With a bit of planning, a crock-pot (aka a slow cooker) can provide you with a meal in a hurry. This bean soup cooked all day while I was at work, and I just had to add a couple of things when I got home. I had some lamb broth sitting around (I made it by tossing the bones from a roasted lamb neck plus a couple of garlic cloves, a quartered onion, a couple of celery stalks and carrots with enough water to cover them into a pressure cooker and cooking for about 20 minutes once it started rocking).
Crock-Pot Bean Soup
- 6 cups broth (beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, vegetable)
- 1 cup pre-soaked beans, or mixed beans, lentils and barley (soak overnight)
- 1 chopped onion
Put in the slow cooker and set at a low heat for 6-8 hours. When I got home, I
- diced a couple of carrots and a couple stalks of celery, and microwaved them in water for a couple of minutes, then added them to the crock-pot. I also added:
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
I let it cook for about 15 more minutes, then served it with fresh bread.
You can add more vegetables if you like. Pretty much anything goes. If there is leftover meat, you can add that as well. This is excellent made with leftover turkey.
This is the bean mixture I used. It is a mix of beans, lentils and barley.