AngelFish’s Chicken Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Stew

AngelFish’s Chicken Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Stew

Nutrition facts for 8 bowls

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 pound ground Italian seasoned chicken sausage

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 green bell pepper, deveined, deseeded, and chopped

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, do not drain

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, blended smooth

1 t dried oregano

1 t Italian seasoning

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 t salt

1/4 t ground black pepper

2 (15 oz) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup white wine

10 ounces lacinato kale, rinsed and torn

Crazypotato98’s Bean and Veggie Chili

Easy, delicious, and very nutritious!

Nutrition facts for eight large servings were designed at Calorie Count!

Crazypotato98’s Bean and Veggie Chili

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon pure olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped

2 chili peppers, chopped - your choice of variety, hot or mild

1 cup zucchini, shredded

½ cup carrot, shredded

8 oz mushrooms, finely chopped – your choice of type

2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef, lean

2 T chili powder blend – your favorite brand

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup cilantro or parsley (or both), rinsed and chopped

3 (15 oz) cans of your favorite beans, rinsed and drained – good choices: pinto, cannellini, great northern, and black beans – but any type will be just fine.

3 cups vegetable stock, low salt

Directions:

Heat oil over medium heat in large saucepan and add onion, red pepper, chilis and sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir in the shredded carrot and zucchini, sauté for another three minutes,

Add turkey, cumin and chili powder, cook, stirring til incorporated over med-high heat til turkey is browned.

Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are soft and have given up their liquid. If you used a type that holds a great deal of liquid, just reduce the stock a bit later. Don’t drain that lovely vitamin rich mushroom juice!

Stir in the flour and then the tomato paste.

Add cilantro, beans, and enough stock to get the consistency you prefer. 

Simmer 20 minutes or so, taste, and adjust the seasonings. 

Notes:

Like it hotter? Add Tabasco or use hot chilis.

Like it mild? Reduce the chili powder to 1 tablespoon and add more if needed when you adjust the seasonings.

Other seasonings you may like in this: basil, smoky paprika, black pepper, and white pepper

Used to salt? Wait til it's cooked and decide how much to add, better still - get used to food without the salt! After a while you will not miss it.

Love beans? Add more! 

Poetnw’s Beef Yam Kidney Bean Stew

You don't have to go shopping to make a one-pot stew. Poetnw just took advantage of the things she happened to have on hand and the result was pure deliciousness. Included in the directions are the optional just because she had it on hand ingredients. The nutrition facts were created at Calorie Count.

Poetnw’s Beef Yam Kidney Bean Stew

Ingredients:

1 pound cubed stew beef 

1 onion, sliced

1 yam, cubed

2 cups sliced cabbage

Left over hot pickle juice from a recently emptied jar

3 cubes beef bullion

other seasonings of your choice

1 recipe of Betty Crocker's dumplings (white flour changed to wheat)

Directions:

Cube the beef and put it in a pot with a little water - just a couple cups will do to start. Simmer covered for about an hour. Add the onions, and yam. Cover and allow to simmer a little more until the veggies are tender. Add the cabbage, a good slurp of pickle juice, beef bullion cubes. Add a little water if the concoction is getting too dry. Simmer covered about 15 minutes. Taste, and season as you wish - black pepper or thyme are good choices.

Mix the dumpling mixture and plop by large spoonfuls on top of the simmering stew. Cook 10 minutes with the lid off. Then cover and cook another 10 minutes or until the dumplings are done - touch the top and if they feel firm, call the kids in for dinner and enjoy.

Options:

Add any veggies you have that need to be used up soon!

Michael's Kitchen Sink Red Chile Chicken Stew

A nice spicy dish! If you are not fond of hot spices, cut back on the cayenne, use mild or medium enchilada sauce, and use a mild version of chile powder. If you are not afraid of the heat, use the hot stuff!

The nutrition facts (set to the high end of all ranges) can be found at Calorie Count!

Kitchen Sink Red Chile Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

1 - 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 or 3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and cubed but not peeled

1 medium large onion, chopped

2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced

2 or 3 large yellow squash, coarsely diced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 cup leftover corn bread

(1) 14-oz. cans of sweet corn, drained

(1) 16 oz. cans red enchilada sauce (strongly rec: Hatch medium hot)

(2) 16 oz. cans water

1  small can tomato paste

2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon powder

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 tsp. dried celery seed

1/4 tsp. oregano powder

1/4 cup dried parsley leaves

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp. onion salt

1 Tbsp. dried cilantro

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp. NM red chile powder (you choose how hot)

Directions:

In a large stew pot, sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is just transparent.  Add the chile sauce and water.  Heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the chicken and potatoes and bring back to a boil.

