Cook Once, Eat Twice from Better Homes and Gardens

Cook Once, Eat Twice from Better Homes and Gardens

My brother and sister-in-law are great and got me a new slow cooker for my birthday. Since then, I’ve been wanting to try it out, scouring through my recipes and books at the library. I made my first meal in the new slow cooker yesterday, Rustic Italian Stew from Cook Once, Eat Twice.  What’s great about this cookbook is that the first recipe in each pair makes enough to have leftovers and the second recipe uses those leftovers. Which means on Thursday, we’ll be having Pasta Bowls.

The Rustic Italian Stew was delicious.

• 2 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
• 1 15-ounce can navy beans, rinsed and drains
• 2 medium green sweet peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 large onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 2 14.5-ounce cans undrained stewed tomatoes, cut up
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

STEP 1: Lightly coat a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In prepared cooker stir together yellow squash, mushrooms, navy beans, sweet pepper, zucchini, onion, oil, salt, Italian seasoning, and, if desired, crushed red pepper. Top with undrained tomatoes.

STEP 2: Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting got 3½ to 4 hours.

Step 3: Using a slotted spoon, remove 2 cups vegetables; store as directed below. Spoon remaining stew into soup bowls; sprinkle with mozzarella.

TO STORE RESERVES: Place drained vegetables in an airtight container. Seal and chill for up to 3 days.

It was delicious, and I’m not usually much for vegetables. Of course, Amber (9) wouldn’t eat it, but David and I liked it. We’ll definitely make it again. I forgot until we were in the middle of eating to take a picture. Sorry. And not only do we have veggies to add to spaghetti sauce and serve over cheese ravioli, which is basically the Pasta Bowls recipe, we also have two more servings of stew in the fridge.

I borrowed this copy of the cookbook from the library, but I will be keeping my eye out for a copy to keep. Not only are the recipes paired, but they’re also easy and don’t call for any impossible to find ingredients.

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