Crock Pot Autumn Harvest Stew – It’s the first day of Fall! 🍁 Time to pull out the thick sweaters, jeans, and boots! There are so many fun things to do in the fall – football games, chili cook-offs, festivals, and marching band competitions. 🏈☕🎶 It’s also time for soul-warming comfort foods, especially the Crock Pot variety. Come home from your grand adventures rosy-cheeked and windblown to the wonderful scents of a savory stew ready to eat when you are. Add a nice hunk of warm buttered bread drizzled with honey to your plate and lay a fire in the grate. Life doesn’t get much better than that. 😊
This is basically the same dish as the Autumn Harvest Stew oven version. Add whatever root vegetables you have on hand. This batch is sans the potatoes and/or rutabagas simply because I was out. Our favorite smoked sausage has always been Eckridge Skinless. It’s not easy to find in my area so when I do, I grab enough for several meals and freeze the packages. Use whatever you love best.
I didn’t add all the seasonings to this batch as I normally do since I used pre-seasoned diced tomatoes, but it definitely wouldn’t have hurt to sprinkle on a few more herbs in this case.
Crock Pot Autumn Harvest Stew
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into disks
4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 rutabaga (or 2-3 turnips), peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 small head of cabbage, cut into small chunks
1 (14.5 oz.) can Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic, & Oregano
1 (14.5 oz.) can Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes with Rosemary & Oregano
Salt & pepper, each layer
Add if using plain diced tomatoes:
Mix all of the following together in a small bowl and sprinkle some on each layer:
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. rosemary
Firstly, layer the vegetables in a Crock Pot or slow cooker in this order: carrots, rutabaga, celery, potatoes, and cabbage, sprinkling a little of the herbs, salt, and pepper over each layer.
Secondly, spread diced tomatoes (including liquid) over the cabbage layer then top with the sliced smoked sausage. Sprinkle a little more of the seasonings over all.
Cover and turn Crock Pot to low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours, until root vegetables are fork-tender. Stir entire contents to distribute the meat and vegetables evenly at end of cooking.
Serve with warm crusty bread, if desired.
In addition to all the wonderful things to do in the autumn, my fave by far is to wrap up in a warm shawl and build a beautiful campfire in the backyard. Moreover, this year, I’m going to put a grate over the hot coals and make a gorgeous stew in my cast iron Dutch oven. Just like they did back in the good old days. So here’s to a happy fall, y’all! 🍁
Happy eating! 😊
Culinary Craftiness 