Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder with Bacon

Chicken Corn Chowder is one of our favorite soups.  One that I make several times a year, but usually a different recipe each time.  This is at the top of my list at the moment.  The flavors are wonderful and the recipe is so easy to prepare using the slow cooker.  I threw this together in the morning and let it cook while I did the rest of my chores around the house that day.  It was great not having to figure out dinner by the time I was finished my other tasks!

Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder with Bacon
     Adapted from: Damn Delicious

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lbs red potatoes, diced 
• 1 yellow onion, diced 
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 16 oz. frozen corn
• 3 Tbs. flour 
• 1 tsp. Thyme 
• 1 tsp. Oregano 
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp. pepper 
• 6 cups chicken broth 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 slices thick bacon, cooked and crumbled 
• 1 cup chicken, cooked and diced

To prepare: 

• Place the potatoes,onion and bell pepper in the crock pot.  
• Stir in the flour. 
• Pour in the frozen corn and combine well.  
• Add seasonings and chicken broth.  
• Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours.  
• Stir in the heavy cream, chicken and bacon.  Allow to cook for another 15-20 minutes or until heated through.  

Yum!  So, so good!  This soup really hit the spot after a busy day!  We'll definitely be having this a few more times this winter!  Can't beat easy and delicious!  

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

If you're a regular here, then you know I love soup!  When summer begins, I count the days until it's cool enough to make soup again.  This year, I'm slacking!  I've only made two pots of soup so far and October is almost over!

This soup was inspired by the overflowing vegetable bins in my fridge.  I had to use 'em or lose 'em! So, after dinner one night, I began chopping and throwing everything into my crock pot.  Before I went to bed, I turned the slow cooker on low and let it cook overnight.  Cooking overnight seems to be the only way I manage to get dinner on the table these days.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup 
     
Ingredients: 

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• canned black beans, rinsed and drained 
• 12 oz. bag fresh baby spinach, torn
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 large carrot, diced 
• 2 celery ribs, diced 
• 1 tsp dry minced garlic 
• 1 Tbs. Italian seasoning 
• crushed red pepper flakes (to taste) 

To Prepare: 

• Combine ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  

This recipe was a hit! We both enjoyed it for dinner the first night, then I ate the rest throughout the week for lunch.  

Here are more of my favorite meatless, slow cooker soups:  

• Minestrone 
• Hearty Vegetable Bean Soup
• Lima Bean Soup

Chicken Pozole Soup

I'm not very familiar with Pozole.  I read somewhere that it's traditionally made with pork.  I also read that it's traditionally topped with shredded cabbage.  Well, we're throwing out the tradition since the only reason I made this soup is because it contained hominy, another food that I'm unfamiliar with, and I wanted to give it a try.

I switched up the recipe slightly, based on what I had on hand, what I thought looked good and what I wanted to use up from my vegetable bin.

Serve with quesadillas on the side or with a handful of crushed tortilla chips sprinkled on top!  Cheese or sour cream would also make excellent toppings!

Sorry for the blurry picture.  I was very eager to dig in!

Chicken Pozole Soup 
          adapted from Cans Make the Meal with Kelsey Nixon

Ingredients: 

• 5 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided 
• 1 cup onion, chopped 
• 2/3 cup poblano pepper, chopped 
• 1/3 green bell pepper, chopped 
• 4 tsp. minced garlic 
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) golden hominy (DO NOT DRAIN) 
• 1 cup salsa verde 
• 4.5 oz can diced chiles 
• 2 cups diced tomatoes, drained
• 32 oz. homemade chicken broth 
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. oregano 
• 2 cups pre-cooked chicken

Directions:  

• In a large dutch oven, cook onions and peppers in 1/4 cup chicken broth over medium heat until onions begin to turn translucent.  Stir often, adding another 1/4 cup of broth if needed. 
• Add garlic and allow to cook for another minute or two.  
• Stir in the hominy and the liquid from the cans along with the salsa verde, tomatoes and diced chiles.  I added the chicken at this point, too, since it was still frozen.  Bring to a boil.  
• Pour in the remaining broth, cumin and oregano, return to a boil. 
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 10-15 minutes  

Notes:

• Traditional or not, we didn't know the difference.  Either way, we really enjoyed the flavors and texture of this hearty soup.  This will be hitting our table again soon!  

Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup

While I try to prepare most of our meals from scratch, or as close to scratch as possible, I do cheat a bit when it comes to chicken.  Each week, we purchase a rotisserie chicken when we buy our groceries. Although, I have found the perfect way to cook a whole chicken, sometimes it's just easier to pick up one that's already prepared.  Not only does the rotisserie chicken make a great "home cooked" meal when served with a big bowl of Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes and some steamed veggies, I love having the leftovers in the fridge.  Perfect to have on hand to add some protein to a leafy salad or to add to soups or pot pies.

Need more ideas for preparing chicken?  Check out this post for more than 100 chicken recipes!

Over the weekend, I made some homemade chicken stock using the bones from 2 rotisserie chickens.  One was still pretty meaty and the other was picked over really well!  When the broth was made and about 2 cups of chicken set aside, it was time for soup!  Good timing too since I was starting to feel a bit under the weather...and with the weather we've been experiencing, it's no wonder!

Since we've already had a few pots of chicken noodle soup so far this winter, I decided to try a soup loaded with veggies and some barley.

Chicken Vegetable Barley Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 cup baby carrots, chopped 
• 3 potatoes, diced 
• 2 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped
• 9 cups chicken stock (I used homemade) 
• 3 cups water 
• 2 bouillon cubes (optional) 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 tsp. 21 Season Salute 
• 1 cup cut green beans
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup peas
• 1/2 cup barley 

 Directions:  

• I started with partially cooked veggies.  Just steamed for a little while to soften them up a bit.  You could steam them in just a little bit of water or even some of your chicken broth/stock.  
• To your veggies, add the remaining ingredients.  
• Bring to boil.  Cover and reduce heat.  
• Simmer for about 30-40 minutes until barley is tender.  
• Remove bay leaf and serve.  

I've shared this recipe on the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Wake Up Wednesday
• The Homemaking Party

Hamburger Barley Soup

Being snowed in today calls for a pot of soup on the stove and a cake in the oven!  I love having a pot of soup simmering on the stove all day.  After several pots of Chicken Noodle Soup this winter, I think we're due for a nice, hearty beef soup.  Wanting to use what I have in the freezer, I decided to try making a barley soup using ground beef instead of the beef cubes I usually use.  The result seemed to be a cross between Hamburger Soup and Beef Barley Soup.  So good for this cold day.

Hamburger Barley Soup 

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 lb. ground beef 
• 2 celery ribs, diced 
• 2 potatoes, diced 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 6 cups beef broth 
• 1-2 cups water 
• 2 tsp. Italian Seasoning 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbs. Ketchup
• 2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce 
• 2 tsp. Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper 
• 3 cups frozen vegetables 
• 1/2 cup barley 

Directions: 

• In a large pot or dutch oven, cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink.  Drain grease.  
• Add the fresh vegetables, stock, water seasonings and sauces.  
• Bring to boil.  Cover and reduce heat.  
• Allow to simmer for about 1/2 hour or until the vegetables start to become tender.  
• Stir in the frozen vegetables and the barley.  
• Allow to cook for another 30 minutes - 40 minutes.  
• Remove bay leaf and serve.  

Notes:  

• I love how easy it is to throw this soup together but did consider how much quicker it would come together if I had used pre-cooked ground beef from the freezer.
• I used 3/4 lb. of ground beef to help keep the cost down on this soup, like I tend to do with a lot of recipes lately.  But this soup is so full of veggies and barley, you could really just use 1/2 lb. without noticing.

