Everything but the Kitchen Sink Slow Cooker Chickpea Vegetable Stew

This is very similar to the post I wrote for Vegan Chickpea Minestra but much easier.  You can add leftover veggies or whatever you may want to get rid of.  This recipe makes enough for two people to eat for ~ 5 days.  Types and amounts of ingredients listed below may vary depending on what you have on hand or on how much stew you want to make.  Just improvise.  

1 pound dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans), sorted, rinsed, soaked overnight, and drained

( You can also use 3-4 (16oz) cans of garbanzo beans or cannellini beans)

7-8 cups vegetable stock

4 russet potatoes, cut into large chunks

1 cup red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 cup sliced or diced mushrooms

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes

3 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 to 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence, Italian seasoning blend, or other favorite seasoning, to taste

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Red Star Nutritional Yeast Flakes for garnish and added nutrition (for a source of B vitamins including B-12 and for a nutty, cheesy flavor)

Optional additions:

Whatever you want to get rid of!

Chunks of sweet potatoes instead of russet potatoes

Asparagus, sliced into 1-inch pieces

Baby Spinach

Kale, torn into medium-sized pieces

Collard or mustard greens

Broccoli

Leftover veggies

Cauliflower

Stale bread, cut into cubes

Dried Pasta, like Barilla Plus

Alternative protein sources like seitain, cubed tempeh, crumbled tofu, TVP, Soy Curls, Morningstar Farms vegan products, etc.

Sauté celery, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and garlic with small amount of olive oil in a cast iron skillet for 3-6 minutes. Then, add the drained beans, the sautéed veggies, and the rest of the ingredients into the slow cooker.  Cook for about 8-12 hours for the low setting, or 4-6 hours on the high setting.  Remember that some optional additions will not need to cook long, so add those near the end of the cooking process.

Serve with sprinkled nutritional yeast, additional extra virgin olive oil, crusty french bread, vegan cornbread, or vegan Irish soda bread.