Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew

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Sometimes Ben has gets to eat tofu. [Dinner tonight!! Yum.] I am very fortunate that he is such a willing eater. Ben will try just about anything once. But of course, being the good wife that I am, I don’t want to take [too much] advantage of his easygoing nature. And in order to reward him, sometimes I make man meals. You know what I’m talking about… the kind of dinners most ladies would never request but will eat once in awhile to make a special someone happy. Those sort of meals. Mhmmm. Not exactly a special Valentine’s dinner, but definitely a “love your guy” kind of dinner.

One of the latest in our world is this hearty, meaty, thick stew. Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew has tons of meatyness thanks to hot Italian sausage and flavorful chicken thighs [use boneless, skinless chicken thighs to make it easier and to cut down on the fat], but still plenty of healthy stuff like celery, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes to make me happy, as well as a plethora of herbs to add depth of flavor. Though I made this dish with Ben in mind, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it too. Don’t worry about the spicy factor either–this is one dish that did not “spice me out!” If you want a spicier stew, I would up the cayenne pepper or add a little hot sauce. This stew makes a ton so be prepared for a few days of leftovers. It also freezes well!

Spicy Sausage, Chicken, and Bean Stew [adapted from Rachael Ray's just in time!]
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Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces ground hot Italian sausage
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 celery ribs, diced
  • 3 medium white potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
  • 2 medium carrots, scrubbed and shredded
  • 1/2 large red onion, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 15 ounces chicken broth
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 15 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Heat a large stockpot over medium heat, add Italian sausage and begin to cook, crumbling into large pieces. When fat starts to render, after about 2 minutes, add chicken and stir to incorporate. Season to taste with black pepper. Cook the chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes until it starts to brown. When chicken is fully cooked, add celery, potatoes, carrots, onion and bay leaf. Cook for another 7-8 minutes to soften the veggies. Then pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Lastly, stir in broth, tomatoes, beans, thyme, sage, parsley, and cayenne pepper. Cover and bring to a boil, then cook for 10-15 minutes, remove bay leaf and serve.

