Out With the Old, In With the New: Food Safety Tips

Tis' the season to stock pile leftovers in your refrigerator, but do you know how long they are safe to eat? Soup is a wonderful tummy warming winter meal and we tend to make a huge pot to have leftovers, but when does your hearty leftover become a health problem? Below are a list of leftover items and the suggested time to eat them safely, after all it is better to be safe than sick.

Leftover: Safe Eating Time

Cooked fresh vegetables: 4 days
Cooked pasta: 5 days
Cooked rice: 7 days
Salads (egg, chicken, ham, tuna and macaroni): 4 days

Cooked sliced ham: 4 days
Opened hot dogs: 7 days
Opened prepackaged lunch meats: 5 days
Deli lunch meat: 5 days
Cooked Meat or Poultry: 4 days
Fresh Poultry: 2 days
Fresh Beef, Pork and Lamb: 5 days
Ground meats: 2 days
Corned beef: 7 days
Opened bacon: 1 week
Unopened bacon: 2 weeks
Raw sausage: 2 days
Precooked sausage: 7 days
Opened summer sausage: 3 weeks
Unopened summer sausage: 3 months
Opened sliced pepperoni: 3 weeks
Casseroles with meat: 4 days

Meat or Vegetable Soups: 4 days

Pizza: 4 days
Chicken nuggets or patties: 4 days

Hard boiled eggs: 7 days
Casseroles with eggs: 4 days
Quiche: 4 days

Pies: 4 days

Opened hard or processed cheeses: 4 weeks

Best rule of thumb: If in doubt, throw it out!

This is a great list to live by, but remember there are other factors that can alter these times. Such as, not having your refrigerator set below 40° or not refrigerating your leftovers immediately. Food doesn't need to cool before placing it into the refrigerator. This leads me into another topic, how long is left out food safe to eat? Think about this when you are eating at a New Year's Eve party.

After you set out your New Year's Eve appetizer spread, set the timer for two hours. After two hours, harmful bacteria multiplies rapidly, increasing the risk of foodborne illnesses. You should promptly refrigerate food after it has been sitting out for two hours.

ENJOY!!!

Gourmet Bratwurst Sandwich

A gourmet bratwurst may sound like an oxymoron (definition: contradictory terms that appear in conjunction), gourmet being a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine foods and a bratwurst typically found in a face stuffing casual environment. Even sillier is the thought of a baseball fan devouring a brat at a fine dinning establishment with ketchup and mustard running down the sides of his mouth or a well-to-do business man delicately cutting into a steak in the bleachers at a baseball game. However, these two worlds can collide quite brilliantly, as done by adding the gourmet flavors of Horseradish and Blue Cheese to our Triple T bratwurst. The rich flavor combination is the perfect enhancement to many dishes including the below gourmet sandwich recipe. 

Gourmet Bratwurst Sandwich

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 cup finely chopped green olives

- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

- 4 ciabatta rolls

- 4 Horseradish & Blue Cheese Bratwursts 

- 1/2 cup bottled piquillo peppers or roasted red peppers drained and cut into strips

- 2 cups baby arugula

Directions:

Cook bratwursts in skilled over medium heat. Cut cooked bratwursts in half lengthwise. Combine olives and oil, spread on bottom halves of the rolls. Place bratwurst halves on bottom of roll and top with peppers and arugula. 

ENJOY!!!

Who Needs A Bun Series: Bratwurst Pasta

Did you ever imagine that you would combine a bratwurst with a pasta dish? No? Well, maybe you have never had one of Triple T's gourmet bratwursts. The one used for this recipe has a smooth and rich combination of blue cheese and horseradish, which adds a delicious and distinctive flavor to the below four cheese pasta recipe. Try it!


Four Cheese Pasta with Blue Cheese & Horseradish Bratwursts

Ingredients:

- 4 Triple T Blue Cheese & Horseradish Gourmet Bratwursts
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Provolone Cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Ramano Cheese, shredded
- 4 ounces Crushed Tomatoes
- 12 ounce Penne Pasta

Additional Topping Options:

- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

Start cooking the bratwursts.

Cooking bratwursts...

This can be done in a number of ways: grilled, baked, boiled or fried. Grilling them during warm seasons gives the pasta a delicious grilled taste, but that is not always an option so pick the option that will work best for you. Then cut bratwursts into 1/2" slices.

In the meantime, in a medium sauce pan combine whipping cream and butter, bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir frequently. Simultaneously, prepare pasta according to the directions on the package. After the butter melts, slowly add shredded cheeses and crushed tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and continue to stir until all cheeses have melted. Serve sauce over cooked pasta and top with bratwurst slices.

ENJOY!!!