One of my favorite meals in the fraternity house was Ms. Glenda's ravioli. When I came across this slow cooker recipe from Betty Crocker it reminded me of all the good times I had over dinners with my fraternity brothers. This Slow Cooker Steak and Pasta Soup is easy and hearty. It doesn't get much better than this!
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8.5 hours
Servings: 5
Ingredients:
1lb boneless beef round steak
1 26oz marinara sauce
2 1/2 cups of water
1 9oz package refrigerated cheese-filled ravioli
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cut beef into 1/2 inch cubes. Mix the beef, marinara sauce and water in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Stir in ravioli and increase heat setting to high. Cook 30 minutes until ravioli are tender. Garnish with grated cheese.
I am a proud North Carolinian. Sorry Georgia, but there is no better state in the union than North Carolina. I used to get into "friendly discussions" with fraternity brothers as to which was the best state. It always came down to Georgia, Texas and the Carolinas (there was only another guy from South Carolina - so we had to stick together). Eventually we agreed to disagree.
What better way to celebrate your love for the Old North State than this North Carolina Potato Soup, adapted from "Our State". Even if you're not from NC, I know you'll enjoy this flavorful and creamy soup!
Ingredients: 2lbs potatoes 1 32oz Chicken Stock 1 can Cream of Onion Soup 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup 1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup 1/2 teaspoon red pepper Bacon Bits Salt and Pepper to taste
Peel and dice potatoes. Cook potatoes in chicken broth until tender. Combine all other ingredients in the stock pot mixing well. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with bacon bits.
Mexican and/or southwestern food is my all-time favorite food. How so? I've eaten at a Mexican restaurant on my birthday for as long as I can remember. It's one of the only places where you can order anything on the menu and it will be good. I definitely have my favorites: chicken burrito supreme, taco salad, chimichanga, tortilla soup, loco rice, fajitas and the list goes on.
One of my favorite Mexican-inspired soup recipes is for taco soup. This is not authentic to Mexico but it does offer some Mexican flair. Actually, the first version of taco soup that I ever had was a Weight Watchers recipe. Who knew? This soup can be made a variety of ways based on what is in your pantry but this version is my favorite. I've taken everything I loved from other recipes over the years and voilà, here you have it!
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 medium onion
1 can of yellow corn, drained
1 can of white sweet corn, drained
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of Rotel hot tomatoes (original if you don't like spicy)
1 can of black beans, drained
1 large can of chili beans, drained
1 packet of ranch seasoning
1 packet of taco seasoning
Other substitutions you may want to consider: kidney beans, jalapeno, stewed tomatoes, pinto beans, green chilis and black olives.
You can make this recipe on the stove or in a crock pot.
Let's get started.
Chop your onions fine in a food processor. Simmer in olive oil or butter until translucent.
Cook your ground turkey in with the onions until brown.
Check out my new fancy can opener. I swear I felt the onset of carpal tunnel with my manual can opener so my dad surprised me with this bad boy for Christmas. So far, it's been a little gem. Open all of your cans.
Pour cans and packets in to a stockpot or crock-pot.
Add your cooked ground turkey and onions.
Cook approximately 20 minutes on the stove on medium-low or 30-40 minutes in the crock pot on low.
Serve with sour cream, fresh avocado, cheese and tortilla chips.
Recently, I've been searching for an interesting crock pot recipe. There is nothing better than throwing ingredients into a slow cooker and having delicious soup ready when you come home from work. I stumbled upon this Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder soup from Better Homes & Gardens. It seems so simple: chicken, corn, tomatoes and cheese soup. Almost as easy as Honey Boo Boo's sketti.
Shredded Mexican-style or cheddar cheese for garnish
In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, stir together chicken, undrained tomatoes, soup, and corn.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Sprinkle each serving with cheese. Makes 6 servings.
Some of the reviewers stated that the soup did not have enough kick. I would recommend some hot sauce (and seriously - everything is better with hot sauce) or maybe even a little bit of hot Rotel.
I made soup to feed 16 comfortably and had plenty leftover. Divide everything above by three if you are feeding a family of four.
A quick look at our ingredient list.
