have been excellent, but instead it was another night of screw-ups. I have a grill pan so I decided to use that instead of going to town., Grilling the veggies took longer than expected, they definitely needed to be covered while cooking!
Then there was the sausage disaster. I didn't actually read the recipe before shopping (silly me), I just used the Woman's Day App (love!) to add ingredients to a shopping list (it's super convenient--if you start making all these recipes download the app and use it to scan the icon in the magazine). Unfortunately for me, "small sausages" was not descriptive enough. I ended up buying fully cooked polish sausage from the hot dog area when I should have purchased either uncooked brats at the meat counter or some sort of frozen Italian sausage to really achieve that balsamic vinegar flavor. Since the sausages were of the polish variety, and my husband and I are good midwesterners, we added sauerkraut.
I finally got everything ready and on the table and called Lila to come eat. After 30 minutes of cajoling, she finally tried the sausage--then proceeded to annihilate the thing. After Andy came home and ate three sausages and two giant veggie servings, she finally took a single bite of zucchini, which resulted in a hybrid cry/whine of "it's so grody." She ended up eating carrots and ranch instead, but at least she gave it a shot.

Tips:

• Make sure your grill has propane!
• Buy uncooked sausage.
• To choose zucchini remember: smaller is better (regular flashlight size), color=flavor, good stems last longer.
• To choose summer squash: less than 8" long is ideal, firmness matters  (especially near stems), and the brighter the better.
• To choose eggplant choose one that is heavy for its size but under 1 1/2 lbs with smooth, shiny, dark purple skin and a green stem with leaves clinging to the top.

Verdict? Taste of Day Meh