Savory Succotash

There is something about eating foods that were eaten in the past. As a history loving mom, I'm on the look out for these types of recipes. I do this so I can learn about the history of them. Savory Succotash is just one of these recipes.

I'm really not sure why Jamie asked me about Succotash several months ago;  maybe because he still enjoys old cartoons. Since then, I had wanted to find a good recipe for Succotash, but could not find anything that sparked an interest until after the history of it was explained and the dish cooked on a live cooking show on our local PBS channel.

Succotash dates back to Colonial days using bear grease and the use of winter veggies. Now, I'm not one who keeps a can of bear grease on hand, so bacon grease it is!

If bear grease smells anything like a bear, I'll stick with my Porky Pig in a jar that is tucked away in my refrigerator door.

Anything cooked in REAL bacon grease must be good, right? Well, let me tell you, THIS. IS. OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD. CRAZY. GOOD!

There is something wonderful about this recipe; it can be an all vegetable side dish, or you can make it like I did the second time by adding chicken and it be the main dish for a meal.

It's hard to believe I second guessed myself when it comes to a dish cooked in bacon grease, but I did the first time I cooked it. I left out the chicken just to make sure the other two were going to like it.

Let's just say, food was flying like there was no tomorrow.

If you are a turkey bacon fan; don't even try it! Nope, Nope, Nope! Do not ruin this dish by using bird bacon, use the real thing ~ whole hog is the way to go!  I cooked this dish two times and the second time (yesterday) I used turkey bacon... BIG FAIL!  You  know turkey bacon does not really crisp unless it is at the point of burning. Even if it does get crispy it will end up soft and limp by the time you are ready to eat. Crispy bacon = bacony bits to crunch on. You can see the what I'm talking about in the picture above. JUST DON'T DO IT, you will thank me later!

If you say "A WHOLE PACK OF BACON?!?!?!" remember packaging is not a whole pound anymore and this recipe is easy to adapt for your tastes.  I never buy real bacon anymore because it is so expensive out here, so turkey bacon is usually bought. The first time I cooked this dish with real bacon and it was a REAL TREAT.

Succotash

1 package bacon cut into pieces
2 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
½ red bell pepper diced
½ green bell pepper diced
1 onion diced
1 cup squash
1 can lima beans drained
1 can corn drained
salt to taste
pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste

In a large hot frying pan, cook bacon until done. Remove bacon and drain all but about two tablespoons of grease and add chicken. Cook the chicken until almost done. Add both bell peppers and onion and continue cooking. Add squash; continue cooking. Add beans, corn and bacon, allow the corn and beans to heat through. Season to taste.

I'm going to tell a secret here... If you follow this recipe, you will have enough left overs for lunch the next day, unless you are feeding a football team or an army.