Slow-cooked Beef and Sausage with Cabbage

Growing up, we always ate pork and sauerkraut for good luck on New Year’s Day. My family is not a big fan of sauerkraut (I, on the other hand, love it the same way I love just about any food), but they do love cabbage. So I figure this dish, which combines pork sausage with Laura’s Lean Beef, should bring them all the luck they need in 2013. This is a simple recipe, and everyone loves it. It is good enough to put on early in the day so all you need to do is dish it out–it’s everything a slow-cooker meal should be: easy and quick to assemble, no tending required, delicious and filling.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Serves 8

1 medium onion, diced into 1-inch pieces

1 cup frozen pearl onions

2 stalks celery, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup baby carrots, each carrot halved

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pound Laura’s Lean Beef Eye of Round cut into 1-inch cubes

6 ounces kielbasa, sliced

6 ounces hot Italian sausage (use mild if preferred), sliced

2 packets dry onion soup mix

1/2 head cabbage sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons

3/4 cup water

Parsley (optional) for garnish

1. Layer onion, celery, carrots and potatoes into the slow cooker. Top with beef, kielbasa and sausage.

2. Sprinkle 1 packet onion soup mix over all. Top with cabbage. Sprinkle second packet soup mix over all. Add water to cooker and let cook at least 6 hours on low.

3. To serve, spoon out plenty of vegetables, potato and cabbage onto plate, top with meat. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Nutrition Information Per Serving (1.25 cup serving):
Calories 319; Calories from Fat 113 (35% from Fat); Fat 13g; Saturated Fat 5g; Cholesterol 56mg; Sodium 1271mg; Carbohydrate 31g; Fiber 6g; Protein 22g; Vitamin A 54%; Vitamin C 92%; Calcium 9%; Iron 15%