Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup aka Christmas Soup

This is one of our favorite soups and I've made it several times, usually 2-3 times a year, which is a lot for me.  We call it Christmas Soup in December because of the colors and my fondness for holiday themed everything, but we love eating it the rest of the year, too.  The soup is rich and delicious, easy to make, and makes a ton!  It is originally from Cooking Classy, but I've changed it some by leaving out the sugar, increasing the amount of cream slightly (what am I going to do with 1/4 C leftover cream?), and using beef broth because that tastes better.  Feel free to use vegetable broth if you're a vegetarian, though.  I also choose to cook the tortellini separately so they don't get soggy when you have the leftovers. You can also toss in a parmesan rind if you have one (remove it before blending!) and garnish the individual bowls of soup with grated parmesan.

 
If you're really in a hurry, you could use baby carrots, a quartered onion, whole peeled garlic cloves, and skip the step where you saute the vegetables.  You could also use 2 or 3 tsp dried basil added at the beginning instead of fresh at the end, but of course the fresh basil is pretty tasty. 
  

I have frozen it quite successfully as well, just add the tortellini right before the individual bowls go into the freezer.

   
Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup 
    

2 Tbsp butter

2 C peeled, roughly chopped carrots

1 onion, roughly chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

3 28 oz cans whole tomatoes, undrained

1 quart beef broth

1 tsp pepper

4 bay leaves
parmesan rind (optional)

salt to taste (I didn't have to add any)

1 C cream

1 lb refrigerated tortellini

1 bunch fresh basil, cut chiffonade
   

Melt butter in a skillet.  Add carrots and onion, and saute for a few minutes until they start getting a little golden.  Add garlic and saute another minute or two, don't let the garlic change color. Transfer the vegetable mixture to your slow cooker. Add tomatoes, beef broth, pepper, and bay leaves.Cover and slow about 7 hours, until vegetables are tender.  This isn't really a recipe that can be overcooked, so let it just keep doing its thing until you're ready to eat if the vegetables get soft before you expect!
   

When it's dinner time, remove bay leaves (and parmesan rind if you added on) and puree soup with immersion blender.  Stir in cream.  Taste and add salt if necessary.  Let it continue to cook while you prepare the tortellini.
   

In a separate pot, cook the tortellini according to the package directions.  Drain them and return them to the pot.  Do not mix them into the soup!
   

When ready to serve, ladle soup into individual bowls, and top with a few tortellini and a sprinkle of basil.
  

Yield:  About 10 large servings

Bacon Pumpkin Soup

This is the best pumpkin soup I've ever made!  I've tried a few over the years, but it's been a while because they've all been pretty disappointing.  My husband and I both really enjoyed this one, though.  It's a little sweet since pumpkin is sweet, but does not taste like dessert.  It's just all around delightful and nice and creamy without being too heavy, and of course the bacon crumbles make it extra yummy.

  

The recipe comes from the blog Spend with Pennies.  My only changes (other than to make a much larger batch) had to do with the preparation, a couple small changes with the seasonings, and I added soy sauce to boost the umami flavor.  It does not taste like soy sauce, of course- you can't identify the flavor as soy sauce at all.

  

I served the soup with baked butter herb chicken and steamed green beans.  The chicken was just something I tossed together- chicken breasts cut down the middle and topped with butter mixed with dried herbs, a little mustard powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika, then baked in a greased pan at 350 until cooked through.  It all made for a very tasty, perfect autumn dinner.

  

Below, I wrote you can use either 1/4 or 1/2 tsp nutmeg.  I used the smaller amount because I didn't want to be punched in the face with nutmeg, but next time I'll try using 1/2 tsp because the nutmeg was quite subtle and I think it would work just fine to use the full amount.  I also used half and half instead of cream because the store was out of cream, and it turned out really great that way.  Next time I'll probably use cream, because why not?

  

I took a bit of a gamble on us liking it because I quadrupled the recipe!  My husband and I are expecting our first child soon and I've been stockpiling food in our freezer, I thought this one would freeze well and be super cozy to enjoy after our baby arrives.  It also only takes, maybe 5 more minutes to make a quadruple recipe, since all you have to do is roughly chop some extra veggies.  You don't have to make them small since they will be blended.

