Day 5 - Chicken/Sausage and Veggies with Couscous

Day five of my Freezer/Pantry Cooking Challenge, where I have to use almost everything in my freezer and pantry before I can hit the grocery store to restock.

As of this point I have made only the tiniest dent in my supplies.  Tonight's dinner is a favorite of my whole clan, and the leftovers freeze well.  Which leads me up to the fact that this is a freezer meal that I had sealed in my wonderful Foodsaver (one of my favorite gadgets).  If you like to cook and freeze meals for future use, this bad boy is the way to go.  You fill a Foodsaver freezer bag with your goods (like this chicken and sausage dish), properly position it on your machine and this handy tool will vacuum seal your food.  Love it!

I'm going to give you a general recipe for this because it's something that I just throw together.  There's no right or wrong here, so have fun.

Chicken and Sausage with Broccoli Rabe 


4 boneless chicken breasts
4 Italian sweet sausages
1 large onion - sliced
2 handfuls whole baby carrots (or chop up normal sized carrots)
6 cloves of garlic (I love garlic, so you can adjust)
2 large potatoes - cut up in chunks (I like to keep the skin on but you can peel if you'd like)
1 or 2 tomatoes - cut up
1/2 a bunch of broccoli rable - cut up
1- 2 cups chicken stock
olive oil as needed
s&p to taste

Salt and pepper chicken breast. (Note:  if your chicken stock is already salted omit the salt when seasoning the chicken.  If you prefer more salt, add it after the meal has been cooked).   In a heated pan, begin to cook your sausage, poking holes in the skin so the juices seep out.  Add your chicken breasts (and a little oil if needed) and brown both sides.  You are not cooking these meats thoroughly yet.  Once browned remove to a cutting board and cut the chicken up in chunks and the sausages into 1 inch pieces.  To the same pan, add your onions and saute them until translucent, add your garlic cloves and carefully brown.  Remove onions and garlic from pan and add your cut up broccoli rabe, just coating the leaves with the oils from the pan.  In a large enough deep-dish baking dish, combine all of the ingredients (minus the olive oil).  Toss everything together so it is well blended.  Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes.  (Make sure to check the progress and doneness of the meats and the tenderness of the potatoes and carrots.).  Stir everything several times throughout the baking process to make sure the juices marinate the meal.  You can also create this via stove-top by combining everything and lowering your heat to a simmer.