Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

My cousin gave me this Black Bean soup mix for Christmas along with some other Fair Trade items. I used the rest up already, but this mix has been in the pantry for awhile and today just seemed like the day to cook it! I love black beans, so I think I was secretly "saving" it, but I have a bad habit of keeping treasured items until they're dried up, expired, or otherwise unusuable. Which totally negates the point of saving something to use for a special occasion, if you can't ever use it!



I separated the beans, pulling out the shriveled ones and any skin remnants. Then, I dumped them in the slow cooker with:

1 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
~3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 carrots, chopped
included spice pack containing oregano, basil, and cumin
extra spices (garlic and onion powders, pepper, and 2 bay leaves)
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/2 cup of tomato sauce/paste
8 cups water
1 package of Johnsonville brats, frozen

I gave it a stir, and put the cooker on low for two hours, but it wasn't really progressing, so then cooked it on high for 6 hours. The picture isn't very appetizing, but I can assure you that it was a really great bowl of hot food to warm the chilly, rainy, windy Chicago weather we're still having!

I also want to spread the news that this week's BSI is almonds! Karen at To be the Whole Package is hosting, so click on over to submit! I think I might use almond butter. Mmm

On the way home today I stopped by a little bakery Johnny and I just noticed two weeks ago. It's only about a mile from our house and next door to the Chinese take-out we always use, so it's funny we never saw it before. I wanted to check things out, and it was really cheap and all home-made with unique items, custom cakes, and all the regulars. I'll definitely be going back, and might even ask for an application!

These day-old bagels were only .25¢ each, I think!

These were called St. Joseph's cakes. Almost like a crueller with bavarian cream inside and a little strawberry and powdered sugar on top. It reminded me of a true ricotta cannoli - more mild, not something you'd describe as "sweet." Very nice, and exactly how I like my desserts because I'm the girl that scrapes off all the icing before eating the cake! They were $1.50 each and maybe about 4" across.

In total, my bill was only $3.60, including tax, for these two desserts and two bagels!