 

One last thing- I'd like to add that you could easily do this in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.  I would have done that if my Instant Pot wasn't being used for something else already when I made this soup.  We really need to get another one!  Anyway, if you decide to do it in a slow cooker, you could just skip the step of sauteeing the veggies and just add everything except the half and half/cream and cooked bacon to the crock and cook it until the veggies are tender, then proceed with the recipe.  If you go the Instant Pot route, you should probably only try it if you have the larger 8 quart model.  Saute the veggies in the bacon grease on the saute setting, then add the remaining ingredients except the half and half/cream and cooked bacon, then put on the lid, seal it, and cook on Manual for probably 30 minutes.  A quick pressure release should be fine, then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

  

Bacon Pumpkin Soup

  

8 oz bacon

2 large onions, peeled and chopped roughly

2 C peeled and roughly chopped carrots

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

4 tsp brown sugar

10 C chicken broth

4 16 oz cans pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, the only ingredient should be pumpkin)

4 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste (depends on how salty your chicken broth is)

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 to 1/2 tsp nutmeg, depending on how much you like it- I used the lesser amount

6 bay leaves

2 C half and half or cream

  

Set oven to 400 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, being sure to cover the sides of the sheet with foil.  Evenly spread out the bacon and bake until crisp to your liking and the fat has rendered out.  Remove bacon, pat off grease, crumble, and refrigerate.  Pour the grease (you want about 1/4-1/3 C, this isn't an exact science) into a large pot.  

  

Heat pot over medium and add onions, carrots, and garlic.  Saute until the veggies begin to soften and turn lightly golden, about 10 minutes.  Add brown sugar and cook another minute.  Immediately stir in broth, then all the remaining ingredients except the cream and crumbled bacon.

  

Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.

  

After an hour has passed and the veggies are completely soft, remove the bay leaves, puree the soup well with an immersion blender, stir in the cream or half and half, add salt to taste, and serve with a sprinkle of crumbled bacon.

 

Yield: About 14 approximately 2 C servings

Spicy, Smoky, Sweet Chili

I found this recipe on Iowa Girl Eats and was so intrigued and wanted to try it so badly that I made it that night.  We love chili, but had never had sweet chili before.  The reviews on the blog were glowing and the woman who writes the blog said it is their all time favorite, so how could I resist?

 

As usual for me, I have messed with the recipe in a few ways.  I use extra lean ground turkey and that basically produces no fat for sauteing anything, and I actually cut back on the amount of chili powder (usually I add more than recipes call for!).  Chili powder intensity varies wildly according to what kind you get.  Mine is from Mountain Rose Herbs.  It's very delicious, but quite potent and spicy.  The original recipe calls for 6 tablespoons (this is with the recipe doubled as written below), but I recommend you add 4 to start with like I did and then you can add more if it's needed.  I also left out the cayenne because it was spicy enough without, thanks to the chili powder.  I also saute the spices with the onion, garlic, and meat to help the flavors develop, something not specified in the original recipe.

  

The other big change is that I use all black beans instead of part canned baked beans so the sugar could be reduced a bit, but the first time I made it, I did use the baked beans and it was very good. Usually I prefer main dish recipes without added sugar, but figure making this once or twice a year will not hurt anything.  It would not be the same without the sweetness!  This recipe makes 12 generous servings and each serving has 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, which isn't too bad, all things considered.

 

So, the verdict?  Pretty amazing and unlike any other chili I've either made or eaten.  It is indeed spicy, smoky, and sweet!  The trifecta of perfection.  The flavors really combine beautifully and it turns out sweet chili totally works.  I had a pretty specific idea in my head of what this chili would taste like (guessing the result of me cooking half my life), and it was exactly how I expected.  It became an instant favorite in our house and I now make it in double batches so we can freeze some of it.  We still love Stout Chili and White Chili (which I still need to post on the blog, funny considering it's been a favorite of mine since childhood!), but we have love enough in our hearts for 3 "essential" chili recipes and the many other quick chili recipes I've posted here.  Plus, this chili recipe is quite different in flavor from Stout Chili and White Chili.

 

If you don't want to cook this on the stove, you can do it in the Instant Pot or a slow cooker.  For the Instant Pot, just cook everything as described on Saute, then put the lid on and set it to Chili for 20 minutes, do a quick pressure release, and serve.  For a slow cooker, cook everything as described on the stove top, but instead of simmering it, transfer the chili to the slow cooker and cook it for 6-8 hours.

 

Quick Note:  Have your cup of water and cans of tomato sauce open before you start.  The spices can burn quickly so you want to have that liquid ingredient ready to go!

  

Spicy, Smoky, Sweet Chili

 

4 Tbsp butter

1 large onion, diced

2 lb ground turkey

 8 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 C water

2 28 oz can tomato sauce

2 28 oz cans black beans, drained

4 Tbsp brown sugar

  

First things first, have your spices in a small bowl so you can add them quickly and all at once.  Set aside.

  

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until they turn translucent, then add the ground turkey.  Cook the turkey and onion together, being sure to break up the meat with your spoon.  When the meat is no longer pink, ad the minced garlic and spices.  Saute for another minute or so, being very careful not to burn the spices.  Immediately pour in the water and tomato sauce, then add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce the heat to medium low.  Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  

Yield: 12 servings

Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops

This recipe from Crockin' Girls is very simple, but very good.  Pork loin chops are very lean (other than the fat on the edge) and are often tough when cooked, but for some reason these ones were tender enough to cut with a fork.  The flavor was great, too.  It has a little bit of a tex mex flair to it because of the chiles in the Ro-Tel.  I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and kale salad with a sweet dressing and it was a really nice dinner.  

