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

Cheater's Chicken Noodle Soup

Why is chicken noodle soup so good?  Growing up, I never had it while sick, so I don't associate it with it making me feel better, but I do really like it.  It's so homey and warming and delicious.  My favorite is chicken soup made with both the chicken broth and noodles made from scratch, but that takes quite a bit of time and work.  This recipe is pretty low maintenance and still very good.

  

This is sort of a copycat Campbell's chicken noodle soup recipe, except it has veggies because veggies are great!  I always make canned chicken noodle soup with half the amount of water because I like the broth being really rich and savory, so I added chicken soup base (Better Than Bouillon brand) and some cornstarch.  The cornstarch does not make it thick, it just gives it a tiny bit more substance.  It doesn't register as, "Wow, this sure is thick!" or anything.  It's also pretty heavy on the noodles, which works for me, because the noodles are the best part!

  

You can add more carrots if you want.  I love carrots, but feel like they make broth very sweet so don't add many.  If you don't mind it being a tiny bit sweet, double the carrots.

  

Quick Note:  This recipe makes a lot of soup.  I made such a large batch because I wanted to freeze it for lunches.  You can halve the recipe if you'd like, but since it's almost as easy to make the full recipe and it freezes well, why not make the whole gallon?
   

Also, I know it's a weird step, but please do strain out the noodles (any chicken or veggies that come out with them is fine as well) before refrigerating, unless you like soggy noodles and not much broth.  Just refrigerate the noodles separately from the liquid.  When you're ready to reheat leftovers, you can scoop some noodles and some broth into your bowl and then reheat, no problem.
   

If you decide to freeze some soup, let it cool completely overnight in the fridge with the noodles separate, then recombine, portion out the soup into freezer containers, and freeze it immediately.  Reheat the soup from frozen and it will be just fine.  If you want to let the soup thaw before you reheat it,  you'll need to freeze the noodles and liquid separately to avoid soggy noodles.

Cheater's Chicken Noodle Soup

4 Tbsp butter

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

2 onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 quarts chicken broth

1 lb fettuccine or linguine noodles, broken into 1 inch pieces

2 chicken breasts, cleaned and chopped fairly small

chicken soup base to taste (I used 3 tablespoons)

1/2 tsp pepper

4 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 C water

Melt butter in a very large pot over medium, add all veggies except garlic and saute until they begin to soften.  Add garlic and saute another minute.  Add chicken broth.  Cover.  Simmer on medium for 30 minutes, until veggies are completely tender.  Add chicken and cook 10 minutes.  Taste and add chicken soup base if it needs to be saltier, as well as pepper.  Add noodles, cover pot, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until cooked through , stirring occasionally.  Make slurry with cornstarch and water, pour into simmering soup and stir and cook for a couple of minutes.

If you have leftovers (and you probably will), strain out the noodles before refrigerating and store the noodles and liquid separately so the noodles don't get soggy.

Yield: About a gallon of soup (8 or so large 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

Borscht

I came upon this borscht recipe on the Learning Herbs website and was intrigued.  Neither my husband nor I had ever eaten borscht before, and the recipe just looked good, so I made it a few days later.  As usual, I changed things around a bit: substantially less pepper, no caraway because I dislike it, and more veggies.  I changed the method a smidge as well.  The results? Wow!  Definitely good!  I'm really glad we liked it because it made a huge amount, about 14 cups.  Healthy, delicious, and even rather pretty- what's not to like?  Next time I may even add the caraway!  I'm excited to make it again because we really liked it, it's quite healthy, and extremely flexible.  Got a ton of carrots?  Toss them in.  No celery?  No problem.  Nice!

