Succotash

I can't even pronounce the name but every time I've made it over the years, I've devoured every morsel of it without a single serving going in the trash. I made this Sunday and even knowing I was going to write this post, still managed to snarf it all before getting a picture,  so that's my excuse for a photo-less post (at least until the next time I make it and then I pinky-promise swear to update this post with a picture).

Original recipe called for bacon, corn scraped off of a fresh ear of corn and thawing the lima beans along with encouragement to try all sorts of seasonal varieties (zucchini, green beans, whatever frozen veggies you have on hand).

Almost immediately I made substitutions and discovered something wonderful. Even to this mostly vegetable hating person it is just as delicious (and just as pretty) made with frozen and canned veggies. AND it reheats. It's not mushy, stringy, bitter, or any of the 100 objections I usually have to vegetable dishes.

I know, amazing right?

I ADORE this recipe. It's a great side if you go easy on the meat, but I can easily eat a huge bowl as a meal too, especially if the protein content is bumped up.

Adapted from: Cook This Not That: easy & awesome 350-calorie meals by David Zincozenko & Matt Goulding

Ingredients

• 4-8 oz. Sausage (I commonly have a roll of sausage in the fridge, but you can substitute 2 strips of bacon or some other flavorful meat here. How much sausage I use is usually dependent on how much of a "main dish" I want, and what other uses I have for the sausage that week. )
• 4 scallions, chopped, greens and whites separated. A regular onion is great too. 
• 1 bell pepper (red? It's prettier with red, but just as tasty with green. My advice? Go with what's the cheapest), chopped
• 1 can of corn 
• 2 cups of frozen lima beans (theoretically thawed if you are into an extra step)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup half-and-half (I've used canned whole coconut milk and it substitutes very nicely)

How to get 'er done

Cook the sausage in a large pan over medium heat until cooked and browned. Remove, leaving the grease in the skillet. If it's excessive, wipe the skillet out. You want to leave enough that the onion and pepper can cook without sticking and without adding additional oil. 

Add the scallion white and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 3 minutes, then stir in the corn and lima beans. If you are like me and are lazy, you haven't thawed your lima beans and the corn was canned. Thus I've never experienced the "light toasting" that theoretically is supposed to be achieved. Don't worry about it. I sorta just stir everything together until I'm satisfied that everything is starting to warm up. 

Turn the heat down to low and season with salt and pepper. Then add half-and-half. Gently simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and coats the vegetables (~3 min). 

Stir in the sausage and the scallion greens.