Spicy Cajun Stew

This recipe is a huge crowd pleaser, so be prepared to have this in your repitoire for the foreseeable future.  Everyone we have made it for loves it.  People always ask for the recipe, and the beauty of it all is how simple it is.  I’ll put the whole recipe below and you can see just how easy it is.

It was a gloomy, rainy, 50-60 degree day yesterday so we needed something to warm us up.  This is quite possibly the perfect dish to accomplish that.  We actually brought these ingredients with us last year to make a post football game meal for our friends at their house, and it was greeted with the usual fanfare.  It is great for football season.

You can buy either Polish sausage, kielbasa, or really any linked sausage for this.  Slice them into bite-sized pieces and sear them off in the bottom of a stock pot.  You want to get a nice caramelized crunchy glaze on the outside of the meat.  Then pour in the diced tomatoes and green chiles to deglaze the pot.  You should be smacked in the face with a wonderful aroma at this point.

If you like more heat, use two cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies.  And if you don’t like heat, then just use diced tomatoes.  Pour in the chicken stock and then add the drained chopped spinach and cook them together for a few minutes.  Throw in the rice and you’re done!  It’s really that simple.

You get great nutrients from the spinach and tomatoes, plus protein from the sausage and chicken stock, and grains from the whole wheat rice (yes, we use whole wheat here too).  This dish is spicy, tangy, sweet and utterly delicious.  I shared the recipe with a co-worker and she added shrimp to hers.  I suppose you can start adding variations to suit your own tastes.

Just be sure to serve this with either corn bread or some type of roll so you can soak up all that delicious broth from the bottom of your bowl.

Recipe: 

1 Package (16 oz.) fully cooked Polish Sausage or Kielbasa, cut into ¼ inch slices

2 Cans (10 oz. each) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained.

1 Can (14 ½ oz.) chicken broth

1 Package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

¾ cup uncooked instant rice (I use brown rice)

1. In a large skillet, sauté sausage until lightly browned; drain.  Add tomatoes and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in spinach.
2. Return to a boil; cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the rice.  Cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Stir and serve.