Adapted slightly from Slow Cooker Comfort Food, this recipe serves 6-8.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
4-oz can chopped green chiles
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
28-oz can chopped or diced tomatoes, with juice (I use POMI)
2 15-oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 dried guajillo chile peppers
1 jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped
10-oz bag frozen corn kernels
6 cups chopped kale
Optional toppings (not for vegan version): shredded Cheddar cheese or sour cream
Sliced lime, for garnish
Directions
In a nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring a few times, until the onions are soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, Mexican oregano, salt, pepper and green chiles, and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
Transfer the tomato mixture to a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Add the beans, stir to combine, and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
Meanwhile, 1 hour before the beans finish cooking, heat 2 cups of water in the microwave until it boils, 2-3 minutes on HIGH. Soak the dried guajillo chile peppers for 30 minutes (you might need to put a small plate on top to keep the peppers submerged).
Tear the soaked peppers in pieces (save the soaking liquid), and add them to a small blender along with the jalapeño. Purée, and set aside.
When the beans finish cooking, stir in the chile mixture and the frozen corn. Add the kale in batches, stirring each batch to submerge the leaves as best you can in the tomato sauce. Raise the slow cooker heat to HIGH, and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the kale is tender.
Garnish individual bowls with shredded Cheddar cheese or sour cream (if not vegan), and a squirt of lime. Or, let cool completely, pack into airtight containers, and freeze.