Chicken, Sausage and Potatoes

I had everything ready to post last night on making your own pizzas. With trick or treat yesterday, who really has time for dinner? But everyone else thinks the same thing and orders out, and then delivery times are extended, so why not just make your own. Easy first post, easy to make, what could go wrong? Oh vey!

I made the first pepperoni pizza without fail, perfect crispy outside, doughy inside crust, pepperoni crisped on edges. Pictures taken. Perfect! Onto the second pizza. I had planned a margherita pizza with fresh tomatoes and burrata. Unfortunately while it was in the oven, I decided to multitask and empty the dishwasher. When I went to put the glasses away, I opened up my cabinet and a glass fell from the top shelf, onto my countertop, shattered/exploded/combusted and then those pieces fell onto my floor and shattered some more. I’ve never seen a glass break into so many pieces. I knew enough to pull the pizza out to keep from burning, but with all the cleaning up, by the time I finished it was time to trick or treat. Undercooked pizza is not what I want on my first official post. Pizza will have to wait for another time.

So onto my next night’s planned meal.

I’ve been making this, and variations of it since; well since my mom used to make make it. This is one that all 3 of us called her for so we could have a piece of home in our new homes. It’s good for any occasion – a potluck, I bring this; meal for a family in need, this is the one I revert to; tired of my standard dishes, I fall back to this. Funny enough when I put this on the table tonight my oldest said “Oh wow Mom, you haven’t made this in awhile, you used to make it all the time!”

Before I started learning about the use of herbs I made it even quicker by using a seasoning packet mixed with some oil. Good, but fresh herbs are always better. I’ve made it in a slow cooker, but cooked the potatoes separate, then incorporated all in the pot. Still very good. One time I even roasted the potatoes separate to make them crispy, sautéed the chicken and sausage to give them that pan seared flavor and mixed it all together. Really good if you have the time. I just like doing it all in one because it’s easier and less pans to clean.

All were good, obviously some better than others. This recipe just works well no matter how you do it. The sausage is the key, as it cooks it imparts flavor to the chicken and potatoes and makes the dish taste wonderful.

Ingredients:

1 lb. medium to small red potatoes, cut into a 1 inch chunks

1 pkg sweet Italian sausage (approximately 1 lb sausage links), use kitchen shears to cut into 1 inch chunks

1 pkg chicken breasts or thighs (approximately 1 1/2 to 2lbs), use kitchen shears to cut into 1 inch chunks

1 small onion, diced

5 medium sized cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup minced fresh herbs (any combo of thyme, parsley and/or rosemary). If using dried cut that down to about 1-2 Tbsps.

Approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9×12 pan place your chopped potatoes, cut sausage and cut chicken. On top place your cut onions and minced garlic and sprinkle with herbs. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix it well and place in oven for 30 minutes. Stir and return to oven for another 30 minutes.

Here are the pictures from before: