Diet Friendly Fast Food

When I first started blogging I probably thought everyone loved Chickpeas (also called Garbanzo Beans) as much as I do, but now I realize some of you aren't all that enthused about these ultra-nutritious beans.  If you're one of those people who's not especially a chickpea fan, I hope you'll trust me when I  promise that this Slow Cooker Chickpea Stew with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Pesto is truly amazing.  Hanging out in the slow cooker with the spicy turkey Italian sausage and tomatoes makes the chickpeas creamy and full of flavor.  And the seasonings in this recipe are perfect, with the addition of a small amount of the pesto at the end a flavor-boosting way to finish the dish.  If you try it I bet you will like it, but if I can't convince you that this combination with chickpeas is really, really good, I hope you'll try this recipe with another type of beans!

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this recipe is one I'd love to make on the weekend so I'd have leftovers to eat for lunch of a quick dinner during the week.  If you're not a slow cooker fan, there are directions at the end for making this on the stove.)

On Halloween night you know the kids aren't going to want to eat anything but candy, so why not make this slow cooker beef stew with lots of adult flavors to keep the grown-ups happy?  You can start this mid morning and by dinner time it will be ready to go.  If you'll be gone all day, just do the advance prep the night before, refrigerate the ingredients in a plastic container, and put the cold ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook all day while you're out.  I'd love this with a dollop of sour cream on top, but no matter how you eat it, this stew is loaded with flavor.  (There are also stove-top instructions if you don't have a slow cooker.)

(For Phase One Fridays I feature Phase One Recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites.  This Slow Cooker Cannellini Bean Stew with Tomatoes, Italian Sausage, and Kale has some of my favorite flavors, and I love adding the kale near the end of the cooking time so it's still a little chewy in the stew.)

My friend Lydia and I have both become quite infatuated with experiments in our slow cookers, and the experimental part in this Slow Cooker Cannellini Bean Stew with Tomatoes, Italian Sausage, and Kale was adding the kale to the slow cooker after the other ingredients had cooked for a few hours.  I was really thrilled with how the raw kale softened perfectly in the slow cooker with just a little more cooking time, and the slightly chewy kale was one of my favorite parts of this dish!