Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Sausage & White Bean Stew

I'm still coming off my Valentine's weekend high.

I gotta say... I love my kids with all my heart and soul... but spending a weekend alone with my man was just what the doctor ordered.

We went out to dinner and then attended an amazing concert...

We slept in, drank second-cups of coffee, lazed around the house, did random errands with no time limits or children yelling, "WHERE are we going now?!?" or "Are we done yet?!?!"

It was a weekend full of adult "me time" where we did whatever we felt like doing, Quite nice, I gotta say.

My love showered my with my favorite flowers on Valentine's morning:

And I got him a new cheese platter/cutting board, hand-fired with a very inside joke... don't ask... it would take way to long to explain. :)

It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and I was super excited to hug my babies (can I still call them that??) on Sunday. But as all holidays are... this one passed far too quickly, and now we're back to the real world. :)

And since the week is in full gear, I thought I'd share a very quick, SUPER easy, family-friendly weeknight meal with you.

My boys love this so much, and I love it too because it's healthy, takes minutes to assemble, and it is comfort food at its best.

Here's my recipe for Slow Cooker Sausage & White Bean Stew:

Ingredients:

1. (2) Cans of Cannellini beans
2. 3/4 - 1 cup chicken stock (homemade preferred of course) :)
3. al fresco chicken sausage I chose the sundried tomato version, but they are all delicious! And I love that I can pronounce and understand all of the ingredients on the label (chicken meat, sundried tomatoes, basil, etc. - NO by-products or fillers!)
4. Pasta - shells are my top choice for this dish, but penne or bowtie works great too.
5. Parmesan cheese and any Italian herbs of your choosing

Directions:
1. Thinly slice the chicken sausage (it's already fully cooked, so you don't need to saute it unless you want to), and place it in the bottom of your sprayed Slow Cooker. Then generously drizzle with EVOO.

2. Drain & rinse the cannellini beans and dump them on top of the sausage.

3. Sprinkle with any Italian herbs of your choosing. I did some dried thyme, garlic salt, and basil.
4. Pour 3/4-1 cup of chicken broth on top until it almost covers the beans.
5. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for up to 6 hours.
6. Cook pasta and then ladle the sausage/bean mixture on top of the pasta and top with shredded Parm.
7. ENJOY!!

I love serving this with roasted broccoli and a dry white wine. It's a crowd pleaser for sure. And one that you'll want to come back to any time it's chilly outside and you want some savory comfort food.

Cheers everyone!