Crockpot Cooking

Here are simple instructions for making any soup recipe easily in the crockpot.


Take any soup recipe that sounds good to you and take it apart like this:

Get your seasoning vegetables out (onions, garlic, grated carrots, bell peppers, and the like) and saute them in water or 1 tsp olive oil. Let them saute on medium while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.

Start with the bean/lentil/pea you like, either dried or canned. Add water as directed for the dried beans/lentils. If using canned, just add 2-3 cups water or veggie broth.

Then add vegetables. You can chop your own or grab bags of frozen mixed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, sno peas) or the like. We love fresh carrots grated into it.

Next, we usually add a starchy vegetable like frozen sweet corn (organic only, no sugar or salt added) or diced sweet potatoes since the kids need/like them. You can also use quinoa or wild rice, but these are usually better cooked separately and thrown in at the end.

Put your seasoning vegetables in (the onion, garlic, bell peppers, etc) after sauteing.

Then press start! You'll set it high or low depending on if you are using dried beans (takes the longest to cook) or dried lentils (less time than beans) or already cooked/canned beans (very short).

Last, I always season with pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and such AFTER the soup is finished cooking. For one, the saltier seasonings can interfere with the dried beans cooking and second, it's hard to know how much it needs until you can taste it.

For creamy type soups, I sometimes remove 2 cups of the soup, let it cool a bit, and blend it smooth (or you can use an immersion blender, but I don't have one yet). You can also add a bit of unsweetened almond milk or even 1/4 cup cashew butter to the blend, and pour it back into the soup.
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Step 2, Shopping list, This week

Produce:

Romaine lettuce
iceburg lettuce
mixed greens
spinach
kale/collards

tomatoes
avocados
onions
bell peppers
chile or jalapenos
garlic
cilantro

broccoli
cauliflower
sno peas / sugar snap peas
red cabbage
cucumbers
mushrooms

fruit (check fresh, sale)
bananas
apples


Health food section:

raw cashews
raw walnuts/seeds
chia seeds (have)
nutritional yeast (have)
dried fruit & raisins

Dairy:

skim mozz cheese for Ry
eggs for Ry
almond milk

Other:

oatmeal
whole wheat pasta
tomato sauce
corn tortillas
whole wheat bread
dried beans/lentils
brown rice
peanut butter
honey
whole wheat tortillas

Frozen:
berries
broccoli
corn
cauliflower
green beans
stir fry veggies
greens

Step 1, Meals, this week

Breakfasts:

oatmeal with apples, walnuts, cinnamon, raisins
fruit salad with walnuts
soaked oatmeal & chia seeds with raisins, dried pineapple


Lunches:

mixed greens salad, topped with confetti salad, with Casinera's Caesar dressing
   and a green smoothie
whole wheat spaghetti with a green smoothie
raw, chopped vegetables (cabbage, carrots, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sno peas, etc)


Snacks:

a nut butter on whole wheat bread with honey (DS, 8 yrs old)
fruit / fruit salad / bananas
sunflower seeds
banana bread (or health nut cookies)


Dinners:

black bean chili with brown rice
soup - pintos, mushrooms, vegetables (leeks, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, etc)
taco salad
vegan Pho (or seafood pho)