Mashed Potato ideas, fried sausage ideas (meal time dilemma)

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A young family*, husband, wife, two young daughters and another baby on the way next year, live with an elderly female (the husband’s mother) due to financial constants.

They have a mealtime problem. The husband’s mother (who is in very poor health) will only eat mashed potatoes, peas and meat such as fried sausages (mash and bangers!). There is no chance of this changing because she has eaten like that practically all her life.

Her daughter-in-law has made things such as marinated chicken and pizza but her mother-in-law refuses to eat that.

The husband and children are tired of the mashed potato and fried sausage routine. I think that the wife is not too keen on extra work in the kitchen (making two full separate meals).

This is not the only tension that this family have and certainly not the most trying. They are doing what they can to sort out the other problems. However the mealtime problem adds to the tension.

Can anyone suggest what can be done with part of the mashed potato to liven it up? The potatoes are cooked on the stove top. They have an oven and a microwave.

What can be done with the fried sausages to liven them up.

Does anyone know of a lasagne recipe for instance that can incorporate the mashed potatoes?

Any help would be appreciated.

*This family are my relatives.

Novena to St Philomena the Wonder Worker for the healing of autism:
homestead.com/missionbell/novenaforautisticchildren.html

Each person (who has autism) whose name is sent to be included in this novena will be prayed for regularly by a priest of Lourdes, France at the grotto. Only the first name of the person is needed for the purpose of this novena. Everyone is invited to send names: parents, grandparents, teachers, doctors, aunties, friends, therapists etc.

The powerful intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory for their
benefactors:
homestead.com/missionbell/Afavourgrantedbytheholysouls.html
 
Mashed potatoes and sausage should be a fairly quick meal to make for one while the rest of the family has something else. You can microwave a single potatoe (many microwave have a potatoe setting -otherwise start at 3 minutes and test for doneness). After it’s cooked scoop out the insides into a cereal bowl add some milk and butter, smash it with a fork and you have mashed potatoes for one. I do this for my daughter all the time. You could also used box potatoe flakes if she likes those. I think Wal-mart even sells single serve mash potatoe packages.

Sausage should only take a few minutes in a small fry pan. Peas (corn etc) bought frozen can be microwaved at smaller portions. Just put what you need in a microwave safe bowl and follow the directions on the bag. The rest can go back in the freezer for next time.

Will she eat turkey sausage? At least that has a lower fat content and is wee bit healthier.
 
I think I would just make a big pot of mashed potatoes and fry up a bunch of sausages, then have them ready in the refrigerator to microwave for the mother whenever she wanted. Then, I would make the rest of the family anything else that might be appealing to them, regardless of whether or not it contained mashed potatoes or sausages.
 
Shepherds Pie: layer of mashed potatoes…layer of peas…layer of crumbled sausages topped with some gravy in a casserole dish. My mom made that a lot as a kid.

Kathy
 
Separate out Mum’s mashed, flatten out the remainder in a casserole dish, and add pizza toppings to the rest of the family’s. Briefly stick under the broiler, to toast up the cheese. This is a variation on a potato dish served at Pizzeria Uno in Chicago.

Separate out Mum’s sausage. Split the others down the middle, grill or pan fry, add cheese. OR eat those sausages Chicago style: Wrap in a hot dog bun (got those down there?) or a piece of bread. Add to the top of the sausage mustard, onions, chopped sweet pickle (do you have pickle relish?), tomato wedges, and a sprinkling of celery seed (or celery salt, if you have it). Catsup is bad form on hot dogs in Chicago, but kids love it, anyway.

Get Mum her canned peas, or some frozen ones if that’s what she prefers. A salad is easy to throw together for everybody else.

Will the old girl to eat a pork chop? Those are easy to throw in the oven with a can of condensed soup in the cream variety, a can of water or milk, and a can of uncooked rice (use the soup can to measure). Throw a drained canned vegetable in there, and bake it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, longer if the rice is not doing its thing.

