Tasty Tuesday: Bratwurst Stew

Well, for this edition of Tasty Tuesday I'm going to veer from the usual Nannie's recipe and tell you about a recent dish I made out of just a bunch of stuff I found in my cupboard. I love it when that happens! Don't worry....Nannie will be back next week.

So the other day I was milling around trying to figure out what to fix for dinner. I was ready to hit the TacoBell because I was bound and determined to not have to thaw, marinate, steam, grill or toast anything. We hadn't been to the store in FOREVER, so our options were limited anyway, but I wasn't in the mood to cook at all that day so it made the decision making task even more daunting.

That is until I started going through the cabinets. And let me tell you, I just started pulling junk out in hopes I'd figure something out along the way.

By the time I was done I had found some frozen bratwurst (which I did have to thaw, but Hubby loves it...we all have to make sacrifices you know!) and a bunch of canned veggies, herbs and some pasta.

I started looking online for gumbo or goulash recipes, but came up empty handed. How was I ever going to luck into finding a recipe with exactly the ingredients that I happened to have? I'd have to tweak whatever I did find, that was for sure! Then I found it- a recipe for Sweet Italian Sausage Stew. I was missing a coupe of things, namely the sweet Italian sausage, but I still had bratwurst and several other things I needed. The attached recipe is for MY version of this splendid culinary creation!

I hate (I mean absolutely loathe) soupy stuff in the summer, but I was about to create a free (for all intensive purposes anyway) meal, and man was I stoaked! So I put my issues aside and started making the stew! The finished product (as seen above) was DELICIOUS!! It was a little sweet, not that soupy, and just overall GOOOOOOD!

Now, after you try this (and you have to try this) I want you to head on over to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam to see what else is being cooked up. You'll be glad you did!

Bratwurst Stew

1 lb bratwurst, thickly sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup sliced carrot

1 tsp dried basil

2 zucchini, diced

1 (14.5 oz) can chopped tomatoes

1 (14 oz) can beef broth

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 (15 oz) can great northern beans

1 cup small shell pasta

In a saucepan, cook sausage in oil until browned; add onion, garlic, carrots and basil; cook stirring frequently for about 5 minutes then stir in zucchini, tomatoes, beef broth, salt and pepper. Bring stew to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes. Lastly, add beans and pasta, then cook an additional 15 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Enjoy!!

OH, and how could I forget!?! You know what else would go great with this??? Cooking it up in a cute little apron!! Visit my etsy store to check out some of my newest creations!!