Sausage, Bean & Spinach Stew

A hearty slow-cooker stew that is not chili.

With the temperature at -20˚ below in downtown Auburn this morning. Joan decided to go with this old favorite for dinner this evening. Plus this recipe should warm our hearts on this Valentine's day 2016.

Ingredients:

1    lb. dried 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 of garlic
8     sprigs fresh thyme
1    bay leaf
    Parmesan rind (optional)
1    lb. sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casing removed,
        shaped into 1/2-inch meatballs
1     bunch spinach, trimmed
    Juice of 1/2 lemon
    Crusty bread, for serving

Directions:

1. 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 beams are nearly tender, about 3 1/2 hours.
2. Place sausage meatballs on top of beans. Cover, cook until the meatballs are no longer pink in the center, about 25 minutes.
3. Discard the thyme sprigs, bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Stir in spinach, thencover and let stand until the spinach wilts, 10 minutes.
4. Stir in lemon juice, season. Serve with crusty bread.

Serves     - 8 to 10
Prep         - 30 min.
Slow-Cook - 4 HR

Joan found this recipe the January/February issue of EveryDay with Rachel Ray. Joan used crusty rolls from BJ’s as a substitute for bread.