her able hands

Tonight’s scrumptious dinner is brought to you via my twisted but inspired take on Steph’s recipe for Lentils with Italian Sausage. I didn’t have any lentils or sausage. But the idea of rubbed sage stuck in my mind all day after I read her post this morning. At first I thought, oh! I’ll make Butternut Gnocchi with Sage Butter Sauce. Then I remembered that fresh sage is what makes that dish sing, and my plants are all cut back and mulched over with oak leaves. Plus, the gnocchi takes forever to make and I knew I wouldn’t get into the kitchen in time for all that. I dropped that crazy thought and figured ah, hell, I’ll come up with something later.

Later arrived, right about the time Chris would be walking through the door, hungry and tired. He’s never one to complain and puts his “good sport” face on every time I serve up Spaghetti! Pirogies! Raviolis! But we’ve had those three things a lot in the past couple of weeks because I’ve been so busy working on all of my projects. I just haven’t had the creative energy needed to pull off more inventive meals. But I didn’t want to eat the same carby filler food again.

On the way downstairs from the office to the kitchen, I spied a couple of cans of Cannelloni beans on our makeshift pantry shelves and I knew what to do. The recipe that follows elicited groans of pleasure, and trips back for seconds from the husband and the teenage son. The toddler had swallowed too many Cheddar Goldfish while watching Little Bear to eat with her usual gusto, so I can’t say she loved it with any authority. I liked it enough to write it down.

Shredded Chicken with Cannelloni Beans, Mushrooms and Sage over Long Grain and Wild Rice.

Put your rice on to cook in a heavy bottom saucepan with tight-fitting lid:
2 cups water
1 cup long grain and wild rice mixed
Splash of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or other bouillon
Bring to boil, cover. Simmer on low heat for 50-55 minutes.

Poach three chicken breasts, then shred. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté:
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
One sweet yellow onion, diced for about 5 minutes or until onion looks transparent
Add:
2 cups mushrooms, sliced thick (I used white because it’s what was on hand, but I suspect this would be even better with Portobello’s or Criminis, or a mix)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
Sautee until the mushrooms are soft, and the celery transparent; about 5 or 6 minutes.
Add:
One tsp. dried rubbed sage
A pinch of dried thyme, rubbed between the fingers to break it up
Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
Continue cooking on medium heat for another couple of minutes without stirring until the onions start to turn golden.
Splash a little white wine in there to keep everything from sticking, then turn the heat to low.

Add:
2 cans of Cannelloni Beans with half the liquid
Shredded Chicken
Dash or two of Tamari or Soy Sauce
Simmer on low heat stirring occasionally until the rice is finished cooking.

Chris said the flavor rivaled last night’s dinner of Pasta with Feta and Greens, which is an old standby that had fallen out of rotation for some unknown reason. I’ll share that recipe another day. I served tonight’s dish with steamed broccoli and carrots tossed with butter and Gomasio, a green salad, and a heaping spoonful of gratitude for being back in the kitchen saddle again.

ETA: This dish would benefit greatly from a healthy sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley at serving time! Green it up!

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