Vegan Mexican Crock Pot Bean Soup

I cannot say enough about this weekend- it was just lovely. This morning started off the way every great Sunday should, with brunch at Charleston’s Cafe. Josh had an apple parfait and I had a blueberry parfait with no honey. 

After brunch, I hit up some GTL (in a different order). I went to our development pool to get some sun and to work on switching up some of my choreography.

When I got home, I threw together dinner (more on that later), put in some laundry, and went for a run/walk with Josh. I think we’re going to try to make running/walking together a weekly activity. Its great to have some time to just catch up.

For dinner tonight, I tested out a product I received from the CSN stores(disclaimer: I received this product for free), the Hamilton Beach Stay or Go 6 Quart Slow Cooker:

My other slow cooker is much smaller/older, so I was super excited to test out this new toy. For my first test run, I decided to create a recipe based on a recipe from the wonderful Angharad and this recipe. 

Vegan Mexican Crock Pot Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried beans (I used 1 cup pinto, 1 cup small red)
• 2 carrots, chopped (~3 oz)
• 1 small onion, chopped (~1.7 oz)
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper  (recommend puling this back to 1/8 teaspoon or eliminating if you’re not a heat fan!)
• 4 cups vegetarian vegetable broth
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• Toppings (jalapeno, cheese (for non-vegan), lime or lime juice, tortilla chips, tortilla, sour cream (for non-vegan), avocado, or Greek yogurt (for non-vegan)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in crock pot/slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6 hours. Top & Enjoy!

The slow cooker worked really well. I love that it has a “warm” setting. I also enjoy the locking option for travel and the spoon hold on top (no more messy counter top!!).

 

Look for a CSN stores giveaway coming up in a future post!

Do you have a slow cooker/crock pot? Any favorite recipes?

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Wonderful Saturday :)!! How was yours?

I started my day teaching my usual Saturday morning Body Step class, which was a total scorcher (if I do say so myself). After breakfast and a shower, Josh and I headed out to Isle of Palms to try and locate the Spoleto sand sculpting competition. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find it!! But we did enjoy a nice walk on the beach.

After watching some Glee, Josh and I headed to my parents for a bbq. My addition? A rhubarb strawberry crisp from Emeril’s new cookbook, Farm to Fork. 

 

I had never tried rhubarb before and was super excited to give it a go. I made a half batch of the crisp and it turned out great! The rhubarb adds a fun, slightly sour flavor to the crisp. Very yum! 

 

Family pictures from dinner- my parents dog Tedy:

 

My parents & Me and Josh:

My parents made steak (unpictured), corn on the cob, an amazing tomato and cucumber salad (with feta) that I some how didn’t get a picture of. For myself, I heated up a sweet potato with vegetarian baked beans and had some corn and a bundle of tomato/cucumber salad, and crisp (obviously) mmm:

It is always so much fun to hang out with my parents!!

On tap for tomorrow? Nothing! Maybe some pool or beach time (if the weather is nice). What are you doing?