Chicken Sausage, Sweet Potato and White bean soup

Last night I kind of made up my own recipe altered from another recipe found here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-sausage-kale-soup-10000001591026/

I had sweet potatoes I wanted to use up and it turned out really good with great flavor!

I give this recipe a 5!  Although the kids would rather there weren't sweet potatoes in it so maybe next time we'll do regular potatoes.  The nice thing about this soup is you could use any combination of meats and vegetables and I think it would taste great!  Sorry I forgot to take a picture of it!

Ingredients:

cooking spray (or 1Tbsp oil)
1/2 onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
6 or more fully cooked chicken sausage links (or other meat of your choice)
1 large sweet potato peeled and diced (about 3 cups)
3 (14.5 oz)cans chicken broth
2 cups water (I just filled one of the chicken broth cans up one time)
2 cans white beans (you could also substitute black)
1 cup half and half

Directions:

(If using a different type of meat that needs to be cooked, brown the meat first, drain it and then add onions, garlic, etc.)

Spray your pot with cooking spray (or use 1 Tbsp oil).  Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, crushed red pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute.

Add chicken sausage to the pan, cook for 2 minutes to warm it.

Add the potatoes, water and broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes.
Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, beans and half and half; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Zuppa Toscana (like Olive Garden)

I needed to use up some spinach and potatoes and I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com.  It's Tim's favorite when we go to Olive Garden so I hope he likes it!  I think it tastes pretty similar!  I would give this a 5 for the sheer fact that my kids ate it!  My changes or notes are in red.

Ingredients

1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage

1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes  (I used less but it still had a kick to it)

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used refrigerated bacon bits)

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth

6 potato, thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half and just added a little extra)

1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed (I used baby spinach)

Directions

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. (I don't have a dutch oven, I just used a large pot)

Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. (Since I wasn't cooking any bacon I just left the sausage in the pot and cooked the bacon bits, onions and garlic all together)

Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Italian Meatball Soup

Ok I'm really on a roll with Our Best Bites!  I am loving their recipe book!  This recipe comes from them again!  It was awesome!  It's actually 2 recipes in one since you make your own meatballs to go in the soup.  My kids kept asking for more meatballs and more noodles.  Well at least they ate it!  I was looking for a recipe to use up the spinach from our co-op and this worked wonders!  I give both recipes a 5!









Here's the meatball recipe first:

Italian Meatballs:
1/2 lb. lean ground beef (I actually used ground turkey instead)
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
1/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. parsley
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt*
*If you want, you could substitute all the Italicized ingredients with 3 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning found here.

Gently combine meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape into balls, whatever size you like, but I prefer using my standard cookie scoop (about 1 Tbsp.) to shape meat into balls and then rolling it between my hands to make them even more round. Place on a broiler pan and broil until the meatballs start to brown–I actually use my toaster oven. Just because I can. Remove from oven and set aside until ready to use (or freeze for later use).

And now the soup recipe:

Italian Meatball Soup

Ingredients:

1 recipe of Italian Meatballs
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
5 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 cup water
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup small pasta uncooked
2 cups spinach, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. When preparing the meatballs, make them small and bite-sized.  Broil the meatballs according to the recipe directions until they are just brown and can maintain their shape.

2. While the meatballs are cooking, heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stockpot.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add broth, water, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning.  Heat to boiling.  Gently add the meatballs, carrots, pasta and spinach.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, the carrots are tender, and the pasta is al dente.

Chicken and Dumplings

Ok I just made an amazing dinner tonight!  How amazing might you ask?  So amazing that all 3 children had 2nds and my oldest had 3rds!  3 helpings of dinner?!  That is unheard of!  So if you like chicken and dumplings, you have to try this recipe.  It comes from Our Best Bites cookbook and it is, you guessed it, amazing!  I give this recipe a definite 5!

Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth (1 1/2 boxes or 3 cans) OR 6 c. water + 6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 lb. cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (I use 1/2 of a fauxtisserie chicken and it’s FABULOUS! You could also use leftover rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
1 c. sliced carrots
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 bay leaf
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)
1/2 tsp. basil
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk (fat free is fine)
1 recipe of Bisquik dumplings (recipe is on the box) or 1 small package of Kluski noodles

Directions

In a large pot, heat some olive oil over medium heat and add onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes and then add chicken broth, chicken, bay leaf, and basil. Bring to a boil. Add carrots and celery and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until carrots and celery are tender. When carrots and celery are almost done, add chopped parsley. Add evaporated milk. Increase heat to boiling and add noodles or add prepared Bisquik by small spoonfuls (they’ll really puff up while they’re cooking). Cook until noodles are tender or until dumplings are cooked through (they should appear moist but feel firm; this is after about 4-5 minutes).

