Well, I did it. I busted out my crock pot the other day and made a soup. I was pretending it was fall, I guess, even though there are not any colored leaves on the trees or anything, and it wasn’t too chilly outside. I just couldn’t resist anymore – I needed to throw a bunch of stuff in the crock pot and have it turn into a warm, hearty soup. I also found these adorable little stoneware bowls for $1.99 each at the Salvation Army. Can you believe that? How could I not make a nice autumn soup to put in them? 😉
And it was very nice to get back into that routine again. There’s something so rewarding about chopping up the vegetables, adding the broth and spices, then putting the lid on, turning up the heat and letting it go until it’s a warm, simmering, comforting soup. And it’s so handy for me, especially because this week we’re trying to get into our home school routine for first grade, and when I start concentrating on one thing, I tend to forget other things. You know, minor things such as cooking and eating. 😉
This is a super easy recipe, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry. You can use any kind of bean that you have on hand, and either chicken or vegetable broth is just fine for this recipe. Serve this with a salad and cornbread and you have a hearty, healthy fall meal!.
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 large sweet potatoes. peeled and diced
- one 4 ounce can green chiles
- one 32 ounce box of chicken or vegetable broth
- one 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup short grain brown rice
- ¼ cup wild rice
- 1½ Tablespoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Put the olive oil and the diced onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Turn it to high, and let the onions warm in the oil for about five minutes.
- Add all of the other ingredients EXCEPT the pinto beans, salt, and pepper. Make sure all of the rice is covered with liquid.
- Cover and cook on high for three hours.
- After three hours, remove the lid and add the beans, salt, and pepper. Stir. If it looks like it needs a little more liquid, add some room temperature water and stir. (You should never add cold liquids to a hot crock pot).
- Cover again and cook for another hour.
- Add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with cornbread.
- add beans one hour before end
- add more liquid if needed
