White Bean and Kielbasa Stew

I’d have to say that our All-Clad Slow Cooker is the best kitchen investment we’ve ever made.  I’m a morning person so taking the time to prepare the ingredients first thing is easy for me.   Come dinner time I’m usually ready to crash and the slow cooker allows me the opportunity to enjoy an incredible meal without the late-day fuss.

This is a recipe I found recently in the Real Simple magazine.  I tried it once and enjoyed it but wanted to tweek it a bit.  I made it again today with some adjustments (that’s what I love about cooking, is you can always add your personal touch to a recipe). 

Here are the ingredients I used today which would make a double batch.  I made extra because I plan on bringing some to my dad tomorrow for lunch (depending on whether we get any substantial snow) and extra for him to put in the freezer.   The problems I ran into were that the beans didn’t seem to cook as fast as I would have hoped and absorb as much moisture as I would have liked. After 4.5 hours, they were still pretty hard.  I usually cook on low heat, but turned it up to high for about 2.5 hours and the beans cooked (finally).  I’ll have to admit that I have a lot to learn when it comes to cooking with dried beans.  I usually take the easy way out and use canned beans, but hope to learn more about cooking with dried beans.  This came out absolutely fabulous.  I taste tested more than my share and know it will be a big hit with my dad!

2 pounds dried white beans (Great Northern or Navy – I used Navy)

2 pkgs kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced to ½ in thick (I used one turkey kielbasa and one regular)

4 large carrots, diced

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried rosemary

10 oz baby spinach (12 cups)

Soak the beans in cold water overnight.  

In the morning, rinse the beans and add to the slow cooker with the kielbasa, carrots, broth, tomatoes, onion, garlic, rosemary.  Make sure the beans are covered with liquid.   Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours but keep an eye out as dried beans can be tricky.  If they don’t look like they’re cooking after 4 hours, turn them to high for a while.  Add the spinach at the end and serve. 

Blowout Cookies

The other day I was moving my recipe books and found a large envelope with a TON of clipped recipes in it.  I sorted through them and came upon this one.  The clipping is dated 1991.  I never did get a chance to make them until today.  Chunky peanut butter, chocolate chips, honey roasted peanuts and miniature Reese's peanut butter cups -- how could you go wrong.  Believe me, they're absolutely AMAZING! 

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup chunky-style peanut butter

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup milk

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup honey-roasted peanuts

¾ cup coursely chopped frozen miniature peanut butter cups (about 12)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat the peanut butter and butter together until fluffy.  Add the sugars and beat until light and smooth.  Then add the egg and beat for 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  Stir in the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.  Sprinkle the milk over the mixture and beat to soften the dough.  Fold in the chocolate chips and peanuts, then carefully add the candy.

Drop by 2 tbsp clumps onto an ungreased baking sheet, leaving space (about one inch) for spreading. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just browned.

Apple Crisp

I don’t happen to remember where I found this Apple Crisp recipe but I’ve had it for quite some time.  I love it because it’s so easy to prepare and it doesn’t have oatmeal in it.  When it’s fresh, the topping is crunchy but the apples will absorb into the topping so eat it up FAST! 

I was thinking when I made it today that next time I might try using brown sugar in the apples and stick with granulated sugar in the topping.  I’ll let you know how that goes the next time I try it out. 

4 apples (I use Macs)

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

½ tsp cinnamon

Peel, core and slice apples.  Mix in apples, ½ cup sugar and lemon juice in a separate bowl.  Arrange in a baking dish (I usually use a 9 inch pie plate but you can use an 8 x 8 pan too).  Mix the flour, ¾ cup sugar, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.  Add the egg and mix until crumbly.  Sprinkle on apple mixture.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle on the cinnamon.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Serve warm if possible and top with whipped cream.

Turkey with Peppers, Onions and Bove's Sauce

This is truly my happy meal.  What could be simpler than ground turkey with peppers and onions and a little Bove’s sauce covering a bed of pasta!  This is a time consuming dish between cutting the veggies and blending everything but it’s totally worth the time (plus there's always plenty of leftovers). 

1 pkg (93/7) ground turkey

4 sweet peppers (I mix red, orange and yellow)

1 ½ onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 jar of Bove’s Wine and Mushroom sauce (or whatever your favorite is)

Saute the peppers, onions and garlic in a large frying pan.   Remove from pan when they soften.  Brown the turkey in the same pan and remove the fat.  Add the onion and pepper mixture back in with the ground turkey and reheat everything.  Add the Bove’s sauce of your choice and heat again.  Cook some pasta and drain.  Add a little more Bove’s sauce to the pasta and serve everything with a little Parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!!!