Stew

Kielbasa Stew

by
Kielbasa Stew

Looking through the freezer I found some kielbasa sausage that didn’t end up on my grill this summer. In trying to figure out what to make with it, I looked through the pantry and found some lentils and quinoa and decided to make a hearty stew to stand up to the wonderful flavors of the kielbasa sausage.

This is a fairly simple stew to make and you can accomplish prepping the vegetables and kielbasa while the lentils and quinoa are cooking.

Quinoa and Lentils

First you want to rinse the quinoa. For some people quinoa can taste a bit soapy when it is cooked, so rinsing it is an important step prior to cooking.

Also, sort through the lentils to ensure there are no any rocks.

You can put both in one pan to cook since they take about the same amount of time. I happened to have a quinoa and grain mix in my pantry so I used that.

Put this on the stove and simmer with a lid on the pan for about 20 minutes.

Kielbasa and Veggies

While the lentils and quinoa are cooking, you can gather and prep the rest of the ingredients. I found some bell peppers in my freezer from my garden this summer that had been roasted, so I used them instead of a fresh bell pepper.

I also kept the frozen broccoli on top of the peas and corn because when it thaws a bit, I chopped it down into bite size pieces.

The chipotle pepper was also in my freezer. When I open a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, I usually only use 1 or 2 at a time, so the rest I freeze individually in snack size bags for future use. That way I don’t waste most of a can of chipotle peppers.

At this point your lentils and quinoa are probably cooked. If there is a lot of liquid left, you can strain it, or just turn up the heat and boil it out. Just be careful not to burn the lentils and quinoa. If there is a little liquid left, its not a big deal to add it to the stew.

Sautéed Kielbasa and Veg

In a larger stock pot, saute the kielbasa, carrots, onions, celery, and bell peppers. Be careful not to add too much oil, the kielbasa has some fat, and you don’t want a greasy stew in the end. About 1 tablespoon or a little less oil is plenty.

Simmering Kielbasa Stew

Now add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock, chipotle pepper if you are using one, lentils, and quinoa. You only need to simmer this for about 10 minutes. Everything is cooked, you’re just combining the flavors.

This is when I rough chop the frozen broccoli. 

Kielbasa Stew Finished

Stir in the frozen veggies, parsley, and fresh spinach. I happened to have a baby spinach, kale, and chard mix that I used.

Simmer for about 5 minutes to heat everything up and wilt the greens, and it’s ready to eat.

Try this soup with some homemade Cornbread for that finishing touch.

Enjoy!

Kielbasa Stew
Print Recipe

Kielbasa Stew

A hearty, somewhat smoky and spicy stew to warm you on a cold winter day, filled with nutritious vegetables, quinoa, lentils, and kielbasa sausage.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: kielbasa, soup, stew
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 482kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Cutting board and knife
  • 4 quart sauce pan
  • Fine mesh sieve
  • 6 quart sauce pan

Ingredients

Lentils and Quinoa

  • ½ cup lentils
  • ½ cup quinoa
  • 2 ½ cups chicken stock

Kielbasa and Vegetables

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ pound kielbasa chopped
  • 1 cup carrots diced
  • ¼ cup yellow onions diced
  • 1 stalk celery diced
  • 1 each bell pepper diced
  • 1 each chipotle pepper or jalapeno pepper, diced, optional
  • 1 cup corn frozen
  • 1 cup peas frozen
  • 2 cups broccoli frozen, chopped
  • 4 handfuls spinach
  • ¼ cup parsley fresh, chopped

Sauce:

  • 1 can diced tomatoes in sauce 15 ounce can
  • 2 cups chicken stock

Instructions

  • Put quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse well. Sort lentils to ensure there isn’t any rocks.
  • Add rinsed quinoa, lentils and 2 ½ cups chicken stock or water in a 3 to 4 quart sauce pan on the stove over high heat, Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until done. Strain if there is excess liquid.
  • Prepare kielbasa and vegetables. Open tomatoes and get chicken stock. Measure out frozen veggies and spinach.
  • In a 6 quart or larger sauce pan, heat oil. Add kielbasa, onions, carrots, bell pepper, and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent.
  • Stir in chipotle or jalapeno pepper, tomatoes in sauce, chicken stock, lentils and quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Rough chop the frozen (thawing) broccoli to bite size pieces.
  • Stir in corn, peas, broccoli, spinach, and parsley. Simmer for another 3 - 5 minutes to heat the frozen veggies and wilt the spinach.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Makes about 10 cups.

