Crock Pot Potato Chowder

I got this AWESOME crock pot recipe from my great friend and next door neighbor who shared it with me after a friend of hers shared it with her after she had her baby.  It's just too yummy and too easy to not share with everyone you know.

1 pkg frozen shredded hash browns (30 oz)
3 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup green onions (I used half of a small regular onion and it was great)
1/4 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients in crock pot and stir.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  After 4 hours add an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese and stir in.  Cook for an additional 30 min.

I also added some cooked chopped bacon at the same time as the cream cheese.  Another time I added chopped leftover ham at the beginning.  They both turned out yummy. 

As a side note:  I also tried this recipe using low fat soup and low fat cream cheese.  It was still o.k., but the consistency was off- kind of pasty-- sticky.  I think I'll stick to the original recipe- or at least staying with regular cream cheese.

Black Bean n' Pumpkin Chili

This is a new recipe I found and altered to my families taste. Everyone really liked it. Great for this time of year.

1 med. onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBSP olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans black bean, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cup cooked turkey or chicken, chopped up
1 can (15 oz) canned pumpkin
1 can Italian style tomatoes, undrained, blended
1 cup frozen corn
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt

In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil. Add to soup pot with broth, beans, pumpkin, Tomatoes (put them in the blender and blend them so they aren't chunky and then add them to the pot) corn, chicken and seasonings. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour- until thickened. YOu can also do this in the crock pot on low for 5 or 6 hours.

Italian Wedding Soup

As I said in my last post, I love soups; especially this time of year. This is the first time I tried this one and Kayla and Brady loved it. Savannah was not a big fan of it, but she had been really sick and not eating anything well so I don't hold it against her. It wasn't very hard either (well, at least my version of it, and if you're familiar with my recipes thus far, you know I like to change them up).

The actual recipe call for making you meatballs from scratch, which I would gladly do if I had 2 more hands to make them with and hold the baby who likes to whine at my feet when I make dinner. I actually used the frozen meatballs from Sam's Club and they turned out great. I just threw them in the pot of boiling soup frozen and it was so easy. I'll provide the meatball recipe for those who feel so inclined to make them from scratch.

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage

In a large bowl, combine eggs and bread crumbs. Crumble meats over mixture; mix well. Shape into 3/4 in balls. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a foil-lined jelly rolls baking pan. Bake at 250 for 15-18 min.

Soup recipe

3 medium carrots, sliced
3 celery ribs, diced
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 1/2 tsp olive oil
4 cans (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 cans beef broth (14 1/2 oz
1 cup frozen spinach leaves
1/4 cup minced fresh basil ( or about 1 tsp dried)
1 envelope onion soup mix
4 1/2 tsp ketchup
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta

Saute onions, carrots, celery, garlic in oil until tender. Sitr in broths, spinach, basil, soup mix, ketchup, thyme and bay leaves. Bring Soup to a boil. Reduce heat, add meatballs and pasta and cook for 13-15 min or until pasta is tender. Discard bay leaves.

Birdnest Soup

It's fall and that means SOUP time!! I love soups and this is my all time FAVORITE soup. A little background on the soup: I got the original recipie from my friend Megan Eborn (thanks Megan) and have altered it to our families liking. I have shared it with a few families here in Arkansas and it has become their families favorite soup. I finally made it again when my parents were here so I'd have a picture to show. However, the picture doesn't do it justice. I should have taken one in just a bowl and not the stockpot. It's a fabulous soup non the less.

1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 TBSP olive oil
1 15oz can Itailian Style Stewed Tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 15 oz can White Northern Beans
1 15oz can Black Beans
2 chicken breasts cooked and cubed, or 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups medium shell pasta

Add the onion, garlic and oil- saute. Add the tomatoes (my husband and kids don't like chunks of tomatoes so I pop the can of tomatoes in the blender for a few spins and blend it up smooth), I use the blender to measure 6 cups of water so I wash out all the blended up tomatoes and then add 6 tsp of chicken boullion granules. Add the bay leaves, oregano and salt and pepper. Add the beans. (If you use chicken thighs, you can pop them into the pot now too, take them out before you add the pasta, let it cool enough to handle so you can cut it up and add it back to the pot after the pasta is cooked.) Let the pot low boil with the lid on for 10 minutes. Add the shells and cook until tender. Add your chicken and remove the bay leaves.
Serve with warm cresent rolls

Just a note about how the soup got it's name. I used to call it Italian Pasta and Bean Soup (kind of long for a 4 year old). When Kayla was 4, she decided that the shells looked like birdnests with little eggs in them (the beans get stuck in the shells). She started calling it Birdnest Soup- so we have stuck with it. It's cute. My girls love this soup and it hearty and good for you. Hope you enjoy it this fall!!

Easy to Freeze:
Freeze leftovers for a busy day. Thaw and reheat.