Weather or not.

This came from the Crocktober website. Yes, I do realize October is over. October is not usually this freakin' blustery. It's soup weather.

"Italian Sausage Soup" (6 quart pot.) The original recipe is HERE.

~1 lb hot Italian sausage
~1 onion, chopped
~1 green bell pepper, chopped
~1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
~1 (15 oz) can northern beans, rinsed and drained
~32 oz beef broth (I used a whole box.)

Brown sausage, onion, and pepper. Drain.
Add to crock pot.
Add tomatoes, beans, and broth to mixture.
Cover and cook on lo for 8 hours.

6 servings.

This was pretty good. Nice flavor. Not spicy. My little helper put himself to bed early instead of eating dinner with us, so...yay(?) for that.

It's bean awhile.

This is "Chapter 15" of the E-book. It's another one of those recipes that kind of has a misnomer.

"Arizona Chuck Wagon Beans" (6 quart pot)

~1 (14.5 oz) can navy beans, drained and rinsed (The recipe says 1 lb navy beans, dried or pinto. I improvised.)
~6 c water (I didn't use that much because my beans were already hydrated. I THINK I used about 3.)
~1/4 lb pork loin, diced
~1 onion, chopped
~1 garlic clove, minced
~1 green bell pepper, chopped
~1 1/2 lbs round steak, cubed
~1 1/2 t salt
~1/2 t dried oregano
~1/4 t crushed red pepper
~1/4 t cumin
~8 oz tomato sauce

Place beans in crock pot.
Heat oil in a skillet and fry pork until lightly browned.
Transfer to crock pot.
In the same skillet, sauté onion, garlic, and green pepper.
Transfer to crock pot.
In the same skillet, brown beef in pan drippings.
Transfer to crock pot.
Add salt, cumin, oregano, crushed red pepper, and tomato sauce to crock pot.
Add enough water to bring level just above the beans,
Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

4 servings.

I think that my substitution made this soupier than it was supposed to be, BUT, as soups go, this was pretty good. It had a nice flavor and the meats were nice and tender. So...yay?

Souper, man.

I've never used coconut oil before and now after this recipe, I have a TON of it left. Anyone have any fun uses for it because I got nuttin'?

"Cajun White Bean Soup" (6 quart pot) The original link is HERE.

~1 green bell pepper, chopped
~2 T coconut oil
~1 red bell pepper, chopped
~1/2 large Vidalia onion, chopped (From the CSA.)
~2 c carrots, shredded
~2 c zucchini, shredded (From the CSA.)
~1 (15 oz) can white kidney beans (I cheated.)
~4 garlic cloves, minced
~1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
~56 oz low sodium chicken broth (I'm sure if you wanted to make it vegetarian, you could use veggie broth.)
~2 T Cajun seasoning
~Mexican cheese blend, shredded
~sour cream

Heat coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add peppers and onion.
Cook on 10 minutes until tender.
Dump into crock pot with remaining ingredients, except cheese and sour cream.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. (I think "HIGH" was a typo.)
Top with cheese and sour cream.

10 servings.

This is a pretty good soup with a nice kick My bean substitution changed the consistency it a bit (it's supposed to be thicker), but I'm kind of okay with that.

Frozen in decision.

Today's original recipe is HERE. I modified mine slightly. Here's what I did...

"Lasagna Soup" (6 quart pot)

~12 oz pkg smoked pork sausage, sliced (Because put non-browned ground pork into a crock pot gave me the heebie jeebies AND because we had this non-ground sausage in the freezer.)
~4 c low sodium chicken broth
~1 (28 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
~1 (18 oz) can Progresso Recipe Starters Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce (I had to ask the Safeway dude if he could find it for me. He did!)
~6 garlic cloves
~1 yellow onion, diced (Because we had one.)
~2 t dried oregano
~1 t dried thyme
~1 bay leaf
~6 oz dried lasagna noodles (I weighed some on our kitchen scale. It was 7 noodles.)
~ricotta cheese
~parmesan cheese

Add sausage, broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cloves, onion, oregano, thyme, and bay leaf to crock pot.
Mix well.
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
Break the noodles into small pieces and chuck them in the pot.
REcover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until noodles are tender.
Serve and garnish with cheeses.

6 servings.

