Baked Potato Soup

This morning dawned cool and clear, which inspired me to make something thick and comforting for the family.  But, as always happens, the food budget forces me to be creative within a few limited ingredients.
This is a very cheap and easy soup that makes a great base for your perfect baked potato flavor.  Even though this soup is amazing as written, if you want to add sour cream or chives I will have a note of how to add that at the end of the cook time.  It's a fail-proof soup, so take out or add whatever ingredients you choose.

This will require at least a medium slowcooker.

Ingredients:
2 lbs Russet Potatoes (approximately 6-7 'taters), peeled and diced
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped

2 Tbs Butter
1/2 White or Yellow Onion
2 Tbs flour
1 cup Chicken broth,  OR 1 cup of water + 1 Tbs chicken bouillon granules

2 cups Water
1 Bay Leaf

1 cup Milk

4 slices Bacon
1/2 cup shredded Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream (optional)
approx. 1/4 cup freshly chopped chives (optional)

Directions:
Put all chopped potatoes, carrots and celery in a medium slow cooker.

In a small saucepan over medium heat on the stove, melt butter.  Add finely chopped onion and saute until soft and browning.  When onion is soft, add flour and mix well.  Add chicken broth or water/bouillon mixture.  When heated through, pour over veggies in the slowcooker.  Add 2 cups of water and the bay leaf, don't stir.  Put lid on, and cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

After potatoes and carrots are soft, remove lid, use a slotted spoon or a potato masher and mash the veggies until most of them are completely smooshed, but some lumps remain.

Pour in milk, turn to HIGH and let cook another 30 minutes.

Cook bacon in a skillet until crispy and crumbling.  Crumble bacon into slowcooker.  Shut off slowcooker and stir in cheese, and if you want, stir in the sour cream and chives.

Makes 8 servings, tastes great hot, or slightly cooled.

Canless Cream of Onion Soup

There is nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of steaming cream soup.  As with most things in life, homemade is way better than canned.  So, when the pantry is low on stock, and the weather is too blustery for going to the store, this is a great choice for lifting your spirits and warming your body and heart.

This needs a medium or large slow cooker.

This recipe calls for chicken stock, but if you don't have any, I am including a small side note in the instructions that will be a good way to substitute the chicken stock.  If you do have chicken broth, do not add the chicken, and you won't need to cook the onion as long.

You will need:

2 large onions
2 Tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken broth (OR, 4 cups water and 1-2 lbs chicken)
black pepper
salt
2 cups whole milk, half-and-half, OR 1 cup skim milk and 1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup flour

turn Slow-Cooker on HIGH, and drop 2 Tablespoons of butter into the crock pot.  Finely chop onions(the more finely chopped, the better the end result), and add to butter.  Stir the onions until soft and brown.  Add the 4 cups of chicken stock, (OR the 4 cups of water and chicken).  Add salt and pepper, if desired.  Turn slow cooker on LOW and cook for at 6-8 hours.

After the chicken has cooked through, and the liquid in the pot is the rich color of broth, pull out the chicken pieces, keeping the onions in the slow cooker.  In a bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour with 1 cup of the milk, whisk until smooth.  Turn the slow cooker on HIGH once more, and pour the milk and flour mixture slowly into the cooker while stirring constantly.  Allow to cook, with the lid off, and stirring frequently about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens.  Add the rest of the milk or cream and just heat through, do not boil.

Serves 6

Sick Day Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Like most people, I love chicken noodle soup when I'm sick.  But I don't like the condensed chicken noodle soups, and I always forget to pick up the non-condensed soups when I'm at the grocery store, because I rarely go grocery shopping when I'm sick.  So, here is a quick and easy solution.  It takes 30 minutes or less to prepare, and can be slowcooked on high or low settings, depending on when you are ready to have some.

Ingredients:

3-4 Stalks Celery, chopped
2-3 large Carrots, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (garlic is Nature's immune booster, so this is essential in my soup)
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
2 halves boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
2-3 cups chicken stock mixed with 2-3 cups water to make a total of 5 cups liquid
poultry seasoning, or herbs to taste.
1-2 packs of Ramen noodles, with or without seasoning, whichever you prefer

combine everything in a medium or large slowcooker, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or high 3-4 hours.

