A New Fall Favorite

I found a cookbook on my shelf that I think my Mom sent me. It's called 29 Minutes to Dinner from The Pampered Chef. I love a quick meal and this one caught my eye.

Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Stew (The Pampered Chef)

3/4 lb. hot Italian sausage links
2 medium carrots
1 medium bulb of fennel
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
2 C chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cans (15 oz) cannellini beans
1 package (18 g) fresh basil

1. Remove casings from sausage. Cut in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/2 in nuggets.

2. Place sausage into large, heavy pot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

3. As sausage cooks, peel carrots. Chop carrots and fennel, add to pot and cook an additional 3-5 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables begin to brown.

4. Stir tomatoes, broth and garlic into sausage mixture. Drain and rinse beans and add to pot.

5. Simmer stew, uncovered, 10-12 minutes or until vegetables are tender. As stew simmers, chop basil. Remove pot from heat; stir in basil. Serve immediately.

This is a lovely main course with a side salad and some warm, crusty bread. It makes 6 servings. It's also great as leftovers. My husband much preferred this to traditional stew since he likes the sausage much better than stew meat. The fennel is especially nice to balance the spicy sausage. If you can't find fennel, or don't care for it, you can substitute onions.