Sausage & Autumn Vegetable Stew
2 lbs ground Italian sausage
2 small-medium onions
1 bag frozen butternut squash chunks
2 lbs small red potatoes, diced
1 giant sweet potato, diced
2 small salad turnips, small diced
1 can of pumpkin puree
1-2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bunch of chard (or kale or spinach), leaves removed from stems
6-8 cups vegetable of chicken broth or bullion
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
Brown your sausage, one pound at a time, in a skillet or saute pan. Put aside the cooked first pound, and brown the second. Once that is done, leaving a little in the pan to saute the onion, drain off any extra fat. Put your sausage in the fridge till later. Now sautee the onion in the leftover sausage fat.
Place the cooked onion, butternut squash chunks, potatoes, sweet potato, salad turnips, pumpkin puree, bay leaves, thyme, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and paprika into a large crockpot. Add broth, leaving at least an inch or two of space at the top of the crock.
Cook on low for 7 hours. Then add the browned sausage into the soup, and stir well. Place the chard leaves on top, and poke it down into the broth. Place the cover back on and let it cook another hour to allow the sausage to warm, and the chard to wilt. When you’ve got a few minutes left on the cooking, stir in the chard well, then sprinkle on the potato flakes, and stir well again. Let it go for 5 more minutes, for the potatoes to thicken everything.
Serve hearty bowls, with crusty bread to dip, and sop up the last of the broth.