I like dulcissima’s idea of making enough mother food to nuke (microwave). How about crock pot meals for everybody else? It should be Spring down there, should it not? A crock pot or slow cooker or pressure cooker or just what we call here a dutch oven can make short work of a hearty stew or soup. Add salad and some bread, and there’s supper. You should be able to find recipes for chilli and minestrone on www.foodnetwork.com. Food Network might give you some other ideas, they have two or three food hosts that specialize in quick, nutritious meals.
 
Thank you everyone for these wonderful ideas. I think that they will be of benefit to my relatives and that their mealtime dramas can become a thing of the past.
Greetings and prayers for all your intentions,
Mary Ann
P.S. Tonight I tried out one of these recipes for my own family (the mashed potato dish with pizza toppings and cheese). It worked out well. I hope that my relative will try out that one.
 
cook up a batch of sausages (I have no idea what bangers are but I can see my grandkids getting excited by such a name for food) on the weekend, make some instant mashed potatoes for grandma (they come in single serving pouches) and heat a couple of sausage in the microwave, and feed whatever food you like to the rest of the family. This removes grandma’s ability to use food to manipulate you and everyone else, which is what this story is about.
 
Ahhh. The English grandmother ( I’m assuming?).

I miss my Nanan. She died in March at 93. I’d love the opportunity to make her one more plate of bangers and mash.

I bet grandma might also enjoy some Marmite and toast.

Nanan would never consider eating a pizza or spagetti either.

Try a roast with some Yorkshire pudding.
Fish & Chips?

God bless all grandmothers!😃
 
Okay, here you can cook the same things for her and you. Just make hers bland and set it aside and spice yours up.
Code: 
Sausage and Potatoes
  
4 servings   45 min 15 min prep 
1  lb Italian sausage (hot or sweet)  
4  medium potatoes  
1  package dry onion soup mix  
2  cups water  

Cook sausage in a little bit of water until just done. 
Cook off water, or pour out of pan and pan fry sausage until well browned. 
Wash potatoes (or peel if desired) and cut into bite sized chunks. 
Remove sausage from pan. 
Mix soup mix with water and use to deglaze the pan. 
Add potatoes. 
Bring to a boil, cover, then simmer for about 10-15 minutes , until potatoes are done. 
Cut Sausage into disks about 1/2 inch to and inch thick. 
Add to pan and stir well. 
Simmer, with the cover off until sausages are heated through and the liquid is slightly thick. 
Serve with peas or crisp green salad and saute'd onions and peppers with crusty italian bread.
SAUSAGE BAKED POTATO (You can leave out the spices for Nana)

1 lb. sausage (or however much your family needs)
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
Baked potatoes

Brown and drain 1 pound sausage, add taco mix and small amount of water. Simmer about 20 minutes.

Serve over baked potatoes and top with shredded cheese.
Code: 
Potato Spinach Sausage Casserole Recipe

1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the baking dish
2 teaspoons of olive oil
8 oz fresh spinach, washed, dried, and stemmed
1/2 lb of Italian sausage (we like 1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot Italian sausage), broken out of casing into small pieces
1 large red onion (about 3/4 lb), peeled and sliced thin
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 3 medium sized potatoes), peeled and cut into 1-inch chuncks
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
dash of nutmeg
3/8 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup of shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 6x9 or 8x8 inch baking dish.

2 Heat one of the teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer spinach to strainer and drain. When cool, squeeze out liquid and roughly chop the spinach.

3 Wipe skillet clean. Add sausage to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Use slotted spoon to transfer sausage to bowl. Wipe skillet clean. Heat remaining oil in skillet and add onions, cooking until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape mixture into bowl with sausage.

4 Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring potatoes to boil over high heat, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, wipe pot dry, put potatoes back into the pot, and mash with butter, cream, broth, vinegar, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in spinach and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

5 Transfer potato-spinach mixture to prepared baking dish. Top with sausage-onion mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake until potatoes are very hot and cheese is golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4.
 
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