Crockpot Sausage, Peppers, and Cannellini Bean Stew With Parmesa

A perfect recipe to use up some of the things in the fridge that need to be used. * Can be South Beach.

• Ready In: 4 hrs 25 mins
• Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• 2  medium onions, chopped
• 1  red bell pepper, chopped
• 1  green bell pepper, chopped
• 1  tablespoon olive oil, plus more for browning sausage if needed
• 5  links hot Italian sausage (use turkey sausage for South Beach Diet*)
• 2 (15 1/2ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed in cold water until no more foam appears (or use 3 cups cooked cannellini beans)
• 2 (14 1/2ounce) cans  petite dice tomatoes
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1  teaspoon  dried greek oregano
• 1  teaspoon ground fennel
•  ground pepper
• 2 -3  bay leaves
• 4  cups  homemade chicken stock (or use 2 cans chicken broth and add a little water to make 4 cups)
•  freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Use a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker for this recipe.
2. Chop onions, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper into pieces about 1/2 inch square. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, then saute onions and peppers until they begin to soften, then add to slow cooker.
3. Squeeze Italian sausage out of casings and add to frying pan, adding a bit more olive oil if needed. Brown sausage well, breaking apart with turner as it cooks, then add to slow cooker.
4. Pour beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears, then add to slow cooker. Add tomatoes with juice, dried basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, black pepper and bay leaves to slow cooker. Pour chicken stock over other ingredients and stir to combine.
5. Cook on high about 4 hours or on low for all day. Serve hot, with freshly grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling on the stew.
6. (*) South Beach Suggestions:
7. Make with turkey Italian Sausage, this stew is perfect for any phase of the South Beach Diet, which allows low-glycemic dried beans in small amounts, even for phase one. Since this recipe has a generous amount of vegetables and sausage in proportion to the beans, it would be great for phase one.