Chicken Cassoulet with Acorn Squash

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)