On Sundays in the winter, I love dishes that sit and simmer on the stove or in the oven for a long period of time. They make the house smell wonderful and if I get them going early enough, cooking dinner doesn’t interfere with Sunday football!
I found this recipe on, where else, Cooking Light and made it for dinner this past Sunday. Everyone loved it. Along with a tossed salad and some fresh bread it made for a great meal and I finally got to use two acorn squash that I got from the CSA a few weeks ago.

Ingredients

The squash-and-bean mixture (paragraphs 1 and 2 in the method) can be prepared a day ahead of time; cover and refrigerate though I didn’t do this.

1 tablespoon stick margarine or butter
2 cups chopped onion, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry Marsala or apple cider
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, divided
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
2 cups water
2 cups diced peeled acorn squash
1 cup diced carrot
2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained
1 pound skinned, boned chicken breast
2 bacon slices
1/2 pound smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Directions

Melt margarine in a large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 cup onion and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add Marsala, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, basil, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Spoon into a bowl; set aside.

Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 cups water, squash, and carrot in pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Partially mash the beans with a potato masher, and add beans and tomato mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low heat 30 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 325°.

Rub chicken with 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble bacon, and set aside. Add chicken to bacon drippings in pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet; cut into 1-inch pieces. Add 1 cup onion and sausage to skillet; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the chicken, crumbled bacon, and sausage mixture to bean mixture in pan, stirring to combine.

Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
CALORIES 261 (21% from fat); FAT 6.1g (sat 2.2g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.3g); IRON 6mg; CHOLESTEROL 50mg; CALCIUM 108mg; CARBOHYDRATE 27.8g; SODIUM 817mg; PROTEIN 25g; FIBER 4.5g;

Weight Watcher PPV = 7 (as of 11/30/2015 calc)

3 Comments

  1. Kim November 30, 2008 at 9:32 am

    Amy, I cheated. I used Turkey Kielbasa.

  2. Amy November 28, 2008 at 5:09 pm

    That does look good. I’ve tried and tried over the years to appreciate cassoulet when we’re in France–but always find it much too salty and rich for my tastes. This looks like something I’d like!
    Trader Joe’s no longer carries smoked turkey sausage–where did you get yours?

  3. Terry November 26, 2008 at 4:18 pm

    Now that sounds really good. Perfect for a Sunday in winter. Thanks for the recipe, Kim.

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