Easy Italian Stew

It is getting cold and fall is here so soups and stews sound delicious. Sometimes I just want something easy not a lot of chopping and prep time and this recipe is just the answer. It has great flavor.

Browned and crumbled 2 Mild Italian Sausages (if you want it more meaty add more sausage but there is so many good things in this I didn't need more then 2 sausages)
1 can (14-15 oz)chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) white beans - drained and rinsed
1 can (14-15 oz)diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 package of stir fry peppers and onions
1/2 package of frozen green beans
basil to taste
1 cup cooked elbow noodles

I threw everything except the elbow noodles into the crock and cooked on low for 6 hours. The last 5 minutes I added the cooked elbow noodles and then served in bowls with some grated Parmesan cheese on top.

This could easily be done on the stovetop too but I love my crockpot.

Ham and Bean Soup

It has been snowing here all weekend so we wanted something warm and so I took the left over ham from Christmas out of the freezer last night and soaked beans so that I could make this....













The Recipe:
1 lb. 15 bean soup package
Large hambone (I didn't have one so I just used their packet they insert with the bag of beans that gives it that flavor)
2 1/2 to 3 cups diced ham
1 med. onion, chopped
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 bay leaf
Pepper to taste
1 (16 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups water

Soak beans overnight, wash, drain. Add all above ingredients into a crockpot. Start on high for 1 hour and then 3 hours on low until beans are well done.


Notes: Sometimes I add carrots but I didn't have any (grocery shopping tomorrow) but I am sure there could be a lot of things you could do with this soup.

Chili and Homemade Bread

We have been out of town for 2 weeks and leave again on Tuesday. The fall air - crisp and cool inspired Michael to request chili and homemade bread for dinner on today...

Chili with a little sour cream and cheddar cheese on it...












2 round loaves of homemade bread....














Warm bread with butter smeared on them....















The chili was super easy...

2 cans of chili beans
2 cans of kidney beans
1 small onion finely chopped
1 lb ground browned meat (I use turkey)
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
pepper to season

All thrown in the crockpot and cooked for 5 hours

I didn't use any other seasonings and we both agreed this was the best chili I have made because neither of us needed a tums after! It really did have good flavor for not adding anything else to it. I know the can of chili beans had chili seasoning in it and it was just enough for us. The flavor was really good.