Crockpot Meal - Vegetarian Italian Sausage Stew

I adapted this recipe from one of those 5-ingredient crock pot booklets you find at the register that I can never seem to pass up.

Really simple...
- 1 lb "Fake sausage" (as my family calls it) browned
- 1 32 oz. box of vegetable stock
- 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz. can of cannellini beans
- some garlic & basil (to your taste, I like a lot of garlic)
- a sprinkling of flax seed (which I'm adding to everything I can nowadays)
- 1 16 oz. bag dried tortellinis (the recipe called for fresh but my budget called for dried)

Brown the "sausage" and throw everything in the crock pot on low for 4-5 hours. Before serving, cook the tortellinis and add. See - easy, and tasty.

Shopping Tip - Don't buy individual

I'm sure everyone already knows that you can save money by buying larger portions but here's an example - raviolis, which is favorite lunch of my daughter and her friend when they come home from kindergarten.

I was buying the canned type (I know, not so healthy) but the today I cooked up a half bag (bag is 16 oz) of Trader Joe's dried ravioli's and half a bag of their tortellinis (the girls couldn't make up their mind so we made both) and added a jar of Trader Joe's tomato and basil marinara (cause it was cheapest:) I fed them, sampled some myself and put the rest away.

It should last for a couple more lunches. Not much more prep time, tastes just as good, if not better and saves me money. Good buy all around.