Slow Cooker Black Bean and Chorizo Soup

I am trying to use my slow cooker more to make evenings a little less hectic. The thing to remember is that the slow cooker does not allow much evaporation so they don't concentrate flavors as much as a recipe would if it were cooked on the stove. I add more seasoning at the end here to compensate. I like to serve this with a variety of toppings so that everyone can create their own bowl.

Ingredients:

1 lb of dried black beans, either soaked overnight or quick soaked

8 cups of water

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 links of chorizo, cut into rounds

1 tsp of salt

To be added after cooking is complete

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp hot sauce

Juice of 2 limes

3 scallions, sliced

Toppings:

Sour cream, additional browned chorizo, avocado, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, baked flour tortillas crisps. 

Add black beans, water, onion, bell pepper, garlic and chorizo and salt to the slow cooker and cook on high for 8 hours. When cooking is complete, mash some of the beans with a potato masher until you have the desired creamy consistency. If the slow cooker has switched to warm, set it back to high and add in the additional salt, Worcestershire, soy and hot sauce, lime juice and scallions. Let that sit while you are preparing the toppings. For the flour tortillas crisps pictured, I slice two tortillas into quarters and then slice into 1/4" strips. I toss them with a little canola oil, chili powder and salt and bake them for about 10 minutes at 400 or until nicely browned. For the browned chorizo, I remove the skin from 2 links, quarter them and then dice into bite size pieces. I cook them over medium heat in a large skillet until nicely browned.