If you like lasagna, you will probably dig this soup. I'm not a HUGE lasagna fan, so I only kinda liked this soup...ALTHOUGH, I do stand by my decision to use a different sausage. It was the right choice. My other half had seconds and my little helper wouldn't touch it. My favorite part was chowing down on the whole cloves of garlic. Yum!

What's in a name?

The third card from the end was...

"Makeover Hash Brown Soup" (6 quart pot)

~2 green onions, chopped
~1 t canola oil
~1 (28 oz) package frozen O'Brien potatoes, thawed
~2 c milk (The card said 2%. I used whole because that's what we keep in the house for my little helper.)
~1 (10 3/4oz) reduced-fat, reduced-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
~6 turkey bacon strips, diced and cooked
~1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

In a small skillet, sauté onions in oil until tendeer.
In crock pot, combine potatoes, milk, soup, and onions.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until heated through.
Top each serving with 2T bacon and 1T cheese.

8 servings.

This was the least soupy soup we've ever seen. It was cheesy potatoes with a strip of fake bacon on top.  It was good, but it didn't wow our socks off or anything like that. I've said it once or twice or a million times: I'm not a foodie and I'm terrible at naming crocks. HOWEVER, the name of this crock makes absolutely zero sense to me.

Chicken soup for the soul.

Greg picked number 17. (Thanks Greg!) Number 17 was...

"Chicken Vegetable Soup" (6 quart pot)

~1 (24 oz) jar pasta sauce (I used a generic garden veggie.)
~2 c reduced-fat reduced sodium-chicken broth
~2 c cubed cooked chicken breast
~1 c frozen green beans (The card said corn. I substituted the beans because our friend Laura joined us for dinner (Hi Laura!) and she can't do ANY grains.)
~2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
~1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
~1/4 c dried lentils, rinsed
~1 T sugar
~1 T Worcestershire sauce
~2 t dried parsley
~1 t dried marjoram

Combine all ingredients in crock pot.
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or until veggies are tender.

8 servings.

This was a yummy tomatoey chicken soup. Everyone thought it was delicious (except for my little helper). Mmm...

More for me.

Sarah picked number 11. (Thanks Sarah!) Number 11 was...

"Beef Barley Lentil Soup" (6 quart pot)

~1 lb lean ground beef
~1 onion, chopped
~2 c cubed red potatoes
~1 c chopped celery
~1 c chopped carrot
~1 c dried lentils, rinsed
~1/2 c medium pearl barley
~8 c water
~2 t beef bouillon granules
~1 t salt
~1/2 t lemon-pepper seasoning
~2 (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes

In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Transfer to crock pot.
Layer with potatoes, celery, carrots, lentils, and barley.
Combine water, bouillon, salt, and lemon-pepper; pour over veggies.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until veggies and barley are tender.
Add tomatoes; cook 2 hours longer.

10 servings.

I thought this was yummy and fun and healthy. My other half wasn't a fan. (He said he was more in the mood for comfort food.) My little helper dug the carrots. It made a TON, so I'll probably be eating ALL of the leftovers. I'm kind of okay with that.

Behind the scenes.

A few things...

Firstly, I worked this weekend, so I'll probably be a little behind for a few days. Sorry.

Secondly, I didn't preview any of the recipes in this booklet before I decided to do this silly game. So far, I've had to veto two of the recipes because they had ingredients we don't "do" in this house. (Provolone cheese and sauerkraut for those who care.)

Thirdly, THIS recipe was not a crock pot recipe. Why on Earth did a recipe card book of crock pot recipes manage to slip in a 15 minute stovetop soup recipe?   No idea. Of course, I didn't realize this until yesterday morning when I was all set to put everything in the pot. So...I attempted to convert it. This is what I did...

"Turkey-Sweet Potato Soup" (6 quart pot)

~2 c water
~2 t sodium-free chicken bouillon granules
~2 sweet potatoes, cubed
~1 (14 oz) can creamed corn
~1 T fresh sage, minced
~1/4 t pepper
~1 T cornstarch
~1 c milk
~2 c cubed turkey chops (The original recipe said cooked turkey breast.)

4 servings.

This was a yummy soup. I was worried that I'd somehow screw it up, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. I don't see a lot of recipes that use fresh sage, so that was exciting to use and delicious to eat. Even my little helper ate some of it, so I can definitely put this in the win pile.

Think outside the shell.

Sarah picked number 23. (Thanks Sarah!) Number 23 was...

"Mexican Chicken Soup" (6 quart pot)

~1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts. cubed
~2 t canola oil
~1/2 c water
~1 envelope reduced-sodium taco seasoning
~32 oz V8 juice (I used reduced-sodium.)
~16 oz salsa (I used store brand hot
~6 T cheddar cheese
~6 T sour cream
~2 T minced fresh cilantro

In a large skillet, sauté chicken until no longer pink.
Add water and taco seasoning; simmer, uncovered, until chicken is well coated.
Transfer to crock pot.
Stir in V8, salsa, beans, and corn.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until heated through.
Serve with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.

6 servings.

This was REALLY good. It's like a taco, but in soup form. My other half said that this is probably the best soup I've ever crocked. Mmm...

Honey? Where is my souper suit?

Megan picked 44. (Thanks Megan!) Number 44 was...

"Pork Vegetable Soup" (6 quart pot)

~1lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch pieces (The smallest one I could find was 2 lbs.)
~1 t garlic powder
~2 t canola oil
~1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
~4 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
~2 potatoes, cubed
~1 (12 oz bottle) light beer (I used Yard's Pale Ale.)
~1/4 c quick-cooking tapioca
~2 bay leaves
~1 T Worcestershire sause
~1 T honey
~1 t thyme
~1/4 t salt
~1/4 t pepper
~1/8 t ground nutmeg

Sprinkle pork with garlic powder.
In a large skillet, brown pork in oil; drain.
Transfer pork to crock pot.
Add remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is tender.
Discard bay leaves.

6 servings.

This was a really good soup. Lots of flavor. I was a little lot nervous about crocking 3 soups in a row, but I guess I got lucky because the three soups were more like stews than soups and my other half didn't give me the hairy stink eye tooooo much.

Just souper.

Megan picked 27. (Thanks Megan!) 27 was...

"Southwestern Chicken Soup" (6 quart pot)

~1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
~1 T canola oil
~2 (14 1/2 oz) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
~1 (16 oz) package frozen corn, thawed
~1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
~1 onion, chopped
~1 green bell pepper, chopped
~1 red bell pepper, chopped
~1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
~1 t ground cumin
~1/2 t garlic powder

In a large skillet, sauté chicken in oil until lightly browned.
Transfer to crock pot.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until chicken and veggies are tender.
Stir before serving.

10 servings. (Again...on what planet? This was more like 4.)

2 soups in a row! This was good, but not fantastic. It probably would've been better if it was a little spicier. (Or something.) My other  half and I both kind of felt like it was missing something.

Our little secret.

Megan picked number 11. (Thanks Megan!) Number 11 was...

"Hearty Veggie Meatball Soup" (6 quart pot)

~3 c beef broth (Mine happened to be organic.)
~2 c frozen mixed veggies, thawed (I chucked in whatever remnants I had in the freezer. It was 3/4 c corn, 1/4 c lima beans, and 1 c Tuscan style.)
~1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes
~12 frozen fully cooked Italian meatballs, thawed
~3 bay leaves
~1/4 t pepper
~1 c spiral pasta, cooked and drained (I used veggie pasta so it's be even more vegetable-y.)

In crock pot, combine first 6 ingredients.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Just before servings, stir in pasta; heat through.
Discard bay leaves.

6 servings.

I haven't crocked a soup in a long time because my other half was/is in a "I don't like soup" phase. In fact, he gave me THAT LOOK when I told him we were having soup for dinner tonight. Luckily, this was a really good soup. He even had seconds! Nomnomnom.

The fact that I put everything together and then forgot to hit start for 4 hours can be our little secret, K? K.

Just eat it.

I picked this one because it was vegetarian. AND because it involved dried beans. I'm trying to get into dried beans because it's cheaper and stuff. I'm not a big bean fan in general, so this is kind of a big deal.

"15 Bean Soup" (6 quart pot)

The original recipe is HERE. Her bag said 16. Mine said 15. It also listed 17 different beans.

~1 bag of 15-17 bean soup mix. (Minus the packet.)
~1 onion, chopped
~3 garlic cloves, chopped
~2 t spice rub (I used THIS. Thanks, Molly's madre!)
~1 (14 oz) can Italian style stewed tomatoes
~8 c water (I made it a thicker soup because that's how my other half likes his soups when he's not in this anti-soup mood.)

Add all ingredients to crock pot.
Cover and cook on low all day. (Mine was about 8 hours.)

8 servings.

