Creamy Sausage Stew

This meal is so flavorful with the sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions and delicious because of the creaminess.  This recipe makes quite bit (about 10-12 servings) so if you aren't feeding 6 people or don't like leftovers..then cut it in half.  I tripled the recipe once to feed 20 people once and it was a huge hit.  

INGREDIENTS
8-10 medium red potatoes, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
2 large sweet onions, quartered
1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds smoked Polish sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces (I use turkey smoked sausage)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pint heavy whipping cream (yeah, that's what I'm talking about)
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
3 Tablespoons cold water

1.  Put potatoes, all vegetables and cut-up sausage into large roasting pan, mix.
2.  Combine oil, basil and pepper and pour over the meat and vegetable mixture.  Toss well.

3.  Cover and bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
4.  Add the cream, and bake 30-40 minutes longer or until the potatoes are tender.
5.  Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl; stir into stew.
6.  Place on stove top and bring to boil, stirring constantly until thickened.  

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Black Bean Soup

This is a great slow cooker recipe and it makes A LOT!  Also, if you want to make it more spicy, feel free to add cumin and hot sauce.  If you need a good "cleaning" of your insides (if you know what I mean), this soup is for you!   Because of all the fresh ingredients, and the black beans and turkey sausage this recipe is very low in calories and a great source of fiber. 

If you don't have a large slow cooker, you can always slow cook it on the stove for many hours on low.  Also if your slow cooker is on the small size, cut the recipe in half. 

I make this up the night before and refrigerate overnight and just turn it on low before work the next morning.  The house smells wonderful when you get home...much better than later in the evening (again, if you know what I mean). 

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups chopped celery
1-1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 Medium onion, chopped
3-15 oz cans black beans, drained
1-14.5 can crushed tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-32 oz. chicken broth (use less if you like a thicker soup)
1 package Turkey Smoked Sausage, cut in small pieces
1-1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. chili powder

1.  Combine all ingredients and put into slow cooker.

2.  Cook for 9-10 hours on low/

3.  Serve with rice and sour cream if desired

Pretty veggies!

All ingredients, prior to cooking

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Salmon and Wild Rice Chowder

I needed a healthy meal the day after I ate several cookies, handfuls of M&Ms, spinach dip and bread, chips and pretzels and let's not forget the beers I drank too.  In my defense, the beers were berry flavored, so I counted them as my fruit serving for the day! 

I am always looking for ways to spice up salmon, because I love it and it isn't one of my husband's favorites. This chowder has SO MANY tasty fresh ingredients  and the great thing is, you could almost choose any seafood to place in here.  In fact, when I asked hubby what I could do to improve upon the recipe, he recommended using shrimp instead.  Next time, he can make the damn meal!

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup red pepper (I buy a jar of red and yellow peppers and just use those)
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 1-inch piece
1-1/2 teaspoons dill weed (haha...what a dill weed!)
Salt and Pepper to taste (if you like spicy, some Cajun seasoning may be good too)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup cooked wild rice (I keep a bag of wild rice in the freezer, and just pull out what I need)
12-ounces skinless salmon fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooked bacon, crumbled (I had some left over from breakfast, so I just threw it in. Like  
                                                  Corinne, bacon makes everything taste better!)

Thickening:
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup fat free half & half (could use milk instead)

1.  Melt better in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, red/yellow pepper and green beans.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes.  Stir in dill, salt and pepper.  Pour in broth and bring to a simmer. 

2.  Add wild rice and salmon to saucepan.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 6 to 8 minutes or until salmon flakes easily when tested with fork.  (If using shrimp, you might not want to cook as long, so the shrimp doesn't get too tough).  Throw in bacon if desired.

3.  In a separate small bowl, whisk flour into half-n-half until all the lumps are gone.  Stir into chowder to thicken.   

YUMMY!

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KJ Sausage Stew

My friend Kimberly told me about this dish and it sounded so good, I just had to try it!  It was so delish, I decided to name it after her.   While I was at the grocery store, I couldn't remember what kind of vegetables she used, so I just decided to use what I liked and what sounded tasty.  I will list the veggies I used and what she uses and you can pick and choose what you want when you try this yummiest of yummy recipes! 

Since I used chicken sausage, reduced sodium chicken broth and low fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing, it is not only low in carbs (the chicken sausage has 0), but good for Weight Watchers.  Each serving (approximately 1-1/2 cups) came out to be 5 points using the Recipe Builder function of Weight Watchers website.
 

Ingredients:

1 cup baby carrots cut in bite size pieces
1 small zucchini, cut in bite size pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1 inch pieces
1-1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, halved
2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Basil
1-1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 lb chicken sausage links, cut in 1" pieces
1/3 cup Light balsamic vinaigrette dressing

KJ Veggie variation:
(carrotts, small potatoes, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, yellow squash)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 1.  Mix all veggies and spices in a 9x13 glass baking dish.  Pour chicken broth over veggies and bake in oven for 50 minutes (uncovered). 

2.  Cut up chicken sausage and brown in skillet until crispy. 

3.  After the veggies bake, stir in sausage and pour balsamic vinaigrette over top. 

4.  Bake for another 60 minutes.  Numnumnumnumnum....