Andouille, chicken, beans, peppers, tomatoes…  A pot of simmering wonderfulness in a mere 20 minutes!

I knew tonight was going to be a bean-and-andouille-something, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was going to be until I finished cooking it.  That’s the way of it, sometimes.  Tim’s Create-A-Meal.  It works.  So did the andouille.

The beauty of andouille sausage is it doesn’t need a lot of additional herbs and spices to make a dish flavorful.  If you’re using a good andouille, the sausage itself packs enough of a flavorful punch to carry a dish.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t add to your hearts content, it just means you don’t necessarily have to.  I was almost restrained tonight.  I didn’t add any additional herbs, but I did add some additional flavor.

I had fried up a bunch of long Italian hot peppers on Monday and Victor had roasted a bunch of garlic.  If it’s in the ‘fridge, it’s fair game,  Both came to dinner, tonight!

This was a throw-together recipe that I’ll never really make exactly, again.  It’s a good base, though, for playing with and making your own.

Chicken, Andouille, and Beans

• 1 chicken breast, diced
• 2 andouille links, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cans pink beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 roasted red peppers, diced
• 6 fried Italian peppers, diced
• 4 cloves roasted garlic
• several shots Tabasco
• salt and pepper, to taste

Brown chicken and andouille in a bit of olive oil.  Add tomatoes, beans, and remaining ingredients.  Bring to boil and then simmer.

Check for seasonings and add additional Tabasco, and salt and pepper, as desired.

This is great as-is, or serve it up as you would red beans and rice – atop cooked white rice.

We had it with the rye bread I made the other day.  In case you’re wondering, it freezes great!

Tomorrow is going to be a bit of an Italian feast.  Victor is going to make sauce and I’m going to make a Pane Siciliano – bread made with semolina flour.

Can’t wait!