Recipe: Polska Kielbasa Stew

Polska Kielbasa Stew is a delicious hearty sausage and bean stew that I adapted from a recipe I found from Hillshire Farms…. I made just a few slight changes to their recipe….

We love Kielbasa sausage and I’m always looking for ways to use it in a recipe… this recipe caught my eye… it’s chocked full of flavor and with the beans and carrots… it’s good for you too.

This goes together quickly and requires little work…. serve it with a hearty bread and you have yourself a really great weeknight supper.

TIPS

You can use any one of the following Hillshire Kielbasas…. Polska Kielbasa or Beef Polska Kielbasa (I used this one) or Lite Polska Kielbasa (I think I may try this one next) or Turkey Polska Kielbasa.

I sliced my kielbasa a little thinner than they do…. I cut mine into ¼-1/2 inch slices… they cut them into 1 inch slices… I wanted this to be a stew you can eat with a spoon and not a fork and knife… I thought 1 inch was not bite size (unless you have gator jaws).

The recipe from Hillshire calls for bacon… which I used when making this recipe… but after eating it.. we decided the taste from the bacon is far overshadowed by the taste of the kielbasa and is unnecessary… the only way you know it has bacon in it is when you see a piece of it… I’m going to list the ingredient as optional… you can omit the bacon and use one tablespoon of olive oil instead when sautéing the garlic and onions.


Their recipe calls for minced garlic… I chopped it with the onions in my mini chopper… I like the way the garlic is incorporated into the onions… I feel it works better. I also sauted them briefly before adding the beans, carrots and spices… I feel it enhances the flavors.

The recipe lists hot pepper sauce as optional… I didn’t use it… I just didn’t think it went well with everything else.

I didn’t use any sage… their recipe calls for ½ teaspoon… I felt the kielbasa had enough flavor and I didn’t need sage.

They cook the onions, garlic, beans, carrots and spices in water… I used chicken broth… I wanted a heartier flavor…. you can use water… but I felt my result was excellent.

The recipe is listed as 6 servings… I would say that would be on the high side… I think 4 servings is more accurate.

Finally …. I keep rotini macaroni in a large jar so I can add it easily to recipes…. I added three handfuls (about a cup and a half) of uncooked rotini macaroni. I let it cook in the stew… the starch from the macaroni thicken the sauce… it was a terrific addition… if you feel the sauce is too thick.. simply add more chicken broth until you get the consistency you want… we liked it thickened… it was more stew-like rather than soupy.

This was a terrific and easy meal to make… one pot does it all… a quick clean-up too…








Recipe: Polska Kielbasa Stew

All you need:


1 pkg. Hillshire Farms Polska Kielbasa
¼ lb. bacon, chopped (optional)* see Tips in post
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)*see Tips in Post
2 cups chopped onion
5 carrots, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15.5 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
22 ounces (can add more) chicken broth *see Tip in post
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (optional)*see Tips in post
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 can (14.5 ounces) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 ½ cups rotini macaroni

All you have to do:

Cut sausage into ¼ - ½ inch slices. Set aside.


Cook bacon in a 4-5 quart pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the fat is rendered. *Note this step is optional…. See Tips in post. If omitting the bacon… heat 1 tablespoon olive oil instead.



Chop the onions and garlic together in a mini chopper.



Add the onions and garlic to the post and sauté until onions are translucent.








Stir them frequently.








Add the beans, carrots, spices and chicken broth.





Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.



Add the sausage, tomatoes and macaroni and bring to a boil and cook 25 minutes or until mixture has thickened slightly and macaroni is cooked.




Remove the bay leaf and serve.