Maybe cassoulet

I was a vegetarian for close to a decade before my daughter was born. I really didn't fully venture back into the world of meat eaters until a bout with severe anemia left me craving bacon cheeseburgers.

I still resist cooking meat. Of all the meats to prepare, sausage is my dreaded least favorite. Gooey and gross.

But I work tonight and thought I'd fire up the crockpot again with something that resembles a hearty French cassoulet.

On the bottom of the crock pot:

- 1 large clove garlic, sliced

- 1 can petit diced tomatoes 

- 1 tiny can tomato paste

- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (all I had)

- 1 approximately 3/4 chunk cube of homemade chicken stock from my freezer

Next I browned a pack of sausage links. 

Being cheap, I put three in the fridge for later and sliced the other two, putting that and the dribbles of grease from the frying pan into the crock pot.

Finally I added:

- 1 can white/ Great Northern beans (bean slime rinsed off)

- 1 can whole potatoes 

- about 3 tablespoons parsley 

- about 1/2 cup frozen sliced mushrooms

Or maybe I dumped more parsley than that...

I plan to cook for seven hours on high. Adding water if liquid is needed. 

Even at first stir it looks great:

I did not add water, but after the first two or three hours I turned the heat down to low.

This was what my small bowl looked like:

My family enjoyed it. Daughter announced it was only a tiny bit less amazing than Saturday night's Kedjenou. I expected it to be more tomato soup-like but I'm happy to report that it's more of a savory stew. (I don't like tomato soup.) Success.

I wish I'd made a bigger batch.