My other half wasn't a fan. At all. One of the 17 bean types didn't get cooked all of the way for some bizarre reason, so every once in a while, you hit a crunchy bit. I liked it more than he did, but it's still not my thing. I'm sure I would've liked it WAY more than he did if I was a bean person. My little helper likes beans, so I'm hoping he'll help me eat the massive amounts of leftovers.

Wouldn't you like to be a Crocker, too?

It's another "Look Inside!" Week. By request. Brad missed it the first time around (Bad Brad!), so I'm doing it again. I went to Amazon, searched for cookbooks I don't own, clicked on "Look Inside!", and then "surprise me". Voila!

"Creamy Leek and Potato Soup" (6 quart pot)

Betty Crocker Slow Cooker Cookbook

~6 leeks, thinly sliced
~4 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
~2 cans veggie broth
~1/4 c butter
~1/2 t salt
~1/4 t pepper
~1/2 c half and half
~green onions

Mix all ingredients except half and half and chives.
Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
Blend in batches.
Stir in half and half.
Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Top with green onions.

6 servings.

My other half is still on his "I don't like soups" kick, so I wasn't sure how well this was going to go over. The verdict? He said that it's one of the tastier soups he's had. It's another one of those not so healthy for you soups, so OF COURSE it tastes good. Really, I'm pretty sure Betty Crocker can do no wrong. She's my heroine AND she has a pretty fabulous last name!

Crap.

It's crappy outside today, so I made a soup.

"Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup" (6 quart pot)

The original is HERE. It's by Karen of 365 Days of Slow Cooking.

~1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
~1 c celery, finely diced
~1 c carrots, finely diced
~1 c onion, finely diced
~1 t dried oregano
~1 T dried basil
~4 c chicken broth (I'm sure veggie broth would be fine if you want to make it completely vegetarian.)
~1/2 bay leaf
~1/2 c flour
~1 c grated Parmesan cheese
~1/2 c butter
~2 cups of half and half, warmed
~1 t salt
~1/4 t pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to crock pot
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
An hour before serving, melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour.
Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes.
Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup.
Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth.
Add all back into the slow cooker.
Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper.
Cover and cook on LOW for another hour until ready to serve.

8 servings.

This was really good. Even my other half liked it and he's still on his anti-soup kick. He was NOT thrilled when I told him what was crocking.

Karen voted for my "Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese" today. She really did! Have you? Do it HERE.

Artery Clogging Pinterest.

I briefly perused my friends' boards to see if anyone had any fun crockable recipes pinned. I stole this one from Amanda. (Hi Amanda!) It looked deliciously unhealthy and was compared to some Outback Steakhouse potato soup I've never had. Sold!

The original is HERE.

"Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup" (6 quart pot)

~1 (30 oz.) bag of frozen, shredded hash browns (I used Safeway's store brand.)
~3 (14 oz.) cans of chicken broth
~1 (15 oz) can of cream of chicken soup
~1/2 cup onion, chopped
~1/4 tsp. ground pepper
~1 pkg. cream cheese (I used full fat because the original recipe said that fat free wouldn't melt. More on that later...)
~crispy bacon pieces
~green onions
~shredded cheddar

Add potatoes, broth, soup, onion, and pepper to crock pot.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Add cream cheese 1 hour before end of cooking time. (I cut mine into cubes in hopes that it would aid in the melting. More on that later...)
Ladle in to soup bowls.
Garnish with bacon, green onions, and cheddar.

8 servings.

I had high hopes for this soup, but it was kind of disappointing. I thought that with the artery clogging ingredient list, it was going to be delicious. It was good, but didn't enter delicious territory. The cream cheese didn't melt. (Someone on the internet lied? That never happens!) My other half and I agree that it seemed to be missing something. He thinks that it'd be better with chunks of potatoes. My vote goes to more bacon.

--Or maybe I should save that for the jar of Nutella waiting for us in the pantry (Thanks, Molly). You think this is bad for you? Check THIS out. Thank you, Pinterest.

Some other beginning's end.

The last card is...

"Chuck and Stout Soup" (6 quart pot)

~2 T olive oil
~3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
~salt and pepper
~8 c beef stock
~3 large onions, thinly sliced* (I forgot to add them and I'm just realizing this NOW...3 hours after we've eaten.)
~3 stalks celery, diced
~6 carrots, peeled and diced
~4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
~2 (8 oz) packages fresh cremini mushrooms
~1 pkg (.75 oz) dried oyster mushrooms, processed to a fine powder (I used my Magic Bullet.)
~4 sprigs fresh thyme
~1 (12 oz) bottle stout beer (I used Evolution Lucky 7 Porter.)
~flat-leaf parsley to garnish* (I forgot this, too. I might need to start being supervised. This is getting ridiculous.)