 

Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops

 

9 thick pork loin chops (I cut the fat off)

2 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

Montreal steak seasoning to taste

1 oz packet dry ranch dressing mix

2 10 oz cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with green chiles), undrained

 

Melt butter in a large skillet and add garlic.  Add pork chops and sprinkle one side with Montreal steak seasoning.  Brown chops on both sides, then arrange them in a slow cooker.  Sprinkle ranch dressing mix on top, then pour on tomatoes.  Cover and cook until meat is cooked through, about 4 hours on low.

 

Yield: 9 servings

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

This recipe really surprised me by how good it is!  I was just looking for a quick, easy, no fuss mac and cheese to serve along with Easter dinner, and came upon this one on Recipes That Crock.  Cream of mushroom soup in mac and cheese, how odd, but I decided to give it a go because you'll never know if you don't try.  Wonder of wonders, it turned out really well.  My husband ranked it in his top 3 mac and cheese favorites and I thought it was really good, too.  This is a great choice if you're cooking a bunch of things and need a side dish that can tend to itself for a while, or if you're headed to a potluck and need something that will stay nice and hot and tasty.

 

Quick Note: You can puree the cream of mushroom soup with a food processor or immersion blended if you (or the people you're serving it to) won't like the little bits of mushroom in the finished mac and cheese.  Also, use freshly grated cheddar for this because the coating on purchased grated cheese may prevent it from melting into the sauce nicely.

  

 

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

 

12 oz macaroni (cavatappi is pictured because the store was out of macaroni)

10.25 oz can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 C milk

2 tsp yellow mustard

1/2 tsp seasoned salt (or more to taste)

1/4 tsp black pepper 

12-16 oz freshly grated cheddar cheese, divided

 

Cook macaroni in salted water until partly softened, but still underdone.  Drain and return to pot.  Add cream of mushroom soup, milk, seasoned salt, and pepper, then stir in 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 C grated cheddar (I used 3).  Taste and add more salt if needed.  Grease the crock of a small slow cooker and add mac and cheese.  

 

Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours, or high for about an hour and a half- exact amount of time will depend on your slow cooker.  You can stir halfway through to make sure it cooks evenly, but don't stir after that or the mac and cheese won't have a baked consistency to it.

 

Remove lid, sprinkle with an extra 1/2 to 1 C grated cheddar, and continue to cook until cheese has melted.

 

Yield: 10 side dish servings

Slow Cooker Mississippi Chicken

This is a super easy, super quick to assemble recipe that uses a couple of packets.  It's not even remotely fancy, and decidedly unbeautiful, but tastes pretty good.  Herby from the ranch, savory from the gravy mix, and with a tiny bit of heat and tang from the peperoncinis.  I found it on the Recipes that Crock blog and had to make it because I was so curious about what the odd ingredients would taste like together!  It's kind of funny that I managed to make a couple of changes to a 5 ingredient recipe, but I did.  Namely, I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs and thickened the sauce.  Also, we didn't shred the chicken for chicken sandwiches, but my husband and I agreed it would be really good that way.

 

Mississippi Chicken

 

3 lbs chicken breasts

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 packet brown gravy mix

6 peperoncinis (I used the approximate equivalent of sliced)

1/2 stick butter, cut into pats

 

Grease slow cooker and evenly arrange chicken breasts inside.  Sprinkle with ranch and gravy packets, top with peperoncinis, and arrange butter pats over top.  Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through (low maybe 6 hours, high maybe 4, this will depend entirely on your slow cooker), then break the chicken into serving pieces and stir thoroughly so sauce evenly coats everything.  You can either serve as is, or thicken the sauce.

 

To thicken the sauce, remove the chicken and place in a bowl.  Pour sauce through a strainer into a sauce pan, and heat over medium-high.  While it heats, stir together 1 Tbsp water and 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch.  When sauce is boiling, pour cornstarch mixture into the pan in a thin stream while stirring.  Continue to cook for a minute or two.  Remove from heat, pour back into slow cooker, add chicken, and stir to coat.

 

If you want to make this into shredded chicken for chicken sandwiches, just pull out the cooked chicken (don't add cornstarch), shred it, return it to the slow cooker, stir, and turn to high.  Leave the lid off so excess liquid can cook off.  Cook on high for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes so it doesn't burn.  Serve on buns.

