Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Our local grocery store has been making these pumpkin bread bowls and selling them in their bakery department. I couldn't pass them up and knew I had to find a yummy cream-type soup to put inside them. Last month, we had a potluck dinner at work and one of my co-workers, Nina, made a delicious, creamy soup with cheese and vegetables. It was so good, we all asked for the recipe. I knew this was the soup for these cute pumpkin bread bowls. This recipe can easily be made in the crockpot once the veggies are cooked. It also makes a lot, but the recipe can be cut in half too.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

5 cups water
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 large potatoes, cubed into 1/2" squares
2 stalks of celery, sliced thin
3 chicken boullion cubes

Boil above ingredients in a large pot for 8-10 minutes.

Add:
2 (16 oz.) pkgs. frozen broccoli, cauliflower & carrot mix, thawed and cut into smaller pieces

Boil for 5 minutes more

Stir in:
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted
2 cans creamed corn
1 lb. pkg. Velveeta Cheese, cut into 1" cubes

Keep stirring until melted. If soup is too thin, add some instant potato flakes to thicken. If the soup is too thick, add a can of chicken broth. If using a crockpot, set on Low and warm for 2-3 hours.

Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

A recipe from my latest crockpot cookbook purchase.

Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

1 pkg. (6 oz.) chicken-flavored stuffing mix
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2" pieces
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup

Combine stuffing mix (and seasoning packet) with 1 cup water unil just moistened in large bowl. Set aside.

Mix chicken, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper and onion in another large bowl. Stir in soup. Transfer half of the chicken-vegetable mixture to 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Spoon half of the reserved stuffing on top. Repeat layers.

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

Julie's "BAM-good" Chili

This recipe was inspired by a recipe that my youngest sister had several years ago. She would probably claim to this day that recipe is her's, but I can honestly say it is not. The ingredients have changed so many times since then, in hopes to find the right combination of flavors, that there is no way it could possibility be her's. And trust me...I would give credit where credit is due...as you can see by my previous recipes.

Feel free to change the meat up when you want. In this picture I used a fresh chicken sausage from Harmons, but you could use regular ground beef, turkey or chicken to the recipe. This is a really easy recipe and the onion and garlic can have more or less added depending on your liking. You can even add green bell pepper if you wish. This recipe is very adjustable and can fit anyone’s taste palate. If you don’t like corn, replace it with a regular can of pinto beans. And this recipe can also be placed into a crock-pot or slow-cooker on LOW for 3-4 hours after the ground beef, onions and garlic have been cooked.

Julie's "BAM-good" Chili

2-3 tbls. oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 lb. lean ground meat, browned & drained
1 (28 oz.) can of tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can of S&W's brand tomatoes with jalapenos
2 (16 oz.) cans of Bush's brand chili flavored beans
1 (15.5 oz.) can of S&W's brand Santa Fe recipe beans with corn
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained & rinsed
Optional: 1 teas. ground chili pepper - use for more heat or use a
liquid red pepper sauce and add to your taste.
Add additional salt & pepper if it needs it.

Chop onion, mince garlic and open all “canned” items, set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, drain and set aside.

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil. Then add chopped onion. Cook till tender and translucent. Add minced garlic. Continue cooking until garlic is infused with onion (about 1 min.). Add browned ground beef to onion mixture and stir to reheat. Then add cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir to warm-up. Add the 4 cans of beans and simmer on low-heat for 10-15 minutes until all of the ingredients are heated thoroughly. Or combine all ingredients into a slow cooker/crock-pot.

At this point, taste to see if flavor is to your liking. This is a good time to add any extra salt or pepper or the chili pepper/red pepper sauce. Remove from heat. Serve in bowls with grated cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream (optional) and several saltine crackers or cornbread.

BAM!

Crockpot 10 Garlic clove Chicken

This recipe was inspired by another recipe that I recently saw on an online website a few months ago. The original recipe was for 40 cloves of garlic (yes, you read that right) but I was too lazy and in a hurry (church) to take time to print it off. So I was trying to remember the recipe off the top of my head as I was putting it together. I didn't have all of the exact ingredients so I used what I had and this is what I came up with. I'm sure the ingredients aren't anywhere close to the other recipe and I forgot to add the sauteed mushrooms on top before I took this picture. Just noticed that detail as I was uploading it. Don't be afraid of the garlic...it really was a yummy and flavorful dish.

