Chicken Sausage and White Bean Casserole

A Piece of Cake

By Pat O’Keefe

Here is a recipe I put together with some leftovers.  

I used chicken sausage but turkey or pork will work just as well.  It is always better to buy whole tomatoes and crush them.  Diced or cut up tomatoes are made up of leftover pieces so you will almost always get a better product with the whole tomatoes.  Pressing on top of olives with the side of a chef’s knife easily pops the pit out.  Sliced ready-made Polenta, in the refrigerator section, would be a nice accompaniment.  This recipe freezes and reheats well so for smaller families freeze half for a later meal. 

The alcohol content of the wine will be non-existent at the end of the cooking process but you may substitute additional chicken broth or water if desired.

Sausage and White Bean Casserole

16-good quality chicken sausage, about 3 1/2-4 pounds

1-cup diced carrots

1-cup diced sweet onion

10-ounces sliced mushrooms

4-cloves chopped garlic

1-cup dry red wine

1-can chicken broth, 14 ounce

1-28 ounce cans whole tomatoes

2-cans cannelloni beans, 15 ounce (white beans, drained)

1/4-cup chopped Calamata olives (8-10 olives)

2-bay leaves

1/4-cup chopped fresh parsley

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350° in a large skillet heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil, brown
sausage approximately 10 minutes.  Remove sausage to a large ovenproof casserole. 

• Add additional olive oil to pan if needed and sauté carrots, onion and mushrooms until softened and lightly browned.  

• Add this mixture to the sausage along with all the remaining ingredients.  Bake covered for 30 minutes, remove cover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Serves 8

I will be happy to send you my weekly recipes via email just contact me at apieceofcake@optonline.net  On the Web at www.patokeefe.net Web site has an
extensive collection of recipes with more added frequently.  Need a past recipe or have a question, I will do my best to help, just email me. ENJOY!