 

 

Borscht

 

2 Tbsp butter

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced (had to leave this out but my broth had a ton of garlic)

about 8 mushrooms, diced

1 large potato, peeled and diced

1 small red cabbage, cored and chopped

3 beets, peeled and diced (this was one bunch)

8 C chicken broth (I used homemade)

8 oz can plain tomato sauce

1/2 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp caraway seed

3 bay leaves

greens from the bunch of beets, rinsed and chopped

1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

 

garnish (optional):

sour cream

sliced green onions

fresh dill

quartered hard boiled eggs

 

Melt butter in large pot.  Add onion, carrot, and celery, and saute over medium until onions are tender.  Add garlic and saute another minute or so.  Add remaining vegetables except beet greens, then pour over broth.  Stir in tomato sauce, pepper, salt, optional caraway, and bay leaves.  Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook until veggies are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Stir in beet greens and vinegar, then taste and add more salt or vinegar if desired.  Simmer 5 minutes longer.  Serve in bowls topped with optional garnishes.

 

Yield: About 3 quarts soup

BBQ Meatball Stew

This is a stew recipe I just made up a few days ago.  My husband and I were both very pleased with how it turned out.  He doesn't usually care for soups or stews, but to my surprise, he loved this one.  It's rather unlike any other stew I've had.  The carrots add a lot of sweetness, and that combined with the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce give the entire stew a very BBQ-like flavor, even though there isn't any BBQ sauce in it.  Don't fear the plain, unseasoned meatballs.  I left them plain (other than the seasoned flour) to speed up the prep, but the stew has very vibrant flavor and the little meatballs are perfect in it.  They're very tender, too.  Like most stews, this one is better after a day or two in the fridge, so look forward to the leftovers!

  

Quick Note:  This recipe is for the Instant Pot, but it could be easily adapted for a normal pressure cooker.  If you don't have one of those, you can either cook it on the stove or use a slow cooker.  To cook it on the stove, proceed with browning the meatballs in a large skillet, but cook the onions in a large pot and add the remaining ingredients as described in the recipe, bring the stew to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes.  If you're using a slow cooker, cook the onions and garlic in a large skillet first, then brown the meatballs.  Place all the ingredients in your slow cooker as described in the recipe and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until veggies and meatballs are cooked through.

  

  

BBQ Meatball Stew

  

4 Tbsp flour

2 tsp montreal steak seasoning

1 lb ground beef

3 Tbsp bacon grease, divided (or olive oil if you don't have bacon grease)

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 C beef or chicken broth

2 T soy sauce

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 lb baby carrots, chopped

1 russet potato, chopped

15 oz can stewed or diced tomatoes, pureed with blender or immersion blender

  

In a cereal bowl, mix together the flour and steak seasoning.  Form the ground beef into 3/4 inch meatballs and roll them in the flour mixture, then set on a plate.  Melt half of the bacon grease in a large, nonstick skillet, then add the meatballs.  Dump any remaining flour mixture in with the meatballs.  Brown the meatballs on all sides (they will cook through completely later), then remove them to a plate.  

  

Turn the Instant Pot to the saute function and add the remaining bacon grease.  Add chopped onion and cook, stirring frequently,  until it begins to turn translucent and brown slightly.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.  Pour in the broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, salt, and pepper, then add the carrots and potato.  Place the meatballs on top and gently push them down so they're submerged in liquid as much as possible.  Pour the blended tomatoes on top.

  

Seal Instant Pot and set the manual setting to 30 minutes.  When the time is up, do a quick release, then gently stir the stew and serve.

  

Yield: 6 main dish servings

Stout Chili

This is my version of a chili recipe from Nick Kindelsperger over at Serious Eats.  It's originally from Bon Appetit.  After going to a local restaurant called Silver Gulch for years now, my husband and I finally tried their chili a couple of weeks ago, and were blown away.  It was so good!  It had stout in it, so of course I immediately planned to try making it myself.  My version is probably not as rich, uses ground beef instead of steak, has a lot more beans, and smaller pieces of veggies, which is just how I like it.  The flavor of this chili is awesome, especially for one that's simmered such a short period of time.  Honestly, I think this chili would be good without the beer, but the beer deepens the flavor in an indescribably good way.  I'm pretty sure this recipe will supplant the favorite red chili recipe I've been making for the past 5 years.  Next time I may even make a double batch because chili freezes so well.  Yum!  (Update: I actually never made my old red chili recipe again because we love this one so much, and I do always make a double batch of this one!)

