stew

Hearty Vegetable Cassoulet

/ ktbuchs87

CassouletHearty Vegetable Stew | Life Healthfully Lived .  It just sounds fancy doesn’t it?  But then again, most French words sound fancy.  In fact, this dish is probably as far from fancy as you can get.  A cassoulet is a slow-cooked casserole that started out as a peasant meal.  Basically, all the scraps of meat, bones, and vegetables were placed into a clay baking dish and cooked over low heat for a long time to make a delicious cross between a casserole and a hearty stew.

Over the years, chefs and restaurants got a hold of it and “elevated” it to make it good enough to be put on expensive menus.  The truth was that not much needed to be changed to make a delicious dish because sometimes the simplest things are the tastiest.Hearty Vegetable Stew | Life Healthfully Lived

I made this cassoulet a little different than the traditional dish because I didn’t include any meat.  It is still a very rich dish that is great for the cooler nights we’ve been having.  You can also add meat if you wanted or mushrooms if you wanted to keep it vegetarian but add a “meaty” component.

This dish can be made ahead of time and then just popped in the oven when it’s time for dinner.  It tastes like you have spent all day cooking it, but we can just keep that our little secret!  So impress your friends and family with a tasty and fancy cassoulet that is as simple as could be.

Hearty Vegetable CassouletHearty Vegetable Stew | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp marjoram
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine (I used a malbec, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced into rounds
  • 3/4 cup celery, sliced
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
  • 1 tbsp molasses (you could use maple syrup too)
  • 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 350 and heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add in the onions, garlic, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary.  Saute for 2 to 3 minutes
  2. Add the 1/2 cup wine and bring to a slow simmer.  Cover the dish and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove cover and stir in the vegetables and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and return to a simmer.
  3. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.  Transfer the whole things to a 9 x 13 casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil.  Cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

See? It really is a simple meal.  After cooking in the oven for 45 minutes, you’re left with a meal that is stick to your ribs good and is loaded with good for you vegetables and legumes.  If you want to do this meal with meat, I would use chunks of beef because they will handle the long cook time well.  Just make sure to brown them before adding them into the dish.Hearty Vegetable Stew | Life Healthfully Lived

Oh, and Adam wants me to make sure to tell you to serve this with bread.  But then again he wants me to serve bread with every meal…

Have a great Friday everyone and I will see you on Monday!

Butternut Peanut Stew

/ ktbuchs87

If you have been living under a rock for the past week, I may have some shocking news for you.  It’s cold.  Not just, “Oh it’s slightly chilly out there, better zip up”.  It’s full on cover every inch of your body in three layers of the warmest clothing you have so you don’t turn into a human popsicle the minute you step outside cold.  I don’t mind cold weather, but when it gets this cold I just want to burrow into a nest of my warmest blankets and drink hot cocoa.  I’m sure some of you have the same feelings.  So in an attempt to get you warm and give you some comfort, I have a delicious stew for you.

This stew is hearty, comforting, warm, tasty, and will hit the spot after a long cold day.  Plus you can make it in your slow cooker so you can start it before you go to work and come home to a healthy and hot meal.  Now I ask you, what’s better than that?

 Butternut Peanut Stew

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  • 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight or 1 can of chickpeas
  • 3-4 cups butternut squash, cubed
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced (you can use green too)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 can of full fat coconut milk (NOT light, trust me)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne, more if you want it spicier
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 3 tbsp cilantro
  • salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a food processor or blender add garlic, tomatoes, ginger, peanut butter, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, curry powder, and cilantro.  Blend until you have a thick paste.

2.  Place drained and rinsed chickpeas, onions, peppers, and butternut squash in a slow cooker.  Pour in peanut paste and add in coconut milk.  Stir until everything is well combined. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3.  Toward the end of the cook time stir every so often.  If it’s getting too dry, add in a little water.  Add salt and pepper if needed.

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This stew is great on it’s own, but if you want an even heartier meal, you can serve it over rice or pasta.  Hopefully these temperatures will warm up just a touch but until then make yourself some of this yummy stew!  Happy Friday!

What tricks do you have to keep warm in frigid temps?