Reading, Watching, Drinking {Plus a Chicken, Sausage and Potato Bake }

August is almost gone! Back to school shopping for many of my coworkers with school aged children and of course the traffic was heavier once FSU students returned. That's always a drag, more traffic. So what has been happening in your world for August? Garden plans? Fall baking menus and planning?

For us it's been the usual listening to music at night, enjoying some bourbon and new Red Blend wines, a few movies and of course, reading.

Books: Recently we finished reading a few good books.
Doug read City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin, Sharkey's Machine by William Diehl and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Can't wait for The Girl on the Train to come out at the theaters. It should be depressingly creepy. He is currently engaged with Ian Rankin's first novel Knots and Crosses. This is the first in the Inspector Rebus series.

I finished and reviewed:

Strange Affair by Peter Robinson
The Twelve by Justin Cronin
Scarlett Feather by Maeve Binchy
Just finished City of Mirrors and started Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.

Listening to lots of newly acquired blues CDs. Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. Seems Elijah Craig or Blanton's Bourbon should accompany that combo.



Watching
We enjoyed Eye in the Sky (with Alan Rickman's last on screen performance), Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot, and also watched Slow West starring Michael Fassbender. That was a weird movie.

Now to the yummy food...........

On the Kitchen Front we have been eating well. This recipe below is a keeper and it's super easy. Crack open a bottle of wine, maybe a Dreaming Tree Crush (I am loving the red blends these days)



Chicken, Sausage and Potato Bake

Ingredients

2 lbs. of potatoes, washed and cut in golf ball size pieces
1 head of garlic, peel the cloves
6 chicken thighs (I used boneless and skinless because they were on sale)
Paprika
salt, pepper & olive oil
About 6 ounces of sausage (smoked or chorizo, per your taste) sliced up
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Place potatoes and garlic in a roasting tray. Now rub the paprika on the chicken thighs then place those in the roasting pan.

Pour roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil over this Drizzle everything with olive oil (probably about 2 tablespoons) and smoosh it around coating the meat and potatoes. Sprinkle any other seasoning you like over the chicken. Some people like spicy foods, we do not. If you are a fan of spicy (as in hot) then you may want to add some cayenne pepper. Also, don’t forget the salt and pepper!

Bake for about 30 minutes, then remove from the oven, stir the mixture a bit and now add the sausage and tomatoes. Return the dish/tray to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Now you are done! If you have used a disposable aluminum tray you area step ahead in the clean up process.

What is going on in your part of world? Any favorites on the kitchen this month or a movie to recommend?

I am sharing this with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.