Skillet Hash

This is one of those meals that I graciously let Brad make, and he always does a great job :) You can also throw in a few eggs and turn this into a killer scramble for breakfast.  Makes a great burrito filling, too!

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Chicken sausages OR hotdogs -or- 1/2 c. bacon bits
• ½ onion, chopped -or- 2 T. dried onions, rehydrated
• 1 can mushrooms, drained
• 5 medium potatoes, cut into ½ in cubes -or- 5 c. country style hashbrowns, frozen (or 2.5 c. dried potatoes, rehydrated)
• Salt/pepper, to taste

Directions:

     Heat large pan over medium heat; add coconut oil.  Fry potatoes in hot oil until al dente, then add remaining ingredients and cook until onions are translucent and sausage is heated through.  Season to taste.  Serve warm with ketchup or salsa.

Baked Butternut Squash Pasta

This is a really different, but yummy, kind of sauce.  I grew up with basically two types of pasta sauces: marinara and alfredo.  But I'm definitely a sauce gal (seriously, I drench everything in sauce if it's available), and this butternut squash sauce is delish!  I've been able to find it at Costco for a great price, but it can be pretty spendy at your local grocery store...  However, since I don't end up using the entire bottle, I just pour what's left of it into a freezer bag and pull it out the next time I use it.  Voila!

Ingredients:

• ½ (25.5 oz) jar of butternut squash pasta sauce
• 2/3 c. cottage cheese*
• 1/3 c. parmesan cheese
• 1.5 c. water
• 2 t. chicken bouillon
• 1 T. brown sugar
• salt & pepper, to taste
• garlic herb seasoning, to taste
• basil, to taste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1-2 cans mushrooms, drained
• 1 can black olives, drained
• 2 handfuls spinach, chopped
• 16 oz pasta
• 20-25 meatballs -or- 4 chicken sausages, sliced (might consider using TVP or canned chicken/beef, or omitting altogether, to make this more food storage friendly...)

Directions:

     Combine pasta sauce with cottage cheese and parmesan in a casserole dish; stir well. Combine water with bouillon and spices and add to sauce and stir. Add remaining ingredients and stir well.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring halfway through.

*You might have noticed that the total amount of cheese in this recipe is 1 cup.  I happen to have cottage cheese on hand, so that's what I used.  I'm sure ricotta would be amazing, but mozzarella would probably work too.  Basically, use 1 cup of your choice of cheese (maybe even yogurt???) and cross your fingers!  But seriously, it's cheese!  How bad can it possibly be ;)  Enjoy! *B

Coq Sans Vin

When I was newly married I would happily go through my Betty Crocker cookbook (a wedding gift), select a recipe and experiment on my new husband.  This dish was one of the first I tried in our itty bitty kitchen, and I've been cooking it ever since.  Whenever we had people over for dinner, we served this.  Whenever I wanted to impress the in-laws, I'd make this.  I've tweaked it a bit each time, getting closer and closer to perfection...  And I am happy to report that it is has indeed been perfected :)

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

• 6-8 chicken thighs, rinsed and dried
• 1 c. flour (make it GF by using equal parts sorghum, tapioca and brown rice flour)
• 2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/2 onion, chopped/sliced
• 6 carrots, scrubbed & cut into fourths (baby carrots work great, too)
• 4 - 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 8 slices of bacon OR 2 chicken sausage links, diced
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. dried thyme
• 1/2 t. dried parsley (opt)
• 1 bay leaf (opt)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, 2 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper into a large ziplock bag.  Add chicken and coat evenly in flour mixture.  Remove chicken and set aside.  And throw that nasty bag away!
2. Heat a large cast iron pot over medium heat.  Cook bacon/sausage until done.  Remove from pot and set aside.
3. Allow pot to get nice and hot and add the dredged chicken in single layers.  Cook for two minutes per side, or until brown.  Remove chicken from pot and set aside.
4. Add onions, carrots and mushrooms to pot.  Cook for one minute, add garlic and cook for a minute longer.
5. Add chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, 1/2 t. salt and thyme.  Stir well.
6. Place chicken on top and sprinkle with bacon.  Remove from heat.  Cover pot and place in a 275 degree oven.
7. For every pound of chicken, cook for 1 - 1.5 hours.  So if you have 3 pounds of chicken, cook for 3 - 4.5 hours.
8. Remove from oven and serve with mashed potatoes.  You can use the liquid straight from the pot, or you can make a killer gravy with it.
9. Another option is to let it sit overnight in the fridge and serve it the next day.  This allows the fat to raise to the service and solidify, making it easier to remove before reheating.  That is, if you want to...

The original recipe is called "Coq Au Vin" which is French for "chicken with wine".  As you may have noticed, my recipe does not use wine.  That's where the extra cup of chicken broth, plus the apple cider vinegar, comes from.  That's my secret wine substitute.  And I will have you know that both of my parents speak French, one lived in Quebec while the other lived in France, and both think this dish is awesome!  So there.  *B

Mexican Pasta w/ Chipotle Sausage

Yummy in my tummy! SO excited for this one, but haven't done it yet. This will be an experiment y'all, so make the necessary adjustments for taste and consistency, m'k?

Ingredients:

• 2 links Chipotle Chicken Sausage, chopped
• 1 small can diced tomatoes w/ green chillies
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• cilantro, chopped
• cheese, shredded
• chicken bouillon, maybe

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta if you didn't make any/enough from last night.
2. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat, spray with a little olive oil or water.
3. Cook sausage in skillet. Once their juices get flowing and they start to brown a bit, add onion and garlic; cook.
4. Add tomatoes w/ chillies and simmer until it reduces and becomes nice and "saucy." Taste test it and add bouillon and seasoning if needed.
5. Toss with pasta (1 c. pasta per person) and top with cheese (1 oz. per person).
6. Option: place in casserole dish and pop it in the oven for a pasta bake.
7. Top with cilantro and serve with a salad.


VERSION 1.3

Italian Sub Stoup

The original version of this recipe (a la Rachel Ray) called for lots of bad for you yummy food (aka. Italian sausage, ham AND pepperoni). But will it kill any of us to be slightly healthier?! No. I should probably mention this now, since they’re sure to pop up frequently through this month’s meals: we have chicken sausage links. We sampled them at Costco and bought a couple: Chipotle Sausage and Sundried Tomato w/ Basil. They are absolutely awesome, in taste and healthiness, and I totally recommend them. So please, check out Sausage’s by Amy and please welcome them in their first Beth’s Mess debut!

Ingredients:

• 2 links ST-B Chicken sausage, chopped (or one/some of the original substitutes, see above)
• 2 ham slices, chopped
  
• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, chopped
• ½ small onion
  
• 1 can mushrooms (or fresh, my personal preference when “rich”)
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 4-6 c. chicken/beef broth (your preference: more stew-like vs. more soup-like)
• ½ spinach bunch
• Croutons (2 slices of bread, cubed; olive oil; small garlic clove, minced; Italian seasoning; Parmesan; red pepper flakes)

Directions:
1. Heat a soup pot to medium high. Add just a little (half T. at most) of olive oil, and then add sausage and ham.
2. Brown meat and then add onion, mushrooms and bell pepper.
3. Season with S&P and add tomatoes.
4. Stir in broth and bring to boil.
6. While stoup simmers, heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; add garlic and cook for a minute.
7. Add bread cubes, toss and toast (about 5 minutes). Season with pepper flakes, seasoning and Parmesan while hot.
8. Stir the spinach into the stoup.
9. Serve with some shredded Mozzarella and floating croutons.


VERSION 3