Friday, April 30, 2010

Tomato, Bean and Vegetable Soup

Well, I would like to first of all re-name this.  This soup was vegetarian and it was very good, but I wouldn't call it Chili.  I would like to call it Tomato Bean and Vegetable Soup.  My concoction was seriously lacking the "spice" of Chili even with a tablespoon of Chili powder and a jalepeno.  However, this soup is CHOCK full of "good for you" things and my daughter went in for second helpings!  I must admit, I had second helpings too!  I planned to serve this with corn bread, but didn't have time to make it by the time I got home from work today.....tomorrow I will make it to go with the leftovers!

If you would like to make this into more of a Chili, I would omit the can of vegetarian baked beans and add another kind of your favorite beans in its place.  I would also add the seeds of the jalepeno and maybe a can of green chilis.  I  have to keep the spice level down around here so my little one will eat what I cook.

One thing that I happened to mention to my husband last night as we were prepping all of the ingredients, is that I was so happy I have been using all of my leftover ingredients!  I used parsley for the Parsley Chicken and Bean and Ham soup last week, and I used the remainder of the bunch I bought today for this soup!  As I think about things to make for the week, I try to find things where I only have to buy a few ingredients instead of buying a ton of things I'll never use again.

This Tomato Bean and Vegetable Soup is VERY fulfilling and will definitely satisfy all my Vegetarian friends out there!

Tomato Bean and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup kidney beans, soaked overnight, drained/rinsed 
6 cups water
1 can Vegetarian Baked Beans
1 29 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 cup Lentils
1/2 cup Bulgar Wheat (this can be left out)
1/2 cup minced parsley (or use 2 Tbsp. dried)
1 red onion, chopped
1 large or 2-3 small zucchini, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup corn
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder, Garlic, salt, pepper (or use 2 cloves)
1 tsp. basil, oregano, thyme

Directions:
Soak kidney beans overnight, drain and rinse in the morning.  

In the slow cooker, add ALL ingredients.  Stir and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.
Serve with cornbread.
Enjoy!


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2 comments:

  1. Would it be okay to use canned kidney beans or is that what you used and you soak them?

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  2. You can use canned beans. I used dry beans, which need to be soaked. If you use canned beans, you would not need to soak them.

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