Time: 40 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Menu Plan

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Week of February 13
Monday: tofu bowls
Tuesday: [surprise] Valentine’s Day meal for Ben :) every year we swap anniversary & Valentine’s celebrations…this year is my turn for Valentine’s Day and I have a great theme dinner in the works!
Wednesday: at class… Ben fends for himself.
Thursday: tortellini soup
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Lime-Soy Chicken

~~~
I got to hang out with two of my good friends from college yesterday, and had the best time! It was so fun to catch up on each other’s lives. One of the girls mentioned that she likes seeing my menu plans but always wonders how things turn out if I don’t blog about it or link to the recipe. So, I thought I’d start updating my old menu plans with links and also recap new recipes from the week before. Hope that’s helpful! :)

In Review: Week of February 6

  • Potato Rosemary Soup–definitely will make again. Recipe to come.
  • Cincinnati Turkey Chili–pretty spicy, but Ben loved it. Recipe to come.
  • Both soups made a ton of leftovers so we ate these all week long along with other semi-random meals like chili nachos and eggs. Since we had colds this week, neither of us was very hungry. It was a strange week.

Sunrise Muffins

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So, I know I only mentioned this once in passing, but January was my cookbook month. That is, I made a vow to not cook or bake from online sources during the month of January. Of course I posted recipes from online sources, but that’s only because they were things I had made previously and was just getting around to sharing. As a result, I got to know some of my cookbooks a bit better and also got to meet some new faces, thanks to my local library.

That sounded really cheesy. Sorry. I’m in library school, but I don’t have to sound like a PBS kids show, now do I?

Anyway.

A cookbook that caught my eye at the library one day was Allison Fishman‘s You Can Trust a Skinny Cook. I’m on my second renewal of this fantastic cookbook, and have tried several recipes so far. Everything has been great! But what I really love is that Allison’s food philosophy is so apparent throughout her book. This isn’t a diet cookbook like you might think from the title; it’s a balance cookbook. Allison is all about serving tasty, healthy, natural foods that aren’t “weird” or hard to find, but that are tasty to the point of “mmmm.” Works for me! I won’t get into more about Allison’s philosophy cause you should really check her cookbook out for yourself, especially if you’re an Ellie Krieger fan, but I did want to share one of my new favorite muffin recipes.

Sunrise Muffins. I wanted to make this recipe first thing after flipping through her cookbook, thanks to the uniqueness of the method: you put an entire orange, peel, pith, and fleshy-orange-goodness-all into a food processor or blender and churn away. This process lends not only amazing flavor to your breakfast, snack, dessert, or anytime creations, but natural food coloring as well! All the better, I think, since bright, colorful things make me happy.

And you all want me to be happy, right?

So try these muffins. I know I tell you to try everything, but this time… I really mean it. Best new recipe of 2012 in my book, right here. Enjoy!

Sunrise Muffins [from You Can Trust a Skinny Cook by Allison Fishman]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 navel orange, scrubbed and dried, cut into eights
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar [original calls for 3/4 cup, but 1/2 cup is plenty]
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners*. Add orange slices, orange juice, egg, and oil to a food processor [or blender], and pulse until smooth. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then pour in orange mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in cranberries, then spoon into muffin cups. Fill each about 3/4 of the way full, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Time: 35 minutes [10 minutes active].

Yield: *12 standard size muffins or 48 mini muffins [bake for 17-20 minutes].

Notes: I’ve also made these with 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips instead of the cranberries. Yes, that is a size difference but they were plenty chocolately for me.

SRC: Mexican Chicken Alfredo

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Good news! The Secret Recipe Club is back! We took a break in January, but are now back in action.

Secret Recipe ClubIf you’ve missed my other SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. It’s a fun way to find new blogs and be stretched to try new recipes, cooking styles, etc. Then, everyone posts about their assigned blog on the same day. It’s so fun–if you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining.

This month I was assigned Raina’s blog, Connor’s Cooking. Raina is a busy mom of four, but she still manages to find time to blog multiple times per week about the recipes her family loves. So impressive! Her kids seem like very adventurous eaters–I don’t know many kids who would eat Stuffed Pepper Soup or Cajun Shrimp Skewers. Everything on her blog sounded amazingly delicious and not all stereotypical kid food [though some kid food is excellent!]. After perusing her blog, I could hardly decide what to make–everything sounded so good. So, I left the choice up to Ben and he decided on Mexican Chicken Alfredo.

Best decision ever. Yes!

Think spicy chicken in a creamy Alfredo sauce tossed with tender noodles, salsa, and corn. What’s not to love? Plus, it was easy to mix everything up in a big skillet on the stove and pour into a casserole dish for baking. My kinda comfort food, for sure. :) I didn’t make a lot of changes to the original recipe, but did use homemade taco seasoning and homemade Alfredo sauce, both of which I highly recommend if you have time. If not–no worries. It was the weekend, and I was feeling ambitious. But don’t be afraid–the ambition part is more time-related than anything. The Alfredo sauce isn’t something to be intimidated about–it’s really quite simple, and lends itself well to Raina’s Mexican Chicken Alfredo miracle. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks, Raina!

Mexican Chicken Alfredo [from Connor's Cooking, Alfredo sauce from Mel's Kitchen Cafe]
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Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces spiral pasta [I used rotini]
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 ounces cream cheese [regular or low-fat], softened and cut into 12 pieces
  • 2 1/4 cups skim milk, divided
  • 2 cups parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes [original called for 2 pounds, but 1 was enough--2 wouldn't have fit in the pan]
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons taco seasoning, divided [I made my own from Mel's Kitchen Cafe]
  • 1 cup medium salsa
  • 1 cup frozen corn

Directions:

Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to boil and preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Next, begin on Alfredo sauce.

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese piece by piece, stirring until smooth between additions. Mixture may appear curdled, but keep stirring. After about 3 minutes, you’ll be rewarded with a smooth paste. Next, slowly add a total of 2 cups milk in 1/4 cup increments. Make sure the milk is fully incorporated before adding the next 1/4 cup. Then, stir in 1 cup parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon pepper, mixing until cheese completely melts. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to thicken, then cover and remove from heat.

By now, the pasta water should be boiling, so add pasta and cook according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, begin on the chicken.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons taco seasoning to the pan, stir, and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Then, pour in Alfredo sauce [if it's homemade, give it a good stir first] and bring to a boil. Add remaining 1/4 cup milk, remaining 1 cup parmesan cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, salsa, and corn. Mix well, then pour into an ungreased 9×13 inch baking pan.

Drain pasta and fold into chicken mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. I baked mine uncovered but just noticed the original said to cover it. Works either way! Serve and enjoy. :)

Time: 60 minutes [30 minutes active].

Yield: 10-12 servings.

Notes: If not using homemade Alfredo sauce, substitute 30-32 ounces prepared Alfredo sauce. Original recipe also suggests dividing meal in half; baking one now and freezing one portion in a 8×8 inch pan for up to 3 months. To use frozen casserole: thaw in fridge overnight, then remove to counter top for 30 minutes prior to baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Click on over to check out other posts from today’s reveal of the SRC. Have a great day!