  

Yield: 8 servings

Slow Cooker Honey Basil Parmesan Pork Chops

This is a really unusual recipe.  I found it on the Who Needs a Cape blog a month or so ago and was just intrigued by the combination of ingredients.  You don't see honey, basil, cheese, and soy sauce together that often!  It did indeed turn out interesting.  The basil flavor is quite prominent (in a good way) and it's kind of sweet and savory.  This isn't the best meal I've ever cooked, but we did definitely enjoy it and I plan to make it again.  The gravy is really good over steamed broccoli and other veggies.
  
When I made it, I altered it a bit by changing the original romano to parmesan (I hate romano), and I reduced the amounts of basil and garlic because it seemed like a lot.  I also reduced the honey because I didn't want it to be too sweet, and found that the gravy needed only half the amount of cornstarch.  Below is how I made it, but I've listed the olive oil as optional because even though I added it, I don't see how it would be necessary.

  

  
Slow Cooker Honey Basil Parmesan Pork Chops
  
3 lbs pork chops (I trimmed off the fat and cut the chops in half because they were very thick)

3/4 C freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 C soy sauce

3 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp olive oil (optional)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp dried basil

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp cold water

1 Tbsp cornstarch
  

Lightly grease the crock of a slow cooker and add pork chops.  Place cheese in a medium bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, except cold water and cornstarch.  Pour mixture over pork chops and turn to coat.
  

Cook on low 4-6 hours, exact amount of time will vary depending on the slow cooker and how thick the meat is.  I cooked mine in the Instant Pot on high for 1 hour, then regular for 4 hours.
  

Remove meat from slow cooker and set on a plate, cover with foil to keep it warm.  The juices in the slow cooker will have a lot of clumps of cheese and meat bits in it, so puree it with an immersion blender until smooth.  Bring liquid to a boil.  While you wait for it to boil, stir together the cold water and cornstarch, then stir it into the boiling liquid.  Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly, then pour over the pork chops to serve.
  

Yield: 6 servings

Slow Cooker Honey Carrots

I made these carrots for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner in 2015.  They couldn't be any easier and are quite tasty!  Usually we eat steamed carrots either completely plain (not even salt added), with a little butter and dill, or we have Rosemary Roasted Carrots.  Adding sugar and lots of butter to carrots isn't something I'd do usually, but I figure the holidays are the time to do it!  There are lots of different versions of these carrots to be found on the internet, and I made up my own proportions anyway, so I'm not going to link to a source recipe.

  

 
Slow Cooker Honey Carrots

2 lbs baby carrots

1/2 stick salted butter

1/4 C brown sugar

2 Tbsp honey

Place all ingredients in small brown crock pot, cook on high 2 hours, stir, cook on high 2 hours more, or until as tender as you'd like.
 
Yield: 6-8 servings

Colombian Chicken Stew

This is my adaptation of the Kenji Lopez-Alt's Colombian Chicken Stew recipe from the Serious Eats blog.  It's a very simple stew, with only a few ingredients and no liquid added.  It's made in a pressure cooker (I used my Instant Pot) and the tomatoes, onion, and chicken make a good amount of very flavorful broth, without needing to add any liquid.  It's pretty cool and very, very yummy with simple, but really good flavors.  I should note that while this is called a stew, it's almost more like a soup because the broth is not thick at all.  You can get a slightly thicker stew if you cut your potatoes smaller because they will break up and thicken the liquid a bit when you stir it up at the end.

I made the stew once according to the original directions (except wasn't able to fit all the vegetables into my Instant Pot), then made it this way.  The original method is very tasty, but the broth is quite greasy and it requires a lot of careful sifting and straining to get all the bits of bone and skin out of the stew.  This time, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and put them in a soup sock.  Everything turned out just as delicious, but it was even easier to make.  I'm sick with a pretty bad cold at the moment and was craving this stew, so it being easy to make was a definite perk!

Colombian Chicken Stew

 
2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 large tomatoes, diced large

1 large onion, diced

1 large russet potato, peeled and diced large

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken breasts in the bottom of an Instant Pot and top with all vegetables.  Add the bay leaves and sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper.  Plug in Instant Pot, put on and close the lid, make sure it's set to sealing, and cook on manual for 30 minutes.  It will take a while for enough pressure to build up to seal the pot, so don't worry!

After the 30 minutes are up, release the pressure by pushing the little lever on top with the end of a long handled spoon.  Let the pressure completely release, then remove the lid.  Discard the bay leaves.  Pull out the chicken breasts, chop/shred them however you like, and add them back to the pot.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

Alternate Prep:  I haven't actually tried it this way, but you could probably put all the ingredients in a greased slow cooker and cook on low until the chicken is cooked through, then proceed with the recipe.  How long it will take completely depends on the slow cooker.

Yield:  About 6 servings

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

 I came upon this recipe for Teriyaki Chicken on the Cooking Classy blog a couple of weeks ago.  The sauce ingredients looked so good that I had to try it!  It turned out great.  A bit spicy, gingery, sweet (but not too sweet), and tangy.  My husband gave it a 10 out of 10, which isn't a rating he hands out willy nilly.  I had to add a little more cornstarch than the original recipe called for, but other than that, the recipe was spot on.  Next time I'm going to try adding the orange marmalade to the sauce pan after the cooking liquid has been strained so that the little bits of orange peel won't be strained out (I like the orange flavor), but that's the only change I would make.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C honey
3 Tbsp orange marmalade
6 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 C low sodium soy sauce (the low sodium part is important!)
1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water

In a medium bowl, mix together everything except chicken, cornstarch, and water until sugar and marmalade are partly dissolved.  Pour into a slow cooker.  Add chicken breasts to slow cooker and turn to coat in the sauce.  Cover and cook on either low or high heat until chicken breasts are cooked through.  How long this take will depend completely on your slow cooker!

When chicken is done, remove it to a plate and refrigerate so it can cool down a bit while you finish the sauce.  Strain liquid in slow cooker into a small saucepan and discard the solids left in the strainer.  Bring cooking liquid to a boil.  Stir together the cornstarch and cold water until smooth, then pour it into the liquid, stirring constantly.  Simmer sauce for at least a minute or two so it can thicken and the cornstarch can cook completely.  Pour sauce back into slow cooker.

Shred the cooked chicken breasts, return them to the slow cooker, and toss with the sauce to coat.  Cover again and let cook until heated through, about 20-30 minutes.  Serve chicken over rice.

Yield: about 8 servings

Quinoa Chicken Chili

 This is a recipe I randomly came across a few months ago on the Queen Bee Coupons website.  The idea of quinoa in chili intrigued me and I love chili, so decided to make it!  This was actually my first time cooking OR eating quinoa and it was great.  There's not a whole lot in the chili, but it really expands a lot and adds a bit of substance and texture.  Quinoa aside, the chicken and spices are just perfect.  My husband said this was the best chili he's ever had, and I'm inclined to agree!  I made it over a month ago and froze most of it, but need to make another batch already.

Quinoa Chicken Chili

4 C chicken broth

10 oz can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chiles)

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

2 15 oz cans black beans, drained

1 C quinoa
2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Toppings such as sour cream, grated cheddar, diced avocado, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, or green onion (I just did grated cheddar and it was perfect)

In a 5-6 quart slow cooker, stir together everything except chicken.  Add chicken.  Cover and cook until meat is cooked through, about 4 hours on high or 6 on low.  Remove chicken, chop or shred, and return to slow cooker.  Serve with your favorite chili toppings, such as grated cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and green onion.

When I did this, I added the broth, Rotel, and half the crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker, blended with the immersion blender, then added everything else.  My chicken was frozen in a large solid brick, so it took longer to cook- about 4 hours on high.  I put the chicken in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool off before shredding.

Yield:  About 13 servings

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup

This recipe requires a bit of an explanation.  I've been having a medical issue that's resulted in me cutting way down on starches/grains and sugar.  The sugar I can mostly do without, but avoiding pasta, potatoes, bread, and the like is harder.  Lucky for me, I've had quite a bit of success with finding recipes that are already okay for me to cook, and adapting other recipes.  The standards by which I judge a recipe haven't changed and I will only post recipes here that I think are really good, even for people (like my husband!) who can eat whatever they want.  As evidenced by all the dessert posts last month, I'll still be posting recipes for sweets and pasta and that type of thing, just not as frequently.

 

This is one of the adapted recipes.  When I came upon the Cauliflower Soup recipe on the Pioneer Woman blog, it occurred to me that cauliflower soup with baked potato toppings on it would probably be pretty good.  I adapted the recipe so it would work in the crock pot, and left out the butter, flour, and milk (the milk just because I thought the texture was perfect without it).  It turned out exactly how I hoped!  My husband really dislikes cauliflower, but really enjoyed the soup anyway.  It's pretty good on its own, but the toppings really enhance it, especially the sour cream.  The sour cream also helps thicken it a bit since it's a pretty thin soup. 

If you want the soup thicker and don't mind adding flour to it, you could make a roux by melting 4 tablespoons butter in a small pan on the stove, then whisk in half a cup of flour and let it cook for a minute, then slowly whisk in the half and half and a cup of milk.  Let it simmer for a couple of minutes while stirring, then stir it into the soup.  I haven't tried it this way because I thought the consistency was fine, but the Pioneer Woman does basically the same thing to thicken her version and I'm sure it works perfectly.

