Slow Cooker Burritos

This burrito recipe makes about 6 hearty meals. You can use black beans or kidney beans, white rice or brown rice, and use whatever burrito-friendly vegetables and toppings you have on hand. It's also amazing with a canned pepper in adobe sauce in it for an extra kick!

Slow Cooker Burritos

What you'll need

Burritos

- 2-3 chopped tomatoes

- 1 chopped bell pepper 

- 1 chopped onion

- 1 chopped jalapeno pepper

- 1 can black beans

- 1 tsp oregano

- 1 tsp basil

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth

- 1/2 cup rice

- Tortillas

Toppings

- Green onion

- Grated cheese

- Salsa

- Sour cream

- Guacamole

- Lime juice

- Chipotle sauce

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Burritos

How to make it

1. Combine chopped vegetables, beans, spices, and vegetable broth in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. 

2. Add the rice to the slow cooker and cook on high for 45 minutes.

3. Ladle burrito filling onto a tortilla and add desired toppings. Wrap up burrito and enjoy!

---
Adapted from Pare, Jean. Company's Coming: Slow Cooker Dinners. Alberta, ON: Company's Coming Publishing Ltd.

Bean and Barley Chili

What a delicious bowl of chili. It's hardy and spicy, and the barley makes it thick and creamy. The best part? The dry and canned ingredients have long shelf lives and can be bought for a very low price. The other best part? The vegetables are all from the Guelph Farmers Market.

Bean and Barley Chili

What you'll need:

Vegetables

- 1 diced red pepper

- 1 diced onion

- 1 stalk celery

- 4 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
- 650 ml vegetable broth* or water

Dry goods

- 1 can (540 ml) of black beans

- 1 can (540 ml) of molasses-style baked beans

- 1 can (540 ml) of kidney beans

- 1 can (796 ml) of diced tomatoes

- 1 can (540 ml) of diced tomatoes with chili spices

- 1 cup of barley

Spices

- Chipotle sauce

- Cumin

- Chili powder

- Paprika

- Cayenne pepper

- Salt & pepper

Garnishes (optional)

- Grated cheese

- Green onion

- Sour cream

Ingredients for Bean and Barley Chili

How to make it

1. Saute the vegetables in a large pot for a few minutes, until onions are translucent.

2. Add the canned goods and let simmer on low.

3. In a separate pot, prepare the barley according to package directions. We made it using vegetable broth for a bit of extra flavour, but making it with water would work just fine!

4. Add the barley to the bean, tomato, and vegetable mix and let the whole thing simmer until the vegetables and barley are cooked, and your apartment smells amazing.

5. Add the spices to taste.

6. Garnish with whatever you have at hand! Our chili turned out pretty spicy, so the sour cream helped to tone it down and make it creamy.


*I make my vegetable broth by boiling vegetable scraps, following this Tasty video.

Sweet Potato and Baked Bean Soup

I love love love this soup featuring sweet potatoes (from the market!) and maple baked beans. It's a lovely thick soup that's perfect in the fall. And, this recipe makes a huge batch of soup, so you can get several freebie meals out of it. Not even midterms can stop us from eating well!

Sweet Potato and Baked Bean Soup

What you'll need

- 1 diced onion

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 5 cups diced sweet potatoes (or about 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes)

- 2 cans (540 ml each) of maple-style baked beans

- 5 cups of vegetable broth*

- Fresh-cracked black pepper

Ingredients for Sweet Potato and Baked Bean Soup

How to make it

1. In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic until softened.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the sweet potatoes have softened (about 20 minutes). 

3. Puree until smooth.

4. Garnish with fresh cracked black pepper. 


*Note: I make my vegetable broth by boiling vegetable scraps, following this Tasty video.