Sauerkraut and Summer Sausage Pizza

Ball park flavors in a home made pizza. This pie takes the sausage & sauerkraut combo and tops it with smoked mozzarella for a new twist on pizza night. If you've got holiday leftovers you're nearly ready to bake.

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In addition to the chocolate oranges, My Mother's Lefse and the Swedish meatballs, another traditional holiday food is a beef stick or summer sausage. If I don't get one, I pick one up at the store. A quick snack of a few slices of sausage + cheese + crackers + fruit is a welcome treat this time of year.

The sauerkraut is a slightly different topping for pizza. I was inspired to use it watching the folks at Dewey's Pizza make a ball park pizza using mustard as sauce and topping with bratwurst and kraut. It tasted pretty darn awesome, and I wanted to make a version at home. When I learned that folks around the region eat sauerkraut during the holidays and at New Year's, I figured I had my topping combo for a pizza. Getting a marked down ball of smoked mozzarella from the fancy cheese counter was just bonus, you know?

Savory Sauerkraut Sausage Stuffing Skillet Supper

I've been experimenting with adding day-old bread to all sorts of dishes lately.  I used to think all day-old bread, in the wintertime, would be destined just for bread crumbs.  In the summertime, day-old bread is destined for panzanella.

Not any more!  Now that I've found the winter comfort foods of panade and this dish, I look forward to transforming day-old bread into all sorts of savory dishes.  These bread dishes aren't exactly gorgeous, it's true, but they are warm and comforting.

While browsing the internet I stumbled across this recipe and got inspired to use the day-old brat & sausage rolls in the fridge for stuffing.  My family doesn't love stuffing like they love mashed potatoes, so I knew I needed to change it up a bit to make it into a meal.  Coincidentally, I had half a package of smoked sausage in the freezer, and coupons for sauerkraut.  And thus, the magic is born!

Or, at least, there's a plan for dinner.  Always good to have a plan. Or twelve.

This dish is cooked in one skillet (ok, and a baking sheet, and a bowl to toss the bread cubes in, but it was pretty easy to clean up anyway).  It's very savory, and was right up my alley for a Sunday supper on a winter night.