Crockpot Black Bean Quinoa Stew

This was an easy-peasy meal for me.  There's something so satisfying about throwing a ton of ingredients into a large crockpot, turning the thing on high, and leaving for the afternoon knowing dinner will be ready when you return.  Ahh...if only it worked like that every single time.  The only trick with this dish was the timing on the beans -- I think my beans were older, so instead of taking 4-5 hours on high, it was a full 7!!  I was thankful we had leftovers in the fridge that night.  But we were all very pleased with our dinner the next night, let me tall ya what!

I got the recipe over here and tweaked it a bit.  We're not huge green pepper fans, so next time I'll tweak it even more and sub those out for a yellow or orange pepper.  Lime wedges are a must, and I would highly recommend using at least half broth.  I tasted the stew when it was done (after we had finished our leftover dinner) and it tasted good -- but it was amazing the night after.  So this is a definite make ahead dinner!

Crockpot Black Bean Quinoa Stew
serves 6

• 1 lb dry black beans, picked over and rinsed well
• 3/4 cup quinoa, picked over and rinsed
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, with juice.  Recommended: have 1 of the cans be fire roasted
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 TBLS minced garlic
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow or orange (or green) bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 - 1 tsp liquid smoke (less if you used a fire roasted can of tomatoes)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 TBLS fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 TBLS brown sugar
• 1/2 -1 tsp salt, to taste
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups water
• lime wedges, or lime juice

-- Combine everything, minus the lime juice, in a large crockpot, and cook on high for 5-7 hours (checking doneness after the 5 hour mark)

-- Sprinkle lime juice on each individual bowl at serving