Southwestern Three-Bean and Barley Soup

Boy, do I love me some slow cooker meals.

Well, let me include a caveat: I love me some slow cooker meals IF I can remember to start them in morning.

That being said, when I DO start my slow cooker meal on time, it is heavenly. HERE is the original recipe sans my modifications.

Southwestern Three-Bean and Barley Soup: 
Servings: 6
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cook time: 8 hours




Ingredients:

• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 4 C water
• 4 C vegetable broth
• 1/2 C pearl barley
• 1/2 C dried black beans
• 1/2 C dried great northern beans
• 1/2 C dried kidney beans
• 2 T chili powder
• 2 t ground cumin
• 1 T fresh oregano

Directions: 

Rinse beans and combine all ingredients in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, about 4 hours on high or 7 to 8 hours on low.

Serve topped with cilantro, fresh squeezed lime juice, and cheddar or sour cream ... or eat plain! It's great either way.

Unless you like your beans a little "al dente" (how else would you describe it? They're not crunchy, they're just not from a can ... ), I recommend soaking them the night before. I always forget to soak mine, though, so I'm pretty used to "al dente." 

Also, if you're interested in a stove-top version (for those of us who can't seem to remember to start the slow cooker in the morning), follow the link at the top of the page to the original recipe. I can't vouch for the stove top version, but it oughtta work just fine. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 443 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 296 Calories from Fat 42

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4.7g 7%

Saturated Fat 0.9g 4%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 567mg 24%

Total Carbohydrates 49.4g 16%

Dietary Fiber 13.0g 52%

Sugars 4.1g

Protein 16.2g

Vitamin A 97% • Vitamin C 13% Calcium 11% • Iron 26%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in saturated fat
• No cholesterol
• High in dietary fiber
• High in manganese
• Very high in vitamin A
• Very high in vitamin B6