Note from author: One other thing–if you know you’ll have leftovers, only add dumplings or noodles to what you know you’ll eat immediately. The noodles/dumplings will soak up all the liquid in the soup when you store it as leftovers, so you’ll have overly-mushy noodles and chicken with no broth if you don’t. The other thing you can do is add all of the dumplings or all of the noodles, and then store the dumplings or noodles separately from the rest of the soup. That’s easy to do with dumplings, not so much with noodles.

Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup

Hey everyone! Hope you're making it through the cold weather months and staying warm. The recipe I have to share with you today will help keep you warm! Who doesn't like soup when it's cold outside?! Anyway, this "recipe" comes from my Mother-in-Law and I put the word recipe in quotation marks because it's one of the recipes that can be adapted and put together pretty much anyway you want but it makes one awesome soup! There will be a lot of commentary with the instructions and ingredient list so you can see what I mean about adapting it. I definitely give this recipe a 5!

Ingredients

-Fresh broccoli chopped up (you can also use frozen) use as much or as little as you want

-Chicken Broth/vegetable broth (again use as much or as little as you want, we like to make a big batch at once because this soup gets better as the days go by, it's great for leftovers!) I used about 58 oz. or 4 cans of broth

-potatoes cut up small (again as much or as little as you want and it can be cut up as big or as little as you want)

-chopped carrots (as big or as little, as much or as little as you want)*
-chopped onions (ditto)*-cornstarch (for thickening use as much or as little depending on desired thickness)
-shredded cheddar cheese (as much as you want, the more the better!, I used about 3-4 handfulls)
-salt and pepper to taste

*as a side note to the onions and carrots, if you have little kids who don't like this kind of thing, then put them in a food blender and get them as finely chopped as you can so they kind of blend into the soup.

Directions
Put all ingredients except for the cornstarch and cheese into a pot and bring to a boil. Then simmer until the potatoes and other vegetables are tender.

Add the cornstarch to desired thickness, then add in the cheese until melted. Salt and pepper to taste.

Variations: there are many! Use other vegetables if you want. Also if you don't have potatoes on hand (like I didn't tonight) use instant potato flakes instead and then you can skip the cornstarch because the potato flakes will thicken up the soup themselves.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Stew

One of the many free magazines I receive is called Ready Made. I'm not sure how to describe it but it's kind of a "green" magazine where they make stuff out of the stuff you already have. It's pretty interesting. Anyway I found this recipe and I had a lot of sweet potatoes from the farm co-op we're getting vegetables from so I thought I'd try it. It reminds me of tortilla soup. So this is a different way to make tortilla soup. I'll write in my changes in bold. Since we have little kids, I omitted a few things so it wouldn't be spicy. I give this recipe a 5!

Ingredients

1 Tbsp canola oil (I used cooking spray)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes (I actually used 3)
1 onion, peeled and roughly diced
1 red pepper, seeds removed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 jalapeno, diced (I didn't use this)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (I didn't use this)
3 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1 (14.5oz)can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz)can diced tomatoes with juices (you could use tomatoes with diced chiles)
1 cup frozen corn (I used 1 can corn)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
shredded cheese to serve
I added some chicken as well


Directions

1. Heat canola oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add sweet potatoes, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, and garlic, stirring to coat. Saute until onion and peppers are soft, about 4 minutes.


2. Add chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper and stir well. Reduce heat to medium, cover pot, and allow sweet potatoes to soften, about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.


3. After sweet potatoes are fork tender, add broth, black beans, and tomatoes. Bring stew to a boil, stirring well and scraping the bottom of pot to incorporate all of the spices. Add corn, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.


4. Before serving, stir in cilantro and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve stew with cheese and additional cilantro if desired.

Ham and Asparagus Chowder

This looked so good in the book and I love asparagus so I had to try it. I found it in my Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2008 cookbook. It turned out nice and thick with great flavor. It's been awhile since I made it so I can't remember what I did differently to it. I probably sprinkled cheese on top to serve it. I give this recipe a 5!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cubed unpeeled red potatoes
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups cut asparagus
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked ham
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
pepper to taste
(cheese to top)

Directions:

In a saucepan, heat potatoes and water to boiling. Reduce heat to
medium. Cover; cook about 5 minutes or until potatoes are
crisp-tender.

Add asparagus and ham. Cover; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until thoroughly
heated. Stir in soup and milk. Heat to boiling over high heat,
stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with pepper (and cheese) before
serving.

Olive Garden Style Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

If you have ever gone to Olive Garden for lunch, you've probably ordered the soup, salad and breadsticks at some point. We always do and we were very pleased to see a new soup added to their menu as of late. The Chicken and Gnocchi soup is amazing! I knew it was a recipe I needed to find when I saw my kids eating bowl after bowl of it! Here's one I found and tried. It turned out pretty good and almost exactly tasting like the real thing. I will give it a 5 star rating!

Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half (evaporated milk works as well)
1 stalk celery, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil (I use pam cooking spray)
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper
16 oz potato gnocci
1 Tbsp cornstarch (optional)

Directions

Saute the onion, celery, garlic, and carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. (I just spray the pan with pam instead of using oil)

Add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.

Optional: Heat to boiling and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp water at this point if you want a thicker soup. (I skipped this step)

Magic's Green and White Chicken Soup

Here is another recipe from Allrecipes.com that uses both cilantro and spinach. It turned out pretty good but needed some extra salt and pepper. I guess the recipe says use it "to taste" and I guess my taste needs a lot for this recipe. It smelled so good but then you took a taste of it and the flavor just wasn't there till you added a little more salt. Anyway, still good and I do recommend it. The only thing is I didn't make the noodles by hand since we have an egg allergy so I just substitued packaged noodles. I also didn't use kale, I just used more spinach. I give the recipe a 4.5! Sorry no picture this time...

INGREDIENTS

1 (4 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces (I used about 4 chicken breasts)
2 medium heads garlic, chopped
(if you're not making homemade noodles skip the next 5 ingredients)
3 tablespoons butter
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1 bunch kale, torn into small pieces (or just use more spinach instead)
1 bunch fresh spinach, stems removed, torn into small pieces
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and cracked black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Place chicken and garlic in a large pot and with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until meat is very tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove chicken from pot and let rest until cool enough to handle. Remove skin and bone and tear or chop meat into bite-size pieces.

(If you're not making homemade noodles skip this next step)

In a large bowl, beat together butter, flour and salt to form a mealy mixture. Beat in eggs and egg yolks to form a stiff dough. Divide dough into thirds and roll each third out onto a floured surface to 1/8 inch (3 mm) thickness. Let rolled pieces of dough rest on racks for 20 minutes.

While dough is resting, stir chicken meat, cilantro, parsley, kale, spinach and green onions into broth. Season with Italian seasoning, curry powder and balsamic vinegar. Simmer over low heat, adding more water if necessary. Slice the noodle dough into 1/2-inch (1.2 cm) widths. Bring the soup to a light boil and drop noodles into the soup a few at a time. Cook until noodles are tender, 5 minutes. (If using prepackaged noodles cook them on the stove until almost done, drain, then add them to the soup to cook the extra 5 minutes). Season soup with salt and pepper and serve.

Sausage, Beans, and Broccoli Rabe "Stoup"

I recently picked up the Rachael Ray 30 minute meal cookbook for all occasions and have been trying out some of the recipes. This one was the first I tried and it turned out amazingly good! I didn't use broccoli rabe because I figured Wal-Mart wouldn't have it and I didn't want to take the time to search for it so I just used regular broccoli. I also added freshly chopped mushrooms since we had a bunch to get rid of. Hope you enjoy it! I give it a 5! (Sorry no picture this time!)

2 Tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil (I just spray the pan with Pam cooking spray)
1 lb bulk Italian sweet sausage (just used regular Jimmy Dean sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 starchy potato, peeled and chopped into small dice (I used red potatoes)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 can (15 oz.) white beans, drained (I used Great Northern beans)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped (3 cups) (I used regular broccoli)
1 quart chicken broth
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano cheese, for serving

Heat a medium pot or a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and sausage and brown, crumbling with a spatula. Add onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, bay leaf, and beans. Season with salt and pepper. Cook to begin to soften the vegetables, 5 minutes. Add broccoli rabe and cook just until wilted. Add chicken broth and cover pot. Raise heat and bring stoup to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf, adjust seasonings, and serve stoup with grated cheese for topping.

Taco Soup

This was yet another recipe from the ward cookbook. It was so easy to make and turned out great! I give this recipe a 5!

