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.