Hearty Vegetable Soup

In the winter, I make soup 4-5 times a week. It's my favorite go-to meal and with a little help from the slow cooker, it makes my nights a bit less busy. I've been making this soup for years, but recently cut out chunks of tomato in favor of adding just tomato paste. My kids enjoy it much better that way. For some reason the chunks of tomato were not appealing to them. This recipe is very easy, yet flavorful, I hope you enjoy it.

To make life simpler, grab a bag of organic mixed veggies instead of cleaning and chopping fresh.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

You'll need:

1 jar of tomato paste, such as Bionaturae

1 c chopped carrots

1 c chopped celery

1/2 c peas

1/2 c corn 

4 c vegetable broth, or more

1 chopped bell pepper

5 cloves garlic, pressed or smashed

1 c green beans

1 medium onion, chopped

4 red potatoes, quartered

Option: add in your favorite beans

Let's get started!

For stove top

Throw your onions, garlic, celery and bell peppers in a pot ( medium heat) with 1/2 c of water and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add in the rest in the rest of the veggies, tomato paste and broth, and let boil for 10 minutes. Lower heat and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until everything is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

For slow cooker

Throw all ingredients into a slow cooker and set for 6 hours. That's it! 

Cumin Spiced Beans with Rice and Quinoa

I try to plan our meals a month in advance. I know, that sounds crazy, but I like to make sure the month is well-rounded and that I don't forget our favorites or to try new things. We ALWAYS have Black Bean Burgers, Falafel, cold salads, pizza, some sort of pasta with sauce, and lots and lots of beans. The whole family loves beans. All beans. Black, navy, lentils, chickpeas, aduki, pinto… you get the idea. 

I love to cook with dry beans, they're cheaper and don't take much to prepare. Just soak them overnight in a large bowl and then toss into a slow cooker, with enough water to cover an inch over the beans, during the day. In a pinch, I buy canned beans that don't have BPA in the liner. Like, Eden Organics or Native Forest.

Raising little kids puts a lot of responsibility and worry on my shoulders. I worry a lot about their nutrition and whether they are getting enough of this vitamin or that mineral. Beans are so kid-friendly and are already packed with so much goodness. Their versatility and nutrition content make them a super food in my book. Beans are loaded with fiber, water, and protein, and are high in antioxidants and low in sugar. That means, they will keep the kiddos full until bed time, and me, too!

BUT beans can get boring pretty fast, if you let them. My family and I love lots of spices, especially cumin. So I cooked some black and navy beans in the slow cooker and added A LOT of cumin, and veggies. Wow, were these beans flavorful and ridiculously delicious. 

    
To make this meal easy, just add in the chopped veggies with the beans and spices in the slow cooker. If you want to saute them and then add the cooked beans, that works, too. Also, if you don't own a rice cooker, you should. Mine is my saving grace some nights. Before I purchased one, my family was victim to too many soggy or undercooked rice dishes. No more! In this dish, I cooked the brown rice and rainbow quinoa together in the rice cooker and they both came out perfect, and saved me a whole lot of time and worry.


Cumin Spiced Beans with Rice and Quinoa

You'll need...

Cumin Spiced Beans

2 c navy beans, soaked over night and rinsed
2 c black beans, soaked over night and rinsed
4-5 tbsp cumin (more if desired)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (optional)

Let's get started!

Place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker, set it to 6 hours and let it do it's thing. OR cook  just the beans in a slow cooker.  (or use canned), then saute the veggies and spices in a large pan. Add in the beans after the veggies are translucent.

Meanwhile...

Get your rice and quinoa going

3 cups brown rice, cooked according to package
1 c rainbow quinoa, cooked according to package
(I used my rice cooker for both)

Spoon some rice/quinoa into a bowl and cover with the Cumin Spiced Beans and scarf it all down!