Winter Vegetable Soup with "Chorizo"

It's Vegan! Really!! I used Soy Chorizo (from Trader Joe's) and Veggie Stock. For people who eat meat, you could, of course, use pork chorizo or sausage and chicken or beef stock.

Ingredients

• 2 medium-sized carrots, diced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 1 turnip, cubed/diced
• 1 potato, cubed
• Chorizo or Sausage (soy variety or meat, depending on your preference)
• Approx. 1 quart of vegetable stock or broth (or chicken or beef stock, if you prefer)
• 1 can kidney beans
• Thyme
  
• Salt, pepper
• Olive Oil

Preparation:
1. I chopped all the vegetables first and set them aside and then cooked up the chorizo over medium heat with olive oil in the pan. Then I set the chorizo aside.
2. In the same pan (as the chorizo was cooked), I cooked the turnip, carrots, onion and shallot in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Next, put the cooked vegetables in a crock pot with vegetable stock and turn on low.
4. Again in the same pan (you could use different pans, but I have a 3 1/2 month-old and no dishwasher, so I simplify), cover the potatoes in water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender.
5. Once the potatoes are tender drain them and add to the crock pot along with a can of kidney beans.
6. Add chorizo to the crock pot as well.
7. Add thyme, salt and pepper (this is all to taste)
8. Turn crock pot on high (I probably had the pot on high for an hour or so)
9. Switch to low (I did this when I left the house and left on low until I came home at the end of the day, at which point I just switched it to warm).

You don't have to make this in a crock pot. You could cook the soup on the stove for 40 minutes to an hour and be ready to serve it. The crock pot is just so easy that I used it instead. I also added some quinoa to the soup, which I had in the fridge. I think rice would also work well in this soup.

I love coming home to a warm pot of soup at the end of the day, especially when it is cool out. I hope you enjoy it as well!.