OK, I’m ‘fessing up: This crockpot recipe was less of a perfectly planned meal and more of a happy accident. The kind that happens when your newborn has an epic meltdown just as you’re heading out the door to the grocery store and you turn right on back around… but you still need dinner and the fridge is still empty.
The ingredients are pretty much the remnants and rejects from other more planned meals. And I have to admit that the entire time I was dumping them into the crockpot, I was trying to recollect the phone number of the closest pizza delivery joint because I kind of assumed it would come in handy when the dinner hour rolled around.
But I was pleasantly surprised to find that this crockpot recipe (or should I say non-recipe) actually turned out kind of awesome! So awesome in fact, that my husband now requests it regularly – if you knew his picky palate, you’d know this is really quite the compliment.
It’s thick and hearty thanks to the barley and kidney beans, and it’s packed with delicious flavor thanks to all the vibrant veggies like carrots, tomatoes, corn, celery, leeks, kale and baby bok choy.
Ingredients:
- 6-8 cups low sodium veggie broth (depending on how thick you like your stew)
- 1 can tomato pulp
- 2 leeks, chopped
- 1 cup uncooked pearl barley
- 1 can low sodium kidney beans, drained
- 1 can no salt added carrot coins, drained
- 1 can no salt added yellow corn kernels, drained
- 2 heads chopped baby bok choy
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 3.5 to 4 hours, until barley is fully cooked.