RECIPE: Sausage and Lentil Stew

On Monday evening we had a particularly delightful frugal feast which I thought would be perfect to share with you: Sausage and Lentil Stew, cornbread, tossed salad, and chocolate mousse.

Sausage and Lentil Stew
This is a great way to stretch 2 sausages to feed four people (there's still plenty of protein in the dish due to the lentils).

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 large or 2 small carrots, chopped
1 cup red lentils
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 Oktoberfest style sausages, cooked and chopped (I use a Bavarian-style turkey sausage)
1 tbsp Braggs or Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dried parsley

In a large saucepan, saute onions and garlic in oil until tender. Add celery and carrots and cook until they start to soften. Add lentils and broth. Cook for 10 minutes (until lentils are nearly soft) then add tomatoes, sausage, Braggs and parsley. Simmer over medium heat until carrots are tender, adding water if needed to keep stew from drying out. Serves 4.

Chocolate mousse is not exactly your typical choice for a frugal dessert, but I had bought a 500 mL (16 oz) carton of whipping cream on sale just before Christmas and had only used up half of it. I used a very simple (but delicious) recipe from About.com's Southern Food guide: Chocolate Mousse in a Minute . My kids thought it was quite possibly the best thing they'd ever tasted!