This week I made a fabulous stew in my crock pot, White Bean and Sweet Potato Stew with Collard Greens. I used a recipe from the book Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. I have not made many recipes from this book but so far they have all been good. The recipes usually have you cook a few things on the stove before adding them to the pot so the flavor is more developed than some crock pot meals. This recipe called for sauteing onions and garlic before putting them in the crock pot. I can't repeat the recipe as I did it exactly from the book, but it involved putting the sauteed onion and garlic in the pot, then adding in a pound of chopped sweet potatoes, a chopped jalapeno, two cans of white beans, a can of diced tomatoes, cumin, salt and pepper, bay leaf and veggie stock. You cook on low for 6 hours. Toward the end you clean and cut up a bunch of collard greens and cook them in boiling water, and then when tender you drain them and add to the stew. It was quite easy and very delicious. It was a a bit sweet with a little kick from the pepper. I would highly recommend it. It is so nice to walk into the house to the yummy smell of dinner already cooked!
Tip: When I steam veggies, or cook greens in water, I save the water left in the pan, adding it to a container in my freezer. When I need veggie stock for a recipe I thaw the container and instant veggie broth!
