Slow Cooker Bean and Beef stew

We have lots of dried beans in our pantry which we rarely cook.The other day while I was cleaning the pantry my hubby suggested we use these beans. I was wondering if I had to cook one bean dish a day to consume so many different types of beans. Hubby said why don't we make some bean soup (which he is good at making but doesn't have the time to) so I decided to make a bean and beef soup with some veggies.
Our internet was down that day so I couldn't go online to check any recipes so I ended up making my own version. You will find many different ones online. To be honest anything that you cook in a slow cooker tastes good so I was not worried. I had a can of Hunt's tomatoes which was supposed to go bad in two months and I had no clue why I had purchased it as we don't eat canned food. I thought I should add it in here and use it up.

Ingredients:

2 cups Bean mix (you can use the store bought mix but I just mixed different beans like Garbanzo, Kidney, lima, black eyed peans, big white beans, red lentils, whole brown lentils, whole yellow peas etc.) Soaked in water for atleast 6 hours
4 carrots peeled and cut into big pieces
1 potato peeled and cut (optional I didn't add it)
1 can Hunts Tomatoes or 2 big tomatoes chopped into small pieces
6-8 cloves of garlic chopped
lamb/Beef cut into small pieces fat cut out and washed (use cuts for stewing)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
6 peppercorns
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt

Soak the beans/lentils for atleast 6 hours in water. Discard the water and wash them once before use.
In a slow cooker add  the garlic, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, meat, beans, all the dried herbs, peppercorns, bay leaves and the spice powders. Add around 1-2 cups of water and some salt. Close the slow cooker and set on 10 hours slow cooking (I did 6 hours slow and 4 hours high).
You will smell the flavors blend and the whole house will be filled with the flavors of the hearty bean soup.
Once the soup is ready adjust salt mix well and enjoy.
The soup is very filling so I didn't serve it with any bread.

Note:
You can skip the meat and only add root veggies like carrots, potatoes, butternut squash, sweet potatoes etc.
Some people add 2-3 tbspn of peanut butter for flavor - it's the African bean soup recipe.
If you don't have a slow cooker you can make it it a high pressure cooker or just in a pot on the stove top. Just make sure you soak the beans for longer preferably overnight.
I did freeze some soup for later use and it was handy when we didn't have time to cook and were starving.

**Apologies for the messy bowl I just poured the soup in the bowl and clicked the pic will do a better job the next time.

Noodle Soup

When you are on a full blown cleaning spree and have no time to cook something elaborate, this is  the end result, a yummy soup. I am not sure how healthy the noodle part is but the clear soup is surely very healthy. I just added the noodle so it would be a filling bowl of soup and suffice both of us.
I had lots of chicken broth from boiling chicken, to make chicken salad for pita pocket sandwiches for our lunch. I always save the broth and make soups or use it for fried rice, it gives the rice great flavor.

Here goes the recipe

2 cups chicken broth (boil chicken till it is cooked removed chicken and use broth - I used plain skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 cup shredded boiled chicken
Rice noodles or any noodles or pasta
2-3 tbspn green/spring onion
1/4 tsp red chili paste/sauce (I used Sriracha)
Salt & pepper

Heat the broth if it is cold add 1 cup water to it and boil add the rice noodles or pasta, shredded chicken, some green onion, chili paste, salt & pepper.
Let it boil adjust seasoning. Once the rice noodles are cooked put them in a bowl and garnish wth more green onions.
Enjoy a cup of this soup on a rainy day!

Note:
My Chinese friend Z once told me when you boil chicken or any meat to make the broth they first place the chicken in a pot add cold water and once it boils they throw away that water and refill the pot and let it boil again. This ensures all the fat and toxins from the meat are washed away.
Guess this is one of the tricks the Chinese use to remain skinny ;)  I have started doing the same!

Roasted butternut Squash Soup

Its that time of the year when you want to tuck in bed with your cosy blanket, watch movies and drink hot tea and soup. Yeah its winter time and its been raining in Oxford since a few days and needless to say pretty chilly too. It's time to bring out my soup recipes and make some for dinner regularly as well. One of our favorite soups here is the butternut squash soup.

Butternut squash is almost like a pumpkin, sweet and nutty to taste. It's one of my favorite veggies I can just roast it in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper and eat it. The soup is thick , a little sweet & nutty..So here goes the recipe for one of my favorite soups...


1 Medium sized butternut squash
1-2 tsp Olive oil
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 tsp Italian herb mix or just thyme
salt, pepper as per taste
2-3 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup Chicken broth (optional)

Cut open the squash lengthwise scoop out the seeds and brush it with some olive oil and roast in the oven at 350 degrees F till soft (when a fork is inserted it should go in smoothly) about 30 minutes. Scoop out the orange flesh of the squash with a spoon and keep aside till it cools, throw away the skin.
While the squash is roasting heat a pan on the stove-top add oil, onion and garlic and fry till translucent. Add the herbs and mix well.
Now in a blender add the squash, onion and garlic and blend. If it gets too thick can add some milk or water.
Now heat this mixture in the same pan, season with salt and pepper and add a dollop of sour cream before serving.
This is a thick soup and not watery.It can be enjoyed with a piece of fresh bread or just by itself. I like some homemade rosemary bread along with this. I will post the recipe for the bread soon.

Note:
My friend suggested adding chicken broth to onion and garlic while frying and bring to a boil. Then while blending you don't need to add the milk.
This gives a good taste but then you need to go easy with the salt as the broth has salt in it.