You may remember that for a while this past Fall and Winter I was slightly obsessed with making and eating batches of soups and stews. The past couple of months, however, I have been slacking on my devotion to one of the greatest types of food. Soups are pretty great, after all, aren’t they? You cannot beat quick and easy recipes that are packed full of vegetables and that produce some of the tastiest leftovers. Let us not forget about how great soups freeze and re-heat, too! Two Wednesdays ago, I decided that it was time to change my lack of making and eating soups. And what better way to do that than with a slow cooker soup recipe? It seriously does not get much easier than this one, folks!
Slow-cooker Pea and Carrot Rice Soup
Adapted from a recipe in the April 2012 issue of Rachael Ray Magazine
Servings: 4
Ingredients
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into half-moons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 cup brown rice (not instant)
6 cups water*
5 to 6 tsp “no chicken” Better Than Bouillon vegetable soup base*
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
*You can also use vegetable broth in place of the water and soup base
Now are you ready for the simplest directions ever?…
Directions
1. Place all ingredients into the slow cooker and stir until well-combined.
2. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on the low heat setting for approximately 8 to 10 hours, or until the rice is fully cooked.
That’s it! Pretty easy, am I right? 😉
Serve your Slow-cooker Pea and Carrot Rice Soup with your favorite crackers or slice(s) of bread. I chose my go-to soup accompaniment: saltine crackers!
This soup was seriously delicious. In fact, it was so good that I had to go back for seconds :). It definitely has a spin on the classic chicken noodle soup, but the textures and flavors of the rice and beans provide a nice twist to this soup’s more traditional counterpart. Plus, let’s not forget about how obsessed I am with both peas and carrots. I am pretty much bound to love anything that has an abundance of those two vegetables.
I, of course, was beyond excited about my leftovers the next day at lunch. I am fairly certain that we are all aware of how much better soup gets with age…kind of like wine, I suppose? And you had better believe that I am extremely happy with the fact that I currently have two more servings of this soup in my freezer. I am sure that they will not be in there for much longer, though! 😉
Before I let you go for the day, I want to mention one last thing. This past weekend I watched the documentary, Vegucated. It is streaming for free right now on Hulu and is an incredibly informative and interesting film. I highly encourage each of you to watch it. Oh, and you may want to keep a box of tissues on hand, too. Just a warning! 😉 Following is the link to the Hulu page and a brief description:
This feature-length documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. There’s Brian, the bacon-loving bachelor who eats out all the time; Ellen, the single mom who prefers comedy to cooking; and Tesla, the college student who avoids vegetables and bans beans. They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the fate of the world may fall on their plates.
