A Healthier Take on Sausage and Beans

I'm really not a fan of most sausages do to the fact that they contain fennel or caraway seeds. However, I love turkey sausage, chicken sausage, and the more international types (Polish, Spanish, Portuguese). This recipe oddly came to me when I bought mushrooms at the grocery store yesterday. It's earthy, savory, and will be a great dish to make in the fall (or today, who cares!).

Turkey Kielbasa and Black Beans with Marinated Mushrooms

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 Cups mushrooms (I used whole button mushrooms)

1 Package of Hillshire Farm Turkey Kielbasa

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tbl butter

1 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely diced

1 Tbl fresh rosemary, finely diced

2 tsp of dried Thyme

1/3 cup of diced scallions

salt

pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 450º. Using a wet paper towel, wash the dirt off of your mushrooms. Place them in a plastic bag and add vinegar, oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, a teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and let marinate until the oven is ready (for me that's about 20 minutes). Cook the mushrooms for 15-20 minutes in a shallow container or casserole dish, stirring occasionally. 

Meanwhile, add butter to a medium sized pan and head to medium high. Add your kielbasa (you can chop, dice, puree, or whatever you feel like) and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are 2 shades darker in color. Add the beans, turn the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. You can use a potato masher to mash the beans for a smoother consistency, or you can lightly grind them in a food processor prior to adding them to the pan. 

When the mushrooms are done, quarter them and add them to the sausage and beans. Add additional salt and pepper if you feel that the flavors are lacking. The best part is when you add the liquid from the roasted mushrooms to the bean mixture! After you have served your hungry guests, top each bowl with fresh scallions.

You could serve this over rice or quinoa if you'd like to round out the meal with a carb.

Enjoy :)

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 314 per serving
Total Fat: 15.3g
Cholesterol: 56.9g
Sodium: 1,011mg
Carbohydrates: 23.4g
Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 6g
Protein: 19.8g