I love when meals you just throw together turn out even more delicious than you expected.  It's even better when you use the slow cooker which means you literally just throw everything into the pot, turn it on and go get other stuff done.  I kept my meal plan really simple this week thinking it would just be a slower week for me sharing recipes, but surprisingly everything has turned out too tasty and easy not to share with you all!

I actually haven't used the slow cooker in a few weeks, which is a shame because it is really great to use when the weather is hot and you don't want to steam up the kitchen.  Besides my new Vitamix, it is still one of my favorite kitchen tools because it really does make meal prepping so much easier.  If you can chop up a few vegetables then you can use a slow cooker.

In the theme of keeping this quick and easy, I'll keep my post short and sweet, as well.  I also didn't take a whole lot of pictures since I had no intention of sharing it until I had a bowl and realized how good it was.  I was also too busy drooling over my nice cream recipe and taking glory shots of that.  I think I took enough to do it justice, though! ;)

Slow Cooker Curried Farro, Lentils & Cauliflower

Makes 8 servings

• 1 cup farro, rinsed
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 2 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
• 1 onion, peeled & chopped
• 1 bell pepper, seeded & chopped
• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & minced
• 1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, peeled & minced
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 5 cups water (just enough to almost cover the vegetables)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional--I love ginger!)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (if you want extra heat)
• fresh chopped mint to serve

Place everything in a 5-quart slow cooker.  Gently mix together, then cover and turn to high heat.  Cook for about 3 hours.  If the lentils and farro aren't cooked through, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes until soft.

Spoon into bowls and sprinkle in some fresh chopped mint.  Slow cooker meals are awesome as leftovers, so a big batch is great to make for weekly lunches or quick dinners once the kids are back in school!