This blog post was sponsored by Johnsonville. With that being said, all images, thoughts and ideas are my own!
Between stay-at-home orders, the continuous feeling of uncertainty, lack of availability of babysitters, spouses working from home and so forth – we’ve had to really navigate some new waters. Read that again! No babysitters and spouses working from home. That means we’re navigating the water of unlimited togetherness and as much as we love our families, sometimes we start to get into disagreements about things. Am I right? Or am I right?
Something I’ve realized is, Stephen and I love to watch all things British, especially the cooking shows. There was one episode where they added sausage to ice cream and we both looked at each other in agreement that we had to try this at home, but then he started talking about sweet this and sweet that and I was all like, no babe, savory and spicy all the way. We tried to get the girls to weigh in on it, but they’re only 19 months and they were more interested in playing with their toys. What to do!? How can we solve this dilemma and not send someone to backyard quarantine?
Solution: Johnsonville Sausage Strips™ Strips + Brown Sugar = Sweet, Spicy & Savory topping for our ice cream! We both win!
Wait, did you say Johnsonville Spicy Sausage Strips? Yes, I sure did! Johnsonville Sausage Strips™ are a BRAND new product, bringing together the beloved shape of bacon with the delicious flavor of sausage. Yes, it’s sausage that looks like bacon! They’re full of flavor (4 types to be exact) and bring a ton versatility. They only use premium pork cuts, no weird ingredients and they’re easy to pan fry, oven, air fry grill or microwave oven. There are so many different ways to use Johnsonville Sausage Strips, like as a topping on ice cream!
The Johnsonville Sausage Strips™ come in four different varieties – Original, Maple, Chorizo and Spicy.
For our current disagreement (I am sure there will be more #marriedlife #quarantinelife), we’re focusing on the spicy Johnsonville Sausage Strips™. We sweetened them up with brown sugar to create a candy like strip to top our vanilla bean ice cream sundaes and it is addicting! It is sweet, spicy, savory, delicious and something my husband and I completely agree on. We had to attempt to stop each other from eating it all before we could get it on our sundaes. I loved that the strips didn’t shrink at all, which meant there was even more to enjoy!
I mean, c’mon. Look at that. You might be into cheese pulls, but brown sugar pulls might be the next trendy thing!
The recipe is very easy to make. We decided it was a one-person job and I was in charge of it. I started out by pre-heating the oven to 325. Listen, you’re going to want this deliciousness as fast as you can, but DO NOT turn the oven up. It will cook it far too quickly and burn. That might just ruin the mood for the day. Resist. Resist.
After you have the oven turned on, you’re going to get your brown sugar out and dip the strips one by one. In the recipe below, I gave a few ideas on how to place the strips down to bake. I chose to just use parchment paper. It worked perfectly. You can be as generous as you would like with the brown sugar. I dipped them and then sprinkled a bit more on after I put them on the pan.
Luckily, Stephen was outside with the girls and I was able to sneak in a few bites because LOOK AT THESE. Yes, they tasted as good as the look. Sweet, caramelized brown sugar with a crispy, spicy bite with it. The absolute perfect combination.
Once you pop these out of the oven, you’re going to want to let them cool for a bit. No sense in burning your fingers off! Once they’re cooled, you can cut them into three strips lengthwise and then determine your next cut. Maybe you want them a little smaller, maybe you want them a little bigger.
Once they’re cut up, it’s time to get your tray of ice cream sundae making goodies together. We used chopped nuts, caramel sauce, hot fudge and vanilla bean ice cream. Talk about flavors that blend well together.
This recipe solves the dilemma of whether or not we are going to have sweet or spicy/savory desserts because it blends them all together into a mouthwatering combination.
Sweet & Savory Ice Cream Sundaes
Ingredients
- Johnsonville Spicy Sausage Strips™
- 1/3 – 1/2 C of Brown Sugar
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Assortment of Nuts
- Caramel Sauce
- Hot Fudge Sauce
How to Make Candied Sausage Strips
- Put brown sugar into a bowl.
- Coat each strip, one by one, in the bowl of brown sugar.
- Arrange the bacon on a parchment covered baking sheet or use cooling rack on top of a baking sheet lined with foil. You can sprinkle more brown sugar onto each Johnsonville Sausage Strip.
- Bake until edges are crisp and the center is caramelized. Around 20 minutes.
- Allow strips to cool a few minutes before transferring to a plate to cool completely. The strips will crisp up as they cool.
- Try not to eat them all at once. Believe me, they’re addicting!
Once the Johnsonville Sausage Strips™ are completlycompletely cooled, cooled, it’s time to make your Sundae!
- Cut the strips lengthwise three times. Next, you’ll cut them into smaller, bite sized pieces. You can also chop them up smaller. Once you have your desired size, set them to the side.
- Scoop your ice cream into a bowl. I found that vanilla tastes the best paired with the Sweet & Spicy Johnsonville Sausage Strips.
- Add your toppings (caramel, chocolate, chopped nuts, sausage strips, etc.)
- Enjoy!
