Comfort Casserole

Ingredients

1 medium-sized onion

2 medium carrots, scrubbed but not peeled

1 pound of green cabbage (wedge from 3 to 4 pound head, core removed)

2 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (or other vegetable oil)

6 chicken thighs, skinned but bone-in

½ pound smoked sausage

¼ cup catsup

¼ cup orange juice

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

1.     Peel the onion, cut in half from leaf end to root end, lay flat surface of onion on cutting board, and thinly slice onion halves in semicircles. Cut carrots on a diagonal into thin ovals. Slice cabbage to thin ribbons resembling noodles. Slice smoked sausage into bite-sized oval no more than a ¼” thick.

2.     Pour oil into a heated large non-stick skillet. Brown chicken thighs, 3 at a time, on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side. Set thighs aside after browning. Add slices of smoked sausage to brown until slightly caramelized on each side of the slices.

3.     Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a ceramic casserole large enough to contain the chicken thighs in a single layer. Keep the skillet on medium heat reserving the oil used to brown meats. Layer the casserole with the sausage ovals. Place the chicken thighs on top of the layer of sausage.

4.     Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sauté onions in skillet with reserved oil. Add the cabbage when the onion slices are translucent, and allow the cabbage to wilt stirring mixture often. When the cabbage is wilted, add the carrots, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, and orange juice. Mix the vegetables well and layer on top of the meats in the casserole.

5.     Cover the casserole and place in the preheated oven. Braise the casserole contents for about 40 minutes, then serve.

No salt or pepper was added because the condiments and smoked sausage seasoned the casserole mixture.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.