Thursdays Are For Cooking….

| June 24, 2021

 

Chicken and Sausage Stew

Photo by Taste Of Home

As always, I try to provide something that does have a taste of home, is not too complicated and gives you a hearty, as well as healthy, meal to serve for you and your families. In this case, a whole broiler or fryer is the start of the recipe. This should provide 10 servings, which means you can invite extra people to share your meal.

This one comes to us from Taste of Home, at this link:

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chicken-and-sausage-stew/

Chicken and Sausage Stew

Ingredients”

  • 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds)
  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 pounds hot Italian sausage links (hot is optional; if you need less heat, use mild or sweet Italian sausage)
  • 6 bacon strips
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 can (16 ounces) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
  • 8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Additional minced fresh parsley, optional

Directions:

  • Place the chicken and water in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Skim fat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30-45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Meanwhile, puncture skins of sausages; place in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain. In a large skillet, brown sausages on all sides. Cool and cut into bite-sized pieces; set aside.
  • In small skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. In the drippings, saute garlic until tender.
  • Remove chicken from Dutch oven; cool. Drain broth; skim fat. Reserve 5 cups broth. Remove chicken from bones; cut into bite-sized pieces.
  • Pour reserved chicken broth into the Dutch oven. Add the chicken, sausage, bacon, garlic, parsley and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, macaroni, salt and pepper; simmer 10 minutes longer or until heated through. If desired, sprinkle with additional parsley.

As always, adjust seasonings to suit your needs and personal taste. This one seems like a hearty, filling meal that will serve and please a lot of people. Remember to get that nice, crusty loaf at the store (unless you can make it yourself) and include the jardinera and other condiments when you set the table. And for dessert: how about a good, cold melon salad?

Category: Cooking, Economy

11 Comments
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crucible

That looks great!

Sea Dragon

Yum!

KoB

Yeah Baby! You know you had me at bacon (on the 8th day God created bacon)…and sausage. Speaking of sausage makes me think of gravy…and biscuits. Must be why we hadn’t heard from that Hardin Boy lately, he’s pouting ’cause he ain’t had no sausage gravy, and catheads lately.

Hearty is OK, but damn that whole healthy thing. I eat pretty much what I want to and damn the consequences. Last time I saw the Chancre Mechanic, he sent his Vampire in to do that whole blood work think. For all of you that think otherwise, Ms Nurse Thang said I was normal. When I die I plan on having a bacon double cheeseburger in one hand and a frosty Yuengling in the other. This dish is right tasty and a skillet of buttermilk cornbread goes real well with it. Not shore about it feeding 10 tho. 6 maybe 9 at the most. And 1 or 2 of them will get small portions.

Pro tip. Put the yard bird on in the crockett pot either the night before or FIRST (ht 2 Roh-Dog) thing in the morning. Let it percurlate lowly and it’ll just fall off the bone. Do the other prep while the yard bird is cooling down. And, yep, beef sausage works real well with this too. Jeff, this freezes up and keeps as well as the penne and would be a change up for you.

Tanks Ex…Let’s eat!

Cheating a bit today. Got some bacon infused butter peas percurlating in the crockett pot as we speak. Gonna saute up some fresh squash with zookeenies in bacon drippings and put on a skillet of buttered milk cornbread this evening. I try not to get too intimate with my gas oven this time of year, till either late evening or early, early morning, but you just can’t have butter peas without a slab of corn pone. ‘sides, we having a cold snap here in God’s Country…it’s only 84F today.

The Stranger

A Yuengling in each hand is a balanced diet!