Nutrition

Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 885mg | Potassium: 1286mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 7464IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 6mg

Roasted Veggie Stew

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The garden is harvested and put in storage for the winter waiting for me to start using what I was able to grow this past summer. The weather is definitely changing and that brings on my desire for warm, comfort foods.

I freeze a lot of my garden vegetables to use in soups, stews, and other dishes throughout the winter. I make large batches and freeze them in individual or larger, family size portions. One of my first go-to soups is a roasted veggie soup since I have most of the ingredients chopped up in my freezer.

First I gather and prep all my veggies, onions, and garlic that I’m going to use. I happen to like beets a lot, but I realize I am in the minority, so switch them out with something else, say cauliflower, or squash, or another veggie you really like.  That holds true for any of the other veggies, you just need about 7 cups of chopped veggies, plus your onions. You can use purple or yellow onions, I happened to have purple ones this time around.

If your veggies were frozen, don’t worry, you can roast them in the oven that way, it just might take a little longer.

Next split your veggies onto 2 baking trays lined with parchment paper. One tray for the harder veggies that take longer to cook and the other for the rest of the veggies. Divide your garlic in half between the 2 pans, this ensures a garlicky flavor throughout and sprinkle some sea salt and black pepper on the veggies.

Bake your harder veggies in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes then add the other tray and bake an additional 15 minutes.

While your veggies are roasting, gather and prep your herbs. You can certainly use dried herbs, but I recommend fresh ones, the flavor is a lot better. If you need to use dry the ratio is 1 tsp dried to 1 tbsp fresh. So use a heaping 1/2 tsp each of dried herbs.

During you last 15 minutes of veggie roasting time, you can start on your rue and stock (sorry, no fancy pictures here). Melt the butter in a large stock pot and whisk in the flour, cook for a few minutes to brown the flour a little bit, this will take the pasty taste out of the flour. Slowly whisk in whatever stock you decided to use, if you are meat eaters and think you will miss having meat in your stew, use beef broth, but vegetable broth/stock works great too.

Once your vegetables are done, add them to your stock plus the fresh herbs. I generally throw in a few handfuls of fresh spinach or kale or beet greens at this point too. Mix this all together and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Now it’s time to enjoy!

Print Recipe

Roasted Veggie Stew

A great hearty stew for both meat lovers and vegetarians.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Course: Main Course, Soups
Cuisine: American
Keyword: soup, stew
Servings: 10 cups
Calories: 155kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Large Stock Pot
  • 2 Sheet Pans

Ingredients

  • 1 cup beets cubed
  • 1 cup potatoes cubed
  • 1 cup carrots diced
  • 1 cup broccoli florets and stems
  • 1 cup bell pepper diced
  • 1 cup mushrooms sliced
  • 1 cup beans cut into bite sizes
  • ½ cup onions diced
  • 2 tbsp garlic fresh minced
  • 2 tsp Thyme chopped
  • 2 tsp oregano chopped
  • 2 tsp parsley chopped
  • 8 tbsp butter
  • 8 tbsp flour
  • 4 cups veggie or beef broth

Instructions

  • Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. On 1 spread out the potatoes, beets, carrots and 1 T of garlic. On the other spread out the rest of the veggies and remaining tablespoon of garlic. Drizzle the veggies with olive (or canola) oil and sprinkle on a little sea salt and black pepper.
  • In a 400° oven, roast the pan with the potatoes for about 30 minutes (until tender and browning). Roast the remaining veggies for 15 minutes (until tender). The outcome reduces the veggies down to about 4 cups.
  • In a 4 quart (or larger) sauce pan, melt 8 T of butter then whisk in the 8 T of flour. I like a thick, hearty stew, but if you want it more soup-like, use only 6 T each of butter and flour. Whisk this mixture for a few minutes to start browning the flour and take the pasty taste out of it. While whisking, slowly add the 4 quarts of veggie or beef broth. Don’t add the broth too fast or it will result in clumps.
  • Then add the fresh herbs and your veggies. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

If desired, you can add in some of the beets greens (sliced) at the end. Or a cooked grain of some sort works well in this stew, like barley or wild rice. I would definitely make the thinner version if adding barley or rice as either one will soak up some of the liquid.
This stew freezes well and will last several months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 483mg | Potassium: 312mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3241IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg