Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

I got this recipe from My Whole Food Life and adapted it just slightly. It takes literally minutes to put together, but it took me twice as long to make it as it should, which I'll explain in the directions, but next time it should go a lot more smoothly. It tasted wonderful when it was finally made and it was perfect for a freezing Winter day here in Wisconsin! This recipe makes an enormous batch, so we had leftovers for a couple of days, too, which always makes me happy because leftovers are my absolute favorite food!

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

4 C dried black beans, soaked overnight, rinsed, and drained)

4 C vegetable broth

1 yellow onion, diced

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin (I used WAY less, like maybe 1/4 tsp)

1/2 tsp oregano

3 cloves garlic, diced

salt, to taste

The original directions say to put all ingredients in the crock pot, cook on high for 1 hour, then cook on low for 3-4 hours. I did that and the beans were NOWHERE NEAR cooked. They were still hard as rocks. So I don't know if it's my crock pot or what, but I ended up refrigerating it for the night and resuming cooking, for the entire rest of the next day, until the beans were finally cooked. The texture was definitely different, but the flavor was exquisite.

So next time, I'm thinking I need to cook the beans part way on the stove after soaking and draining them and then using them in this recipe.

Other than the fact that this dish took me way too long to make, it's a really great recipe and one that we'll definitely have again!