Do you ever have one of those days where you know you're afternoon is going to be crunched? Who doesn't, right? I love, love, love my slow cooker on those days. In the morning, whenever I've finally had enough coffee to trust myself near the stove, this is one of the ones I love to make.

The recipe comes to you from Taste of Home, which is where I get a lot (I mean A LOT) of my ideas. In case you hadn't noticed already. As usual, I've made some adjustments, so the following is my rendition

Spicy Beans & Sausage
Servings: 6 (For my family of 5, I make double)

Ingredients:
1 lb smoked sausage (theirs says to use turkey sausage-I concede it is healthier)
--slice it in half then chop into "bite-size" pieces
1 can each of kidney beans, great northern beans, and black beans
(These all need to be rinsed & drained-personally I throw them all in the drainer at the same time & go from there, it's quicker)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups salsa (Don't like it chunky? Use taco sauce without chunks, similar taste & still adds spice)
A chopped green pepper
A chopped onion (If you don't like to cut onions, try buying minced onions in the spice aisle. The flavor is a little less, but it works)
1 cup of water (original says 1/2- 1 cup, but we like ours more like a soup)
garlic (3 gloves if you mince it yourself or if you buy it in a jar like I do, read the label for how much is equal to a clove-of course garlic is a taste preference so use as you see fit)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (Warning, a little of this goes a loooong way)

Here's the really easy part:
Chop, dice, slice, rinse, drain, etc according to list above.
Dump it all into the slowcooker/crockpot.
Cook on low 5-6 hours.

Great addition is those yummy dinner rolls! All food groups, if you add milk for the drink.
Enjoy! As always, I love to hear how you liked it or if you found another variation that you like better. So let me know.