How to diet fast 1 week

Sometimes I think outside the box a little when I'm staring into the fridge wondering what to make with what I have on hand, and that's what happened with this Green Bean Summer Salad with Italian Sausage, Olives, and Basil Vinaigrette.  I don't really know what made me combine these flavors, except I had fresh green beans and turkey Italian sausage that needed to be used, and I think olives and basil vinaigrette would taste good with just about anything.  All I can say is, it worked.  I'm calling this a "summer" salad because I wouldn't make this unless I had fresh green beans, but if you like all these flavors, be open minded and give this a try!

Cannellini beans, sausage, tomatoes, and fresh basil (or pesto) to finish the stew.

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this delicious stew with cannellini beans, sausage, tomatoes, and fresh basil or pesto added at the end is a delicious winter meal that I first posted in January 2009.)

I can get fixated on soup in the winter, but let me make it clear that this phase-one recipe with cannellini beans, chicken sausage, tomatoes, and basil is definitely a stew and not a soup. This simple rustic dish was amazingly addictive.  It's also a recipe that's very flexible, so if you don't have exactly the ingredients I used, experiment with what you have. Cannellinis are white kidney beans, and I've been infatuated with them ever since I got the recipe for Cannellini Beans in Mint Marinade, but you can make this with any type of dried white beans, or even canned beans if you prefer.

When he was staying at my house, my brother Rand came home one day with a garbanzo salad from the market.  The salad was okay but not anything that was especially memorable, but doctoring up that salad to give it a bit more wow was what inspired this Roasted Garbanzo and Vegetable Salad with Garlic, Feta, Olives, and Basil.  And everything about the salad I came up with was perfect (if I do say so myself), including the way I roasted the garbanzos, red bell peppers, and red onions with garlic to add more flavor, the savory saltiness from the Feta and olives, and extra punch from sliced fresh basil added at the end.  I'm growing basil in the window of that new kitchen I keep promising to show you, but if you don't have basil I think chopped parsley would be delicious as well.