Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan Soup

Chicken Parm, and Soup, and done in a Crock Pot? Oh my! This one came from foxeslovelemons.com, who got it from Naturebox blog. I didn’t change much with this; I did add in diced carrots and some tomato paste, but other than that, I substituted dried herbs for fresh because I didn’t have any fresh. I’m hoping to grow my own this year.

Anyhoo, this soup was delicious and so easy to get it all set up and let the crock pot work its magic while I did other things. One reason I love crock pot meals!

So, let’s get cooking!

Dice the onion and pepper, and mince the garlic.

For the carrots, dice them by cutting into slices about ¼” thick the long way, then cut those into strips, then the cubes.

Now time to assemble it in the Crockus Poticus. That’s the Latin name I’ve given it. ;) Place in the chicken breasts (whole), diced onion, pepper, and carrots, the minced garlic, the tomatoes, and spices.

Add the chicken broth, tomato paste (mix in), and Parmesan cheese. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

About half an hour before serving, pull out the chicken breasts and set aside to cool on a plate. Shred using two forks.

When you take out the chicken to cool on a plate, turn up the heat to high and add in the uncooked pasta (I used rotini) to cook, stirring a few times during the half hour. Add back in the shredded chicken whenever you’d like.





Serve with a garnish of more parmesan cheese if you’d like. I put a little mozzarella on top, which the kids loved. Enjoy! ~TMMF

                                                                               
                                                                                  Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan Soup

½ Vidalia onion
½ green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 14.5 oz can crushes tomatoes
   (I used diced)
½ 6 oz can tomato paste
4 c chicken broth
½ c grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
4 oz uncooked pasta
 

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe is one of  many versions I’ve seen online, and I just went with one of them, although I did add a few things to suit my tastes. It’s hard for me to not add vegetables, because besides the fact that they add such vibrant flavor to dishes, they also boost the  nutrition. So this is my take on Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings, which is more like chicken stew with dumplings, and it was fantastic!

So, let’s get cooking!

Dice the onion and celery. Peel and mince the garlic. Peel and slice the carrots. Slice and dice the chicken breasts.

Place the veggies and chicken in the crock pot. Add the can of cream of chicken soup, and the can of cream of celery soup, plus the black pepper and the dried thyme. Mix all together thoroughly.

Cook in the crock pot on low for 5-6 hours.

For the dumplings, you’ll need about 20 minutes at the end. In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients, then cut in the shortening with a pastry knife, a fork, or two knives. Add the milk and stir with a wooden spoon just until moistened.

Carefully place large spoonfuls on top of the stew. You don’t want them to plop in and sink. Gently place them on top. Cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. I turned my crock pot up to high for this last step.

Serve up a hearty portion with a fluffy dumpling. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

2 huge chicken breasts
1 med. onion
2 big stalks celery
5 big carrots
1 clove garlic
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 tsp black pepper
¾ tsp thyme

The Dumplings

1 ½ c flour
¾ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbl shortening
¾ c milk

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms

This recipe is one I found on MyRecipes.com, and looked so stinking good I had to try it. Of course, I tweaked it to make it somewhat simpler, but the taste was still fantastic and everyone here loved it. It was called Slow-braised Beef Stew with Mushrooms, but I skipped the braising and went straight to the Stew. ;)

I put it on mashed potatoes because the photo I saw did that and I thought it looked great. I really think if you’d like it to be a stand alone stew, it would be just as good with some cooked diced potatoes and sliced carrots thrown in and served in a bowl. Yumminy!

So, let’s get cooking!

Slice the beef you’re using into strips about one inch wide.

Place in the crock pot.

If you’re using fresh sliced mushrooms, sauté in a skillet with a little butter. Set aside. I sometimes use mushrooms I’ve frozen in general recipe-sized portions.

Dice the onion finely, peel and mince the garlic, and the fresh ginger if you’re using that. I didn’t happen to have any on hand so I used dry ground ginger for this.

Wash the orange well. Using a potato peeler, peel strips of the orange peel off, then slice them thin and cut the slices to be about ½” lengths. You want about 2 tsp of it.

In a medium saucepan, place the beef broth, wine, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, and orange peel. Bring to a boil and shut off.

Pour mixture over beef in the crock pot and set it to low. Cover and cook for about 5 hours, until meat is tender.

When the meat is done, remove about ¼ c liquid from the crock pot and cool. Stir in the cornstarch.

Pull the meat from the crock pot and place in a container for now. It’s time to make the gravy, and you can either try it in the crock pot (turned up high for a few minutes), stirring the broth-cornstarch mixture in with a whisk and whisking until thickened. Or you can pour the liquid into a medium saucepan on the stove. With the heat on medium under it, whisk in the broth-cornstarch mixture until thickened.

Place the beef back in the crock pot, add the mushrooms, and pour the gravy over all, stirring to mix.

