I mentioned I was making chicken bog this week and Gail asked in the comments what it is. It’s something I had never heard of until I met my husband, and had it in a meal at my in-laws house. Josh likes it, and it’s a good alternate use of chicken (or leftover turkey) so I make it once or twice a year. It’s actually pretty easy. Recipe follows:

Chicken bog:

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1 medium onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 package Hillshire Farms beef smoked sausage (the sausage that’s one big link, in case you’re not sure! Cut the link in half lengthwise–so it’s laid open, then in half lengthwise again so you’d be cutting each “round” into quarters)
• 3 cups leftover chicken (or turkey) or cooked chicken breast diced
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 4 tsp chicken base
• 8 cups water
• 4 cups minute rice
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Melt butter in large stockpot. While butter is melting, finely chop onions and garlic. Saute until onion is tender.

2. Add diced sausage and chicken and saute for a minute to heat through

3. Add half the water, the chicken base and the cream of mushroom soup, fresh ground pepper and simmer for 15 minutes (to allow sausage/chicken flavor to get into water)

4. Add rest of water, bring to a boil. Now take out about a cup of water and reserve this. You’ll save this for helping to moisten the bog when you reheat leftovers.

5. Add minute rice to boiling liquid, stir, remove from heat and cover with lid. Let sit until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked.

6. Serve. Each person can optionally sprinkle their bog with hot sauce.

That’s the simple version of bog. My mother-in-law makes a version that involves boiling a whole chicken, but I prefer to roast a chicken and have that for dinner one night, then use the leftovers for bog. Let me know if you have questions!