Red Beans and Rice

I've been wanting to try out making red beans and rice for a while now. My Dad used to give us a boxed version of this, and it was SO GOOD! Well, of course I didn't think it was delicious the first few times I tried it, right, Dad? I think I mastered this, without nearly as much salt as the boxed version contains. This recipe makes a lot!

Ingredients:

1 lb. dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight

4 c. vegetable broth

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 green pepper, diced very finely

2 small white onions, chopped

1 tbsp. liquid smoke

1 tbsp. Bragg's liquid amino acids

2 tsp. parsley

2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning

1 tsp. salt

Instructions:

- Toss all ingredients into crockpot, give a good stir, and let cook on low for 24 hours.

...wait, what? 24 hours? You see, I originally planned on this cooking for only 8 hours. Right in the middle of this delicious dish being cooked in the crock pot, San Diego's power went out. I immediately thought of the red beans and rice (after wondering if Michael had left work safely or not, of course). I wasn't sure if I should quickly open up the refrigerator and put the contents of the crock pot inside, compromising everything else in there. I ultimately decided to unplug it and just let it keep cooking with it's lid on. I decided that if the power was out for TOO long that I would decide what to do with the food then. Instead of eating this for dinner that night, Michael and I rushed to the North Park farmers market to grab some dinner and head home for a night of reading and Scrabble...

I was able to plug the crock pot back in the next day and let it continue cooking. Once it's done cooking, serve over cooked rice (I chose long grain brown rice). The end result turned out perfectly.

Hearty Lentil Stew

It's been getting quite cold here in San Diego so I wanted to make something filling, warm, and delicious. We went out to the Farmers' Market and snagged most of these vegetables there. My dad also sent me a crockpot after mentioning that I wanted one after making peanut ginger soup. Thanks, Dad! I knew I had to make something with lots of yummy veggies and let it slow cook while at work.

Ingredients:

6 c. water

3 vegetable bullion cubes

2 c. brown lentils

1/2 c. quinoa

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 medium red potato, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 c. corn

1/2 c. peas

1/2 c. low sodium tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp. curry

1 tsp. garlic powder

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

Handful of spinach, chopped

Handful of kale, chopped

Instructions:

- Throw all of your ingredients into your slow cooker, stir, and let cook for 10 hours! I made sure to stir every so often because of the bullion cubes.

- When it's done cooking, throw in your spinach and kale.

- Serve!
This is mighty good! The recipe makes it look like there are a lot of spices but I didn't add too much of each, making sure to let the taste of each vegetable stand out. I probably could've added more quinoa but that 1/2 c. was the rest of what I had. It was still really really good, though, and was nice to keep on hand for lunch or dinner during that week. Stews and soups are easy to make when you're in a time crunch -- just grab whatever vegetables, beans, etc. you have, throw them in a crockpot, come home from work and enjoy! I can't wait for this cold weather to let up so the farmers at the Farmers' Markets will actually show up and sell me some of their goodies!