Salsa Stew With Black Beans and Sausage

This is a yummy, warm, easy stew – great for a cold day. The hot Italian sausage adds some heat and will warm you up all over. Use the sour cream and the guacamole to cool down your mouth when needed or you can use sweet Italian sausage if you prefer. But did you know spicy food fills you up faster?

Just put these ingredients it in the crock pot and it cooks while you are out and “running around town.” Put the sausage in at least an hour before you want to eat or up to 2 hours before you want to eat, make the rice anytime during the day or even the night before and you have dinner when you get home.

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion – chopped

3 cloves of garlic – minced

2  15.5 oz. cans of black beans – do not drain

1 16oz oz jar salsa

1 cup chicken broth – low sodium

1 ½   cups of canned or frozen corn

6 hot Italian sausage links – what I prefer but you can use sweet sausage if you prefer

2 cups of cooked rice – optional but I like it that way

1 bunch green onions – chopped

¼ cup of fresh cilantro – chopped

Sour Cream

Store bought guacamole

In a skillet over medium high heat, sauté garlic and onions in olive oil until onions are soft and a little brown.

Combine onion and garlic mixture in a crock pot along with the black beans and their juices, salsa, chicken broth, and corn. Mix well and cook on high for 5 hours.

After the 5 hours, put the sausages in and cook for one more hour.  Then make the 2 cups of rice according to the box’s directions.

Before serving, slice the sausages into thin slices and add back to the stew.

Serve the stew in a bowl on top of the rice; sprinkle with the green onions, fresh cilantro, sour cream and/or guacamole.