Black Bean & Lime Soup

3 cups dried black beans, rinsed & soaked overnight, then drained
1 smoked ham hock
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Place the above ingredients in crock-pot and cook on LOW 4-5 hours. Then add:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped fine
5 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbs. molasses or brown sugar

Cook on LOW 1-2 more hours. Then remove half of the soup to a blender. Puree until smooth and return to the crock-pot. Just before serving, add 1/4 cup lime juice.

Serve with chopped cilantro, sour cream, and chopped avocado.

Adapted from this recipe from Simply Recipes.com. 

Barbacoa Sweet Potatoes

Somebody posted this photo on Facebook and I immediately knew I had to duplicate it. This is a Hot Mess from Pecan Lodge in Dallas. It's a sweet potato stuffed with barbacoa, cheese, chipotle cream, bacon, and green onions. Sounds amazing!

You'll need 2 crock-pots -OR- 1 crock-pot and 2 days to make this.

Crock-pot #1:

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

3 lbs. boneless beef chuck roast
1 onion, chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbs. garlic powder
1/4 cup distilled vinegar

Cover it all with water and cook on HIGH about 4 hours or until meat is tender and falling apart.
Drain liquids and shred the meat with two forks. Then add:

1 (14 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
salt to taste

Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.

Crock-pot #2: 


Slow Cooked Sweet Potatoes


Wash 6-8 large sweet potatoes and pile into crock-pot. Add nothing. Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

Condiments:
Cheddar cheese
bacon bits (homemade or not)
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped


Chipotle Cream
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 tsp. cumin

Serve buffet-style and enjoy!