 

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup
 

36 oz frozen cauliflower florets
1 carrot, diced

1 1/2 cup diced onion
4 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt (plus more later)

1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder
2 quarts chicken broth

1 C half and half
 

Toppings:
1 C sour cream
cooked, crumbled bacon
grated cheddar
thinly sliced chives or green onion

In the crock of a large slow cooker, combine all ingredients except half and half and toppings.  Cook until carrots and cauliflower are soft, about 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low (times will vary according to your slow cooker).  Use a potato masher to break up the cauliflower.  If you want it smoother, you can use an immersion blender next, but we think it's best with a bit of texture to it.  Stir in the half and half, then taste the soup and add more salt if necessary.  I ended up using 2 teaspoons total. 
 

To serve the soup, ladle it into individual bowls and then top with sour cream, bacon, cheese, and green onion.

Yield: About 8 servings

Slow Cooker Split Pea and Barley Soup

Okay, I realize that July is the wrong time of year to be sharing a soup recipe.  But the latter half of June was SO HOT here in Interior Alaska (as in, mid 90s- fun when you don't have air conditioning) and so far July has been so very mild by comparison, with temperatures in the 60s-70s.

I like soup in general, but split pea is among my favorites and always has been.  Peas are my favorite veggie, maybe that's why.  It's also a major comfort food for me, maybe because my mom made it just for me for holidays when I was vegan as a teenager.  Usually I make mine the same way- split peas, broth of some variety (can be chicken or veggie), onion, garlic, carrots, potato, rosemary, and bay leaf.  I don't use a specific amount of anything, just start tossing things into the crock pot and it always turns out perfectly.

This time though I wanted to try split pea and barley soup.  We were in Washington visiting family last month and I tried this soup at the California Pizza Kitchen and loved it.  Found a copycat recipe last night, fiddled with it a bit, and was able to toss all the ingredients together in 10 minutes this morning before leaving for work.  Came home 5 hours later to the best lunch you could hope for!  To my delight, it needed no further tweaking at all.  Just split pea and barley perfection.  The lemon seemed like a rather odd ingredient, but brightens the flavors just a bit and was very nice.  Can't say for sure whether it tastes just like the restaurant version, but I loved it.

The original recipe is here, I streamlined the recipe so it could go in the crock pot and also adjusted it according to my tastes and what I had.  Feel free to add diced carrots, the only reason I didn't do this was because I wanted it to be different from my regular recipe and I didn't want to mess with chopping things up this morning.  Since I use frozen diced onion (can't stand cutting them up myself!) and jarred minced garlic, I didn't have to chop or peel anything!

Split Pea and Barley Soup

8 C veggie or chicken broth

3 C water

1 lb dried split peas

1 C barley

about 1 1/2 C diced onion (I used half of a 12 oz bag of frozen diced onions)

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 t black pepper

1 1/2 t dried summer savory

1 T sugar

salt to taste (I used a full tablespoon)

2 T lemon juice

Stir everything together in a 6 quart slow cooker.  Cook on low until peas and barley are tender, which took 5 hours in my slow cooker.

Yield: about 10 servings

Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup

This is one of our favorite soups and the one I've been making the longest.  I first had it when I lived in Austria, my host brother made it and it was so good!  My husband was skeptical the first time I made it for him (about 6 years ago when we were dating), but he's become extremely fond of it as well.  Usually I make him chicken noodle soup if he's sick, but he said next time he has a cold, he wants this one!  It's also just perfect for a cold day, and sad to say it but halfway through April we still have a thick blanket of snow on the ground.  The original version has caraway and I'm not a big fan of it usually, but it is perfect in this soup.  It's also pretty perfect without the caraway so you can't go wrong either way! 

 

In the past I always made it on the stove, but it occurred to me that it should be just fine in the slow cooker, and I was right!  It's hardly difficult to make on the stove, but you have to stir it a lot as the potatoes cook so it doesn't burn, and the slow cooker makes that unnecessary.  If you do want to make it on the stove, just simmer everything but the sour cream in a big pot for about 2 hours, stirring every few minutes, especially towards the end.  You might need to add a bit more water or broth if some cooks off.  When it's finished, you may or may not need to use a potato masher (the stirring action tends to break down the potatoes).  Remove the soup from the stove and add the sour cream like the recipe says, then serve.

Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup

 

1 large leek, quartered and sliced (white and beginning of green part only)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and diced

8 C chicken broth

1/4 t black pepper

salt to taste, I ended up using a full tablespoon

optional: 1/4 t caraway seeds

2 C sour cream

Mix together everything but sour cream in a 6 quart slow cooker.  Cook on low about 8 hours or until potatoes are very tender and breaking apart.  Mash slightly with potato masher so only some chunks remain.  Stir in sour cream until completely incorporated, being careful not to allow the soup to boil.  Remove from heat and serve.  Soup reheats very well in the microwave, too!

