Hearty Sausage Stew

Hearty Sausage Stew
Simple & Delicious Jan/Feb 2010 Pg 27

Prep/Total time: 30 min

½ lb fresh kielbasa or Polish sausage links, cut into ½ inch slices
½ lb Italian sausage links, cut into ½ inch slices
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
3 ½ cups beef broth
1 can (14 ½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp. dried oregano
4 oz. uncooked spiral pasta

· In a large saucepan, cook sausages over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain, reserving drippings.
· In the drippings, sauté onion and pepper until crisp-tender. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, apple juice, parsley, garlic, basil, oregano and sausages. Bring to a boil; add pasta. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Mexican Cheese Corn Bread

1 pkg. 8 ½ oz corn bread/muffin mix (I used Jiffy)
1 tsp. dried minced onion
½ tsp ground cumin
2 eggs
1/3 cup 2% milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted, divided
¾ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

in a small bowl, combine the muffin mix, onion and cumin. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, mild and 1 Tbsp. butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in ½ cup cheese.

Transfer to a greased 8 in square baking dish. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese, bake 2-4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Three-Bean Taco Chili

Three-bean Taco Chili
Prep/Total time 30 minutes

2 lbs ground beef
2 cups water
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ½ oz) chili beans, undrained
1 can (15 ¼ oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14 ½ oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup chunky salsa
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (2 ¼ oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
in a dutch oven cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in everything but cheese. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Makes 9 servings

**You can freeze extra chili for up to 3 months. Then thaw in the fride heat in a saucepan and enjoy.

****Serve with mexican cheese corn bread.