Crockpot bean and rice soup….

Hey, all. Today was truly hard. Evan is teething, and he has been a drooling, coughing, whiny, whiny little guy for days now. Seth has too much energy, and I didn’t have it together to get us out somewhere to play today. Ben doesn’t want to be put down, and I’m not ready to fight him on it because he’s so little. It’s hard not to get discouraged, even though I know this is just a season. But…. at least I had dinner in the crockpot! =)

Crockpot Bean and Rice Soup

2 cups cooked, cubed pork, beef, or chicken, or smoked sausage (I used turkey sausage, sliced and browned the night before)

1 cup cooked rice (or 1/3 c. uncooked)

2 cans black beans, drained

4 cups beef or chicken broth

2 Tablespoons taco seasoning

1 cup tomato sauce or 1 can diced tomatoes

Toppings: grated cheese, salsa, chopped cilantro, chopped onion

Place all ingredients (except rice) in the crock of a slow cooker. Stir gently. Place the lid on top and turn on the cooker. Cook for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high. Serve with toppings.

This didn’t affect the flavor, but the rice was basically mush because I put it in with everything else in the beginning. I’m going to try adding the rice several hours into the cooking process to see if that helps.

I highly recommend buying taco seasoning from a company like Penzey’s or Savory Spice Shop. No preservatives and less salt. Penzey’s has a salt-free mexican seasoning called Arizona Dreaming that I may sub in for 1 T. next time, since I did use canned broth and beans.

I got this recipe from the Life As Mom blog, and I didn’t change much. She’s got good recipes!