Almost Meatless Sausage and Chickpea Stew

Readers, just a quick housekeeping update: after today's post I'm going to take a hiatus here at Casual Kitchen for the next few weeks. I'll be back with some new posts in October!

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You can prepare this hearty, protein-packed soup in about 40 minutes for under a dollar a serving. And it makes a ton. It’s a classic example of a highly scalable recipe: From just a single, not-very-long cooking session in your kitchen, you and your family can enjoy many healthy, low-cost meals.

I hope you love this delicious, inexpensive soup recipe as much as we did. Enjoy!

Almost Meatless Sausage and Chickpea Stew

Ingredients:
4-5 Tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 onions, chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon paprika
½ to ¾ teaspoon black pepper and salt, to taste
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 links sausage, cut into bite-sized chunks
3 carrots, chopped
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1-2 bouillon cubes, to taste
About 7-8 cups of water (enough to cover everything)
3-4 potatoes, peeled (if desired), and cubed
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and well-rinsed
Handful of fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:
1) In a large soup pot, saute onions, garlic, paprika, black pepper/salt and sausage pieces in oil over medium high heat until onions and sausage are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

2) Add carrots, diced tomatoes and 1-2 bouillon cubes, bring to a boil and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.

3) Add water, potatoes and chickpeas. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, add optional fresh parsley, combine well and serve immediately.

Serves 10.
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Recipe Notes:

1) Once again, as all Casual Kitchen readers well know, eating healthy food doesn’t have to be time-consuming, difficult or expensive. Here’s a rundown of the cost of today’s recipe:

onions: 75c
garlic: 25c
carrots: 50c
sausage: $2.00
diced tomatoes $1.00
potatoes: $1.00
chick peas: $1.20
parsley: 99c
spices, oil, bouillion cubes: ~75c

Total: $8.44, or 84c/serving.

2) A quick thought about why I borrowed/stole the phrase "Almost Meatless" and used it in the title of today's recipe. It's a sincere homage to one of the most intriguing cookbooks I've ever reviewed here at Casual Kitchen: Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond's brilliant cookbook Almost Meatless. I've featured it a few times here at CK, most recently in the unusual Almost Meatless Potato Corn Chowder, which was part of my new-recipe-a-day trial in June. If you're looking for a collection of intriguing recipes that will help you adopt a more conscientious diet and cut your food bill, be sure to take a look at this cookbook!

Read Next: The Best of Casual Kitchen 2014

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