 

This chili lasted for several meals, but for dinner the first night, I served the chili in corn bread bowls.  A couple of weeks ago, we impulse purchased a waffle bowl maker and I had the idea to cook corn bread batter in it.  Turned out awesome, and that's what's pictured below.
   

Quick Note:  I'm not fond of big pieces of onion in chili, so I chopped my onions in the food processor.  I also minced the jalapeno and garlic in it.  For the tomatoes, you can either drain them (reserve the juice!) and chop them, or blend them with a food processor.  I am weird and don't like chunks of canned tomato (fresh are fine), so I blended mine.

 

 

Stout Chili

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

2 onions, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbsp chili powder

3/4 Tbsp ground cumin

1/2 Tbsp ground coriander

4 tsp salt (or to taste)

12 oz bottle stout beer (I used Alaskan Stout)

28 oz can whole tomatoes (chopped with a knife/kitchen shears or blended smooth)

2 28 oz cans pinto beans, drained (or 1 lb dried pinto beans, soaked, simmered until soft, and drained)
    

In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until it's cooked through.  Scoop out beef into a bowl and drain any excess fat.  Reduce heat to medium or medium-low.  Add onions, peppers, and jalapenos, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables get tender and the onions begin to turn clear, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, plus the chili powder, cumin, and coriander, and stir constantly for another minute or two, being careful not to let it burn.  Stir in beer and remaining ingredients, including the cooked, ground beef.  Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce heat to low and simmer chili for 30 minutes.

Serve topped with grated cheese, sour cream, or whatever else you'd like.

 

Yield:  About 8 main dish 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

Stuffed Pepper Soup

For some reason I've never made a stuffed pepper recipe worth repeating.  They've never turned out gross or anything, just not anything special.  I'll undoubtedly try more stuffed pepper recipes in the future because I love them when done well, but it's not very urgent because this soup has amazing stuffed pepper flavor!  This was dinner last night, and it was one heck of a dinner.  The recipe is simple for sure, but extremely tasty.  Everything just works together really nicely.  My husband and I made it together.  Our new kitchen is so much bigger than the old one and we had a lot of fun cooking this.  We made Garlic Butter Dips to go with it.  We just loved this soup, my husband even handed out a rare 10 out of 10 rating.

This recipe is from AllRecipes.  I made a few changes, namely more bell pepper, garlic, crushed tomatoes instead of diced, and more broth (since crushed tomatoes have thicker juice than diced).

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 Tbsp butter

1 lb ground beef

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 C chicken (or beef) broth

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

15 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/4 t dried thyme

1/4 t dried sage

for serving:

1 C uncooked rice

fresh minced parsley

Place butter in a large pot and melt over medium-high heat.  Add ground beef and break it up with a spoon.  Add bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until meat is cooked through and onions are translucent.  Add garlic and cook another minute.  Drain fat if necessary.  Stir in broth, tomato products, and seasonings, bring to a boil, cover pot, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Let simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

After 30 minutes, steam rice in a separate pot.  Meanwhile, continue to simmer the soup.  To serve, either stir the rice directly into the pot of soup (only if you're planning to eat all the soup immediately), or scoop individual portions of rice into bowls and top with the soup and a sprinkle of minced parsley.

Yield: 6-8 main dish 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

Secret Recipe Club: Broccoli Cheese Soup

It's time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal!  This month, my blog assignment was Jessie Weaver's blog.  Her blog has recipes on it of course, but also posts about all kinds of other things.  I spent a solid two hours reading her posts the other day and really enjoyed it!  Jessie is a great writer and seems very thoughtful and kind.  Her kiddos are super cute, too.

