Easy Peasy Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew

There’s nothing better then walking through the door after a hard days work to the smell of veggie stew that’s been cooking all day long. This easy peasy stew is one of my standard weekday meals during brutally cold winter months in NE Ohio. With temperatures below freezing I decided this hearty stew was going to be on the Tuesday menu. I loaded up the slow cooker the evening before, plugged it in this morning and off to work I went. Around the 2 o’clock hour I started thinking about my little stew doing its thing in the cooker. I came home, took a warm shower, got into my jammies, robe and fluffy slippers (yes at 5PM), got a nice fire going and plopped in front of it with a nice piping hot bowl of this delicious and healthy stew. Winter evenings do not get any better than this – in my opinion. It’s the simple things in life that make me the happiest.

Ingredients

• 1 28oz. can whole tomatoes
• 2 cans reduced sodium tomato soup
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 carrots peeled and cut in small pieces
• 4 large celery stalks cut in pieces
• 1 10 oz. package frozen pearl onions or large onion chopped
• 1 large package white mushrooms
• 3 red skinned potatoes cut in pieces and unpeeled
• 1 small bag frozen peas (or green beans)
• 1 package extra firm and pressed tofu cut in small cubes
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. paprika

Directions

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker except the tofu. Set on low for 8 hours. Add the tofu the last 30 minutes. If you prefer a thick stew add a few tbsps. cornstarch and mix together. Serve with Wasa multi grain crisp bread.