Shout out to anyone who recognizes this title (and picture). Too bad VHS tape players are basically extinct because this is a classic as far as I’m concerned.
And now, may I present to you, our island of misfit toys…
Sad, but true, these do not get used often enough. I have no excuse. It’s something I’m pretty ashamed to admit actually. So I hereby vow to use both the slow cooker and the juicer once a week. Do we have a deal? Good.
The inspiration for this crock-pot soup came from here. All I did was google “vegan slow cooker recipes” and of all the resources that came up, Savvy Vegetarian has a huge index of recipes that all looked mighty fine.
I soaked the lentils in water overnight.
With a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf.
The next day the lentils looked like this.
All fat and happy after a night of soaking.
I then got to work with the rest of the ingredients.
Crock-pot Veggie Lentil Soup
Spices (in no order and unmeasured): rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne peppers, ginger, garlic gold, ginger, paprika, cumin, TJ’s 21 season salute, parsley (the rosemary and thyme were fresh from my “garden” but the rest were dried spices)
Veggies: carrots, butternut squash, fingerling potatoes, celery, diced tomatoes (with liquid)
Other: whole wheat elbow macaroni, vegetable broth
*I measured nothing and just made sure to add enough liquid so that all the ingredients were submerged.
For the original recipe, you can click on the link above (from Savvy Vegetarian), but I made numerous changes and I’ll tell you why in a sec.
But first, let me show you a new item that I’m kinda in love with. These adorable organic fingerling potatoes were from Purity Organic (a farm in SF) and I bought them in WF. I had no idea there were different varieties of fingerling potatoes, but there are, and so I chose the ones with the funniest name – Russian Banana. Maturity of a 10 year old. That’s me.
The recipe said to add various ingredients at different points throughout the cooking process. It also said to pre-cook the barley. My response? No and no. I’m sorry but isn’t the advantage of the crock-pot it’s simplicity? I thought the whole idea behind it was you throw everything in, turn it on, forget about it, and hours later you have a delicious home cooked meal with minimal effort.
Given my rebellious ‘tude, I made a few alterations to keep the recipe on the simple side (as in fewer than two steps). Instead of using barley, which required pre-cooking, I used whole wheat macaroni noodles. And instead of adding the ingredients at the suggested hour marks, I ignored those directions, dumped everything in at once, and hoped for the best.
I also set it on high for 5 hours instead of low for 8 hours. I’m such a risk taker.
Here’s what I learned about slow cookers:
1. They are idiot proof (throwing everything in at once made a FANTASTIC meal, so if you are worried about the timing of adding different things, don’t be). Eff the instructions and add everything in at once. I promise it will be (better than) ok.
2. Veg recipes don’t require as much cooking time because the worst outcome would be al dente veggies (which is fairly impossible after 5 hours of sauna time).
3. You don’t need to pre-cook grains (the macaroni noodles – which were added uncooked – were mush in the end product). This leads me to believe that barley could have been added uncooked and turned out perfect.
This is 4 hours into cooking. The apartment was smelling like heaven at this point which made my rained-in workout as cruel as ever. Imagine Jillian Michaels screaming fat burning techniques when all you want to do is follow your nose to the island of misfit toys.
I am pretty sure you’re not supposed to open the slow cooker in the earlier phases of cooking, but I could tell it was mostly done, so I took the lid off to attempt a photography sesh and give it a stir.
Once the five hours were up, I turned it off, took a million photos, and divvyed it up in tupperware.
It doesn’t look like much, but trust me, it was SOOO good.
If I had known how incredibly simple the crock pot would be, I would have gotten on board way sooner. The best thing was I left for work with my portion (night shift) and Kyle still had a warm home cooked meal waiting for him whenever he was ready for dinner.
Look how much!
Scrape, scrape, scrape. Bu-bye.
Like I said, it was a night shift night, so I packed up my eats for a (second) dinner at the hospital.
It looks brown and blah, but don’t let the aesthetics turn you off. Kyle texted me at work saying how good it was, and how full he felt after downing it. And I have to agree.
