$20 Challenge [Pumpkin Grits + Sausage And Pepper Ragu]
Welcome to the NINTH episode of $20 Challenge!
To prove that you can eat locally grown food AND stay within your grocery budget, the Dixie Classic Fair Farmers Market and the City of Winston-Salem is sponsoring the $20 Challenge twice a month through September 2014.
To prove that you can eat locally grown food AND stay within your grocery budget, the Dixie Classic Fair Farmers Market and the City of Winston-Salem is sponsoring the $20 Challenge twice a month through September 2014.
I will stage a live cooking demonstration in which I will prepare a meal for a family of four for $20 using ingredients I buy at the market that day.
Did you not make it to the market on Saturday? Watch the $20 Challenge on WSTV-13 on Time Warner Cable (Channels 74.3 and 1303) OR subscribe to the City of Winston-Salem's You Tube channel.
September is the last month for the $20 Challenge in 2014. As a matter of fact, this episode is the last episode of the season. I'm sad yet glad it's all over for now. Waking up early on Saturday mornings and not knowing what I was going to cook week in and week out was a little taxing on my foodie brain.
Everyone from the producers, production crew, farmers, vendors and customers are probably all glad it's over too. What I'm really excited about: planning for next year. We did an amazing job this time around and next year--who knows what's in store for us!
Watch the NINTH episode of $20 Challenge HERE:
September is the last month for the $20 Challenge in 2014. As a matter of fact, this episode is the last episode of the season. I'm sad yet glad it's all over for now. Waking up early on Saturday mornings and not knowing what I was going to cook week in and week out was a little taxing on my foodie brain.
Everyone from the producers, production crew, farmers, vendors and customers are probably all glad it's over too. What I'm really excited about: planning for next year. We did an amazing job this time around and next year--who knows what's in store for us!
Watch the NINTH episode of $20 Challenge HERE:
Pumpkin Grits + Sausage And Pepper Ragu
Yield: 8
Welcome to the NINTH episode of $20 Challenge!
To prove that you can eat locally grown food AND stay within your grocery budget, the Dixie Classic Fair Farmers Market and the City of Winston-Salem is sponsoring the $20 Challenge twice a month through September 2014.
Ingredients
Sausage And Mixed Pepper Ragu
- 2 T olive oil
- Onions
- Peppers
- Chopped tomatoes
- Ground sausage
Pumpkin Grits
- 1/2 cup white quick grits (not instant grits)
- 1/2 cup fresh sugar pumpkin, fine diced
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Scuppernong Grape Gastrique
- 1 pint Scuppernong (or purple Muscadine) grapes, cut in half
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Sausage And Mixed Pepper Ragu
- In a large skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add onions and peppers to the pan. Saute for 8-10 minutes, until onions are translucent and peppers are wilted. Add chopped tomatoes and cook the mixture for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Make a well in the center of the peppers and onions and place ground sausage in the center of the pan. Use a spatula or fork to break up the meat and brown the meat. Once cooked through and no pink remains, mix the peppers, onions and sausage together. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.
Pumpkin Grits
- In a small saucepot, bring 2 cups water to a simmer over medium heat. Add salt to the water. Whisk in grits. Lower heat to medium-low and cook, whisking frequently, until grits are almost tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add half the butter to the pot and stir it in. If the grits become too thick, add water ¼ cup at a time.
- Stir in cooked, diced pumpkin 1 to 2 minutes before grits are done.
- Use a whisk to break up and mash the pumpkin into the grits while stirring.
- Finish cooking and remove from heat. Stir in additional butter and keep warm.
Scuppernong Grape Gastrique
- Place the grapes in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle sugar over grapes and pan-roast for 15 minutes, until they release juice and become noticeably deeper shade of green.
- Add the vinegar and continue to cook, swirling the pan a few times, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened to the consistency of thin maple syrup. If the sauce is too thick, add water or stock 1 Tablespoon at a time, continuing to swirl the pan.
- Remove from heat and add a good pinch of both salt and pepper. Strain out grape seeds and serve warm.
Calories
230.73Fat (grams)
9.52Sat. Fat (grams)
4.19Carbs (grams)
36.38Fiber (grams)
1.60Net carbs
34.78Sugar (grams)
25.03Protein (grams)
1.70Sodium (milligrams)
87.04Cholesterol (grams)
15.26Please consult a healthcare professional or dietician about nutritional needs for your diet. I am a communications professional, not a physician.
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About the author
Nikki Miller-Ka
Ms. Miller-Ka is a classically trained chef with a BA in English from East Carolina University and a Culinary Arts Associate Degree from Le Cordon Bleu-Miami.
Formerly, she’s worked as a researcher, an editorial assistant, reporter and guest blogger for various publications and outlets in the Southeast. She has also worked as a catering chef, a pastry chef, a butcher, a baker, and a biscuit-maker. Presently, she is a food editor, freelance food writer, and a tour guide for Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours.
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