Serve over mashed potatoes, which you’ll have made earlier, towards the end of the cooking of the stew. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms

4 lbs boned beef short ribs or chuck
1 Vidalia onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbl fresh ginger, minced
   (or 1 tsp dry ground)
1 orange
2 c beef broth
½ c dry red wine
¼ c balsamic vinegar
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
2-3 c sliced mushrooms
4-5 Tbl cornstarch

Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

Here we are, the beginning of  a special series on Chinese dishes, favorites of Chinese Restaurants in America. I’m starting off with a very easy dish to make with tender beef and a savory sauce: Crockpot Beef and Broccoli. This can also be made on the stovetop, obviously with a much shorter cooking time. ;) This is a recipe that I came across online, and I found that it actually took much less time than the recipe said. If I had cooked it for the recommended 6-8 hours, the beef seriously would have disintegrated. My recommendation: 4-5 hours. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this series and find that it’s not so hard to make Chinese dishes at home that taste just like at the restaurants, or better.

So, let’s get cooking!

First prepare your meat. Cut off any excess fat (or most of it!) and slice into strips about 1 ½ inches long and about ¼” to 3/8” thick. Peel and mince the garlic.

Mix together the beef stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, and minced garlic.

Place the beef and the sauce mixture in the crockpot and mix well. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, until beef is tender.

In a small bowl, place about 2 Tbl of the sauce from the crockpot and mix in the cornstarch. Add to the crockpot and stir well.

Add the broccoli to the crockpot, combining thoroughly, and cook for 30 minutes on high, covered. Stir a few times during cooking time.

While the broccoli is cooking, make rice according to the directions on your package.

The sauce should be thickened and the meal ready to serve. Place a portion of rice on a plate and add the Beef and Broccoli on top. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

1 lb boneless beef chuck roast
   (I got some form of beef that
    was marked down!)
1 cup beef stock
½ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 lbs fresh broccoli florets or frozen
Rice (3-4 c cooked)

Crock Pot Chili

It’s chilly, so it’s time to make chili! This is such a simple and quick recipe, and I’ve been making it like this for years. This is one of those crock pot meals that I loved to make on Saturday night to have ready for lunch on Sunday after church. Make some dinner rolls to go with it, or for a quick accompaniment, pick up some French bread at the grocery.

Let’s get cooking!

You’ll need to open the cans of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and kidney beans. I usually ask someone who doesn’t have as much arthritis to do it for me. ;) Drain the kidney beans but do not rinse.

Next, dice up the onions, peppers, and celery. When I made this the other night, I happened to only have some yellow, orange, and red sweet peppers, so that’s what I used. I do like to have green bell pepper along with other colors, just because I like how nice it makes the chili look, if I have some.




Peel and mince the garlic. I actually had taken the photo of the lovely veggies before I minced the garlic, so it missed the boat in this picture. Oh well, I use garlic a lot, so there’ll be another “photo op” for it in the future. ;)

Put the tomatoes, tomato paste, drained kidney beans, and all vegetables in the crock pot.

Add the hamburg. This is optional, but I usually add at least a little bit for the ones who like it. This is one of the bags of browned hamburg that I had in the freezer. I just put it in the microwave for three minutes and it was ready to use.

Add the brown sugar, medium hot chili powder, and black pepper. I don’t add salt to this; there’s already a lot of sodium in the tomatoes.





Cook on low in the crock pot overnight. I usually start it out on high for 2 hours, then turn down to low until lunch the next day. Stir many times throughout.

Serve with grated extra sharp cheddar cheese and some sour cream if you’d like. I love the way the sour cream adds a cool creamy compliment to the spicy hot chili! ~TMMF

Crock Pot Chili
(serves 8 with leftovers!)

2 large cans diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2 cans light red kidney beans
2 cans dark red kidney beans
1 large Vidalia onion
2 peppers, any color
2 stalks celery
5-6 cloves garlic
2-3 Tbl. brown sugar
2-3 Tbl. medium hot chili powder
2 tsp. black pepper

Easy Beef Stroganoff

This is a recipe I just threw together one day out of necessity; I needed something quick and easy for supper, and this was the result.


It soon turned into a family favorite. It pairs well with carrots or green beans.

Cook your pasta until just done. Drain.

While your pasta is cooking: in another large pot, make your beef gravy, stirring till thickened. If you don’t buy gravy mix in bulk, use 4 packets of gravy mix to make 4 cups worth.

Add the cream of mushroom soup and the sour cream, stirring well.

Add the cooked drained pasta,

browned hamburg,

and mushrooms,

mixing well. Enjoy!







*Notes: This recipe works well in the crock pot. Cook the pasta until right before done, though.  Follow the rest of the recipe, except add 1/2 c. extra water to gravy, and do not add the sour cream until about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Having browned hamburg in the freezer, portioned out into 1 lb. bags, is one factor that makes this recipe so quick and easy.



Easy Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. pasta

1 lb. browned hamburg
2 cans mushrooms, drained
4 c. water
1 c. brown gravy mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream