Out With The Cold, Bring In The Stew! Super Simple Recipe 21

 

 

There’s no doubt the mercury has dropped here in the UK and I am making friends again with my slow-cooker, casserole dish and stew pot. I am also very pushed for time too – as I am sure most of you are when challenged with mid-week meals, day after day, and salads or cold dishes just aren’t cutting it.

During these times I not only rely upon my slow cooker to take the strain but also quite often opt for ready-chopped vegetables in a recipe. There’s little doubt that these are often more expensive than buying and prepping the individual components but the variety and convenience often means I think I have a winning short-cut time-saver!

The recipe featured today uses a selection of root vegetables in a stew pack that are easily and reasonably cheaply bought from most outlets (although you can prep 1 kg/2 lbs of your own if preferred) and when mixed with lean, low-fat sausages, tomatoes, herbs and seasonings (plus kale if you like a bit of greenery) make a great Super Simple recipe or meal idea.

I like to serve with just a spoonful of mash (ordinary, cauliflower or bean) or jacket potatoes, but you can opt for pasta, rice or another grain if preferred. 

 

 

OUT WITH THE COLD AND BRING IN THE STEW (SLOW-COOKER RECIPE)

Ingredients

METRIC/US

low-fat cooking spray or mist

8 extra-lean, low-fat chipolata sausages (vegetarian if liked) – I used Heck Chicken Italia 

1 kg/2 lb pack ready-prepared root vegetable stew pack

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp mixed dried herbs

400 ml/1¾ cups hot vegetable stock/bouillon

400 g/14 oz can or carton thick cut chopped tomatoes

150 g/5 oz whole cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and freshly ground black pepper

handful of fresh chopped kale (optional)

 

Method

1.  Generously spritz a frying pan with slow-fat cooking spray or mist. Heat, add the sausages and brown quickly on all sides. Transfer to a slow cooker.
2.  Add the stew pack, paprika, herbs, stock/bouillon, all tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste, mixing well. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
3.  If using the kale then add about 10 minutes before serving.
4.  Serve hot – leftovers can be frozen.

 

SERVES 4

WLS PORTION: ½

V suitable for Vegetarians (if using veggie sausages)

 

CALORIES PER PORTION (WITH KALE): 241

PROTEIN: 23.9 g

CARBOHYDRATE: 24.6 g

FAT: 3.9 g

 

Image courtesy of asda.com