Slow Cooker Chickpea Stew Recipe with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Pesto

Chickpeas, Turkey Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Pesto make a delicious slow cooker stew!

When I first started blogging I probably thought everyone loved Chickpeas (also called Garbanzo Beans) as much as I do, but now I realize some of you aren't all that enthused about these ultra-nutritious beans.  If you're one of those people who's not especially a chickpea fan, I hope you'll trust me when I  promise that this Slow Cooker Chickpea Stew with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Pesto is truly amazing.  Hanging out in the slow cooker with the spicy turkey Italian sausage and tomatoes makes the chickpeas creamy and full of flavor.  And the seasonings in this recipe are perfect, with the addition of a small amount of the pesto at the end a flavor-boosting way to finish the dish.  If you try it I bet you will like it, but if I can't convince you that this combination with chickpeas is really, really good, I hope you'll try this recipe with another type of beans!

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Ten Easy and Amazing Vegetarian Recipes Using Butternut Squash

Here are Ten Easy and Amazing Vegetarian Recipes Using Butternut Squash, and many are vegan!

My name is Kalyn and I am a butternut squash addict!  I inherited this butternut squash infatuation from my Grandma Denny; every fall Grandma would hack apart giant butternut squashes from her garden, scrape out the seeds, and wrap pieces in foil and bake them in the oven.  When it was done we'd eat the squash mashed up with lots of butter, salt, and pepper.  Now I'm more likely to cut the squash in cubes and roast it with olive oil, but pretty much any way you cook it, I love the savory flavor of butternut squash.  Whether you're already a confirmed fan of this most popular of winter squashes or trying it for the first time, you can't go wrong with one of these Ten Easy and Amazing Vegetarian Recipes Using Butternut Squash.  (And if you have more good recipe ideas for butternut, let us know about them in the comments.)

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Recipe for Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Brown Rice, Mushrooms, and Feta

You won't miss the meat in these Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Brown Rice, Mushrooms, and Feta!

Recently on the Kalyn's Kitchen Facebook page a reader asked whether I had a stuffed pepper recipe that was vegetarian.  That inquiry started the idea of vegetarian stuffed peppers swirling around in my mind, and this week when I got together with Jake for a day of cooking, we came up with these Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Brown Rice, Mushrooms, and Feta. The peppers are stuffed with a mixture of sauteed onion, chopped peppers and chopped mushrooms that's seasoned with Greek Seasoning and then combined with crumbled Feta.  We loved everything about this recipe, and if  you can't eat six peppers at once, take some out of the oven a little sooner and freeze for a quick dinner later.

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Slow Cooker Recipe for Mediterranean Beef Stew with Rosemary and Balsamic Vinegar

A tummy-warming beef stew for the adults to eat while kids are eating candy!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this recipe is one I'd love to make on the weekend so I'd have leftovers to eat for lunch of a quick dinner during the week.  If you're not a slow cooker fan, there are directions at the end for making this on the stove.)

On Halloween night you know the kids aren't going to want to eat anything but candy, so why not make this slow cooker beef stew with lots of adult flavors to keep the grown-ups happy?  You can start this mid morning and by dinner time it will be ready to go.  If you'll be gone all day, just do the advance prep the night before, refrigerate the ingredients in a plastic container, and put the cold ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook all day while you're out.  I'd love this with a dollop of sour cream on top, but no matter how you eat it, this stew is loaded with flavor.  (There are also stove-top instructions if you don't have a slow cooker.)

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Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Arugula

Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Arugula is a quick but amazing dinner with some of my favorite flavors.

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step instructions, October 2013.)  There's nothing I like much more than Italian Sausage, unless it's arugula, so a dish that combines them has to be one of my personal favorites. And did I mention there's garlic, a touch of lemon, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese?  Arugula is definitely an acquired taste, but I love the peppery flavor of the greens that go so nicely with the spicy Italian sausage, lemon, and Parmesan.  I made this recently with Jake to update the photos, and we gobbled it up, even though we'd already tested several other recipes that day and weren't really hungry.   (It's a tough job, but someone has got to try out the recipes!)  Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Frittata Recipe with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Red Pepper, and Feta

If you haven't cooked eggs in the slow cooker, this Slow Cooker Frittata with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Red Pepper, and Feta might convince you to try it!

I admit I was a little skeptical the first time I tried cooking eggs in the slow cooker.  But that experiment was such a success, and it taught me two things about slow-cooked eggs.  First, the finished dish will be a little softer than something similar that's cooked using higher heat on the stove (which actually makes it perfect to store in the fridge and reheat later.)  And second, the long slow cooking time infuses the eggs with the flavors from the other ingredients in a way that produces delightful results.  This Slow Cooker Frittata with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Red Pepper, and Feta would be a lovely dish to put in the slow cooker for a mid-day brunch, and I think it would be just as good for a light dinner. 

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Recipe for Spicy Slow Cooker Soup with Ground Turkey, Pinto Beans, Red Bell Pepper, and Green Chiles

A spicy slow cooker soup, with Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce adding some heat.

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this Spicy Slow Cooker Soup with Ground Turkey, Pinto Beans, Red Bell Pepper, and Green Chiles is a tummy-warming soup that includes green enchilada sauce to add lots of flavor.  I love this sprinkled with grated cheese, enjoy!)

Ever since I made the Layered Mexican Casserole with Chicken and Green Chiles I find myself grabbing a few cans of Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce whenever I'm at the grocery store.  There are other good brands of green chile enchilada sauce, but Hatch brand seems perfect to my tastebuds, and when I wanted to spice up this spicy ground turkey and pinto bean slow cooker soup the Hatch enchilada sauce plus a can of diced green chiles gave me just the right amount of heat.  I loved the soup with a little grated cheese sprinkled on top, and for those who'd like even more heat, Green Tabasco Sauce is the perfect thing to add to your soup at the table.

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