Add all the other ingredients except the yellow squash.  Cover and simmer for a half hour or so, or until the potatoes are just slightly undercooked, stirring the mix frequently to keep it from sticking.

A few minutes before serving or refrigerating, turn the heat down to low and add the diced squash.  Let the stew simmer on low for 10 or 15 more minutes to permit the squash to cook in the “leftover” heat.  Serve with warm tortillas!

Bonnie's Corned Beef and Cabbage

We also called this Mom's New England Boiled Dinner and we made it to feed a very large crowd! Choose ingredient quantities to make it the right size for your family.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients:

One very large pot with lid

1 flat cut corned beef (they come with a packet of spices, *if your corned beef does not include the spices, mix up the following:

*Pickling spice: 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, 2 tablespoons mustard seeds, 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 2 tablespoons hot red-pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons allspice berries, 1 tablespoon ground mace, 2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces, 2 to 4 bay leaves, crumbled, 2 tablespoons whole cloves, 1 tablespoon ground ginger

4 Potatoes, peeled and cut into large hunks so they don’t dissolve if you boil them a bit too long.

2 heads of cabbage – either green or white, cut into quarters (two quarters per guest)

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths – to make sure there are leftovers you may want to use more carrots, two per guest.

Directions:

Cut off excess fat from the corned beef, cover with water completely, add spices, bring to boil, reduce to; a simmer, cover and cook as per directions on package.  The longer you cook the more tender it is.

One hour before the corned beef is done, add the potatoes to the pot – place them right on top of the beef.

Half an hour before beef is finished add the carrots to the pot.

15 minutes it is finished add the cabbage to the top of the pot.

Drain it all. Slice the corned beef and platter it with the veggies.

Extra Notes:

We serve Irish soda bread, and three sides for the meet...a mustard/horseradish mix, a yogurt and dill mix, and yogurt and horseradish (the dill one turns green in the food processor and is very pretty on the table).

Table settings have been pots of clover, tall stems of bells of Ireland - all lovely and springy.

Sharpshootinstar's Irish Lamb Stew

This terrific Irish lamb stew could easily be made with beef, instead.

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Irish Lamb Stew

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless lamb, cut into pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 large parsnip, chopped

3 large potatoes, peeled & quartered

1/2 tsp salt and black pepper to taste

4 cups water or beef stock

Directions:

Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot or dutch oven.  Add lamb to brown.  Season with the salt and pepper, then add the veggies and the four cups of liquid. Stir, cover, and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for at least one hour. 

I like to let it go for two or more.  It seems it just gets more delicious as it continues to cook. :D  Serves 6-8.

Sidenote: 

a half cup of barley is a delicious addition to this stew.  Or serve it with irish flatbread :D

Sharpshootinstar’s Butternut Squash Beef Stew

This recipe came about by accident. If you are a squash fan you will love it. Can be made with chicken or pork and easily transitions to a curry with the addition of a teaspoon or two of curry powder. Make with light coconut milk for a skinny version.

The nutrition facts are at Calorie Count!

Butternut Squash Beef Stew

Ingredients:

4 cups Squash Butternut

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup onion chopped

1 cup celery chopped

1 lb ground beef

Directions:

Cook one pound of lean ground beef, drain and set aside (you can use chicken or pork, or leave the meat out entirely if you like). Peel and chop one large butternut squash. You should have approx. four cups of cubed squash. 

Next chop one large onion, and four to six stalks of celery. You want about one cup of each. You may also add chopped carrots if you like. 

Put the vegetables and beef into your slowcooker, and pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock. As this cooks down, it will thicken. You may want to add more stock or water, depending on how thick you like it. 

Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 7-9. 

I recommend adding a few teaspoons of smoked paprika and a dash or two of cayenne. Or add your favorite curry spice blend.

Janice's Italian Beef Stew

The nutrition facts for this comforting fall and winter stew can be found at Calorie Count!

Italian Beef Stew

Ingredients:

(Makes 8 servings)

3 pounds sirloin, cubed

5  tomatoes, squished

1 medium  onion, chopped

2 c  carrots, cubed

3 medium  red potatoes, cubed

½ c  celery, sliced

2 t  basil

1 t  oregano

½ t  black pepper

1 T  olive oil
1 bay leaf

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Trim all visible fat from the sirloin and cube, place in oven suitable pot with an oven proof lid. You could brown the meat, but I usually don’t.

