What's for Dinner? Sausage, White Bean and Kale Stew!

Hello!! Yes, it had been ages since I last posted. Between caring for my 2 small boys, running a small business and keeping up with household stuff, I have little time to cook very interesting meals anymore, let alone blog about them. I do get a nice meal in every now and then that is blogworthy, and have photos to prove it, but then never get around to writing the post. Maybe someday I will catch up with all the backlog!

This recipe came from my sister-in-law, Lauren. We swap recipes a lot and this one is a keeper. It is really healthy and really easy, which is what I primarily look for now days. Hopefully this warm, hearty meal will officially chase the cold weather out of here and finally welcome Spring! Cheers!

Chicken Sausage, White Bean and Kale Stew

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 16-20 oz. pre-cooked chicken sausage links, sliced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon water
• Pinch of chili flakes
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped and minced
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 bunch or bag of kale, thoroughly washed and stems and ribs removed, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2-3 cups chicken stock
• 2 16-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Heat a medium skillet or Dutch oven with olive oil. Brown sausage over high heat until golden. Remove the meat from the pan. While the pan is still warm, sauté onion and garlic in the sausage renderings with water (to prevent them from getting too dark). Once the onions become translucent, add chili flakes, rosemary, thyme and kale. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the kale begins to wilt. Add 2 cups chicken stock, reserved sausage and white beans. Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours, or until the kale has cooked down and is tender, and the liquid has reduced (add more liquid during cooking as needed). Adjust seasoning, serve and enjoy!

What's for Dinner? Spanish Fideuà (aka Noodle Paella)!

I love paella.  It has everything good...rice, seafood, sausage!  When we were in Barcelona, I remember seeing this thing called Fideua on the menu...it was actually a noodle version of paella--even better!  I really wanted to try it, but we ran out of time before I got a chance. Today as I was thinking about what to make for dinner, I remembered I had some fideos (which is just the Spanish word for noodles) that I bought at the Mexican mart last time I went.  They are actually just dried vermicelli noodles, cut into about 1-inch pieces.  I thought it may be a little quicker than the rice version and I surprisingly had everything else to do the (quick version) of the recipe.  It was awesome and super fast to make.  All the good flavor of paella, without the sweating over the hot pan while the rice slowly cooks!  It would be great with even more seafood (i.e. mussels, scallops, etc.)...I just used shrimp because that is what I had!  And I used lowfat turkey smoked sausage, trying to keep it a little lighter, but would also be excellent with Spanish chorizo, as the traditional dish calls for.  Give it a try!!  Enjoy.

Spanish Fideua (aka Noodle Paella)
Serves 4-6

• 2 TBSP olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb smoked sausage or Spanish chorizo, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 7-8 oz fideos (don't worry, if you can't find these, just cut dry angel hair or vermicelli in 1-inch pieces!)
• 1, 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juice (I use good, San Marzano tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2-4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika (this is NOT regular paprika)
• 1 large pinch saffron threads
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP oil until hot.  Saute onion until just soft.  Add garlic and sausage and saute until sausage is browned (the sausage should be pre-cooked, so you are just browning, not cooking).  Once done, scrape into bowl.  In same skillet, heat the remaining oil.  Add in dry pasta and saute until pasta starts getting a nice golden-brown color.  Once that happens, add in tomatoes, sausage/onion mixture, wine, 2 cups chicken broth, paprika and saffron.  Stir well to combine and reduce heat to a low simmer.  Let it sit now, without stirring, until the noodles look like they have absorbed most of the liquid.  Then, scrape the bottom and add in another cup of broth.  Repeat.  At the end of this, if the noodles are almost tender, add in peas and shrimp and a little more broth.  Let simmer until both shrimp and noodles are cooked and the rest of the broth is mostly absorbed (don't let the noodles cook too long...you don't want them to get mushy...you have to keep an eye on it and judge how much time you need).  Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!

Download PDF of Recipe