Cajun-Seasoned Vegetarian Gumbo

I decided to buy a slow cooker at the end of last year and used it maybe once or twice. When it started getting chilly here, I rediscovered it and am so glad I did. I get delicious meals with virtually no mess to clean… it’s heaven! Speaking of tasty meals, I have a new favorite to add to my top 5 recipes: Cajun-Seasoned Vegetarian Gumbo. There is so much to love about this meal: it’s vegetarian, I can easily alter this meal for Mike by adding shrimp to his bowl (he likes it so much that he said he was fine without having shrimp in his tonight), I can just dump it in the slow cooker before I run errands, it has FIVE ingredients total, and it has so much flavor!

I got the recipe from a cookbook Mike decided to “borrow” from his sister (in his defense, he did say “Hey, Sis, I’m going to steal this from you”). It’s called Better Than Mom’s: Slow Cooker Recipes. If you have a slow cooker, I highly recommend this cookbook! I will post the recipe for the gumbo below for those of you who are interested. I serve it with brown rice and a piece of sourdough bread slathered with butter!

Cajun-Seasoned Vegetarian Gumbo

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 16-ounce package frozen (yellow, green, and red) peppers and onion str-fry vegetables

1 16-ounce package frozen okra

2 to 3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (more if you like it really spicy)

In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker stir together all ingredients. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.