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We tend to go overboard with the meat whenever we have people coming over for barbecue. We always overestimate for fear of underestimating the crowd that will come. The result? Too many packages of different types of meat stored in the freezer not knowing what to do with them. In my case, it’s mostly sausages.

The answer comes in the form of, all together now… STEW! Yes, stew. One can only eat so much grilled or fried sausages. So to make things a little different, I take out my trusty pot, chop those vegetables, bring out those spices, and throw in those leftover sausages from my barbecue party! And then I invite my friends to dinner and tell them we’ll be having stew! But I keep the sausage part to myself for a bit.

Photo courtesy of Mark’s Veg Plot. Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home.

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Quick Tip: Serve with crusty bread.

A good stew can work wonders for your palate and your stomach on a cold night. This Slow Cooker Chicken Vegetable Stew has a great blend of veggies, herbs, and spices (including rosemary, thyme, and sage) to excite your taste buds and warm you up just right. It’s one of my all-time favorites that I like to cook all winter long!

Normally, when I think of stew, I think of something beef-based, but I have to say, this chicken-based stew recipe really hit the spot. It didn’t hurt, either, that it was such an easy recipe, thanks to the Crock-Pot, and the aroma while it was cooking was a feast for the senses just by itself. As-is, the recipe makes four to six servings, though I think that you could expand it without too much difficulty, provided that your slow cooker of choice has the room for it.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Jeanette’s Healthy Living

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Quick tip: Leftovers make a delicious lunch the next day!

Chicken Cacciatore is a hearty, earthy, robust stew that makes for a great one-pot family meal. It’s quick to make, and it’s surprisingly easy to put together, as well.

This creation is also often called hunter’s stew, but I think that the name “chicken cacciatore” just suits it better. There isn’t much in the way of complexity here, but it does manage good depth of flavor without any fancy methods and with only a modest time investment.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Craving Some Creativity

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I can see why this recipe was award-winning!  It’s really hard to believe that something as gourmet-tasting as this Mediterranean Seafood can be put together in only half an hour and be so healthy!

Not very many dishes go straight to my dash of Best Recipes, but this one did! Particularly when fall starts knocking on my door, I start thinking about hearty stews. And seafood is very much in my blood still, even if I am a few hundred miles away from the Gulf waters now.  Needless to say, I was really excited to come upon this little gem.  I couldn’t believe that something this tasty was only about 220 calories for a full serving, not to mention rich with all of those healthy omega-3 fatty acids that I keep hearing such good things about.

What surprised me the most was how much my whole family enjoyed this dish! I have two very picky eaters at home, and my husband is not that fond of seafood, either. But all three of them gobbled this up faster than I could say “Bon Appetit!”

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home.

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Quick tip: Serve with fresh, homemade bread.

Ropa Vieja literally means “old clothes” in Spanish, and though, as the name implies, it may not be the most elegant-looking dish in the world, but it has a nice splash of color and is chock full of great, savory Latin American flavor. And this version for the slow cooker makes putting it together super-easy and leaves the meat as tender as ever.

Some days, you just want a nice escape.  And though I enjoy my escapists shows and love reading a good book, now and then, eating the right sort of meal can be a nice adventure to another world, too.  I broke out my Crock-Pot yesterday morning to put this Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja together, and by the evening, I was enjoying a delicious stew and imagining myself in some humble but bustling cafe in Puerto Rico.  Latin America does know how to do comfort food.

Recipe courtesy of  Food & Wine.

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Quick tip: Add more jalapenos if you like your food hot and spicy!