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can pinto beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes)
1 can red beans (I used kidney beans)
1 can corn

Brown meat, drain. Add taco seasoning and all other cans undrained. Simmer till flavors are mixed. --Dixie Baker

I also added shredded cheese on top and a little sour cream. Then we ate it with tortilla chips. It was great!

White Bean Chili

This recipe comes from our ward's cookbook that they just put out. So if you bought it....then it's nothing new, just a review of the recipe. I'm a big fan of chili so I knew this would be good. I really liked it and it was pretty easy to make. Tim said it wasn't his favorite thing I've ever made. But then he's not much for chili. He did say that it's better than regular chili....and yet he had 2nds! Go figure. I give this recipe a 5!

1 lb chicken, cut up
1 med. onion chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
1 can green chiles
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup sour cream

Cook together chicken, onion and garlic powder until chicken is cooked through. Add the white beans, chicken broth, green chiles, salt, oregano, and pepper. Heat thoroughly on stovetop. Just before serving, add the whipping cream and sour cream. --Lucinda Hopkins

Chicken and Vegetable Chowder

This recipe comes from the Famous Brand Name recipe website and it turned out great! I figured I'd get one last hot winter meal in before it really gets warm outside....it went great with the bread bowls I made before. I give this recipe . For anyone who doesn't want to go through the link above, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of potato soup
1 package (10 ounces) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup whole kernel corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/3 cup half-and-half

Slow Cooker Directions
1. Combine chicken, broth, soup, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onion, corn, garlic and thyme in slow cooker; mix well.
2. Cover; cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours.
3. Stir in half-and-half. Cover; cook on HIGH 15 minutes or until heated through.

Variation Add 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Swiss or Cheddar cheese just before serving, stirring over LOW heat until melted.

Crab Corn Bisque

Well since I'm nearing the end of the recipes in the crock pot cook book....well more boring of them really, I thought I'd give you the recipes that I find in other places that I make and like. Tonight was Crab Corn Bisque and it's found in the "Favorite Recipes from Quilters" cookbook on pg 55. I found quite a few recipes I've liked in this book so maybe you will too. I was a little skeptical of this recipe since you make it entirely in the microwave but it turned out pretty good. I give this recipe a 3

Makes 6 servings

2 Tbsp. margarine
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 tsp. thyme
10 3/4 oz. can cream of potato soup
1 1/2 cups milk
17 oz. can creamed corn
12 oz. imitation crab meat

1. Melt margarine in a 3-quart casserole dish in microwave on high.
2. Add chopped vegetables and thyme and cover with plastic wrap which has several slits in top. Cook in microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring one time.
3. Stir in all remaining ingredients, cover with vented plastic wrap and microwave on high for 7 minutes or until boiling hot. Serve.

I cooked up some crescent rolls to go with it!

Burton's Minestrone

Tonight's recipe was Burton's Minestrone on pg 31. This food didn't burn which was nice.....and Tim really liked it. I however thought it could have been better and I will make the following adjustments to it when I make it again....It calls for 2 cans of pork and beans.....well you can taste it pretty well I thought and that's not what Minestrone soup is supposed to taste like so instead I would add 4 cans of Minestrone soup instead of 2 and the pork and beans. The other adjustment I would make is the Worcestershire sauce....you could taste that pretty strong too. If you like the stuff then leave the amount the way it is...if not, I would use less of it say maybe just a tablespoon of it. Otherwise the soup was really good and I'm sure it'll be even better when I make it again. I give this recipe 3 1/2 with the possibilities of it being better next time.

Ingredients

1/2 to 1lb ground beef, browned and drained
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) minestrone soup, condensed
2 cups water
2 cans (15 oz each) pork and beans
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup dried minced onion or 1 large fresh onion chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp oregano

Directions

Combine all ingredients in greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on low
heat 3-5 hours. Makes 4-6 servings.

Broccoli-Cheese Soup

And for tonight.....broccoli-cheese soup on pg 41 of the "101 things to do with a slow cooker" cook book. This recipe called for 2 packages of frozen chopped broccoli but I used fresh broccoli instead that I cut up myself. Since there wouldn't be any water coming from the non frozen broccoli, I added just a little bit of water. This recipe turned out pretty good, it did need a little more salt than called for but maybe that's just my taste. Also it called to cook it on 2-3 hours on high....I would make sure you turn it off at 2 hours. I let mine go a little bit longer and it started to look like it was going to burn on one side. I give this recipe a 4, Tim seemed to like it a lot, he'll be taking it for lunch tomorrow while he's at school so that must mean it was pretty good!

