What's For Dinner- Sausage Mixed Bean Stew

 Tonight we tried a new recipe for a sausage mixed bean stew. I won't publish the entire recipe out of the cookbook, but since I changed a few things, I'll tell you what I did.

The recipe was designed for a slow cooker, allowing the ingredients to cook over 4-5 hours. If you did it this way, you would use dry beans. I chose to use canned beans and cook the ingredients on the stove over an hour and a half.

I simmered 9 cups of chicken broth with chopped up carrots and celery in it for about an hour. I then cooked my Italian sweet sausage in a skillet and added it to the pot. I cooked that for about 15-20 minutes. In the last 10 minutes I added pinto beans, navy beans, and kidney beans. Once everything was heated thoroughly, it was ready to serve.

I served it with hot cornbread and cinnamon butter. The recipe suggested grating fresh parmesan cheese on top. Overall, it was a very flavorful and hearty meal. I was worried about the depth of flavor since I didn't allow the ingredients to cook all day. I think it turned out just fine.

What new recipes are you trying? Let me know in the comments below!

UPDATE: This was even better reheated for lunch! I am thinking the slow cooker is the way to go for bold flavor after all. If you want to make it the fast way for dinner, just know that it makes a delicious lunch the next day!

- - Happy Eating! - -