the winter months are typically the more boring months when living in a cold climate. the desire to leave the house unnecessarily really just isn’t there. since everything is boring- your clothes are always covered by a jacket, you’re always wearing big clunky boots and the only food that’s appealing is food that serves the dual purpose of keeping you warm, that often means being creative with the grocery list. ideally this ensures that you only have to go once, at the most twice a week and that the food you’re making lasts a few days. you also never know when a snow storm will make getting around the city an incredible burden. that’s why i’m a huge soup fan. you can make a huge pot and you’re good to go for at least 3 meals and possibly more if you freeze portions. the fun part is finding new recipes to try so that you don’t get bored of your food.
i know i’ve said it before, but my crock pot is my go-to for my soup projects. yes the cook time is longer but the prep time is virtually non existent. i just found another crock pot recipe that i made over the weekend for the upcoming week. it’s quick to prepare and extremely healthy. the recipe gives the option at the end of using a n emersion blender to make more of a puree but i prefer to leave my soups with whole vegetables.
Black Bean Slow Cooker Soup
- 2 large carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 medium onion
- 1 lb uncooked black beans
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbs chili powder (use less if you don’t love spicy)
- 1/2 tbs cumin
- 1 cup salsa
- 4-6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (i used 4 and it gave me a less soupy soup)
Dice up all of your vegetables and put into the crock pot. Add all your remaining ingredients. Cook on high 4-8 hours. You want the beans to be very soft by the time your cooking is complete. The varying cooking time is due to the different intensities and sizes of crock pots used. It took my soup around 5 hours until it was ready
Now serve and Enjoy!
xx- aboutthesmallthings
aboutthesmallthings 