KoB

C’mon Mi’Lady…Plenty of room! Firebase Magnolia is purt near 4Ksq ft, rebuilt 1830s vintage Victorian Design 3 &1 upstairs, 1 and 1 & 1/2 downstairs, Master Bath used to be the separate kitchen, 7′ claw foot refurbished tub, walk in tile shower ’bout big enough to hold a square dance in. Former Dog Trot that led to main house from kitchen is double laundry room and a great big walk in closet. Two front parlors, 1 with ceiling to floor bay window bump out (same in BR above) 3/4 wrap around porch with rocking chairs. Kitchen and dinning rooms are a former 2 room cabin, cabinets for days. 7 tons of HVAC and ceiling fans thruout. Nice covered back porch leading to a deck and a freezer/utility room. Did I mention the gas stove? Hardwood floors and ten foot ceilings. I’m sure that Miss Squawky Pants and your Smokey will get along with My Smokey, Kay Kitty, Sassy Cat, ToeMas (Big Black Tom), Pinky (Rebel Gray with a pink nose), Trixie Hound Girl, and Chapman, the parti poodle. Like me, they all needed rescuing. And if we run low of provisions or Class VI Supplies, both are within easy, peasy walking distance.

Was snacking on the supper I made as we talked, that what took so long. The buttered milk cornbread was off the chain and the veggies would make a puppy pull a freight train.

ps…Never have to shovel snow again…EVAH!

Tallywhagger

What a beautiful dish! You can turn that recipe in so many directions to inflect southern, southwestern, midwestern, it’ll work for just about everyone with just the right seasoning.

The actual physical pot is, of itself, a lovely and handsome gift to any kitchen. I’ve never been persuaded to part with a princely sum on any particular appliance, beyond some very decent cast iron skillets and a bit of non-stick fancy offerings from Costco/Sam’s/BJ’s. Life has been good.

But, ya’know… that stinkin’ thinkin’ creeps in and I start lusting after Dutch ovens, bread stones and pretty soon it’s time to break out the Two Fat Ladies dvds and get focused on motorcycles!

What I don’t see offered in this very racist, lily white and prosperous part of Massachusetts are fryer chickens. Oh, no no no, we have boneless, skinless chicken breasts, one of which weighs more than an entire fryer chicken from the days of my youth.

Some of the semi-geezers may recall a time when a modest three pound chicken would feed a family of four and we were grateful to have a side of rice, beans or whatever blessings the seasons provided.

There are Dutch ovens that readily go from the stove top to oven without a second thought. For now, I am still thinking about getting one.

Pam 645X0

I received a Lodge enamel cast iron dutch oven for Christmas a few years ago. I use it all the time. It does go from the stovetop to the oven and cooks beautifully. I have even used it to bake bread, The best part is they are inexpensive but work hard. Check them out.

Graybeard

My garden has been producing some Texas-sized yellow squash in Texas-sized quantities. So besides boiled and baked in a squash casserole, I’ve been spirimintin’ some.
In consequence, I offer these two further ways of cookin’ yeller squash:

1)
Put oil to cover the bottom of a cast-iron skillet and heat.
Cut squash into spears
In a bowl, beat 1 egg + some milk
In a 2nd bowl, put about 3/4 c flour
Mix into flour:
– 1 tbsp Tony Cachere’s Creole Seasoning

Dip spears into egg, the seasoned flour, and put in skillet to fry.
Fry until golden brown, turning to ensure even color.

2)
Heat oven to 350
Lightly oil the bottom of a cookie sheet.

In a bowl beat 1 egg with milk
In a 2nd bowl put:
3/4 c flour
1 tbsp Tony Cachere’s Creole seasoning
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tsp black pepper
Mix thoroughly

Slice squash thinly, dip in egg & four mixture, place on cookie sheet.
Bake 15 minutes and turn over slices, then continue 15 more minutes or until done to your taste.


Favorite Son-in-Law tasted the results of my ‘spiriment with recipe 2 today, and cooked it for his family this evening.

I must confess Mrs. GB is getting tired of putting up produce, though. We have blackeyes left from last year to hold us through New Year’s 2022, green beans and yellow squash until next summer. And the tomatoes and peppers are just getting started. The butternut squash is promising a bounty crop as well. Watermelon starting to make – and believe it or not I already have a pumpkin, so our Princess can make her fantastic pumpkin pies again this year.

Y’all take care. ‘Specially if you’re eating at KoB’s table. I’d have to let my belt out a notch or two.

Graybeard

Will do, M’Lady – and open a jar of my fig preserves to go on top of ’em.