It really is comfort food when you're sick; and the smell of simmering chicken noodle soup is soothing, too.  Don't forget to drink some orange juice, for a Vitamin C boost, and get plenty of rest.  If you have an upset stomach, mint tea is a good way to calm the stomach muscles.

Today, my household is feeling under the weather, and already the smell of my homemade chicken noodle soup is making my mouth water.

Fork-Tender Easy Pork Chops

I used to grill pork chops, pouring butter all over them and torturing them until they resembled hockey pucks.  I am really not very good at cooking, which is why I love my slowcooker so much; it is virtually impossible to dry anything out, and very difficult to burn anything.

So, I discovered the amazing possibility of slowcooking pork chops and boneless pork ribs, and now they are a household favorite!  Another plus to slowcooking pork chops is that you can trim the fat off before you cook them, because it is not the fat that makes them tender, it's the slowcooking!

You'll need:

However many porkchops your house will eat (I use four).  Boneless pork ribs make a great substitute, too; so if you have any that need to get cooked up, toss them in! 
You can brown the pork in a skillet, if you want, which will give you a milder flavor, or just put them in the slowcooker.  If you brown in the skillet, just brown on each side until it's as dark as you like it, then put in the bottom of the slowcooker.
and
1 Family Size Can of Condensed Chicken with Rice soup
and 1/2 can of water

Herbs and spices optional and to taste: there really is no way to screw this up.

Combine in medium slowcooker, cover and cook 6-8 hours.  You can strain the liquid off the rice when serving, or leave it there, for a pork chops and soup dish. 

I use this one when I notice that the frozen meats in my freezer really need to get used, because I usually don't need to shop for the soup can, which means the ingredients are always on hand.  Also nice for when my week is too hectic to shop for specific menus.

The pork really is soft and buttery enough to be separated with a fork, and believe me, my husband is much happier now that I don't serve him shriveled hockey pucks on his plate anymore.

Busy Day Chicken Corn Chowder

As a College Student, and a mother of two young children, I am busier than I would like to be; which is just one of the many reasons why my slowcooker is my favorite cooking tool.  This Chowder is a great one to make when you have a busy day ahead and need to forget about your slowcooker for about 8 or 9 hours.

Ingredients List:

1 tsp unsalted butter
1 Small Onion, finely chopped
3 Stalks of Celery, finely chopped
2 medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 Bay Leaf
1/4 tsp Paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups milk
2 TBSP Corn Starch
3-3 1/2 cups frozen corn kernals

In a small skillet or pan, gently saute the butter, chopped onion and celery over medium heat until the onions are soft (this step can be skipped, just put the butter, onion, and celery in the bottom of the slowcooker and turn it on HIGH while you peel and chop the potatoes, just remember to turn it down to LOW once the potatoes go in the pot).  Once the Onion and Celery are taken care of, put them and the cubed potatoes in the slowcooker, lay the chicken breast on top (no need to pre-cook or cut), and add the chicken broth and spices, salt and pepper.  Slowcook on LOW 7-8 hours or more, until the potatoes are soft. 

Take out the chicken breast and shred or cube as desired.  Return chicken to slowcooker, add the milk, cornstarch, and corn.  Mix well, cover and cook on HIGH until warmed through, about one more hour.

Remove the Bay Leaves, dish out and serve!



One modification I always use:  I like to eat chicken breast all the time, there's just soooo much you can do with shredded chicken breast!  So, what I like to do is, I will add up to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts to the slowcooker in the morning to cook all day with the potatoes and onions; and when it's time to add the milk and corn, I take out all the chicken, shred it, and put 3/4 of the shredded chicken into plastic bins in the fridge for later, and put 1/4 of the shredded chicken back into the pot. 
This way, I can easily make chicken breast sandwiches, or chicken salads, or whatever I want with very little effort.  In effect, by adding extra breasts to the pot, I have turned one versatile dish into half a week's worth of lunches or dinners...

Which is another reason I am so in love with my slowcooker!  By thinking ahead, I am able to save time and effort later, and as a morning person, that is very important!


Tomorrow, I will introduce my famous individually-wrapped meatloaf!  I have been begged by everyone I know to share this recipe, and now, finally, I will be revealing my infamous meatloaf tomorrow night!