The Recipe Exchange...

Have many of you gotten an email about participating in a recipe exchange? It only has two names on the list, so it's not overwhelming to deal with.

I got my email from Gerrie and have been trying to remember to send my recipe on to Mrs. Mel. I finally decided last night to send her my Five Kind Casserole.. a slow cooking wintery delight. But I didn't want to limit that recipe sharing to only one person... I have to write it out afterall! So, I decided to post it here.

This is a fabulous dish for a cold dreary winter night, served with a grainy mustard and a nice glass of beer. If you have a clay pot, that is the best thing to cook this in, but any very heavy oven-proof casserole will work.

Five Kinds Casserole

1/2# dried kidney or navy beans
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1.5" pieces
2 onions, sliced
4C water
2 green apples, peeled, cored and sliced
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 Polish style smoked sausage

(do you see? It's meat and 5 different things...)

Rinse the beans and in a pot with the carrots, onions and water. Cover and put in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 450 and bake for 1.5 hours. Add apples, potatoes and sausage, stirring into the beans mix. Then cook for another hour or so until the beans are done but not falling apart.

The sausage flavors the dish, and the apples give it a nice hint of sweetness. I occasionally get creative and add other root vegetables to this, usually replacing some of the potatoes. No. I don't then change the name to Six Kinds or whatever...

If you haven't yet received an email from someone and would love to participate in this email exchange, just leave me a message and I'll add you to my list. (please!!!)

Check out my other blog: Deb's Daily Distractions where I'm participating in Holidailies!