Before we started social distancing, I used to go to the grocery store at least 3 times a week. Popping into the store every few days for last minute ingredients that I forgot or fulfilling a craving I had for a dinner idea. Now I am trying to stretch my grocery trips to last me 9 or 10 days and it’s totally flipped the way I think about my meal plan. I’m leaning on recipes that use up every last ingredient in the fridge and picking proteins that have a longer shelf life. The al fresco chicken sausage has been a lifesaver. I have different varieties stocked up in my fridge to toss into a pasta dish or serve on top of roasted spaghetti squash, to mix into omelets and frittatas, and I’ve even chopped up the buffalo chicken style sausage on top of a loaded baked potato.
Now that it’s getting a little bit warmer out, I’ve been adding some of my favorite grilling dishes back into the rotation for easy weeknight dinners. Grilled al fresco sausage and veggie kabobs, served over couscous with a little herbed yogurt sauce, are an all-time favorite at our house. Back when I was living in the city and commuting to my corporate job, I ate these for dinner every.single.week because they’re so fast to make thanks to the pre-cooked sausage.
This recipe is also having a moment in my dinner rotation right now because it’s easily adaptable to whatever you have in the fridge. I start with slices of al fresco chicken sausage – use any flavor you like – Sweet Italian, Roasted Red Pepper & Asiago, and Roasted Garlic are the ones I usually have on hand. I sometimes mix the flavors; in this dish I used two different varieties on the kabobs. Next, pick your veggies. I like using bell peppers, whole mushrooms, and sliced zucchini. Onions, summer squash, or any other veggie you have on hand will work – the key is pay attention to how fast they will cook and cut the veggies accordingly. Peppers take a little bit longer to cook, so I cut them in smaller 1” pieces, mushrooms cook fast so I thread them onto the skewers whole. Thread everything onto skewers — alternating the veggies and the sausage slices – and then drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
While kabobs are grilling, I usually prepare some couscous, and mix up a simple herbed yogurt sauce that you can spoon on top. The yogurt sauce gets its flavor from a squeeze of lemon, a bit of garlic, and a mixture of fresh herbs. Just like the kabobs, you can modify the ingredients in the sauce to work with what you have — omit or add other herbs you have on hand, scallions and oregano make easy substitutions. It’s simple and flavorful and best of all: fast! Scroll down for the recipe:
- 4 al fresco Chicken Sausage (flavor of your choice)
- 2 Bell Peppers, cut into 1” pieces
- 2 Cups of Mushrooms
- 1 Zucchini, sliced
- Olive Oil, for drizzling
- Salt and Pepper
- ⅓ Cup of Greek Yogurt
- Half of a Lemon, juiced
- 1 Tbsp. of Dill, minced
- 1 Tbsp. of Parsley, minced
- 1 Tbsp. of Chives, minced
- 1 Garlic Clove, minced
- Couscous or rice, for serving
- Prepare kabob ingredients by slicing sausages, washing and chopping veggies, and threading onto skewers. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat your grill to medium-high heat and grill the sausage and veggie skewers for about 8-10 minutes, rotating every few minutes to get even cooking on all sides.
- While the kabobs are cooking prepare the yogurt sauce. In a small bowl, combine Greek yogurt, lemon juice, herbs and minced garlic. Stir to combine and season with fresh black pepper.
- When sausage is browned and veggies have cooked to your desired doneness, remove from the grill and serve over prepared couscous or rice and a spoonful of herb yogurt sauce.
Please note: This post was created in partnership with al fresco Chicken Sausage. All opinions, images and content are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support this site.
