Tuesday, September 18, 2012

SAUSAGE WHITE BEAN AND KALE SLOW COOKER RECIPE

If you'd like, you can prep it the night before.  Here I prepped it all the night before to make it easy to throw together before leaving for work.


1 lb white beans
1 lb sausage, diced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
5 whole sprigs thyme
2 small white onions, diced
1 glove garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups torn/chopped kale
2 TBSP cider vinegar
salt/pepper to taste




The kale can be torn by hand or chopped into small bits, just be sure and remove any hard stems or woody pieces. Put about 2 cups aside in fridge until slow cooker is done.


 



Place beans, sausage, thyme, celery, onion, garlic, and seasonings in crock pot.


Add the chicken broth and put the lid on.  Set your crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high and forget about it.  









It should look like this after you take the lid off later when the cooking time is done.  








About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, remove the lid, pour in your kale pieces (no worries, it will cook down), pour the cider vinegar over the top, and stir.  Put the lid on and let it go for about 30 more minutes.

How yummy is this?
Ladle it into bowls, and serve with a nice crusty piece of bread.  It's so satisfying and delicious.  A great use for kale
(which seems to grow like a weed down here when it's in season).

Enjoy!

25 comments:

  1. Man, this looks good! And I've just been searching for kale recipes too, so thanks for posting this one! Will surely try it.

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    1. Oh it's yummy! I do hope you'll try it. We love it and it's so easy.

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  2. that looks delicious! and because i love kale so much, i would add 6 cups - bahahahahah! kale is full of nutrition and with the beans, makes a perfectly rounded meal. yummeh! i'm hungry now and i just ate. thanks for sharing the recipe 1st Man!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. You could totally add six cups, absolutely. It cooks down and besides, it's good for you and all recipes are about making them your own. Hope you enjoy, you've made me hungry MANY times on your blog. I thought I'd return the favor, ha.

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  3. I love my crock pot (slow cooker as we call it) and am always looking for new recipes for it. This looks a bit like what I call cassoulet and it is one of my favourites, but I have never tried making it. Will definitely give it a go, good old autumn/winter food.

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    1. YES!! Please try it it's very good. It's similar to a cassoulet, I've had that before. This is TOO easy, you can't do wrong. And definitely a great food this time of year.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your recipe. We have lots of Russian kale coming on and Tramp 1 really likes it. I prefer the swiss chard. Maybe the kale will taste better to me in your recipe!

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    1. Maybe it's that I don't dislike kale but I really don't notice a difference in taste. You could totally put in swiss chard. Enjoy!!

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  5. Yum except my husband is no fan of kale. Would spinach work? And it is that time to get the crock pot out again.

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    1. Yes, spinach would be perfect. Maybe not let it go for 30 minutes, it cooks pretty quickly in hot liquid and when you add this at the end of cooking it is very hot and ready to eat except for that addition. Hope you enjoy it!

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  6. Oh my heavens, that looks wondeful. We're already getting a chill in the air here (north!) and this would be perfect. Thank you so much for sharing! Love your blog by the way, it's one of the first things i read each day -- Jenn

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    1. Ah to have chill in the air here, ha. thank you for the very sweet words, it lifts my heart to know people enjoy what we're doing. Thank you so much.

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  7. I make something similar - it's a favorite here, but we use kielbasa [which looks a lot like your sausage], cabbage instead of kale - because I always have cabbage in the house and fresh minced ginger along with the spices/veggies/beans you have. You can also substitute veggie broth or use half of each if you don't have enough chicken broth. A squeeze of lemon juice upon serving with homemade croutons.

    I will give those that haven't eaten your soup a double thumbs up to go and try it - it really IS spectacular. Hits the spot.

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    1. PS - I don't use thyme tho'. Never have any. It really is a forgiving soup for what you have on hand, isn't it?

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    2. Yum, that sounds good too. I LOVE kielbasa too. And having cabbage sounds awesome. I will definitely have to try that. Yes, this is a VERY forgiving dish and very adaptable. And yes, if you don't have thyme (ha no pun intended) use your favorite. I'm so going to try the cabbage and ginger next time. Thanks! :-)

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    3. Reading through Frugal Living UK's blog and came across the link to this. So glad that cooler weather is arriving and have been looking forward to using the slow cooker for lots of stews and soups again. Do you mind me asking what kind of sausage you used? I'll probably just end up getting some Mettwurst, as that's what I seem to end up putting in everything anyway. Well, once you've found something you like, why mess with it? :) Love the idea of adding minced ginger, too - perfect for the winter.

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    4. YAY! Welcome! We used for this a local (Texas) pork and garlic blend. You can use anything. that works, absolutely. Thank you for stopping by and your kind words, I hope you'll stop back soon!! Dan is awesome by the way, love his blog.

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  8. yummmm! I am so hungry right now. I bet that is delicious--even more so with a hunk of fresh baked bread

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    1. Oh, the fresh baked bread definitely hit the spot. Warm and comforty (not an actual word, lol).

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  9. That looks SO good! And it's just starting to be soup weather around here in North Ga. And I have kale! I love it. But yours looks more like collard greens. My kale looks more like turnip greens except smooth leaves, not prickly. But I love all kinds of greens anyway. Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. Definitely kale but I'm not sure what variety. 2nd Family (at the other end of our property) gave it to us when they had an over abundance. Greens are good aren't they? Mmmm...now I'm hungry, ha. Thanks for stopping by, come back soon!!

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  10. I will definitely be giving this a try with cooler weather right around the bend! Thanks for sharing it!

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    1. I hope you all like it. It's good, especially in the cooler weather. I hope it's around the bend for us too, ha.

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