Anyway, on to the recipe.  Hope Jessie doesn't mind that the recipe I went with is one she posted 7 years ago!  I can't help it, I love broccoli cheese soup, and the recipe she shared sounded really good.  I did alter it some.  Butter and full fat cheddar instead of cooking spray and light cheese, added an extra cup of chicken broth in place of one of the cups of milk because I didn't want to waste part of the carton of broth, and after tasting it I added both salt and a bit of mustard to punch up the cheese flavor.  I also decided to sprinkle the cheddar on the individual bowls of soup as a garnish so it could just barely melt into the soup- yum!

In any case, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the soup.  It's thick, creamy, has great flavor, and is basically the perfect comfort food.  I can pretty much guarantee I will make it again!  Next time I would try doing 8 oz Velveeta because it was surprisingly difficult to detect, and I say that as someone who cannot stand even the tiniest bit of Velveeta in any other recipe.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 Tbsp butter

1 C diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 C chicken broth

1 lb frozen broccoli florets (or can use fresh, chopped broccoli)

1 tsp bottled yellow mustard (not dried)

1/4 tsp black pepper

salt to taste (start with 1/2 tsp)

1 1/2 C milk

1/3 C whole wheat flour

6 oz Velveeta by weight, diced

shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat and add onion.  Saute until the onion begins to soften, then add garlic, and saute until golden.  Add chicken broth and broccoli.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and whole wheat flour until smooth.  Bring pot of soup to a boil and pour in milk mixture in a thin stream while stirring the soup continuously.  Let simmer about 5 minutes so the flour has time to cook and thicken the soup.  Add Velveeta and stir until melted.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your preferences, I made sure to leave some bigger pieces of broccoli.  Divide soup among bowls and sprinkle each bowl with a tablespoon or two of grated cheddar.

Yield: 6 servings 

An InLinkz Link-up

Black & White Turkey Chili

White chili has always been something I've really loved, even when I was a super picky kid I often asked my mom to make it and was fascinated by the dried beans she used!  White chili (with dried beans) is one of my favorite things to make in the slow cooker, not sure why I haven't shared a recipe on here yet. 

There are some recipes that I'm very loyal to and particular about, but white chili is not one of them.  I've basically never met one that I've not thoroughly enjoyed, and this recipe is no exception!  It's been pretty cold here lately (-40 yesterday) and I spend a good amount of time outside, so I decided to make white chili and remembered an awesome looking one I saw recently on a blog called Kitchen Meets Girl.  Ashley adapted it from a recipe she found, and I slightly adapted her version of it by reducing the amount of chicken broth and using ground turkey instead of cooked chicken.  I was intrigued by the use of a jar of salsa verde and black beans.  Sure enough, the salsa verde made it quite zingy, and the toppings (we did sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and lime) made it even tastier.  It's not spicy, just very flavorful.  My husband is definitely not as fond of white chili as I am, but he liked this recipe so much that his exact words were "Holy smokes, this is amazing!" and then asked to take part of the leftovers to work for lunch instead of putting it in the freezer.  Sounds like a sign of endorsement to me!

Quick Note:  The brand of salsa you use really matters.  I picked Herdez Salsa Verde because I knew we really like the flavor.

Black & White Turkey Chili

1 tsp oil
1.25 lb ground turkey
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
15 oz can black beans, drained
15 oz can white beans (like Great Northern beans), drained
16 oz can salsa verde (I used Herdez)
2 C chicken broth

Toppings:
sour cream
grated cheese
cilantro
diced avocado
thinly sliced green onion
lime wedges

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high and add ground turkey.  Break it up with a spatula and cook until meat is cooked through.  Add spices and stir around for another minute.  Add beans, salsa verde, and chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer while you prepare your toppings.  Divide chili among bowls and let people add whatever toppings they want to their bowls.

Yield: About 6 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