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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Spicy Vegetable Stew (in the Crockpot)

I had intended to make a kielbasa stew with some spicy chicken sausages I had, but a closer look at the recipe revealed that I was missing a few ingredients. Given that this was on a day when we were stranded in our house thanks to another lovely St. Louis winter storm, heading to the store wasn't an option. Instead, I decided to get creative, and basically emptied my fridge into my crockpot. The result was a spicy soup/stew packed with vegetables. It really didn't need much additional flavoring because the spices from the sausage permeated the entire dish. If you want to use a milder sausage, you may want to add more basil, thyme, or garlic.

Missing a few ingredients? Just use what you have. Add potatoes, stir in spinach at the end, get creative! This is a forgiving dish that will lend itself to whatever you have on hand!


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Spicy Vegetable Stew in the Crockpot
*makes approximately 6 servings


Ingredients:
-1 package hot chicken sausage (I used Saag's Louisiana Hots), sliced
-6 cups broth (I used a combination of beef and chicken, because that's what I had on hand)
-2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
-3 stalks celery, chopped
-1 zucchini, chopped into small pieces
-1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
-1 large onion, chopped
-pepper, garlic powder, basil, and thyme--to taste

Directions:
1. Place sliced chicken sausage and chopped vegetables into a crockpot.
2. Pour in broth. Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder over the top, stir to mix. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours. Before serving, season with dried basil and thyme, if desired.