Crock Pot Collard Bean Stew

I feel like I need to come clean with you.  I haven't meal planned in weeks.  Therefore, my cooking has been haphazard at best, and it feels like work.  Hopefully, I will get it all together soon.  The reason I am sharing this is because this meal could have been so much better and more complete had I planned it in advance.  In all fairness, however, this meal probably wouldn't have happened at all had I planned.  Let me explain.

I had a slew of collard greens in my fridge from our produce delivery service.  They had been in there for over a week, and really needed to get used up.  I was Googling recipes for it, and they all were cooked with either a ham hock or bacon, neither of which I had.  (On another note, don't you love the new trend to make nouns verbs?  Texting, Googling, etc.).  Eventually I saw one for a Cannellini Soup that used them.  It was also in the crockpot.  WIN!

I started by chopping up an onion, 4 celery stalks, 1/2 a small head of garlic, and 2 carrots and throwing them in the crockpot with a thick pat of butter.  

I thought my crockpot was stovetop safe, so I cooked them up on the stove top. 

When the onions were translucent and everything smelled good, I added in 3 cups of beans.  I had 2.5 cups of 16 bean soup mix, and .5 cups of Red Kidney Beans to finish it off.

Then 6 cups of Turkey Stock, 1 cup of white wine, and 3 cups of water went into the mix, along with some thyme, sage, and oregano.  Lots of Sea Salt, too!

Now at this point, there was quite a bit of liquid dripping onto my stove, but silly me, I assumed it was just condensation.  Into the crockpot it went.  In the meantime, I chopped up the collards.

I cooked it all day on low (without the collards) while I was at work.  Before I left, I noticed that the actual Crockpot was leaking, so I stuck a washcloth under it and left anyway.  It usually leaked a little, so I wasn't worried.  

I came home to a white washcloth that was now brown and a HUGE puddle on the counter.  Fail.  The food, however, looked great!  I sauteed some onions in lots of butter, and added some mushrooms to the mix as well.

They went into the pot along with the collards and cooked on high for about 15 minutes.

I added another splash of wine and lots more sea salt.  It was so delicious!

I would have been MUCH better had I made some crusty bread, or biscuits, or something, but like I said, I didn't plan.

The end of the crockpot story?  The insert is cracked beyond repair.  I'm not sure if it is because I put it on the stovetop.  I mean, I read the manual (after the fact) and it is NOT stovetop safe, but it had been leaking for a while.  I wonder if it already had a few small cracks and the stove just exacerbated the problem.  

In any case, I want a new one.  Any suggestions?

This post was featured on Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover and Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS!