Comfort foods for cold days

It is finally winter here in WV. It hasn't really felt like winter in quite a while... I think that has been the way all over the place. We have been experiencing record highs - in the 50's for most of the past few months. This weekend we had 10 inches of snow and the temps are in the teens. So it is a wonderful weekend to make some of my favorite comfort foods.

We have had beans, (first we had tacos) then the beans were transformed into chili, transformed into spaghetti sauce this past week. One slow cooker filled with beans can be transformed into a variety of dishes that will last a week and cost next to nothing.

Today I am filling the slow cooker with my famous Sauerkraut and Kielbasa! This is wonderful for those of you that do not like the sour-ness of sauerkraut. It takes the tang out. You also do not have to put in sausage. You can add ham, or just not any meat at all. It is a wonderful vegetable.
Being from New York, I have always had sauerkraut on my hotdogs! But I have found, I enjoy this milder version even more.

Start with 2 cans of sauerkraut., rinsed in water then covered in the pot (you can cover it with chicken broth or just water) To save money, I just cover it with water.Add to that 1 tbls of brown sugar and 1 grated apple and 1 grated potato and cook on low for about 4 hours. I then get kielbasa (I like Hillshire the best) you can get the turkey sausage, turkey kielbasa, polish sausage or which ever you enjoy. Cut the link in half and then cut chunks. Place it in the slowcooker, covering and mixing it with the sauerkraut. Cook for another 2 hours and there is dinner!!