Autumn in your Crock pot

This dish makes your house smell so wonderful, and it tastes better than it smells. I got this recipe for autumn sausage crockpot from A Year of Slow Cooking. She describes this dish as "eating a bowl full of Fall." I told Mrblocko that before we ate it the first time. After the first bite he exclaimed, "OMG! She was right."This is a recipe that I keep in rotation all throughout the Fall and Winter. It's that time of year again! Woot woot! Doncha just love it when it starts getting cooler out? It's like nature is giving you permission to fill the house with the aroma of baked goods. Ok, so the crockpot isn't the same as using the oven to bake, but it stinks up the house just as perty.

The recipe doesn't specify, but in the past I've used regular raisins. This time I only had golden raisins. The dish has a better color composition with the regular raisins. Next time I'll save the golden raisins for baking. The other change I made to the recipe was to increase the carrots. 1/4 cup seemed to be a bit stingy for my liking. (If I remember correctly, this time I used 2 large carrots.) I also like to use 2 different types of apples to mix up the flavors. The dish should be even more colorful, but I had to peel the apples in order to appease Mrblocko. He doesn't like apple peal. (tisk tisk)

Autumn Sausage Casserole from A Year of Slow Cooking
1 pound sausage (I used chicken with artichoke and garlic)
1 large, or 2 small apples, chopped (no need to peel)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
3 cups already cooked long-grain rice
1/2 cup raisins
1 T dried parsley flakes
1 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup chicken broth or water

The amount of ingredients fit nicely in a 4 quart crockpot. If you are going to use uncooked pork sausage, I'd recommend browning on the stove top, and draining before adding to the crockpot. Otherwise, dump all the ingredients into the crock, and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4. You're really only heating through, and allowing the vegetables to soften. This will not stick together like a gloppy casserole; it has the consistency of fried rice. Use bowls to serve rather than plates.