I had the soup at 11 pm and didn’t eat ANY of the rest of the things I packed. SO. HEARTY.
I am so excited to give the Iced Gingerbread Clif bar a try, though, so it will definitely be gone in a few minutes. I’m a sucker for the seasonal flavors and I remember reallllly liking this one last year. If you’ve never warmed Clif bars in the microwave for a few seconds before consuming, I highly recommend.
I’m off to get some shut eye before tonight’s night shift. Who else has a slow cooker/crock pot? Love it? Or have you managed to lose it on the Island of Misfit Toys? Tips? Recipe ideas?
I love the Gingerbread Clif Bar! And I don’t have a crock pot, but I really want one soon.
I love having my crockpot at home..it’s so convenient!
i really need to show my sad, neglected slow cooker some more love. that soup looks awesome! and i’ll definitely be microwaving my next clif bar — i can see how a little heat would make it extra tasty!
Wow that looks really good. I’m getting a crock pot for Christmas and I think I know one of the first things I’m cooking. 😉
Love the crockpot!
Just this weekend I used Williams Sonoma “Moroccan Chicken slow cooker sauce” and thought that it would’ve been fabulous to skip the chicken altogether and use the sauce with diced sweet potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas.
Most of my go-to recipes are meat-based, but two veg favorites are marinara sauce (you’ll never eat “quick cooked” sauce again!) and chili… I use mushrooms, carrots, beans, whatever is lurking around.
Oh, and to combat the mushy pasta, either precook it (sometimes I do it the day before or cook double and freeze) and add just before serving OR just add the uncooked pasta 30ish minutes before you want to eat.
Your meal sounds so, so good. And you know, it’s got some rustic charm, visually speaking. 😉
I love my slow cooker, but I don’t use it for much beyond making butters and mulled wine.
I might have to try a mixture of lentils and veggies….
At 7:00pm EST tonight, The Island of Misfit Toys is on ABC Family!
I love my crock pot! It is great for soups, stews, beans, etc. Also good for tomato sauce. It is great to throw things together before I leave in the morning, set it on low, and come home to a nice hot meal and great smelling apt!
AND…I still have a VHS player, lol. I am so lame and technically challenged!!
Courtney
I’m actually asking for a Crockpot for Christmas…hopefully I actually use it! And I’m so glad you already know to microwave the Clifs, because that flavor is out-of-this-world heated up. I love then they get super sizzly and awesome!
So I am totally adding a Crock Pot to my Christmas list.
E, we have this dish called “mechado” and the basic ingredients are tomato sauce and your marinated meat in a soy sauce and lemon juice combo. I normally throw in potatoes and carrots in the mix with a bit of red bell pepper. My cousin said she made this with beef and it was sooo tender and the potatoes and carrots were sooo good and mushy…mmm. I’m sure you can veganize this, and it can be the first ever, Vegan Mechado. Throw some white rice on the side and you’ve got yourself a Filipino style meal.
p.s. I don’t have a slow cooker, but highly suggest you make something like this so I can try it…haha.
Oh hells yeah. Doing this fasho.
That sounds awesome. Thanks for the idea.
Haha rustic charm. I like that.
Totally just set up the tivo. Thank you SO much!!!
Amazing right?!?
You are such an odd duck and I love it. But then I have soooo many VHS tapes but no way to play them…so that makes me more weird I think.
looove my crock pot – haven’t broken mine out yet this season, but here’s my favorite veganized recipe for lima bean cassoulet:
http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/lynn-love-taxes/
“have a holly jolly x-mas!”
I LOVE my crock-pot! It’s so nice to just throw everything together and come home to a nice warm meal (and a great smelling house)!
I usually stick to soups and chili, though I have cooked 1/2 a huge pork loin in one and it was amazing. My next experiment is crock-pot steel-cut oats!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-oatmeal-recipe/index.html
I love using my crockpot when life gets crazy. One of my favorites is Veggie Chili. I literally add whatever veggies I have, a can of beans, a can of diced tomatoes, some veggie broth and a spoonful of canned pumpkin or tomato paste. SO GOOD! idiot-proof too!
