Bean & Vegetable Soup

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This is a hearty, healthy soup loaded with veggies and nutrients, and perfect for those last few cold days before Spring. Just toss everything in the crock pot and you have a deliciously filling meal, ready for you when you get home. The liquid smoke replaces the traditional ham bones in this recipe, giving you all that smokey flavor without added animal products. Serve it up with a nice warm baguette to soak up all that smokey broth!

1 lb bean soup mix
4 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 small bunch kale, stems excluded, leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
9 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke
15 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish

Add all of your ingredients to slow cooker, except tomatoes and parsley. Cook on low 8 hours or high for 4 hours, until beans are tender and kale is soft. Add tomatoes with their juices during last 15 minues of cooking, and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley, and serve hot. Makes great leftovers, and the longer it sits the more the flavors develop. Serve with a crusty baguette and enjoy!