Yield: about 10 servings

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

This is my 100th post on this blog! Just thought I should mention that. In honor of the big milestone, I'm sharing the recipe for Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches, which comes from AllRecipes. Okay, I was going to share the recipe today anyway since it's what I made for dinner and it just happened to be the 100th post. The recipe really IS very good though and totally deserves some sort of accolade. It's super easy to make (3 ingredients plus bread and condiments of your choice!) and is really, really good if you're like us and love buffalo chicken anything. It's great served with fruit like melon or mango and a salad to cool things down a bit. I suppose you could also serve it with celery sticks if you're into that sort of thing (which we most definitely are not). The chicken is fantastic on pizza (post probably coming soon!), and it freezes well so you can toss some leftovers in the freezer for an emergency dinner later on :)


Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

3/4 C buffalo wing sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot Wings Sauce, yum yum)
1 packet (1 oz) dry ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
buns of your choice
toppings like ranch or blue cheese dressing or cheese

In the crock of a 2 or 4 quart slow cooker, stir together sauce and ranch mix. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover and cook on low until chicken is cooked through, about 6 hours (depends on your slow cooker). Shred meat and serve on toasted buns with desired toppings.

Yield: about 8 sandwiches

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Mmm, corned beef! I bought one in honor of St. Patrick's Day, but we ended up going to a Mexican restaurant. Not Irish at all, but apparently corned beef is more of an American thing, so whatevs. Today I did cook it though and used my slow cooker, which is my cooking vessel of choice for corned beef. I added a pound of chopped carrots which tasted great, but you could add potatoes and cabbage like this particular recipe suggests. NOTE: I have never cooked potatoes or cabbage with the corned beef, so no promises on how they turn out!

optional: 1 lb carrots and/or 1-2 lbs potatoes, peeled and chopped roughly
1/2 large onion, chopped roughly
3 lb corned beef brisket with spice packet
12 oz bottle of beer
water to cover
optional: 1/2 head cabbage, chopped roughly

Place carrots and/or potatoes in the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker and top with onion and beef. Sprinkle with spice packet. Pour in beer. Pour in enough water to cover the corned beef. Cook on low until tender, about 8 hours. If you want to add cabbage, stir that in when you have 1 hour left.

Yield: about 6 servings

Slow Cooker Cheese Lasagna

Over the years I've made many lasagnas from scratch. They've always been quite labor intensive what with making the sauce and boiling the noodles and everything, but they always turn out pretty well. When I decided to make a recipe for lasagna in the crock pot using jarred sauce and uncooked noodles, my expectations were pretty low, but I figured it would be worth a try because my husband LOVES lasagna.


Much to my surprise, the lasagna ended up being pretty much the best one I've made! It took only about 10 minutes worth of work and the result is pretty near perfect: lots of noodles, lots of tasty cheese, yummy sauce, not too dry or too wet, nice and browned around the edges. Needless to say,  My husband loved it and asked if I would just make this all the time. For this recipe I used a jar of spaghetti sauce that had been in my pantry for a couple of years because it was about to expire, but I'm excited to try it with my homemade spaghetti sauce that I cook in huge batches and freeze. I wonder if it will be even better that way!


Quick note: I used a round 4 quart slow cooker. The shape and size of yours will determine how many layers of everything you can make and will probably also impact how wet or dry the lasagna will be. Just use your own judgment!



Amazing Slow Cooker Cheese Lasagna


26 oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Mushroom Prego)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t salt
1 C water
1 egg
15 oz container ricotta cheese
1/2 C grated asiago cheese
2 C mozzarella, divided
1 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
about 12 oz lasagna noodles (the regular kind you're supposed to boil, NOT the oven ready kind)


In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg, then stir in ricotta, asiago, 1 C mozzarella, salt, and basil. In a separate bowl stir together spaghetti sauce, garlic, water, and salt. Grease slow cooker. Pour in a layer of sauce, a double layer of noodles (break to fit crock and arrange noodles in opposite directions like a windowpane), and a layer of cheese mixture. Repeat until ingredients are used up, ending with a layer of noodles, cheese mixture, and enough spaghetti sauce to completely cover noodles. I make 4 layers in all. Cover and cook on low until lasagna is tender all the way through, 4-6 hours.


When it's finished cooking, sprinkle the reserved cup of mozzarella on top. Carefully lay a paper towel over the top of the crock and then replace the lid. The paper towel will keep condensation from dripping onto the cheese. Cook until cheese has melted.
Yield: 8-10 servings

Peperoncini Beef Sandwiches

I made these sandwiches for dinner last night and we just loved them! With only 3 ingredients in the meat, it's also one of the easiest things you could possibly make. If you know you like peperoncini peppers and beef, you will probably really like this one. If you don't know, I suggest you buy a jar and taste a pepper before making the recipe because it does have a strong peperoncini/vinegar flavor. Lucky for us, we both love peperoncinis, so the sandwiches are right up our alley. They are a little spicy- probably too much so for kids or those with delicate taste buds- but not too much for me and I'm fairly wimpy when it comes to heat. We shared a big bowl of cold green grapes while we ate and they helped keep things manageable.