I have a spiralizer I’ve only used once. I’m not a raw foodest or anything and to be honest, I dont really want to spend the time peeling, spiralizing, and cleaning the spiralizer etc. I just chop the veggies and throw it in a bowl! lazy chef I am indeed!
Anyhow, I’ve used the slow cooker to make mulled cider, its awesome! I use this recipe: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink2036.html.
It also makes killer oatmeal, like this one I got from “Eating Well” http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/overnight_oatmeal.html
So I’ve been reading for a few months without commenting (aka stalking you). I just wanted to say that I LOVE your blog. Your sense of humor is right in sync with mine, which helps make my days a little lighter. 🙂 I too work full time, and strive to pack breakfast and lunch (and sometimes dinner) each day. This is even more important now since I stopped eating meat 3 months ago. If I don’t bring my own meals, I can pretty much kiss any thought of a healthy alternative good bye (did you know Taco Bell will substitue vegan beans for meat on any menu item? – bad discovery!). Thanks for helping to encourage me that it’s possible to eat well and keep the menu varied!
The slow cooker is a staple in our house! Veggie chili, beans, soups, quinoa concoctions, sweet potatoes, you name it and we’ve probably tried it! I love the Savvy Vegetarian website – there dishes are money. 🙂
Keep up the good work, and make that slow cooker feel loved! 🙂
Island of misfit toys – I love it. Along with the crock-pot, mine has the Magic Bullet, food processor, blender (now that it’s cold out), immersion blender and meat slicer. Apparently I would rather slice and dice by hand…??
I did break out the juicer this week though! I paid $2 for it at a garage sale and I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth.
I want to come over the next time you all make this. I am so adding this to my crockpot list. I LOVE the Christmas pic, but, sadly I have no clue – Island of the Misfits….LOL
Did K’s call go good with the R&D person?
That movie is on ABC family all the time in December! Along with the Rudolph and Frosty oldies, too. So good,
Are those your Misfit Toys from the movie? I’ve been looking for a full set of the misfits and not finding them. Rudolph is my favorite xmas movie, I cry every time.
Yummmy. Love lentils so this stew looks great.
OMG We love that movie, I forget the name right now but we loved it!!! Now I want to go watch it, 😉 LOL
~Lori
I have a crock pot and I NEVER USE IT because I’m never up early enough before work. Can I put everything in the night before and just turn it on in the morning?
Love that TV special! I own it on DVD so don’t be discouraged by your lack of VCR. 🙂
Crockpot is by far one of my favorite kitchen tools! So easy, so good. Like Kim Kardashian.
misfit toys make the best meals! I love my crockpot, dehydrator, and more. Now, a juicer…..I’m thinking that is a good christmas present to go along with the other misfits, eh?
Cheers,
LC
I have more VHS tapes than I do DVDS! I cannot believe I am admitting all of this, lol. You need to come visit and bring your VHSs and we can have an old-school movie marathon 🙂
Courtney
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I used to LOVE that movie!!!! I always thought it was a ‘classic’, staple Christmas movie from our generation but my husband has never watched it. My mom has gotten me some ornaments of figurines from the movie, and I bought myself the DVD… haven’t watched it yet haha but I just wanted to have a copy on hand 🙂 So fun that you love it too!
I LOOOOOOOVE that movie! It’s definitely one of my favorites 🙂
Haha, I love that movie! And most xmas specials in general, really. 🙂 I actually have an Island of Misfit Toys myself, much like yours. A George Foreman, toaster and spiralizer are some of its residents. I do actually use all of them occasionally, but anything trying to compete with the juicer or food processor is just going to straight up lose.
The slow cooker is def. something I love and every time I use it I wonder why I don’t use it more. Maybe becuase I am single and making such huge quantities (as many crockpot recipes do) makes me sick of the food…or makes my freezer very full. Best thing I did in it recently was homemade apple butter! A la Eating Bird Food. Try it!
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