Crockpot 10 Garlic Clove Chicken

5 chicken breasts, cut into 2" big chunks
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 teas. Italian seasoning
1 teas. salt
1/2 teas. ground pepper
1/3 c. olive oil
1 (14 oz.) can of chicken broth
1 can of condensed Cream of Celery soup
1 can of condensed Golden Mushroom soup
2 tbls. of cornstarch (dissolved in 1/4 c. cold water)
2-3 c. of sliced mushrooms, sauteed
Cooked rice

In a small bowl combine, olive oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir together. The mixture will resemble an oily paste. Pour this mixture over cut up chicken, toss to coat and place into a crock pot/slow cooker. Pour cream of celery soup and 1/2 of the can of chicken broth into the crock pot. There's no need to dilute the soup because of the moisture that will be created from the crock pot. Place the lid on and turn setting on High and let it cook 3-4 hours.

Turn off crock pot. (This is usually a good time to begin cooking your rice). In a medium sized bowl, remove chicken from liquid and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or large deep skillet pour the chicken drippings from the crock pot into the pan. Add in remaining chicken broth and stir into liquid the dissolved cornstarch. The heat will start to thicken and create a sauce. Add in golden mushroom soup. Stir to combine. Once the sauce is heated through, take the chicken chunks and shred using your fingers and place into sauce. Add enough chicken until there is an equal chicken/sauce ratio. I ended up with about 5-6 chunks leftover. Which I used for another meal that week. Make sure the sauce isn't too thick. You can add a little milk or water to it if it is. If it's too runny, add one teaspoon of cornstarch at a time until it is the right consistency. Once the sauce is too your liking, turn off heat and set aside.

Saute sliced mushrooms in another pan using more olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Once the mushrooms and rice have cooked, plate this dish up, baby! Put rice on plate, pour chicken sauce over top and pile a spoonful of mushrooms on top. Serve warm with a side of salad and bread/rolls. Yummy! Enjoy!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

I sure hope this recipe isn't grossing you out by the looks of this picture. I don't think I could get it to look any better before it was cooked or after. So trust me this really was a simple and tasty recipe done in the crockpot. I used my favoritre new sauce I discovered at Costco earlier this year. I'm sure most of you have seen or even tried it yourself, but I've really come to enjoy the convenience and ease of this sauce and marinade.
I was desperate for a Sunday after church meal and was craving some kind of Asian-type dish. I immediately thought of my bottle of Mr. Yoshida's sauce. So I hurried and cut up some chicken breasts into 2 inch pieces and poured this sauce over it, added some brown sugar, garlic powder, soy sauce and some fresh pineapple chunks I had in the fridge. You can't see them in the picture, but they're in there. I then set the crock pot on High and let it cook while we were at church. The sauce ended up a little watered down so I removed the chicken to a bowl and took about one cup of the sauce from the crockpot. I then poured that sauce over the chicken in the bowl and started to shred the chicken into smaller bites and added another cup of fresh sauce from the bottle. The warmth of the cooked chicken was warm enough to heat up the extra sauce. We ate the cooked chicken on top of steamed rice and some cooked veggies on the side. The whole family loved my dinner that night and was pleased with it's simplicity.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

4-5 chicken breasts, cut into 2" pieces
2-3 cups Mr. Yoshida's Gourmet Sweet & Savory sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teas. garlic powder
1 teas. ground ginger
Fresh or canned pineapple chunks

Put ingredients into crock pot, add lid and simmer on High for 3 hours. Remove chicken and reserve 1 cup of liquid from crockpot. Shred chicken with liquid and the 3rd cup of sauce. Serve over steamed rice and cooked veggies.

Crockpot Lasagne

First off, let me just say that I have never made a lasagne in the crockpot before. Second, I didn't even have a recipe when I made this. And finally, it turned out alot better than I ever expected it to. I made it just before we left for church and it was completely cooked by the time we got home. As for the recipe I'm just going to give you the ingredients I used this time around. If you have a favorite lasagne recipe, try adapting it to use in the crock pot. Just plan to add some extra moisture: water, sauce, etc...

Crockpot Lasagne
1 pkg. Barilla brand lasagne sheets, chipped
1 1/2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 lbs. of browned, ground beef
1 lb. container of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
Any veggies (cooked): broccoli, spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.

Prepare crockpot with some non-stick spray. Have ingredients ready: chip lasagne sheets (see pic) brown ground beef, open sauce jars, mix eggs into ricotta cheese and season to your liking, prepare any veggies you choose to add. And begin layering the lasagne into the crockpot. Begin with some sauce at the bottom, then add noodles, more sauce, meat, ricotta, veggies and mozzarella. Next add a generous amount of sauce and then begin layering process again until you've done about 3 layers. Top and end with more mozzarella. Cover with lid and set heat to high and cook for 3-4 hours.