As soon as I saw this recipe in my Southern Living magazine, I knew it was going on the menu! It turned out just as delicious and hearty as I had hoped and everyone gobbled it up. Not to mention, I love anything that simmers away all day in the crock pot.

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Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup with Bacon

• 4 thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (from 1 medium onion)
• 1 cup 1⁄4-inch-thick carrot slices (from 3 medium carrots)
• 1 cup dried navy beans
• 3/4 cup 1⁄4-inch-thick parsnip slices (from 2 medium parsnips)
• 3/4 cup 1⁄4-inch-thick celery slices (from 2 stalks)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (from 3 garlic cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups chopped curly kale (from 1 bunch)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• Fresh thyme leaves

Cook bacon in microwave until crisp, according to package directions. Crumble bacon.Step 2

Place potatoes, onion, carrots, beans, parsnips, celery, broth, garlic, pepper, salt, and bacon in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until potatoes and beans are tender, 5 1⁄2 to 6 hours.Step 3

Uncover and stir in kale. Cook, uncovered, until kale is tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Ladle soup into serving bowls, and garnish with black pepper and thyme leaves.

Notes:

• I omitted the parsnips and used extra carrots.
• I substituted spinach for kale because we all like it better and I love that I can just buy it in a bag and run with it.

Honey Butter Rolls

I served the soup with our FAVORITE honey butter rolls. I thought about doing a crusty dutch oven bread, but we all love these so much I couldn’t help myself. CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

This soup is definitely a keeper! One thing I love about winter is all of the yummy comfort food. It’s just too hot here to make soups, chilis and roasts in the spring and summer.