Boil your chicken breast and place in the refrigerator to cool so that you can easily shred.
Chop your onion and garlic. I used a food processor to chop mine fine and quickly. Add your onion and garlic with olive oil in your stock pot. Cook until translucent. If you are cooking the same amount as me, I would use the largest stock pot you have.
Add your chicken broth, spices, green chilis, tomatillos and canned tomatoes to your onion/garlic mixture. I also added a pinch of sugar at this stage. A hint on the tomatillos...these are odd little boogers and dicing them is not as easy as you would think because they just fall apart. I ended up holding two at a time in my hands over the pot and squeezing the juices and pulp out but discarding majority of the actual skin of the tomatillos. Either way you choose to add them, diced or squeezed, will work just fine.
While your flavors are marrying in your pot, remove your chicken from the refrigerator and shred with your hands. Some people put their chicken in a food processor and this is fine but I think it shreds the chicken too fine. I don't like chunky chicken or super fine chicken so I hand shred mine.
I absolutely love fresh corn and given the opportunity, I always chose fresh over canned or frozen. Take a good knife and slowly cut down the sides.
Drain your white beans and add your beans, corn and chicken to your mixture.
Drink of choice this week: Bud Light Lime. There is just something about a beer and southwestern food.
My new phone case: please note how nicely the design matches the color palet of this blog. I literally squealed when I saw it.
Yummy. I think this soup is best with fresh avocado, a little sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Matthew and I were sitting around the office trying to decide on a soup to make. I was in one of those moods where every recipe that Matthew suggested sounded completely unappealing. And everything I recommended had ingredients in it that he didn't like (specifically vegetables). After much debate and recipes being shot down, we landed on Loaded Baked Potato Soup. As we were going over the ingredients, it called for cheddar cheese. Matthew being the picky eater that he is, wanted to substitute the cheddar with Gouda - one of his favorites. I on the other hand wanted cheddar. So we threw down the gauntlet and the competition began. Cheddar vs. Gouda.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound bacon
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 onion
6 large baked potatoes
2 cups whole milk
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded Cheddar or Gouda cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Sour Cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake potatoes in oven for 30 - 45 minutes, or until you can easily pierce it with a knife.
While the potatoes are baking in the oven, slice the strips of bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook the bacon in a stock pot over medium to medium high heat until the fat has rendered out and it is brown and crispy.
Remove the stock pot from the heat and scoop out bacon with a slotted spoon. Cool the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess grease. (Once the bacon has cooled down feel free to munch on a few pieces. I know I did!) Reserve 3 tablespoons of bacon grease in pot.
While the bacon is cooking, peel and dice 1/2 an onion. Cook the onion in the reserved bacon drippings and cook over medium heat until translucent.
Once the onions are translucent, whisk in 3-4 tablespoons of all purpose flour. Cook the flour and onion mixture for about 1 minute. This crucial step is the difference between thick/creamy soup and thin/runny soup. The flour is the thickening agent; the more you use the thicker it is. It is also important to note that if you do not cook the flour down for that minute, your soup will taste like raw flour. And let's be honest, no one wants that!
Once the flour has cooked down for about a minute, slowly whisk in the 2 cups of milk.
You will want to continually whisk the onion and milk mixture at this point for about 2 minutes or until it thickens enough to coat the end of a spoon. Once it coats the end of a wooden spoon, stir in the chicken broth and turn the heat down to medium/medium low and bring it to a slow simmer.
While soup is slowly warming and simmering, peel and quarter the baked potatoes and place them in a large bowl.
Depending on whether you like your potato soup smooth, chunky, or somewhere in-between, mash the potatoes accordingly. If you are having trouble mashing them, add a little milk to help the process. Once you have mashed them to your desired consistency, add the potatoes to the soup.
Now the fun part begins! If you can agree on the type of cheese you like in your loaded baked potato soup, you will stir it in at this point. Since Matthew and I were at odds between Cheddar vs Gouda, we each stirred our cheese into our soup in our individual bowls to taste.
Garnish the soup with bacon, sour cream, and extra cheese. 'Till next time, Caroline
