Many moons ago, when I was a newlywed and new mom, I was a bad cook. Ok, I wasn’t really a BAD cook, but I was just starting out in the culinary part of having a homestead, and well, it was hard! Hard, y’all! My husband liked certain foods that I wasn’t accustomed to, and I liked certain foods that he wasn’t accustomed to. Add in my 60 hour work week, and our newborn, and creating a delicious dinner night after night seemed impossible. It was really important that I found easy and inexpensive meals. This kielbasa and noodles recipe was something I came up with on a pinch, and almost 10 years later, it’s become one of our family favorites.
Now, I call this a recipe but it really isn’t. It’s mostly a warm it up, toss it with this, and serve right out of the iron skillet type of meal. Even though it’s that easy, let’s go through the steps together, shall we?
Slice your kielbasa on a bias, and brown on each side. We eat turkey kielbasa, so I add about a tablespoon of canola oil to the pan. This is important, since the other ingredients are tossed with the oil from the kielbasa. For our family of 4, we use about 2 packages of kielbasa.
Next, add in your vegetables. We always use carrots, since they are readily available at a cheap price all year round. I take our vegetable peeler and turn 3 carrots into carrot “linguine.” Once that’s done, I throw them right in the skillet, and toss. The carrots get tossed with the kielbasa oils, and wilted by the heat.
I then add cooked egg noodles to the skillet, and top it with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Then all of that gets tossed with the kielbasa and carrots.
Taste for seasoning, add fresh chopped parsley, and serve it up! This meal takes me less than 20 minutes to make, which includes the time it takes to cook the noodles. When we are looking to have a lean month, and make meals that are satisfying yet save money, this is a must.
Do you have a delicious yet inexpensive meal that your family makes every month? Have you ever made kielbasa and noodles?
Linking up with Jo-Lynne Shane and Alison Ray for Real Food Recipe Roundup.
Hi,
I am new to this website. I am so happy to have come across this site. The first basic question I have today is; where did you purchase your great skillet. I have a small skillet and love it! I appreciate the feedback.
Thank you,
Tierney
Hi Tierney!
I purchased this cast iron skillet at Walmart. You should be able to find a cast iron skillet at most stores, like Target, Macy’s Bed, Bath and Beyond, or any other home goods store.
I love this recipe! I hope to try it or something similar. I just came across your site today and LOVE it! I work full time as a teacher but hope to be a stay at home mom if I have kids (hopefully getting married in the spring) and we are already hoping that I can quit my teaching job even before that. I am willing to make the sacrifices to live on a tight budget and I find your posts helpful and inspiring! And simple!
Well, that just made my day, KD! I’m so glad you’re finding the site helpful, and I can’t wait to write even more posts for your to enjoy. Thanks for visiting!
I work 10-6, so I look for recipes that I can mostly cook ahead, and my husband can finish when he gets home so we can eat shortly after I get home since we have a toddler with an early bedtime. Any suggestions for making this in advance? Just cook it and reheat it?
I suggest slicing the kielbasa and shredding the carrots ahead of time. You can even cook the noodles ahead of time, cool them down, then place them in a baggie. Once you all are ready to start dinner, follow the directions in the recipe. This recipe is super fast, so I don’t suggest completing it ahead of time. It tastes so much better fresh!
This was so good! Thanks for an easy, inexpensive, and delicious dinner.
You’re so welcome, Courtney!