Kitchen Escapades

tried a new recipe this weekend. it gets given the checkmark of acceptance - it will be repeated. this one was a Sausage and Beans recipe out of the Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. I'm loving this book! This recipe was reminiscent of Red beans and rice, but didn't have the cajun seasoning.

In unrelated news, the weather is fabulous. I can't believe it was snowing two days ago. today the high was about 65 degrees? I tried to take the dogs on a walk. It was a complete disaster. We walked out the door and nearly got attacked/tried to attack another dog. The entire walk they were pulling themselve. You would think that they had never been on a walk before. We had to stop and sit several times because they were panting so badly. In fact, Madison was at the point where she was panting and white tongue turned into slightly blue tongue. Apparently we can't handle walking any more.

For those parties interested in these types of things, the recipe follows--
Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh sausage such as turkey italian sausage or 1 lb smoked or full cooked sausage such as bratwurst, chicken apple sausage, or kielbaa
• 1/4 water if using fresh sausage
• 2 tbl olive oil
• 2 small bell pepers, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 medium ellow onion chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1- 15 ounce can white beans (great northern, butter beans, or cannellini) rinsed and drained
• 1- 15 ounce can red beans, such as small red or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, with thier juice
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• salt and frehly ground black pepper to taste

1. Lighly brown sausage in ungreased skillet over medium heat. If fresh add water, voer, and cook until cooked through. uncover and cook for a few minutes more.
2. Let cool and slice
3. Warm oil over medium heat. Add peppers, onion, and garlic. cook, stirring, until just tender.
4. Transfer to slow cooker adding sausage, beans, tomatoes, and wine. cover and cook on high 3-4 hours, or on low 6-8 hours. ear the end check consitence and cook with the lid off to thicken if desired. Season and serve.