Slow Cooker Saturdays

Hey, sorry it's a little late but we had a talent show over here.

In any case I wanted to make my Pasta Fagioli but also wanted to try something in the ole slow cooker so I merged two recipes and a little bit of me an Ta Da, Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli.

My recipes came from Crockpot 365 and Rachel Ray - I have used the recipe from Rachel Ray a lot and it's a favorite around here but I used Stephanie's method.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 pound (about 3 slices) pancetta, chopped
• 2 (4 to 6-inch) sprigs rosemary, left intact
• 1 (4 to 6-inch) sprig thyme with several sprigs on it, left intact
• 1 large fresh bay leaf or 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
• 1 cup canned tomato sauce or canned crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup ditalini
• Grated Parmigiano or Romano, for the table (I also throw a 1/2 cup into the soup before serving)
• Crusty bread, for mopping

(Sorry I didn't get a picture)

I first cooked my pancetta.  Next time I may try to do it in the slow cooker so the flavors are always just in the cooker.

While I was cooking pancetta I threw all the ingredients into the slow cooker except for the pasta, then added the cooked pancetta.  I let it cook at low for 8 hours.  At the 6 1/2 hour mark I added the pasta and let it go for about a 1/2 hour more.  I then served it with a nice crusty bread.

Next time I may set it to cook for 10 hours so the heat is lower.  All in all it cooked for 7 hours.

It was very tasty and I will definitely do it again the slow cooker and the added bonus it made the house smell delicious all day.

Enjoy!