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Healthy Vegetarian Vegetable Stew with Lentils and Herbs
Many people assume that crockpots are only for making soups and stews and, whereas these kinds of dishes are popular slow cooker fare, this certainly is not the limit to what you can make in one of these handy machines. There are slow cooker recipes which are suitable for everyone, even if you are a vegetarian or vegan and even if you do not like soup and stews all that much. You can cook fish in a crockpot, you can poach chicken, or turkey and you can even make crockpot dessert recipes, cakes, or bread in there. So, if you are wondering whether it is worth investing in a slow cooker, the answer is a definite yes.
Take the following vegetable stew recipe, for example. As well as the butternut squash, onion and celery, this tasty stew features rosemary and parmesan cheese for flavor and lentils for body. Non-carnivores need not miss out on flavor because lentils are just as satisfying and flavorful as meat. They do take a while to cook but slow cooking suits them just fine, so this crockpot recipe is ideal if you enjoy eating pulses and lentils.
You can mix and match the herbs too, since pretty much anything goes with lentils and onions. What about switching the rosemary and parmesan for a pinch of curry powder and some tomatoes? Decorate the resulting dish with cilantro instead of parsley and you have a delicious Indian curry. You can add other spices to this too. Alternatively you could switch the rosemary for basil or oregano for more of an Italian flavor. Be creative with this and enjoy experimenting with different herbs and spices. Crockpot cooking is supposed to be fun, after all!
Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew Recipe with Butternut Squash
Ingredients -
1 chopped onion
4 cups water
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 lb brown lentils
1 peeled, seeded butternut squash, in 1 inch cubes
3 sliced stalks celery
14 ½ oz vegetable broth
1 oz shaved parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Preparation:
Add the onion, celery, lentils, squash, rosemary, broth, water, salt and pepper to a 4 ½ to 6 quart crockpot.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until the lentils are soft.
Divide the crockpot vegetable stew between 8 serving bowls and sprinkle the cheese and parsley over the top before serving.
You can serve crusty bread and butter on the side, if you want.
(Serves 8)
Photo Description:
Butternut squash is tasty and nutritious. It makes a colorful addition to any crockpot stew recipe and is one of many vegetables which are well suited to slow cooking. The sky is the limit when it comes to crockpot recipes and there are hundreds of different soups, stews, casseroles, desserts and other meals you can make in yours. Maybe you want to try an exotic curry recipe or a full-flavored chili con carne or another international dish. Whatever foods you like or dislike, there are crockpot recipes for everyone. Once you discover just how much you can do with a crockpot, it will become your new best friend in the kitchen!
