The past few days while I’ve been laid up in bed, my parents have been kind enough to bring me breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed. It’s been mighty nice, actually. I’m not worried about portion sizes, calories and the rest of it. A plate is placed in front of me, I eat it, the plate is cleared away. This must be what being Mo and Co is like on a daily basis.
I will admit, though, I do miss my kitchen. Like I mentioned before, I’m been spending copious amounts of time on the Internet. Pinterest and I are BFFs again. My board of foods and recipes to try is filling out nicely, hopefully in indirect correlation to my own backside as I prepare to burrow back into bed for another day.
I’ve been wanting some Chipotle for a few days, but then I saw I few articles about spaghetti and meatballs. My brother has been talking about making a chicken pot pie, followed by a shrimp pot pie (I’ll stick with chicken). My stack of magazines has yielded a handful of 5-ingredient-or-less recipes, what-to-do-with-left-overs recipes, 10 ways to prepare chicken recipes and Mmmm-comfort-food recipes.
I’ve been looking out my bedroom window as the sun travels across the sky. I’m struck that in a few weeks, maybe even less, the leaves will fade from a marbled green to mottled gold before jettisoning themselves off the trees. The sun will show it’s face later in the morning, and it will bid the afternoons farewell earlier and earlier. I organized my closet, pulling all of my fall clothes forward, reveling in the jewel tones and textured fabrics that I’d forgotten about in favor of summer linens and sherbets.
I’m ready to get back into the kitchen and I think I want some slow-cooker goodness.
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Slow Cooker White Bean Soup with Andouille Sausage and Collards
Recipe Courtesy of Real Simple Magazine
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried white beans (such as cannellini or great Northern)
- 1/2 pound andouille sausage links, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 bunch collard greens, stems discarded and leaves cut into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- kosher salt and black pepper
- olive oil and bread sticks, for serving
Directions
- In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beans, sausage, onion, celery, and thyme. Add the broth and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
- Twenty minutes before serving, discard the thyme stems, add the collard greens, cover, and cook until the greens are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the vinegar and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
- Drizzle with the olive oil and serve with the bread sticks.