Sunday was a gorgeous day in Toronto so we decided to high tail it up north and do a little skiing at Mount St. Louis Moonstone. We made for an early departure because it’s about a two hour drive from our house and we didn’t know how busy it would be. It turned out to be quite empty and not particularly too cold (although that wind-chill on the lifts was pretty bitter!). We packed our lunch so we wouldn’t have to endure the disgusting deep-fried slop that’s generally served at these establishments. They have a great little area where you can eat your own lunch and quite surprisingly, it was chuck full!
I knew we’d be pretty tired from a day’s skiing, particularly since we haven’t skied since two years ago, and even then we skied only once or twice, so I dragged out the crock pot and assembled the Navy Bean and Mushroom “Risotto” the night before. I refrigerated the mix overnight (without the water) and in the morning, I just tossed the whole thing into the crock pot and added the water so that it can cook all day. I love coming home and being greeted by the warm and comforting smells of home cooking! I also made some biscuits to go with our tasty dinner, but you’ll have to wait for that post another day.
I love Navy Beans because they are so darn creamy, that is why I think of this dish as “risotto”. You can make this vegetarian by omitting the sausage and the prosciutto in the scones!
Navy Bean and Mushroom “Risotto”
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry navy beans, rince well
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 cup chopped shitaki mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms
- 1/2 cup of celery root, chopped (I had a bit left over so I needed to use it up)
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped (I had a bit left over so I needed to use it up)
- 1 sausage, your choice, chopped
- 4 cups water, yup, plain old water!
- 1 tbsp cumin
- salt
- Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- I like all my ingredients uniformly chopped, but that’s personal preference.
- Put all ingredients except the Parmesan Cheese into the slow cooker, give it a good stir and turn it on high for about 35 minutes (while you’re getting breakfast ready). Once it has warmed up, turn it down to low and cook for 4-5 hours or until beans are done.
- Serve with shredded Parmesan Cheese and some tasty Maple and Prosciutto Scones.