Italian Summer Stew

Bob's Giambotta

Hey hey meal preppers! Happy Thursday! The recipe for this week is a very special one, because it’s a meal I learned about from my father in law Bob. Bob is quite the character and a fantastic cook.

When he first made this Italian Summer Stew (Giambotta) I was confused. In Texas, no one is eating stew in the summer. But as soon as I had a bite, I got it. It’s all the best summer produce in a delicious, light yet hearty stew. It’s comforting and delicious and the perfect break from all the salads of summer.

So this is my version of Bob’s Giambotta. This recipe is always in the rotation at our house and my girls love it too. Use up all the summer produce from your garden or farmer’s market and make this delicious, high protein meal.

Don’t forget to use the meal plan in the PDF all the way at the bottom of the newsletter! That’s where paid subscribers will find 5 recipes for the week, with a grocery list for everything you need!

MEAL PLAN AT A GLANCE

Meal Plan at a glance- Here’s an idea of how to build out a week of meals. You can swap things out, move things around- tailor it to your liking!

The full meal plan and grocery list are in a beautifully organized PDF at the bottom of this newsletter!

Not into these meals or the recipe for this week? You can always check out the archive of all previous recipes and meal plans here!

THE RECIPE

Italian Summer Stew

Macros per serving: 441cal / 17g fat / 38g carbs / 4g fiber / 34g protein

Servings: 5 servings

Time: 40 min

Tools:

• Cutting board

• Knife

• Large pot

Ingredients:

• 2 packages chicken sausage

• ½ onion

• 2 bell peppers (any color)

• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp dried basil

• ½ tbsp oregano

• 3 zucchini

• 2 summer squash

• 1 lb potatoes

• 28 oz crushed tomatoes

• 8 oz tomato sauce

• 1 tsp honey

• Salt to taste

• Red pepper flakes (optional)

• Parmesan cheese (I used 1 tbsp per serving)

Instructions:

1. Slice the chicken sausage into half moons. Chop the onion and bell peppers.

2. Add ½ tbsp of the oil to a large pot on medium heat. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned. While it cooks, begin to slice the zucchini and squash into half moons.

3. Remove the chicken sausage. Add the other ½ tbsp of oil to the pot, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the minced garlic, basil and oregano. Cook for 1 minute.

4. Add the zucchini, squash, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and honey.

5. Chop the potatoes and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cover. Continue to cook until the potatoes are cooked through (about 30 minutes).

6. Add the sausage back in. Salt to taste and top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

NOTES

• The stew will seem really thick at first, but as the veggies cook down and release liquid, they make their own broth to thin it out. But if it is still thicker than you want, you can add 1/2-1 cup of water or broth in step 6.

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Dairy free: use nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese

• Whole30: use compliant sausage, omit the honey

• You can add in any other veggies you like! Chopped green beans, carrots, anything really

STORAGE

• Allow everything to come to room temp and then store in airtight containers, like these.

REHEATING

• Reheat for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway through.

REDUCE FOOD WASTE

• Leftover onion? Save it! Put it in a ziploc, or better yet, buy one of these reusable onion saver things. Use the rest of the onion for another recipe later this week or next.

• This recipe makes 5 servings! If you won’t eat all 5, freeze any extra. It freezes very well. I like using Souper Cubes but you can also just freeze it in a Ziplock bag.

GROCERY LIST

PRODUCE

• ½ onion

• 2 bell peppers (any color)

• 3 zucchini

• 2 summer squash

• 1 lb potatoes

• 5 cloves of garlic

MEAT/DAIRY

• 2 packages of chicken sausage

PANTRY

• 28 oz crushed tomatoes

• 8 oz tomato sauce

• 1 tsp honey

• Parmesan cheese (I used 1 tbsp per serving)

SPICES/STAPLES

• 1 tbsp dried basil

• ½ tbsp oregano

• Red pepper flakes (optional)

• Salt

• Pepper

• Olive Oil

MACROS

Per serving, 5 servings total.

441cal / 17g fat / 38g carbs / 4g fiber / 34g protein

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