Saturday, October 6, 2012

Quick and Easy Cassoulet

So, if you have some beans laying around and some tomatoes laying around, and maybe some kielbasa or sausage of some sort.  Now in the true sense of a cassoulet, you would add duck. I was interested in adding the duck.  I wanted quick and easy not foo foo! Not that I wouldn't eat duck because I most certainly would but it is not always very economical.
Pair it with a nice salad and you have a great meal!

QUICK AND EASY CASSOULET
Like I never knew cassoulet was pronounced with a hard 't' at the end.  I have been saying cassoulet like this- cass-o-lay.  When I should have been saying cass-o-let.

1 cup navy beans or whatever beanage you have laying around
4 large tomatoes
1 cup onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon oil
2 small bay leaves
2 sprigs parsley
1 teaspoon thyme (if you have fresh even better- two sprigs)
1 kielbasa (roughly equivalent to four links)- I brown it first before adding it to the pot

Add all together if you like in a crock pot and let it go on low while you are working or whatever.

Or you can saute the onions in oil until golden, then add the garlic and cook for one minute more.  Add in tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper to taste, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, chicken broth and sausage.  Cook for 30 minutes or so on a gentle simmer. 

The big news of the day... I finally have a microwave again!  Wahoo.  You see it has been non functional since April.  Yes, April!  My husband is a good man but he is not a good handy man.  Matter of fact he is not even a handy man. His talents lie elsewhere... 
He did need a little help though.  Thankfully my Dad is handy man of the century!  My Dad can fashion his own tools and find unique ways of solving problems.  And then he is a total perfectionist to boot.  So things get done very nicely.  Very professionally- matter of fact- better than most professionals!

Nonetheless, I am very proud of my husband.  Seeing him in handy man action just gets my motor running!

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