Comfort food comes in many shapes, flavors and categories. Some are hot and some are cold. Comfort foods can also be seasonal. During the summer months my comfort foods are homemade potato salad, hand churned ice cream and my mom’s apple pie. In the cooler and down right cold months my comfort foods tend to be homemade soups and stews.
Just recently my hubby added a new dish I made to his comfort foods list. I think because it was a hearty stew packed with protein, veggies and fiber in the form of beans. Two kinds of beans to be exact. Beans are very rich in fiber as well as protein. I used black beans ( 15 g of fiber in 1 cup) and small white beans (19 g of fiber in 1 cup) to help fill my family up and to provide them with as much nutrition as possible in one dish. That is the great thing about stews. They can be a one pot dish which means easy clean up. At least my son thinks so because he usually does the dishes.
This Comfort Stew is even better the day after you make it. In my humble opinion, letting a dish sit overnight allows the seasonings and other ingredients to meld together and create an explosion of flavor. Because beans are so filling you will probably have leftovers so you can bet on enjoying another delicious bowl of Comfort Stew the next day. We sure did!
Comfort Stew
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey (93% lean)
2 14 oz cans small white beans with liquid
1 14 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with sauce
3 scallions sliced
1 onion diced
1 red pepper diced
1 small Napa cabbage shredded
½ green pepper diced
½ cup celery diced
½ cup water
Seasonings:
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp basil
Brown ground turkey on medium high heat in a large pot. Season meat with salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Add scallions, red and green peppers. Stir and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 3 -5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cabbage, water, beans and remaining seasonings. Stir and lower heat slightly. Simmer for 20 minutes.
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