Marissa's Parkey Stew

I found this recipe in the Penzey's catalog and have now made it twice, at the request of my husband. He likes to call it "butter stew" because "Parkey" reminds him of "Parkay". It's no doubt that he likes it, since it has kielbasa and he's 1/2 Polish. Our baby is 50% Italian and 25% Polish. That's pretty sweet. But I digress...



You can find the recipe on page 22 of the winter 2012 catalog. I need to apologize in advance for my lack of photos. Now that I'm meal planning, I make a lot from scratch, and sometimes I decide mid-process that I'm going to feature what I'm making on this blog. This was one of those times...

So here are the ingredients you need, with my modifications:
-3 TB. olive oil
-4 carrots, peeled, ends removed and thinly sliced
-2 leeks, rinsed well, thinly sliced, both ends removed
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-16 oz. chicken broth
-1 15oz. can crushed tomatoes
-1 small head green or red cabbage, roughly chopped
-1 lb. kielbasa, sliced (I used turkey kielbasa)
-1 tsp. caraway seed
-1 tsp. marjoram
-1 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. pepper

Step 1: In a large pot (I used my red dutch oven), heat the olive oil and cook the carrots and leeks until they are tender (about 10 minutes).

Step 2: Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

Step 3: Add the broth, tomatoes, cabbage, caraway, marjoram, and kielbasa. Simmer until hot and cabbage is tender (20-30 mins).

Step 4: Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe is SO easy which was such a nice change from that lasagna that I made last time. And, I just learned that cabbage is super good for you, so props to that.

The first time I made it I used green onions instead of leeks, and my husband said he actually liked that better. So, that's an alternative you can try.

Here it is:

Adam’s taste rating: 3 ladles
Brad’s taste rating: 4 ladles
Healthy rating: 4 ladles
Ease of prep rating: 5 ladles
Overall average: 4 ladles