Creamy Vegetable Soup

"I found this recipe on Pinterest, and you can find the original HERE .  The original title of this recipe was "Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup" which was misleading since it didn't taste like tomatoes.  That's what I was hoping for.  The soup was delicious, however.  I would either keep the title and add a large can of tomato sauce in place of some of the chicken stock, or not put tomato in the title, like I did.  I want to try it with tomato sauce next time.  I have added just two things (garlic and white wine)...feel free to remove those."

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 large tomatoes, diced
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 c. white wine
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
1/2 cups half and half, warmed
 1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

3. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. 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.

4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

 "This was amazing!  I found this recipe on Pinterest, and you can find the original HERE "

{For the Crock Pot}

 

*Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:
Pork:
2 pound boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of large fat pockets
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced or crushed
1/2 cup water


Glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce


DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, combine the sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub the spices all over the roast. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and pour in the 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Near the end of the cooking time for the roast, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens.
Remove the pork from the slow cooker, shred and place on a platter or plate. Drizzle the glaze over the pork and serve.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef for Sandwiches

"I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, and made changes which are included. I've also added my own recipe for sandwiches using the beef. Make sure to drain the beef before putting it on the buns, and you can freeze the broth to use for a later purpose."


INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoon onion salt
2 teaspoon dried parsley
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 bay leaves
2 (.7 ounce) packages dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 (2-3 pound) chuck roast


DIRECTIONS:

Combine beef broth and wine with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.
Place roast in slow cooker, and pour broth mixture over the meat.
Cover, and cook on Low for 8 hours, remove bay leaf, shred meat with a fork, place back in slow-cooker and cook an additional 2 hours.

Jen's Italian Beef Sandwiches:

INGREDIENTS:

6 sub buns
6 slices provolone cheese
1/2 lg onion cut in long thin slices
1 green pepper cut into long thin slices
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon honey
miracle whip
shredded beef from above recipe

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut sub buns in half lengthwise. On top halves of buns place one slice provolone cheese each. Put onto large baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in oven. Meanwhile, melt butter in large frying pan. Saute onions and peppers until soft. Drizzle honey over the onions and peppers and continue to cook until they caramelize. Make sandwiches using the beef, peppers and onions, and a thin layer of miracle whip.

Makes 6 sandwiches

Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese

"I found this on recipezaar.com. The photo makes it look disgusting, but it was very tasty and made the kitchen smell fabulous!"

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can corn
1 (15 ounce) jar salsa, any kind
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot.
add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.
Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.
All done and enjoy!

Notes:

-I recommend adding pepper and garlic to taste.
-I added about 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese with the cream cheese.
-Is great served over chips, but would also be good served over rice or in a tortilla
-I thawed my chicken slightly and cut it in cubes before adding to crock pot/slow-cooker.

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

"I probably would never have found this recipe (on allrecipes.com), but I really needed to find a potato recipe for the crock pot since my oven was going to be occupied with other things. These were so good and creamy, unlike some mashed potatoes that are dry without gravy."

INGREDIENTS:

5 pounds red potatoes, cut into chunks (recipe didn't say peeled or not, so I left the peels on)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 cubes chicken bouillon

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the potatoes, garlic, and bouillon until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving water. In a bowl, mash potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, adding reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency. Transfer the potato mixture to a slow cooker. Place towel stretched tightly across top of crock, underneath lid, to absorb steam and keep potatoes from getting too soggy. Cook on Low for 2 to 3 hours. Just before serving, stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Very simple recipe here. I found this a while ago, and I've made this several times. The gravy is good on mashed potatoes, but I have found it's a little bland on potatoes. All you need is:

1 beef roast (2-3 pounds is fine)

1 can french onion soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Put all ingredients in slow cooker /crock pot for about 8 hours on low.

Tip:

I always have a hard time figuring out what the best kind of roast is, there are so many to choose from. I want my roast to be tender, juicy and fall apart. When I made a recipe for BBQed beef a few months ago it said to use a chuck roast. Now I swear by any roast that has "chuck" in the description.

Today (this is what I'm having for dinner) I decided to "doctor it up" a little. Over the past few months I have been using red and white cooking wine quite a bit. I love red on beef and white on chicken.

So to the above recipe I am adding

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove)

and about 1/4 teaspoon pepper

I love the convenience of minced garlic in a jar. 1/2 teaspoon equals 1 clove. Not only is it so much easier than mincing a clove, but it tastes better than substituting garlic powder, which I used to do quite a bit. My only problem with it is that it goes bad much sooner than the date on the jar (even though you refridgerate it like the jar says). So, if you buy it, get in the habit of smelling it each time you go to use it. When it starts to smell sour then throw it out.