Hearty Chicken and Bean Casserole

8 ounces dried Great Northern Beans (1-1/4cups)
1 tablespoon canola oil or olive oil
6 chicken thighs (about 2 - 1/4 pounds total), skinned
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5oz can no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
6 oz light, cooked smoked sausage, cut into bit size
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp salt ( I personally omitted)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

I didn't have enough liquid in step 3 to bring the dish to a boil before transferring it into the casserole dish so I just transferred it, my casserole dish was glass and it came out fine!

Variation: Easy version: Omit dried beans in step 1 and add 2 15oz cans rinsed and drained Great Northern Beans to vegetable mix in step 3 with tomatoes. Omit salt, use 1 tsp bottled minced garlic.

1. Rinse beans. In large saucepan combine beans and 4 cups water, boil then reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover let stand 1 hour. (Or, soak beans in water overnight in a covered pan.) Drain beans and rinse. In same saucepan combine beans and 4 cups of water, bring to boil, reduce heat cover and simmer 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until tender. drain beans.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken; reduce heat to medium-low. Brown chicken an 10 minutes, turning once to brown both sides. Remove chicken from skillet. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of dripping from skillet.

3. Add carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to drippings in skillet. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or vegetables are just tender, stir occasionally. Stir in drained beans, undrained tomatoes, sausage, thyme, salt and if desired cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil then transfer to a 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange chicken thighs on top.

4. Bake, uncovered, about 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Makes 6 servings (1 chicken thigh with about 3/4 cup bean mixture per serving)

Serving Size: makes 6 servings

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user FITDIVA24.