Kale and Sausage Stew

My current favorite slow cooker recipe is kale and sausage stew from Real Simple with a couple of tweaks! A friend passed it along on Facebook when I asked for suggestions after finding my hidden crock pot.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped (purchased pre-chopped from store if you want!)
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped (I love garlic so I add at least 4)
• 1 cup water
• ¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper
• 1 large sweet potato (I cut it up in large chunks to make it fit better)
• 1 small bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves torn (about 7 cups)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients up to salt & pepper in crock pot. Put potato at top in liquid. Cover with as much kale as can fit. Cook until potato is done–on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

My take:

Sweet potato was my change. I actually mashed potato with a fork and poured stew on top–it was delicious! If you cut it up, you can put a piece in each bowl and pour stew over. I have also added less sausage and more kale on occasion and it’s still delicious. Original recipe had you adding oil and milk to potato, but supper yummy without it and less fat, too!

The leftovers get put in serving size containers and either put in fridge or freezer. I usually serve the leftovers over rice for variety sake.

What’s your favorite or go to recipe right now?