Vegetarian Crockpot Mexican Gloop

I love striving for a no-processed kitchen, but sometimes it requires a little fast thinking. Since we are a one vehicle family, the days that I keep the car by taking my husband to work have become guaranteed crockpot dinner days. This wasn’t just a crockpot day; it was also a we-aren’t-grocery-shopping-for-another-3-days kind of day. I used what we had, it looked pretty ugly, but it tasted mighty fine.

You need:

-Pinto Beans (I make all of my own, maybe 1 ½ cups or so)

-Kidney Beans

-Chickpeas

-several celery stalks, chopped

-onion, diced

-half of poblano pepper, chopped

-1 ½ cups or so of your favorite salsa

-2 tablespoons or so of your favorite taco seasoning (We use Penzy’s!)

-4 oz. cream cheese, broken up into pieces (half of a packet was all I had and it was more than enough)

-cilantro, red pepper, salt, and pepper to taste

-several corn tortillas

 I’m going to tell you what I did, and what variations I might do later.

Directions:

-Mix everything except the tortillas together in a bowl

-Lay a few corn tortillas on the bottom of the crockpot

-Pour some mixture, and continue layering that way until it’s all gone. I made 3 layers.

-Cook on high 3-4 hours or Low 6-8

-VOILA! ENJOY!

The next day, J was off work and wanted to make tacos for lunch with the leftovers. He seared some corn tortillas in the cast iron skillet and put the mixture inside. This got me thinking that you could make the mix in the crockpot or stove top and just use that to fill tortillas if you wanted. OR make quesadillas even…WOAH! Crazy!! I also think potatoes, any other kind of bean, and even chicken or beef for you carnivores out there would work too. 

Happy Eating! 

-Hollie

Actually "Clean" Taco Soup

I married a man who could eat anything with taco or enchilada in the name…daily. A while ago when discussing our desire to eat only food that God made, Donna (Mindful), convinced me that I needed to ditch the cans as well even if they only have one ingredient listed on the label. There’s still sodium, BPA, etc. hidden in there, and (I mean, it happens occasionally [insert wink here]) she had a pretty good argument. So then, she taught me the MOST AMAZING way to tackle dried beans…CROCKPOT! Hellooooo!! I love me some crockpot, and I never do the soaking thing. So, very quickly, because this is not the focus, this is the easy peezy way this goes down.

1.       Pour the bag of dried beans of your choice into a dutch oven/deep pot on the stove along with a little salt, a little pepper, and a couple bay leaves covering them completely with water.

2.       Technically, you should boil them about 10 minutes, but I’m not one to wait around for boiling. I cover the pot and set the timer for 20 minutes. It works every time.

3.       Pour everything, water, beans, and all into a crockpot.

4.       Let it sit on high for 3 hours or low for 6-8.

5.       When time is over, drain the beans in a big colander. If you’re using some then, take what you need. If you’re planning on freezing (that’s totally what I do), then forget about them for a while. Let them cool down to room temperature.

6.       Either use or divide however you wish (I usually get 3-4 servings from one 16 oz bag) and freeze.

Okay! I typically do this a couple times a week. I like to always have chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, etc. in the freezer at any given time. We’re not vegetarian, but we don’t eat much meat. Freezer foods are often fine when you’re looking for chemical free foods. It’s the best way to preserve and keep the goodness.

My family and I are no longer nomadic, which is AMAZING. So, I am loving all of the affordable, healthy options all over the place that I can use in my very own kitchen. When I realized all of the online taco soup recipes are filled with cans, I thought I’d add this beauty that I made last week to the cyber world. Change ingredients based on what you like in your taco soup, but here’s the real deal using some of my favorites.

You need:

A few potatoes, chopped

2-3 chicken breasts

1 serving of cooked dried black beans (I used about half a bag because we had company)

1 bag of organic frozen corn

3 stalks of celery, chopped

4 peeled carrots, chopped (For the record, I’m not a fan of baby carrots…God did not make them that way, just sayin’)

1 onion, diced

1 pepper diced

3 tomatoes, chopped

Some tomato sauce (The best way to go no canned here is to use the pouches or paper containers)

Some of your favorite salsa

About 3 teaspoons of Better Than Boullan

About 2 tablespoons of your favorite no chemical taco seasoning (I used Penzy’s Chicken Taco because it’s in my pantry now, and it’s glorious.)

All you do:

Toss everything into either a crockpot or a dutch oven. If you choose crockpot, cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8. If you choose a dutch oven, bring it to a boil and let it cook until the potatoes are soft and the chicken is done. Then serve with cheese, sour cream, chips, and guacamole if that’s what your taste buds are yelling out. 

YUM!! Enjoy!! 

-Hollie