I am so excited to have my good friend Pam from one of my favorite blogs, The Meltaways guest posting for me today. When I sent out a call for some help with guest posting she was definitely up for the challenge and within only about 2 hours had her completed post and these fantastic photos to me. She is amazing. Thank you so much for hanging out on my blog today Pam and for helping me out!
Take it away!
Hi everyone! I am Pam, and I blog over at The Meltaways, where I share healthy recipes and
tidbits of my family, from homeschooling my five year old son to homemaking tips. When I
heard that Nicole needed some help with some posts, I thought I’d offer, and I’m honored that
she accepted. Nicole is the kind of lady that I wish lived next door to me, because I know we’d be
great friends – she’s so kind and caring, not to mention a great wife and Mom! I have felt blessed
to have met and gotten to know her online, and am proud to call her my friend.
With the weather turning cooler, I wanted to offer up a delicious and hearty stew that comes
together in no time flat. I bought a fennel bulb a while back without a clue as to what to do with
it.
The purchase brought be back to a summer in my early twenties when I was still living at home
and had just started working at a plant nursery. I was all gung ho and planted a garden in the
back yard, including a bronze fennel plant. I knew nothing about it, including the fact that it
would grow to about 8 feet tall by the end of the summer. I was so proud of it. Mom was another
story – all she wanted was for me to chop it down – it was too big – she hated that you could see it
towering over the fence – she was afraid that someone would think it was a weed! I let it bloom
and it went to seed, and I never used a sprig of it. Its humorous that I turned around and bought
one that wasn’t even one tenth of the size and was afraid to waste it.
I kept the bulb in the fridge for quite some time and was getting nervous about it turning on me,
so I made a plan of attack. With some twitter brainstorming amongst a few of my friends, this
stew was born.
It ended up delicious…by using chicken Italian sausage, it made it light, yet still rich and
satisfying. I had never used fennel like that before, and was amazed at the fresh flavor it gave the
stew.
So simple, yet so amazing. When I think of stew, I typically think of a wintertime dish, but this
one was so full of brightness and freshness that you could eat it year round.
An optional add in idea – add a few tablespoons of caramelized onions to each bowlful to add an
extra layer of richness to an already delicious stew. I did this for the portions I put in husband’s
lunch to help stretch it, and he thought it was outstanding.
What more could you ask from a meal – its packed full of nutrients, full of flavor, low in fat and
costs a pittance a serving – a total winner! Enjoy!
Recipe for Sausage Lentil and Fennel Stew
Sausage Lentil and Fennel Stew
Ingredients
- 16 oz chicken sausage or turkey Italian sausage, crumbled, browned and drained- you can
- 2 cups chicken or turkey broth
- 1 cups water
- 1 cups dried lentils
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bulb fennel diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- PLACE water, broth and veggies in a pot and bring to a boil, cooking for about 5-10 minutes
- Add lentils, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, until lentils are tender
- Add sausage and heat through, about 10 minutes
- Serve and garnish with chopped fennel tops (the feathery portion)
Nutrition
Thank you so much Pam, what a wonderful recipe!!
This stew looks so awesome, can’t wait to have it on a cold night!
I am definitely planning to make this myself very soon. Perfect warm you up kinda meal.
This Stew looks amazing.. I love Pam’s recipes!
It just looks fabulous!