An expert chef, I am not. I do believe I’m getting better at putting meals together from scratch and making them taste, not just edible, but good. I want myself and my family to be healthy, so I try to incorporate healthy ingredients and avoid processed foods when cooking.

My beef, lentil, and veggie soup recipe makes about 4 servings, but you can easily double or triple it. Soup tastes great as leftovers and freezes well. Also, the ingredients are easy to tweak, add, or delete.

I also have an obsession with my Crock-pot and like to break it out for meals at least twice a week!

Ingredients:

• 6 oz beef (roast or steak)
• 14.5 oz can beef broth
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup kidney beans
• 1/2 cup lentils
• 1 large carrot
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 large onion bulbs
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup kale
• 1 tsp chili sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Soak kidney beans overnight or for at least 3-4 hours. Add soaked and rinsed beans to slow cooker.

Step 2: Brown the beef in a pan on the stove top. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over top. Once browned, add beef to slow cooker. I added the juices from the pan, but to be healthier, just leave it out.

Step 3: Chop your carrot, onions, and celery into bite-size pieces and add to slow-cooker.

Step 4: Crush or chop your garlic cloves and add to pot.

Step 5: Add broth, water, chili sauce, fish sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.

Step 6: Set slow-cooker on High for 3 hours.

Step 7: At about 2 1/2 hours, rinse lentils and kale and add both to cooker for the last 30 minutes.

Step 8: When the veggies, beans, and lentils are soft or al dente (depending on your preference), add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Do you have a slow-cooker? What’s your favorite meal to make?