Quick note: The original recipe called for a beef chuck roast but I came home from the store with a beef eye of round roast, which is very lean. The meat was fairly tough after cooking, but after I shredded it and let it cook in the juices, it turned out just perfect.

Peperoncini Beef Sandwiches

3 lb beef chuck roast or eye of round roast
5 cloves garlic, minced (I used the stuff in the jar because I had it!)
16 oz jar of sliced peperoncinis
sub rolls
sliced provolone or mozzarella

Place roast in a 4 quart slow cooker and top with garlic. Pour peperoncinis, juice and all, over top. Cover and cook on low until meat is tender, 6 to 8 hours. Remove meat, shred, and stir into liquid in slow cooker. Turn heat to high and cook, uncovered, about 1 hour so the meat has a chance to soak up the liquid and some of the excess juice can cook off. Top sub rolls with meat and cheese, then broil to melt the cheese.

Yield: 8 to 12 sandwiches

Refried Beans

My husband and I love beans. We have them as a main dish at least once a week. Refried beans are of course one of our favorites, they're wonderful with homemade tortillas. If you have a slow cooker, they're super easy to make in addition to being cheap and delicious! They freeze well too so you can make a great big batch and freeze small containers. You'll never need (or want) to buy canned refried beans again! This is my variation of Terry's Texas Pinto Beans from AllRecipes.

Refried Beans

1 lb dried pinto beans, soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed
4 C water
3 large chicken bouillon cubes (I use Knorr, each is supposed to make 2 C broth)
3 T dried minced onion
1 t garlic powder
1 t cumin
1/2 t pepper
canned minced jalapeno to taste (I add a couple tablespoons)

Combine everything in the crock of a 4 quart slow cooker. Cook until beans are quite tender. The amount of time will depend on your slow cooker, but you can count on about 8 hours on low. When beans are tender, mash thoroughly with a potato masher. They won't be perfectly smooth like canned refried beans, but that's okay! Also don't fear, the beans will thicken up a lot as they cool.

Yield: about 8-10 servings.

Cincinnati Chili

Well, look at that, another recipe without pictures! I kind of meant to take pictures of all the recipes I post, but let's face it. The vast majority of my food photos are not particularly appetizing and I don't like always dragging out the camera just to photograph a plate. So I'll just post pictures if I think it's worth it.

Last weekend we went to a potluck of sorts. Everyone brought/made some kind of pasta dish and we made homemade pasta (I now have about 2 1/2 pounds of homemade fettuccine in my freezer, yes!). Our contribution was Cincinnati Chili. It's supposed to be served over spaghetti so it did fit the theme of the evening even though everyone else brought Italian sauces. Also I've wanted to try Cincinnati Chili for years because it sounds so intriguing. As a cinnamon freak, the cinnamon and other spices piqued my interest, and anything served over pasta with shredded cheese on top is worth trying! After looking into it more, I learned that Cincinnati Chili was created by Macedonian and Greek immigrants. My favorite cuisine is Greek/Lebanese/etc so it's not too surprising that a Greek spin on chili would be appealing! And I was definitely not disappointed. The Cincinnati Chili turned out amazing! The flavor was great, a little different, still recognizable as chili. The flavor was very rich and deep and just generally yummy. My husband was a tad uncertain the first night but he happily ate leftovers with me for a couple of nights after that.

This is the base recipe that I used. Now I realize that hard core Cincinnati Chili fans would probably be highly offended because I used ground turkey and beans in my chili (you're supposed to use ground beef and then top it with kidney beans at the end), but that's how we like chili and I see no reason not to make recipes in ways that will appeal to us the most. Feel free to make the recipe as described though with 2 pounds of ground beef instead. Another thing to note is that I read it's more authentic if you boil the meat instead of browning it in a skillet. Boiling it results in much smaller pieces of meat. To do this, fill a large pot with cold water, add the ground meat and break it up thoroughly with your hands, then boil it until cooked through. Drain and proceed with the recipe.

Cincinnati Chili

1.25 lb ground turkey
2 16 oz cans pinto beans, drained
2 1/2 C beef broth
16 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 C chili powder
1 1/2 t onion powder
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t cayenne pepper
2 T cider vinegar
1/4 C chocolate chips
Brown ground turkey in a skillet. Alternatively, you can cook the meat by placing it in a large pot of cold water and using your hands to thoroughly break it up, then boil until cooked through. Place in a 4 quart slow cooker with remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 5-8 hours (the amount of time isn't all that important). Stir in chocolate shortly before serving. Serve over spaghetti topped as desired with shredded cheddar and diced onions.
Yield: about 8 servings