Squish and add the tomatoes. You can use 1 or two cans of crushed tomatoes if you like, but Italians just squish those tomatoes up by hand! The number is an estimate; you want to have just enough liquid to come up about 2/3 of the way up to the top of the ingredients – the beef will add its own liquid to the mix.

Chop the onion, carrots, potatoes (peeling is optional), and celery and stir into the pot.

Add the spices and stir.

Add the olive oil (this is replacing some of the fat you trimmed off and it’s much better for you than the animal fat) and stir gently. Insert a bay leaf into the center.

Cover and cook in the preheated oven for at least 2 1/2 hours. Stir after 1 1/2 hours. Stir and taste after 2 hours, test to see if the veggies are cooking well, and adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Mushroom Bourguignon

Ok, I made this dish after first thinking, hmmmm, I really would love some Beef Bourguignon...then I realized, hey, that's a very heavy meat centric meal and I am not one that eats low carb high protein, so maybe I could bourguignon something else. I waffled and considered. Then I wrote the stew blog for Calorie Count and needed a picture to post with it. A search brought up the most delectable looking stew ever. Turned out, it was a mushroom stew. Win! Now, mushroom bourguignon is a much done before me dish, although I had never heard of it before. Never one to just follow a recipe, I took the idea and came up with my own version. The nutrition facts are here, the serving size in the nutrition facts is about 8 oz which is meant to be a single bowl served up as stew with a nice biscuit or two. If you use it as a garnish for steak or a topping for mashed potatoes your serving will be smaller and lower in calorie! On the other hand, just go ahead and eat a bowl cuz it's good.

Mushroom Bourguignon

Ingredients:

1 T grapeseed oil
3 pounds fresh mushrooms – assorted types
1 cup chopped onion
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
2 cups good Burgundy wine
1 1/2 t thyme
¼ t fresh cracked black pepper or to taste
2 generous teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions with some notes on what I did:

Clean, stem, and cut the mushrooms into large chunks.

Heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat in a large pan. When the pan is very hot, add the mushrooms and onions. Sear quickly removing as they turn a gorgeous brown. To properly caramelize them and enrich the flavor of the bourguignon, saute about 25 minutes. Do not over stir or they will not brown. Place the pretty brown things in a bowl.

In a large heavy saucepan, place the butter and pure olive oil and heat over medium. Saute the carrot until it begins to soften, add the garlic and saute for another couple minutes. Add the flour and stir quickly to incorporate.

Add mushroom onion mixture and stir. Add wine, broth, carrot mixture, all seasonings, and the Worcestershire sauce, stir until well mixed, and bring to a simmer.

Cook over low heat until mushrooms are tender and sauce thickens and takes on a rich dark color. Stir occasionally for about 40 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings. I kept mine simple so the flavor of the mushrooms stayed prominent. You may prefer a more complex dish, if so, get creative with the flavors you love.

Stir in parsley and serve.

Notes on the great flexibility of this recipe:

Great over egg noodles, rice, mashed potatoes, on top of slices of baguette toasty with melted Swiss cheese, in a tortilla, or simply speared with each piece of a very good steak. Another wonderful idea for this is to add beef broth to thin it a bit and add seared chunks of lamb to make a lamb stew.

If you don't cook with wine, just use beef broth! If you are a vegetarian, use veggie broth.

If you don't cook with butter, use just the pure olive oil in the second saute.

Want the complete bourguignon experience? Skip the chopped onion and dump in some frozen or fresh pearl onions when you add the wine and seasonings.

Crazypotato98's Crock Pot Tex Mex Chicken and Beans

Here is a delicious crock pot recipe that's super-easy and versatile. The original recipe was intended to be a stew, but Crazypotato98 thinks it that it is far too thick to be a stew and works great as a tostada topping, tortilla filling, or even on top of a piece of whole-wheat toast. Adjust the liquids if you want it to remain a stew!

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count! This recipe gets an A- at Calorie Count and provides a nice distribution between fat, protein and carbs at only 386 calories a serving! Click the link below the picture to find out what The World's Healthiest Foods thinks of this little bean!

Tex Mex Chicken and Beans

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 jar (11 oz) mild or medium salsa
2 tbsp chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (for serving)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (for serving)

Directions: 

Stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water in slow cooker. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours (do not open lid or stir).

Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

*notes: Crazypotato98 added one more cup of water the following evening (cooked it the night before), let it cook on low a bit longer, and used it as topping for baked tostada shells. Delicious!