Bean and Spinach Stew
When I decided to throw together a bean and spinach stew for dinner, didn’t on sharing the recipe, so my camera was far from the kitchen. This was a meal I threw into the crock pot, crossed my fingers and hoped would be decent when we rushed family dinner into the evening’s busy schedule. Well, let’s just say this three bean and spinach stew was a wonderful mistake. If you don’t have pre-soaked beans you can use canned beans.
This stew is a pleasant surprise. I was going for a soup, or “serve with rice” kind of dish, but accidently leaving the slow cooker on high rather than low, resulted in a thick and wintery stew which matched our cloud-lined skies perfectly. I can not offer you exact measurements on this dish but I can tell fellow WeightWatchers that 1 cup of cooked barley is a powerfood and is 5 points (by the way, I weighed in today and lost 3.8lbs!).
Bean and Spinach Stew Recipe
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Equal parts (let’s say 1 cup) each of:
- Red Kidney Beans
- White Navy Beans
- Pearl Barley
- 1lb bag of frozen spinach
- 1 large can of whole plum tomatoes
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- Four of five cloves of fresh garlic
- 1 package of marrow bones (optional, for a vegan or veggie option, use Marmite or stock)
- Water to cover the ingredients
- Salt & Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Bay Leaves
- Thyme
- Parsley
Soak your beans overnight to save time in the morning.
Now, we’re almost done. I made this while running out of the door to work – I didn’t even chop an onion! Rinse the beans and barley and put in the slow cooker. Open the frozen spinach, add to the slow cooker, followed by the canned tomato and tomato paste. Add the water and add the marrow bones or marmite/stock. Season generously with salt, pepper, two bay leaves, thyme and parsley.
Set on high for 10 hours, and return home from work on a wet and windy evening and enjoy this dish with the ones you love. This may very well become my new go-to quick dinner until the temperatures pick up again. What do you like to cook for the family when you are low on time?
