Crock Pot Meals » Soup

Halloween Food | Pumpkin and Garlic Soup

Paulineh — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:45:13 +0000

Halloween is a great time of year when the weather is cooling down and hot foods are coming back in. If you are having a party or special dinner then pumpkin soup made in the crock pot has to be on the menu.

Here is a recipe for pumpkin soup with a twist. The addition of garlic and some other vegetables gives it a new taste to the traditional soup. Make it in your crock pot and serve it in pumpkin shaped bowls or make your own by hollowing out a large pumpkin or individual ones. Brush with a little lemon juice to stop discoloring and serve immediately you fill the shells.

Pumpkin and Garlic Soup

1/2 cup yellow split peas (soak overnight)

1 tab olive oil

1 chopped onion

2 cloves crushed garlic

20 oz (550g) small pumpkin pieces

5 cups chicken or vegetable stock

pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg

15 oz (42 g) can creamed corn

Heat oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic and toss until clear. Transfer to the crock pot and add the peas, stock and the pumpkin. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Add the corn and seasonings and cook for another 2 hours. Take out at least a cup of soup especially some of the peas and blend, then add back to thicken the soup. Serve with crusty bread and top with some chopped parsley.

How easy is that!

Being a soup expert

Paulineh — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:38:54 +0000

I love soups and when I am watching my weight they keep me feeling satisfied longer than other meals. A hot bowl of soup is one of my favorite lunches and also for Sunday night dinners. With a crock pot you too can be a soup expert.

The base of every great soup is a good meat or vegetable stock. Also use the best ingredients you can for your soups, and if you can make your own stock with fresh ingredients.

Cooking soups in the crock pot brings out the flavors of the ingredients you are using. With the slow cooking the crock pot makes soup making easy as well as there are usually only one or two steps to making a great soup.

Vegetarian soups are becoming some of my favorite crock pot recipes lately with split peas, pumpkin or potato to thicken them. I find these soups also improve in flavor the next day. A vegetable soup make in the crock pot is also healthy and usually low fat.

Seasoning soups is easy with ingredients such as bay leaves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and the addition of herbs like parsley, thyme, mint and other seasonal fresh herbs. Thicken your soup with potato, arrowroot or cornflour or take some soup out and blend, then add back for a natural thickening. I tend to the latter a lot with vegetable soups.

To reduce fat even more from your crock pot soups allow to cool and skim off any fat from the top. When heating soups only heat what you need and not the whole pot, and freeze in individual or family size servings if possible. When you freeze your soups this way they are ready in the future for use instead of a fast food meal when you are busy or when you need an entree to add to a meal.

Served with crusty bread, a bowl of steaming soup is the perfect meal and making your soup in the crock pot makes the process easy for you as well.

If you haven't picked up your free copy of Delicious Soup Recipes from the top of this page then do so today or check out some of my recipes here -> Crock Pot Meals Recipes.

Crock Pot Lamb Shank and Butter Bean Soup

Paulineh — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:33:31 +0000

The recipe below for Lamb shank and butter bean soup is one that was given to me by my friend Karen from Camden. I have adapted it for the crock pot and I am sure you will love it like we do. It is a thick soup so it is a meal in itself and makes enough soup to feed a family of six.

There is a little preparation with the browning of the leek and the lamb but then its a quick and easy recipe to make in the crock pot. I make it on Saturday and there is enough to have again and I must admit that it is a soup that takes even better the next day. Try it and see for yourself.

Lamb Shank and Butter Bean Soup

1 tab oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 whole leek, cut length ways then chop thinly

2 large lamb shanks

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1- 2 tabs fresh coriander chopped

5 cups vegetable stock

15 oz (425g) can tomatoes

2 cups each of diced celery and sweet potato

10 oz (300g) can butter beans, rinsed and drained

chopped parsley and coriander to garnish

Ground pepper to taste

Brown the leek and garlic in the oil until it is transparent. Add to the bottom of the crock pot. Brown the lamb shanks then put them on top of the leek. Add the tomatoes, stock and herbs. Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. After 1 hour add the celery and the sweet potato and stir through. About 1/2 hour before the finish of the cooking time add the butter beans and the pepper. Also lift out the lamb shanks and remove the meat from the bones and add back to the pot.

I hope you like this recipe and try it for yourself soon. If you are looking for recipe ideas then why not look to Amazon.com as they have a great range.

Simple and Easy Pea, Bacon and Celery Soup

Paulineh — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:15:03 +0000

I like pea and ham soup but this week I couldn't find any bacon or ham bones so I compromised and used bacon rashes instead with this recipe. It worked out fine but I think I still would prefer the bacon bones. I suppose in the end it is a matter of taste and what is available.

This pea, bacon and celery soup is super easy and so simple to make even the kids could make this crock pot meal. Why not let them try it and give you a break from cooking.

Pea, bacon and celery soup

1 lb (500g) bacon (or ham) bones

1/2 lb (250g) split peas, soaked overnight

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cups vegetable stock

1 tab minced garlic

3 sticks celery finely chopped

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

chopped parsley to garnish

Put everything in the crock pot and turn on to low and cook for 6 hours. Remove bones and cut meat off and put aside. Remove a cup of the soup, making sure to include mainly the peas and celery but with only a little liquid, puree the rest and then add the reserved soup and meat back in, and stir well. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with toast, croutons or fresh bread rolls. Serves 4.

note: If you like a thicker soup you can add some cornflour at the end or even a small can of cream corn.

Experiment with your soup recipes to get the taste you and your family like. You can't really spoil anything in the crock pot and soups make great warming meals on the weekend. I also froze half the soup as we are only a family of two so that is another meal I have for the week sometime when I am busy. Enjoy your crock pot meal!

My crock pot’s partner in winter

Paulineh — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:25:30 +0000

In winter my crock pot has a partner. They are always out together. They go together like bread and jam and by saying that it's almost correct because it is my BREADMAKER. They are both such time savers and really if I didn't have the breadmaker then I wouldn't try and make it myself. You can make bread in the crock pot too but as I have the breadmaker I can do the whole meal at once.

I love to make soups in winter and fresh hot bread is just the ultimate accompaniment. I can set and forget both of them, but I must admit the bread doesn't take as long to cook unless I set the Programmable Crock Pot for the time the bread will be ready. I then have both cooked at the same time and ready to serve. The smells coming out of that kitchen are just hard to explain, especially when its a week day and I return home to a house smelling like heaven.

It takes me back to the days when I was young and I would walk in the door from school to a warm house and the comforting aromas of home cooking. I have to thank my mother for that as she was always a good cook. She cooked for 8 for many years so home cooking was the most economical way to go and there was not much take away at that time either. I think I have just admitted I'm old here though.

The bread machine and the crock pot are two great appliances I wouldn't be without especially in winter so, if you have that breadmaker stored away, get it out or if you don't have one you can buy one at Amazon at a reasonable price right now.

Crock Pot Mulligatawny Soup

Paulineh — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:59:47 +0000

I like this Mulligatawny soup because it has a lot of flavor and is really warming on a cold night. Making it in the crock pot makes the process just so easy. Crock Pot meals are so much easier than conventional meals especially for someone like me who is working full time as I can set it and forget it. I like soup made the day before though, so I usually make it on the weekend and store it in the refrigerator and take it to work for lunch or have an instant quick dinner ready. Here's my recipe for Mulligatawny soup which can be made with chicken or you can leave it out for a vegetarian alternative.

Mulligatawny Soup

2 tabs butter

1 onion and 1 carrot and 3/4 cup celery -finely chopped

1 potato and 1 green apple - cubed

2 tabs flour

1 teasp each of curry powder and cumin

pinch turmeric

1 bay leaf

1 quart (1 litre) chicken or vegetable stock

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup cooked chicken - chopped

1/2 cup cooked basmati rice

coriander leaves - chopped

Brown the onion, carrot, celery, and potato for 2 minutes then stir in the flour, turmeric, curry and cumin and continue another 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, raisins, apple and bay leaf and mix well. Transfer to crock pot and set to low for for approximately 5 hours. Add the chicken and rice about half way through cooking time. Garnish with a generous helping of chopped coriander leaves and serve with some crusty bread or extra rice.

You can adjust this recipe as well by adding a little thyme, grated lemon peel or some coconut milk for a slightly different taste. You could also try using lentil instead of the rice. Crock pot meals are easy and I hope you try this one out for yourself.

Grandmas Kosher Cabbage Soup Recipe
US $.99

WILD WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN COOKBOOK BY ALPER & ROHRER
US $3.99