Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

Have I mentioned that I LURVE my crock pot? :) Well I do, a lot. Tossing everything inside the pot, turning it on and going to work is so simple.

I made this recipe and had a couple girlfriends come over. They both ranted and raved about it and even had second bowls. So I think it was a hit. :)

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped (optional)
1 16 oz can chili beans (I used kidney)
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup of chicken stock
2 15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 packet taco seasoning (I used hot, it gives it just a little spice)
1 packet ranch seasoning (ranch dip is another name)
1/2 tbs of cumin powder
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used a package of thighs)
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions:

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Chicken and Dumplins

Picture by Monica H.

It's Fall here in Washington, the leaves are falling, the air is cooler and it's... raining of course. The colds days and nights require some warm comfort food in order to warm the soul. One of my favorite soups is Chicken and Dumplins, but the one from Rachel Ray has more of a brothy base than the thick stew like soup I am used to. But I found this recipe on Lick the Bowl Good (my new fav food blog). M and I loved this stew, it was delish and had a lot of flavor. I did find that I needed to add an extra 2 cups of water at the end because it was so thick.

Ingredients:

Stew:

3 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 whole chicken fryer or cut up chicken(about 4 lbs.)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
6 cups chicken broth or water (possibly 2 more at the end)
salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings:

2 cups flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. dried basil (optional)
2 Tbsp. Crisco shortening
3/4 -1 cup buttermilk or milk

Directions:

In a large pot over high heat, saute onions, celery and bouillon cubes in butter til tender. Add whole chicken fryer to pot and cover with 6 cups water or chicken stock. Cook over medium heat til chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is cooked through, pull out and place on a cutting board. Once cool enough to handle, take off all the meat and shred into bite sided pieces. Add chicken back to pot and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Bring to boil.

While the chicken stew is coming to a boil, make the dumplings: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and dried basil. Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening with a fork or a pastry cutter. Stir dough while adding buttermilk. Start with 3/4 cup and add more til completely moistened and biscuit like but not wet.

Drop by the spoon full onto the boiling stew. Do not stir dumplings. Reduce heat to low and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Allow dumplings to steam for 15 minutes. Once dumplings are cooked through, stir dumplings into the stew and serve. The flour from the dumplings will thicken the stew.

Michelle's Crock Pot Chili

Now don't get me wrong, I do like the Jaime's Chili, but I felt there was some flavor missing. I took that recipe and ran with it, "doctoring" it up with more seasoning. I really enjoyed this batch and I hope you do too. Oh btw, it's spicy. :)

Ingredients:

2 pounds mixed ground beef and sausage, browned and drained
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper diced
2 cups chopped celery
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (28 oz) can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can of tomatoe paste
1-2 cubes beef bouillon
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 (14 1/2 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 1/2 oz) can chili beans with spicy sauce
1 (14 1/2 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 package chili seasoning mix
smoked applewood salt to taste(it's something we own but table salt is fine)
ground black pepper to taste

Shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions, for garnish
Fritos (optional)

Directions:

In a skillet brown ground beef and sausage, drain and set aside. Add the onion, green pepper,celery, beans, seasonings and meat into the crock pot. Stir in the diced, tomatoe paste and whole tomatoes. Turn your crock pot to low and let simmer for 6-8 hours stirring occasionally.

Serve with Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions.

Easy Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 cup fat-free reduced-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup Kraft Light Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 lb. boneless beef chuck for stew, cut into 1-1/4-inch cubes
1 lb. red potatoes, quartered
4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
1 large onion, cut into chunks
2 slices Oscar Mayer Bacon, chopped
3 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. water

Directions:

Mix broth, dressing, barbecue sauce and oregano in slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients except flour and water; toss to coat. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours (or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours).

Transfer meat and vegetables to serving bowl with slotted spoon; cover with foil. Set aside. Mix flour and water until well blended. Stir into juices in slow cooker; cover. Cook on HIGH for 15 min. or until sauce is slightly thickened. Spoon over meat and vegetables.

Ugh, I did not like this recipe and M didn't like it either. It doesn't taste like beef stew I grew up with. It has a tangier taste and the meat was not tender after 9 - 9 1/2 hrs of cooking. I think I will find another recipe and figure out how to make the meat tender. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of people who liked the tangy taste, it just depends on the person.

Jaime's Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound mixed ground beef and sausage, browned and drained
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper diced
2 cups chopped celery
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes
Ground cumin
Chili powder
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 package chili seasoning mix
Shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions, for garnish
Fritos (optional)

Directions:

In a skillet brown ground beef and sausage, drain and set aside.
Spray large pot with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and celery and saute briefly. Stir in the diced and whole tomatoes. Add cumin and chili powder, to taste, and cook for about 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the beans, browned meat, and chili seasoning. Partially cover, and let simmer for 4 hours.

Serve with Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions.

I love spicy chili so I buy the hot seasoning and add a little more cayenne pepper. My friend's and I love this during the cold days. I like to add the cheese underneath the chili.

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 large onion, medium diced
6 to 8 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1 quart vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (5-ounce) package pre-washed baby spinach

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent; lower heat if browning starts to occur. Add spices and saute a minute or so. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth, and sugar. Season with a couple pinches of salt and 10 grinds fresh pepper. Stir well. Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. If level is shy, add some water so the chickpeas are just covered.

Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach and let heat through until wilted, just a couple minutes.
Season again, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Serve soup, drizzled lightly with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

I have fallen in love with this soup, it makes a lot for leftovers. When you add all of the spices, it makes the house smell delish. I like to fry chopped bacon in the pan a couple minutes before adding the garlic and onion. No need to drain the oil out, it adds flavor.

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
2 tablespoons flour, a handful
1 quart chicken broth or stock, canned or paper container, preferred brand Kitchen Basics
1 small box biscuit mix(preferred brand Jiffy Mix)
1/2 cup warm water
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas

Directions:

Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands.
Place a large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.

Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup warm water and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit. Stir peas into the pan, remove chicken and dumplings from heat and serve in shallow bowls.

Maybe I didn't have a big enough pot, but I thought the dumplings were too close together but it didn't turn out too bad. I used dried parsley instead of fresh, but I thought the dumplings still came out good. This is a favorite during cold days.

Italian style garbanzo beans and sausage

Ingredients:

1 medium onion
4 large Italian sausages
1 can (16 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes w/Italian herbs
3/4 cup water or red wine

Directions:

Peel and slice onion in half and then into strips. Set aside. Brown the sausage in a medium size frying pan. Add beans, tomatoes, onion and water or red wine. Simmer over medium heat 12-15 minutes or until sausage is cooked and sauce is beginning to thicken.

Serve immediately. good served alone or with a tossed salad.

It tasted pretty good. I added 1 cup of frozen corn for veggies and I used hot italian sausage.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Directions:

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.

Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

M and I loved this recipe. It is pretty simple but I think the onions need a little longer on the "sweatin'" than it says. I liked the Gruyere cheese, but I think I will try Mozzerella and Swiss next time. I love that thick cheesy top and this recipe really doesn't do that like that restaurants do.