a simple real food recipe :: crockpot fiesta soup

This is one crockpot soup dinner that the whole family is going to love.It freezes up fantastic, it is perfect to bring to a party since it can stay right in the crock, or it is a great meal to bring to a new mama 😉I will include a link to how to batch up sprouted black beans in the Kitchen Tips. This is how I choose to do beans to make them easier to digest, less gassy, and have more nutrients available to them – if you prefer canned go for it. If you aren’t “there yet” in wanting to sprout and cook your own beans, I would rather you get the canned and still make this great homemade soup than skip the recipe all together. Take your baby steps and come back to the batching up beans when you are ready 😉 This also goes for the refried beans ingredient. I always have batches of this stuff in my freezer so it doesn’t take any extra time at all – this is truly a dump in the crockpot and go dinner!

Kitchen Tips:

1. HERE is a post that has black bean sprouting/cooking instructions.
2. HERE is my refried bean recipe – it is SO good! **If you go with canned refried beans you may want to add more seasoning (like Mexican or taco seasoning) to your soup – my refried beans are much more flavorful than most you will find in a can so the soup doesn’t end up needing much in the seasoning department!
3. HERE is how you can make your own nourishing chicken stock full of minerals and vitamins!
4. Here is my crockpot chicken method, and my roasted chicken method. This soup is a great way to use up the leftover chicken you have from your weekly chicken dinner!
5. My biggest hint in having things like the beans and stock on hand in the freezer is just to gradually build up your supply. You don’t have to do it all at once. When I make beans I make huge batches so I have lots available in the freezer and don’t have to be making them all the time. I usually make one chicken per week so I do usually make stock every week but you don’t have to do it that way.
6. I choose the spinach in there because I have little ones that don’t eat salads real well yet and I like having some sort of green veggie at the dinner table. It’s kind of nice having it in there – it is tasteless and really makes this a one pot and one dish meal! Leave it out if you don’t want it!
7. Use more beans than chicken or all beans if that’s all you’ve got!

YOUR TURN!

Let me know what you think if you try it!

This post was shared at The Polikva Family’s Family Table Tuesday, and Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday!