Slow Cooker Mediterranean Succotash

 I just love it when simple and healthy come together just right to create the perfect meal for a busy night.  This is one of those recipes.  It couldn’t be simpler, even for a slow cooker recipe, and is perfect for those nights when you’re playing taxi driver all night long and have to catch a meal somewhere in between trips.

Traditional succotash is a stewed combination of lima beans, corn, and tomatoes.  It’s a cozy, home-cooking type dish, and is often served as a side.  This version features more Mediterranean flavors, and creamy white beans in place of the lima beans.  And when it’s served over some couscous, it makes for a hearty, healthy meal.

To begin, I chopped up some fresh zucchini and red bell pepper.  I minced some garlic, and sliced a handful of kalamata olive in half.

All of the vegetables went into my slow cooker, along with two cans of Cannellini beans, a can of diced tomatoes, and a cup of chicken broth.  You could easily substitute vegetable broth for the chicken, to make this a truly vegetarian dish, but I just used what I had on hand.

I gave the mixture a good stir, popped the lid on, and set it to cook on low for four hours.

Before serving, I juiced a lemon, cut up some fresh parsley, and grabbed some Balsamic vinegar.

The lemon juice, vinegar, and parsley all went into the pot, along with a hefty dose of pepper.  The lemon and vinegar help perk up the flavors of the veggies a bit, so they taste beautifully fresh.

Once that was all mixed in, we were ready eat!  It’s that simple!  I served the succotash over some pearled couscous, and sprinkled the top with some crumbled feta cheese to finish things off.

Yum!

SLOW COOKER MEDITERRANEAN SUCCOTASH

Adapted from Cooking Light