Frugal and tasty vegan slow cooker soup

Our lives are very hectic so I'm always happy when I find a slow cooker recipe that the entire family enjoys. I love being able to make dinner when I have time early in the day, stick it in the slow cooker, and come home at dinnertime to a hot, homemade dinner!

Lentil & Black Bean Soup
http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/2013/03/slow-cooker-lentil-black-bean-soup-023.html
I love that this recipe uses ingredients I almost always have on hand at home, the prep is simple & straightforward, and the cost per serving is approx. 25 cents!

You can see from the Nutrition Facts here that is a very low calorie &  high protein meal.

I adapted the original recipe just a bit...


INGREDIENTS
8oz (1/2 of a 1 lb. bag) dry lentils
1 can black beans
1 medium onions (finely diced)
2 large carrots (finely chopped)
1 (15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. cumin
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
5 cups HOT water

3/4 Tbsp salt (to taste)*
1/2 tsp. black pepper (to taste)*

*Added at the end of cooking

DIRECTIONS
Rinse lentils and black beans. Discard any small pebbles or bad beans. Put them in the slow cooker. Add the diced onions, chopped carrots, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, chili powder, parsley, and HOT water to the slow cooker.

Cover, and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. No peeking, no stirring.

Remove the lid, and add the salt and pepper to taste. Scoop out  3-4 cups of the soup into a blender and puree and then pour it back into the slow cooker and stir.  This soup is very thick ... almost like chili, and tastes great by itself, over rice, served with tortilla chips, or with cornbread.

Store in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 4 months.