Heat oil on skillet over medium-high heat.
Season meat with salt and pepper.
Brown meat on all sides.
Add beef to crock pot.
Bring beef stock to boil and reduce by half.
Add stock and remaining ingredients (except parsley) to crock pot.
Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
Garnish with parsley. (Or don't.)

This made the house smell AMAZING all day long and it was delicious even without the onions and parsley.

This is the end of my game! Kind of. I still have a stack of dessert cards to go through, but that'll take awhile as I don't crock dessert every day. I could, but even I think that'd be a tad bit overkill.

Chow-duh.

As promised, number three was today. I decided to do this one because I'd just finished the leftovers from the OTHER corn chowder yesterday for lunch.

"Corn Chowder with Basil Oil" (6 quart pot)

~3 T butter
~3 leeks, sliced
~4 c veggie stock
~5 c frozen corn
~3 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed
~salt and pepper to taste
~1/2 c heavy cream
~basil oil (recipe follows)

Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat.
Add leeks; cook and stir until softened and beginning to brown.
Place leeks in crock pot.
Add stock, corn, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
Ladle into bowls and drizzle with basil oil

Basil oil:
~1 c fresh basil
~1/2 c olive oil

Process 1 c fresh basil leaves and 1/2 c olive oil in blender until smooth.
Pour into saucepan and heat on medium-low heat until warmed through.
Pour through fine mesh strainer to remove solids.
Discard solids.
Store refrigerated for up to 3 days.

I've gone from having never made/had a chowder to making/having two in one week. Turns out I like chowder! I forsee other crocked chowders in my future. MAYBE even some that don't involve corn!

I'm (corny) bacon.

Sarah picked number 7. (Thanks, Sarah!) The seventh card in the pile was...

"Easy Corn Chowder" (6 quart pot)

~2 (14 1/2 oz) cans chicken broth
~1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn, thawed
~3 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
~1 red bell pepper, diced
~1 onion, diced
~1 celery stalk, sliced
~1/2 t salt
~1/2 t pepper
~1/4 t ground coriander
~1/2 c heavy cream
~8 slices of bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled

Place broth, corn, potatoes, bell pepper, onion, celery, salt, pepper, and coriander in crock pot.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Partially mash soup mixture with a potato masher to thicken.
Stir in cream.
Cook on high, uncovered, until hot.
To serve, sprinkle on bacon.

6 servings.

Baby Liam and his mommie and daddie (Hi Kate and Dan!) joined us for dinner last night. Chowder was new to most of us. I'd never made one before. I'm not entirely sure I've ever HAD one before. We all thought it was yummy. Admittedly, I was super excited to see that bacon was one of the ingredients. Mmm...bacon. I'd happily make a chowder again. ESPECIALLY if there's bacon involved.

P.S. Santa bought this for my little helper this year:

To have and have not.

Sandra picked number 3. (Thanks, Sandra!) The third card in the stack was...

"French Lentil Rice Soup" (6 quart pot)

~6 c chicken broth (or veggie if you have it. We don't.)
~1 c lentils, rinsed
~12 baby carrots, peeled and finely diced
~1 onion, finely chopped
~2 celery stalks, finely diced
~3 T uncooked white rice
~3 garlic cloves, minced
~1 t dried thyme (or herbes de Provence if you have it. We don't.)
~1/2 t salt
~1/4-1/2 t ground black pepper (or white if you have it. We don't.)
~1/4 c sour cream (or heavy cream if you have it. We had sour cream leftover from one of the many, many, MANY chilies...)
~1/4 c chopped parsley

Stir together broth, lentils, carrots, onion, celery, rice, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in crock pot.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove 1 1/2 c of soup and puree until almost smooth.
Stir pureed soup back into crock pot.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with 1 T sour cream and 1 T parsley.

4 servings.

It's a very yummy soup. And surprisingly spicy considering the lack of spices in it. Although, this could've been because I accidentally dumped 1/2 t pepper instead of 1/4. My other and half and I both think that the creamy addition at the end makes the dish, so we highly recommend not leaving it out.