Ingredients

2 packages (16 oz each) frozen chopped broccoli
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) cheddar cheese soup, condensed
2 can (12 oz each) evaporated milk
1/4 cup dried minced onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on
high heat 2-3 hours or on low heat 4-5 hours. Makes 4-6 servings

.

Tortilla Soup

Tonight's meal.....Tortilla soup on pg 39. This was actually a really good recipe and tasted like tortilla soup you'd get in a good mexican restaurant. So I definitely recommend it. The only downside is you have to cook and shred the chicken first before even putting it in the crock pot. Make sure you read that part of the recipe before you try putting it all together....what I did to make the cooking and shredding part go fast is I used my fake George Foreman grill which cooks meat really quickly so it didn't take as long as it normally does. This recipe calls for Cumin.....what the heck is that? Well I didn't know until I bought it for this recipe and let me tell you it has a very distinct smell. It's the smell of a taco seasoning packet you buy at the store. Well anyway it makes your house smell great while it's cooking and it tastes great too! I give this recipe a 4 I will definitely make this one again.

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth
2 cans (14 oz each) stewed tomatoes, chopped with liquid
1 cup medium salsa
2 Tbsp dried cilantro
1 Tbsp ground cumin
3-4 flour or corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips
cheese, grated

Directions

Combine all ingredients except tortillas strips in greased slow
cooker. Cover and cook on high heat 4-6 hours or on low heat 8-10
hours. Ladle hot soup into individual serving bowls over strips of flour
tortillas and grated cheese. Makes 6-8 servings.

Simple Chili and Breadbowls!

Ok so tonights dish was chili found on pg 37. I found a bread bowl recipe online that is really easy and it turned out great. I'll put that at the bottom. So my husband always says he doesn't like chili, but since I do, I made it. It turned out great! In my 5 qt crock pot I cooked it for 3 hours on high. I actually didn't even have to change anything in this recipe (first time!). I give this recipe a 5 because I LOVE chili!

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 cup dried minced onion or 1 large onion, chopped
1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, with liquid
2 cans (8oz each) tomato puree
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, with liquid
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, with liquid
1 cup water
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on
high heat 2-3 hours or on low heat 4-6 hours. Serve in bread bowls.
Makes 6-8 servings.

Ok now here's the recipe to make easy bread bowls:

One 1 lb., 13 oz. can of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (Golden Corn, Wheat, etc.)

1.Heat oven to 350°. Make four 5" balls of foil by crushing four 50"x12" pieces of foil. Flatten tops slightly. Place foil balls on large cookie sheet.

2. Separate dough into eight biscuits. Combine two of the biscuits together and roll into a 6-8" circle. Place dough over a foil ball, shaping gently to fit and make a bowl shape. (Dough should not touch cookie sheet.) Repeat with remaining dough. If you only have the smaller biscuits that make 10 biscuits use 4 or 5 of those biscuits to make the circle.

3. Bake at 350° for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove bread bowls from foil so they do not tear.

4. Place ½ cup of soup or chili in each bread bowl. Top with cheese if desired.

PS: Just to let you know, you'll have chili coming out of your nose after you make this if you're only making it for 2 people. So be prepared to love chili for a while or freeze it for later.

Easy Taco Soup

Tonights recipe was Easy Taco Soup on pg 43. It actually was really easy. And it turned out great! I served it with quesadillas and put sour cream on the soup and it was great! I used salsa instead of the tomato soup it called for (cause I was all out) and I think it was better this way (even though I haven't had it the other way). The recipe said to cook on low for 6-8 hours ok it was 1pm when I decided to make it who wants to eat at 7 at night? Yeah right, so I cooked it on high for 3 hours and stirred every hour so it wouldn't stick (I forgot to grease the crock pot).

Did you know you're supposed to grease a crock pot? I'd never even heard of that before. But it works wonders with clean up. So I thought the soup was going to stick if I didn't stir it since I forgot to grease it. It turned out just fine. My husband wants to have people over for dinner now because I keep making good food and that's only from 2 recipes!

I give this recipe a 5 I will make this one again!

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz) chili with beans and meat
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, with liquid
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce (I used salsa)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, with liquid
1 1/2 to 3 Tbsp dry taco seasoning mix

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a greased slow cooker. cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours. Makes 4-6 servings.