Black Beans Ham Hock Slow Cooker

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Whew! We just had one of those mornings. That hour in the morning when I'm getting my 1st grader off to school is the most intense time of our day. Today, my kids slept in, jackets and shoes were wet and full of sand, homework needed to be completed.

But you know what rivals the early-morning chaos? That half-hour before dinner. If you could carve out 10 minutes of your crazy-busy morning to put this in the slow cooker, when you get home in the evening you'll just need to put out some toppings and dinner's served.

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This recipe is from Slow Cooker Revolution from America's Test Kitchen, so of course there's an innovative technique to get things rolling. I made a half-recipe, so I started by mincing 1 onion and 3 cloves garlic. I mixed that with 1 tablespoon each chili powder and olive oil in a microwave-safe bowl and heated for 5 minutes, checking on it occasionally.

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While the onions were in the microwave, I chopped 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks. I put that in the slow cooker with 3 cups chicken stock, 1 bay leaf and 1 cup dried black beans. I added the onions mixture to the stuff in the cooker, covered, and cooked on high for 6 hours. (You can cook on low for 9 to 11 hours.)

Oh, the recipe in the book calls for a ham hock, but I skipped it. My husband thought the soup was just OK, so you may want to add a ham hock before you start cooking. (If you use a ham hock, substitute water for half the chicken stock or the soup may turn out too salty.) I thought the soup was great, especially with avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese and a drizzle of sherry vinegar on top.

Gosh, maybe I should have made the whole batch. The story below includes ideas for using up leftover black bean soup:

Makeover Your Leftovers

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