Daddy's Italian Wedding Stew

Despite the pristine reports from daycare regarding her appetite, Kaitlyn is an extremely picky eater anytime she eats at home with us. We've tried all kinds of tasty delicious options but to no avail. Recently I finally struck gold with something that she's a huge fan of - my own version of Italian Wedding soup. It's one of the few meals we've ever seen Kaitlyn eat with so much enthusiasm, and she consistently finishes every last bite of it, even the meatballs (we break them up for her). Not only is it delicious, but it's healthy for us too.

The core of this recipe is the Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe's, which includes pearl couscous, orzo, quinoa, and baby garbanzo beans. With a few more additions, this stew is loaded with veggies, legumes, protein, and wholesome grains, so it's got all the food groups covered in one bowl.

The recipe below is for one huge pot and you'll be eating leftovers for days. Since the couscous soaks up most of the liquid, it has more of a stew-like consistency than a soup, hence the name.

Daddy's Italian Wedding Stew

1 bag Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe's
5 sweet chicken italian sausages
1 can red kidney beans
1 can white pinto beans

1 cup green or black lentils (optional)

4-6 carrots

4-6 celery stalks

2 onions

1 large can diced tomatoes

2-3 boxes of chicken stock

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian parsley

Dice the carrots, celery and onions into tiny pieces and put in a large pot. Add the tomatoes, harvest grain blend, beans, lentils (optional), and chicken stock. Make sure to add enough chicken stock so that the ingredients are sufficiently submerged. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1.5 hrs, stirring occasionally.

Pull the sausage out of the casings and make small meatballs, roughly 5 per sausage link or 25 total. Throw into the pot and continue to simmer for 30 min until the meatballs are cooked thoroughly.

Garnish with chopped italian parsley. I like to add crushed red peppers and a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavors just a bit more, but to each his own.

The leftover stew will thicken even more in the fridge, so you may want to add more broth to subsequent servings to thin it out a little.

Hope you enjoy it as much as Kaitlyn does!