I was cooking for two tonight and using what I had on hand. I took
half a chicken breast and two chicken andouille sausages (each the
size of an Italian sausage) out of the freezer. However, I didn't
have a clue what I wanted to with them. I didn't have any canned
cannellini beans to make a cassoulet - so I googled the ingredients
and came up with a recipe that not only used the chicken and sausage,
it also called for fennel which (surprise, surprise) I had on hand.
How often does that happen?

The meal was half way cooked when my son and grandson popped in, so I
threw half a pound of fresh green beans into the oven to roast, added
them to the stew and served everything over rice.

I started with this
<http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-chorizo-and-tortilla-stoup-stew-like-soup-recipe/index.html>
and ended up something like this
http://picasaweb.google.com/sf.usene...ndSausageStew#

Chicken and Sausage Stew

2-4 tablespoons EVOO
½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1-inch chunks
Salt and pepper
6 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
½ yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into thick rounds
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
½ lb green beans, cut in 1 inch lengths
½ lb potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes
6 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
2 sprigs rosemary leaves, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white wine

Coat the vegetables in oil, sprinkle with herbs and pepper. Roast at
400° for 20-30 minutes until browned and tender.

Cut sausage lengthwise and then into ¼ inch half rounds, brown slowly
in a skillet. When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan.
Add the chicken and saute until cooked through. Add the sausage back
to the pan. Add flour and stir. When the flour has coated all the
pieces of meat, add white wine, lemon and chicken stock. Stir. Add
the vegetables to the meat mixture. Add stock or water if more sauce
is needed. Adjust seasoning with salt, simmer until thickened and
serve.



--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On Mar 25, 3:43*am, sf > wrote:
> I was cooking for two tonight and using what I had on hand. *I took
> half a chicken breast and two chicken andouille sausages (each the
> size of an Italian sausage) out of the freezer. *However, I didn't
> have a clue what I wanted to with them. *I didn't have any canned
> cannellini beans to make a cassoulet - so I googled the ingredients
> and came up with a recipe that not only used the chicken and sausage,
> it also called for fennel which (surprise, surprise) I had on hand.
> How often does that happen? *
>
> The meal was half way cooked when my son and grandson popped in, so I
> threw half a pound of fresh green beans into the oven to roast, added
> them to the stew and served everything over rice. *
>
> I started with this
> <http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-chorizo-and-to...>
> and ended up something like thishttp://picasaweb.google.com/sf.usenet/ChickenAndSausageStew#
>
> Chicken and Sausage Stew
>
> 2-4 tablespoons EVOO
> ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1-inch chunks
> Salt and pepper
> 6 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
> ½ yellow onion, diced
> 2 garlic cloves, minced
> 4 carrots, peeled and cut into thick rounds
> 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
> ½ lb green beans, cut in 1 inch lengths
> ½ lb potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes
> 6 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
> 2 sprigs rosemary leaves, chopped
> 2 cups chicken stock
> 1 tsp. *lemon juice
> 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
> 1/4 cup white wine
>
> Coat the vegetables in oil, sprinkle with herbs and pepper. *Roast at
> 400° for 20-30 minutes until browned and tender.
>
> Cut sausage lengthwise and then into ¼ inch half rounds, brown slowly
> in a skillet. *When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan.
> Add the chicken and saute until cooked through. *Add the sausage back
> to the pan. *Add flour and stir. *When the flour has coated all the
> pieces of meat, add white wine, lemon and chicken stock. *Stir. *Add
> the vegetables to the meat mixture. *Add stock or water if more sauce
> is needed. *Adjust seasoning with salt, simmer until thickened and
> serve.


I have resorted to navy beans and found little difference. Now I try
to remember to buy all beans two cans at a time. In another 40 years,
my shopping habits will improve, I'm sure.

Funny that you had fennel on tap, tho. : ))

On Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:15:27 -0700 (PDT), Kalmia
> wrote:

>Funny that you had fennel on tap, tho. : ))

It was just a coincidence. The fennel was leftover from last weekend
when my DD roasted vegetables (that included fennel).

You know what's a pleasant surprise about fennel? It changes flavor
when it's roasted and takes on more of a sweet onion flavor than
anise. If I hadn't literally stumbled into that recipe, I probably
would have ended up throwing it out. I picked the recipe because it
used chicken and sausage together; the fact it also called for fennel
was a bonus! I couldn't believe my luck. Although you can certainly
substitute dried herbs for the fresh, they were herbs I grow so
they're on hand all the time. Sometimes it's dumb luck. Nothing
else.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

In article >,
sf > wrote:

> I was cooking for two tonight and using what I had on hand. I took
> half a chicken breast and two chicken andouille sausages (each the
> size of an Italian sausage) out of the freezer. However, I didn't
> have a clue what I wanted to with them. I didn't have any canned
> cannellini beans to make a cassoulet - so I googled the ingredients
> and came up with a recipe that not only used the chicken and sausage,
> it also called for fennel which (surprise, surprise) I had on hand.
> How often does that happen?

I saw that in your Picassa album this morning and it looks really good!
I especially like the idea of the addition of the Fennel bulb. I
usually like that roasted whole, but I can see how it'd work well with
this.
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
"We're all adults here, except for those of us who aren't." --Blake Murphy

sf wrote:
> You know what's a pleasant surprise about fennel? It changes flavor
> when it's roasted and takes on more of a sweet onion flavor than
> anise. If I hadn't literally stumbled into that recipe, I probably
> would have ended up throwing it out.

When I was on vacation I tried fennel and leek au gratin, it tasted
wonderful. It tasted nothing like anise. I found this recipe but I have
not tried it, yet.

http://www.funnieststuff.net/viewmovie.php?id=1652


Becca

On Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:25:22 -0700, Ranee at Arabian Knits
> wrote:

> Does the anise flavor go away, though? We really don't like that
> flavor, so we've never eaten fennel willingly. I don't know that I
> would buy it on purpose, but as we start growing more and more of our
> own food and since we do need some fennel seed for Italian sausage, I
> would like to find a way we _could_ eat it. Otherwise, I guess we just
> use it to barter with other people who like it.

Believe me, I do *not* like anise. I like fennel seeds in Italian
sausage, but that's about it. It you ever want to give it a try,
roast it with onions and carrots at the very least. I think the key
to this is "the more the merrier" as far as a variety of other
vegetables when using fennel. I liked it last weekend in a melange of
vegetables and I liked it yesterday in stew. It does not have a
strong anise flavor after it's been roasted.

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.