Sausage and Butter Bean Casserole

I had most of the ingredients on hand and thought this sounded like a great mid week meal. It's really easy and hearty. I'm not sure I had ever had butter beans but I give them 2 thumbs up. I only put in half of the sausages, and skipped the bacon and thyme (didn't have any). I used red wine instead of white, smoked paprika, and forgot to add bay leaves but it was still delicious. We had the mixture on top of a bit of rice. 

The Hairy Bikers’ take on sausage and beans makes a wonderfully warming and filling dish, and it freezes brilliantly.

Ingredients

• 1–2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 12 good quality pork sausages
• 6 rashers rindless streaky bacon, cut into 2.5cm/1in lengths
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½–1 tsp hot chilli powder or smoked paprika
• 1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
• 300ml/10fl oz chicken stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 bay leaves
• 3–4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 100ml/3½fl oz red or white wine (optional)
• 1 x 400g/14oz can butter beans or mixed beans
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the sausages gently for 10 minutes, turning every now and then until nicely browned all over. Transfer to a large saucepan or a flameproof casserole dish and set aside.
2. Fry the bacon pieces in the frying pan until they begin to brown and crisp then add to the sausages.
3. Place the onions in the frying pan and fry over a medium heat for five minutes until they start to soften, stirring often. You should have enough fat in the pan, but if not, add a little more oil.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes more until the onions turn pale golden-brown, stirring frequently.
5. Sprinkle over the chilli powder or smoked paprika and cook together for a few seconds longer.
6. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and herbs.
7. Pour over the wine, or some water if you’re not using wine, and bring to a simmer.
8. Tip carefully into the pan with the sausages and bacon and return to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover the pan loosely with a lid and leave to simmer very gently for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.
9. Drain the beans and rinse them in a sieve under cold running water. Stir the beans into the casserole, and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick.
10. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with rice or slices of rustic bread.

Old Boys Omelette

Another simple but amazing Jamie Oliver recipe! I made this for dinner and much prefer it to the omelette's I normally make. When I went grocery shopping yesterday I got a small loaf of sourdough bread (for 37 cents!) for the asparagus recipe below. I had a bit leftover and remembered reading a Jamie recipe where he used leftover sourdough. The bread may seem a bit strange but it adds a nice flavor and texture (Tom didn't even know it had bread in it). 


Preheat a small frying pan over a medium to high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Cut your piece of bread into 2cm cubes (crusts removed) and your field mushroom/s (I used chestnut) into 1cm slices and add both to the pan with your chopped bacon (1 piece cut into 2cm pieces). Stir it all around and let everything get a nice color to it.


Beat your eggs (2-3) in a bowl and season with sea salt and pepper. Pour over the bacon, mushroom and bread mixture and move the pan around so they completely cover the base of it. As the eggs begin to set, gently push the set eggs around with a wooden spoon or spatula. Turn the heat off, and keep moving until the raw egg stops moving around. Quickly grate over a tiny bit of cheddar cheese. You want the omelette to look slightly underdone, because when you turn it out it carries on cooking and will be absolutely perfect when you tuck in. 

Worcestershire Asparagus and Mushrooms on Toast

This recipe is from my Jamie's Great Britain cookbook. It is such a yummy side (or dinner even) and I can see all of you guys loving it (especially mom)! I was only making a bit for Tom and I so I made a lot less. I used chestnut mushrooms and didn't make any alterations as it's pretty tasty as is!


Peel and finely slice 4 cloves of garlic. Put a large frying pan on a high heat and add a good lug of olive oil. Whack 4 slices of nice bread into the toaster. Slice 2 handfuls of mushrooms (brushed clean) and 500g of washed asparagus (woody ends snapped off) into bite-sized chunks. Add them to the hot pan with the sliced garlic and toss and fry for around 4 minutes. Finely chop a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley and add most of it to the pan, along with 8 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and a knob or two of butter. Take the pan off the heat and shake and stir around for 30 seconds, or until the sauce has reduced down. Season to taste, then spoon over the slices of hot toast and top with the rest of the parsley.

Salsafied Chicken and Rice

Salsafied! With a name like that, how can it not be delicious! Mom sent me this recipe and as it was a chilly night I though some good comfort food was in order. It was delicious and got rave reviews from Tom. Lots of the recipe comments suggested adding taco seasoning to the chicken so I did that. I used spicy salsa and added a bit more then suggested. I also put in a can of corn. I think it could be even better with some black beans but I loved it as it was. I made burritos with the mixture and topped them off with sour cream and cilantro(coriander). So quick and tasty!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (8 ounce) jar salsa
• 2 cups instant rice
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook and stir chicken in hot oil until cooked through and juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the broth and salsa and bring to a boil; turn off the heat and stir in the instant rice. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the mixture. Cover the skillet and let sit until the rice is tender, about 5 minutes.