The Best Bean Stew. Ever.

Your Recipes. My Crock Pot. You Win.

At least that's the claim of the poster.  Is it true?

Let's have a look.  Since I had the Monday of my final (today) off, we decided to take advantage of a crock pot recipe for Sunday's meal.  Nothing like coming home from the afternoon service to a house that smells delicious!  And stew usually promises leftovers, so I turned to my handy supply of submitted recipes, and pulled one out of a hat.

Then, I put that one back and grabbed one that I had ingredients for.

TBBS.E. it was.  I found this recipe delightfully easy, and a wonderful combination of foods I usually have in the cupboard anyway.  I think if you wanted to, you could forgo the ground beef for a super cheap meal, though the beef did add to the taste and texture.

Without further ado, here it is:

The Recipe:

1/2 lb hamburger
1/2 red onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can baked beans with bacon
1 can six bean medley
1/2 bottle pasta sauce
1/4 cup lentils
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 carrot (grated)
1 1/2 tsp beef boullion
salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry hamburger and onions with chili powder and pepper till done.
2. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for five hours. Or if you're gone all day, low for eight plus hours should work fine too.
3. Serve with bread.  If you have a breadmaker, set it to be ready soon before dinner, or if you don't, use some french bread. Or those almost baked rolls by dempsters. Or something else similar to fresh bread.  

Note: I started it on high, but after an hour and a half, it was baking to the edge of the crock, so I added a bit more water and switched it down to low.  Just before we ate, I ended up adding a bit more water since it had gotten quite thick, and let it go for another ten minutes before serving.

The Photo:

I would apologize for the fact that there is only one photo, but I read a blog today about the need to stop apologizing, so I'm giving that a go.  Sorry if the apology was distracting from the main event.


The Rating:
Thelma's Rating: 8/10
I really enjoyed this.  I was a little worried, since sometimes the bean texture throws me off a bit, but it was extremely tasty!  For some reason, the fact that there was rice included has opened my eyes to all sorts of other possibilities... I'll be doing some Googling later!  I think the only change I would make would be a bit more chili pepper to increase the taste, and another source of liquid, since it was very thick.  Perhaps some beef broth?

Len's Rating: 8.5/10
Stew. Good.  Give more. Now.

The Scoreboard:
1. The Best Bean Stew. Ever - 16.5/20

2. Nameless 'Quick & Super Yummy' - 16/20

3. Split Pea Soup - 15.5/20

4. BBQ Pulled Pork - 15.5/20

5. Crock Pot Chili - 15/20

Recipes remaining: 6