Crockpot Vegetable Soup

I made some huge changes to the way I eat and live my life about 5 years ago.  It has been slow, and I’ve learned the awful, terrible lesson that there are no quick fixes no magic pills (really there are NO pills, so save your money).  Every once in a while I find myself slipping back into the habits that got me in trouble in the first place, so I have to have a little conference with myself and hit the reset button.  When it comes time to get back in gear, I need to make something that is really good for me, hopefully tastes good, and that I can eat a lot of, because depriving myself never works out really well for me, or anyone as it turns out. 

This Recipe is a giant one, and you will need a BIG crockpot.  Please think of the ingredients below as a blue print, I usually put the beans, then the celery, carrots, & onions since they are the flavor builders.  I add the liquids and spices, and then go to town adding the other vegetables until the crockpot is full.  You can use whatever vegetables appeal to you, I throw spinach, kale, mushrooms, asparagus, corn, etc., basically anything that is in my fridge that I need to use up in and it all turns out fine.  

I like a lot of flavor, and as I’m sure you know if you’ve used your crockpot before, it can be a flavor killer, and the first few times I made this soup, it was just kind of, meh.  Then one glorious day, as I was making this soup, and simultaneously cleaning out the fridge I noticed a jar of spaghetti sauce staring at me from the back of the fridge, and I thought, why not?  It went in with everything else, and I’ve never made it any other way since. 

3 cups Northern Beans, soaked overnight (you can use 3 cans of kidney, northern, black beans,  etc.)

3 cups Celery, sliced or chunked up

1 small bag Baby Carrots chopped

1 white or red onion, chopped

1 bell Pepper

2 zucchini diced or sliced

2 cups Peas

1 ½ Cup Green Beans

1 dried chili (poblano, serrano, etc.)

1 can diced tomato with garlic and onion

2 boxes broth of your choice

1 Jar of Spaghetti Sauce

½ tsp Sea Salt

1 Tbsp dried Oregano

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

½ tsp Creole Seasoning or Seasoned Salt

2Tbsp. Brown Sugar

• Start by adding the beans to the pot, and then your celery, carrots, & onion. 
• Add your broth, spaghetti sauce, olive oil, and spices.
• Continue adding your variety of vegetables until they are all either in the crockpot, or you’ve run out of room.  Turn your crockpot to Low Heat and let this go for 8 hours. 

**This soup freezes great.