My Really, For True, Award-Winning Cowboy Stew Recipe

Hi.

It's super snowy out and I'm having stew for breakfast. Really good stew because it is easy to make, delicious, low cal and very nutritious.

Now, before I give you this recipe, you must:
Promise to try it
Promise to pass it on
Promise not to give me any song and dance about how you don't like beans....

Ok here's how:

• 4 medium potatoes - russets/goldens, whatever. Just maybe not bakers. Thou shalt not peel...
  
• 4 large carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch sections. Thou shalt NOT peel...
  
• 1 Large onion. LARGE I said. Softball size at least. Red or Vidalias are perfect. Ok peel...
  
• 4 stalks celery (washed, ok?)
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, smashed (more if you like garlic or are married to a vampire and you want the night off....)
• 8 Honey Garlic or Mild Italian sausages. I use the Costco brand because they are delicious and come in flats of 10 or 11, which means you can have two just to munch on.Cook first, yeah? They're kinda chewy when raw....
  
• 2 Cans of chopped, stewed/spiced tomatoes - no-name brand is perfect
• 2 cans of Maple Beans - no pork, ok? The pork in those cans is disgusting.
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBSP sugar (balances the acid in the tomats)

Salt and pepper aren't super necessary due to the tomatos and the sausages being already seasoned.

Heat a LARGE pot - 4 litre size - to medium high; add 3 tbsp olive and/or canola oil

Chop the potatoes, celery and onions into bite-sized pieces (1/2"x1/2" or so); add to pot. Stir so the veggies brown but don't let them burn, ok?

Cut the sausages into 1" sections. Don't worry if the meat pops out. Add to veg and cook until the sausage is about 1/2 cooked... takes about 5 minutes.

Add in the canned tomatoes, beans, Worcestershire, sugar and any other seasonings you like... smoked paprika is really nice...

Bring pot to the boil and then turn the heat down to very low. On low, the mixture should be steaming but not doing much more than looking like it might think about bubbling.

Let the pot simmer for 1/2 and hour or so to let the flavours blend. While that's going on, cook up some rice - brown is best, especially if you cook it with some barley and spelt and wild rice (all those types take about 45 minutes to cook and that's no problem: your stew can simmer away for an hour and will be super scrumptious).

This makes enough stew for six hungry people. It freezes perfectly too. It will be fine refrigerated for three to four days, so you can have some for breakfast all week!

Given the weather in our city, you can leave your stew pot outside, where it will certainly stay cold and will probably freeze... ok.. no, don't do that. You wanna eat this stuff now, not in April...

No cowboys were injured or cooked in the making of this stew.....