Slow cooker cassoulet

There are many things we do here at the school to off set the cost of feeding and housing the puppies. The one that I am sharing here is using a Slow Cooker and making meals that cost less than $7 for 4 people.  I am going to enter the Food Stamps Challenge this year under A Paw and A Prayer, so I have to get practicing. The challenge is to feed a family of 4 for $4per person per day, (which is the California Food Stamps allotment), for a week.

This morning we had French Toast with powdered sugar and syrup, Bacon, Coffee and Orange Juice for
$.75 per person.  I buy the bread at the bakery outlet for $.79 a loaf (white bread) and the rest I buy at Costco.

I am a Crock Pot Freak and have spent the last year using mine to death.  It started because of how unbearable hot our inexpensive HHgregg oven makes the kitchen.  I never wanted to cook ever again during the entire summer, until my CROCK POT EPIPHANY. Which was this: If I prep for 10 minutes in the morning when the inside temperature is below 80 degrees, I can let my non-heat creating Crock Pot (that I have had for 8 years) cook all day and still have supper ready for my husband and kids around 5:30pm when the AC is cranking and it is a pleasant 75 degrees inside. YEA!
The Cassoulet is a French dish that I am trying out using my discounted meat from Food Lion. This is not a special deal for me as a rescue. They donate all their old food to a local church that feeds hundreds of people a week. Instead this is meat that I pick up whenever I am going by the Food Lion here in town.  Two days before the sell by date the meat manager knocks the price down by 50% but the day before the sell buy date this goes up to a 67% discount, so I never buy meat unless it costs 1/3 the original price.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped    (I used wild onions from the garden--white part only)
• 2 carrots (from the garden) sliced
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped ($2.83 for 3 #)
• 1/4 pound cooked smoked turkey sausage, diced ($.83/#)
• 4 slices turkey bacon ($.63/13.5 oz)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 6 oz marinara (prego on sale/freeze the rest)
• 1/2 pound  great northern beans, rinsed and drained cooked according to directions $.79/lb Walmart)
• Add water as needed, starting with 1/2 cup to your desired thickness
• season to taste at the end of cooking with salt and more pepper if desired
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley from garden
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (from stale bread)
• 1 Tbs Butter
• 2 Tbs parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Heat olive oil and in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion  and carrots; cook and stir until onion is tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in chicken, sausage, bacon, and garlic. Cook 5 to 8 minutes, or until chicken and sausage are browned. Stir in Marinara; transfer to slow cooker. Stir great northern beans into the chicken mixture; Add water as desired. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours if you have an old Crock Pot or 4-5 hours if using a new one.

An hour before serving time combine bread crumbs, melted butter and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on to and continue to cook. Before serving, sprinkle parsley over cassoulet. Can be served with fresh bread or baguette.
Serves 6 for about $5 total.