Found a Peanut...(New Recipe #2: African Peanut Soup in the Crock Pot)

Fall is my favorite season for a lot of reasons...pumpkin flavored things (beer, coffee, etc), cooler weather, leaves changing, pies, my birthday...just to name a few. But one of my favorite things that comes with fall is the crock pot! I know you can use the Crock Pot anytime, but we do not often want hot food from the Crock Pot in the summer so I break it out again in the fall. Through Facebook, I got two good resources for new Crock Pot recipes. One friend sent me a list of hundreds of Weight Watcher Recipes and another sent me the link to a blog where a woman used her Crock Pot every day for a year. I stumbled across a recipe for African Peanut Soup and decided to try it. Holy moley - it was AMAZING! The ingredients seem so odd together, but the combination came out great. Here is my version (very close to the original I found) I did not use the sour cream or tabasco at the end and I just , I don't think it needed it. If you're feeling brave, try it out!

African Peanut Soup:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped 
• 2 scallions, chopped 
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped 
• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, with liquid 
• 8 cups vegetable broth 
• 1/4 t black pepper 
• 1/4 t chili powder 
• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice 
• 1 cup peanut butter (to add later) 
• dollop of sour cream and a bit of tabasco sauce (optional) 

Spray the Crock Pot with cooking spray. Chop all onions, scallions and red pepper (I used my mini food chopper - which I love!) Add onions, scallions, red peppers, tomatoes, broth, black pepper, chili powder and rice and stir. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for about 4. The soup is done when the onions are fully cooked and are translucent.

Stir in peanut butter, and cook on high for 20-30 minutes, or until fully heated through. Optional: add a dollop of sour cream and a touch of tabasco sauce.

I brought leftovers of this soup for lunch and it's even better!

Today's post title comes from a very disturbing children's song.