The cold days of winter call for warm and hearty soups (or stews) to help keep you feeling warm and toasty to beat the winter chill. In a recent issue of Rachael Ray Magazine I came across one such soup that had the added bonus of being made in a slow cooker. A kitchen item I do enjoy using but don’t use often enough.
This stew – a Sausage, Bean & Spinach Stew – was a cinch to make and was ready in about four hours. I began by adding white beans, chopped onions, carrots & celery, garlic, bay leaves and chicken broth to my slow cooker and cooking it on high heat for three and a half hours. I then added sausage meatballs and let them cook in the soup for about twenty-five minutes. Finally, I added in the spinach for the final ten minutes.
Final verdict… The stew was delicious. I’ll definitely be it making again. But, I think next time I’ll cook the meatballs a little before adding them to the soup.
Since I had my slow cooker out from obscurity I figured I would finally try making a dessert in it – a Triple Chocolate Brownie recipe I came across from Martha Stewart.
To begin I whisked together my dry ingredients: flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
To get started on my wet ingredients I melted butter and bittersweet chocolate together.
After giving it a few good stirs I added in sugar and eggs.
I then folded it into the dry mixture along with walnuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
I then poured it into my slow cooker, which I sprayed with cooking spray and lined the bottom of with parchment paper.
I cooked it on low for four hours, the final half hour uncovered.
After letting it cool in the insert for two hours I flipped out the brownies to sadly discover that the edges were quite burnt and definitely not edible.
All was not lost though… After some clever cutting I was left with six, albeit irregularly shaped, brownies that were quite tasty and definitely not lacking in chocolate flavor.
Baking in a slow cooker… definitely not my first choice for delicious desserts, but, I wouldn’t rule out trying it again, just not brownies though!
Sausage, Bean & Spinach Stew
Ingredients
1 pound dried large white beans, such as great northern, rinsed and picked through
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 sprigs fresh thyme*
1 bay leaf**
Parmesan rind (optional)*
1 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed, shaped into 1/2-inch meatballs
1 bunch spinach, trimmed
Juice of 1/2 lemon*
Crusty bread, for serving
Directions
In a large slow cooker, stir together the beans, chicken broth, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and Parmesan rind, if using. Cover and cook on high heat until the beans are nearly tender, about 3 1/2 hours.
Place the sausage meatballs on top of the beans. Cover; cook until the meatballs are no longer pink in the center, about 25 minutes.
Discard the thyme sprigs, bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Stir in the spinach, then cover and let stand until the spinach wilts, 10 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice; season. Serve with crusty bread.
*I omitted these ingredients when I made my soup
**I added in two bay leaves as opposed to just one
Slow-Cooker Triple Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup walnut halves, coarsely chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 ounces)
Directions
Lightly coat a 5-quart slow-cooker insert with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper and lightly coat with spray. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
Place butter and chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until chocolate is melted. Add sugar; stir to combine. Stir in eggs. Add flour mixture, walnuts, and chocolate chips and stir just until moistened (do not overmix). Transfer to slow cooker and smooth top.
Cover and cook on low, 3 1/2 hours. Uncover and cook 30 minutes. Remove insert from slow cooker and run a knife around edge to loosen brownies. Let cool completely in insert on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Turn out onto a work surface and cut into 14 brownies.
Bead Yarn & Spatula 