Rustic Ham & Cabbage Soup

I was really wanting to make a pot of Navy Bean Soup with Cabbage using the ham bone that I have in my freezer from Christmas, only I was having trouble finding the recipe that I used when I made it once before.  I thought for sure that I'd find the recipe and had Joe pick up a head of cabbage a couple weeks ago, but I didn't have any luck and decided to just try something different.

While I originally wanted to use dry navy beans, I found a quicker cooking recipe using canned white beans.  So using my last can of cannellini beans, the last of the diced ham (the ham bone is still in the freezer) and 1/2 of the head of cabbage, I threw together this wonderful pot of soup.

Rustic Ham & Cabbage Soup 
     Adapted from:  101 cookbooks

Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbs. Olive Oil 
• 2 potatoes, diced (skins left on) 
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced 
• 4 tsp. jarred minced garlic 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes 
• 6 cups water
• 1-2 cups diced ham (I added it frozen) 
• 14.5 oz can Cannellini beans, rinsed/drained 
• 1/2 head cabbage, sliced or shredded into ribbons 

Directions: 

• Cook potatoes for a minute or two in the hot oil over medium heat, until edges turn golden and they become slightly tender.  
• Stir in the carrots, onions and garlic.  Allow to cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.  
• Toss in the bouillon cubes, cook for another minute.  
• Stir in the water, season with pepper. 
• Add in the diced ham. (If using ham that is frozen, allow to cook for a minute until the ham chunks break apart and is no longer one solid lump of ham.) 
• Stir in the beans and bring to a simmer.  
• Add the cabbage and allow to cook until tender. 
• Adjust seasonings as needed.  

Notes: 

• We really enjoyed this soup a lot and could have easily finished the entire pot in one night between the two of us, but we showed restraint and now have enough for another dinner.  
• This could easily be adapted for an entirely vegetarian meal by omitting the ham and using a vegetable stock, as written in the the original recipe linked above.  

I've linked this recipe post to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Tip Me Tuesday
• Old-Fashioned Recipe Exchange

Black Beans and Rice

Beans are a staple in our house and have been ever since I was a kid.  Often served as a side dish or added to a pot of chili, we love our beans!  Back then, pinto beans and kidney beans were the norm.

Not until I started cooking myself, did I start to try other varieties of beans.  Black beans are a  favorite of mine and I add them to a lot of different recipes.

Earlier in the week, I shared a recipe for Chipotle Black Bean & Rice Soup.  I adapted that recipe to make a heartier dish.

Quick and easy to make, this deliciously frugal meal was a hit!

Black Beans and Rice
     adapted from: Chipotle Black Bean & Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 T olive oil 
• 1 large onion 
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 
• 2 tsp. cumin 
• 2 chipoltes packed in adobo, diced 
• 14.5 oz Mexican style stewed tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 tsp. adobo sauce 
• 1/2 c. Minute Rice 
• sour cream (optional) 
• guacamole (optional) 

Directions: 

• Cook onion and chipotles in a small amount of oil. 
• When onion is just about tender, stir in the cumin and garlic powder.  
• Continue to cook until onions are tender.
• Pour in the chicken broth, tomatoes, water and adobo sauce. 
• Stir in one can of the beans. 
• In a bowl, mash the other can of beans with a fork, to desired consistency.  Add to soup.  
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  
• Remove from heat, stir in the uncooked Minute Rice (if using).  
• Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  
• Serve hot.  Garnish with sour cream or guacamole if desired.  

Notes:  

• This turned out a little soupy for the first night, which was just fine for us.  I didn't want to risk using less liquid since I knew it would absorb when I put the leftovers away.  
• If you want to cook your rice separately, omit the water in this recipe and possibly decrease the broth a bit.  
• While we both enjoyed this as a meatless meal, we both thought it would be wonderful with some smoked kielbasa added!  

Mmm!  So good!  This was a perfect meal after working outside in the chilly fall air!  I will be making this one again!  

Chipotle Black Bean & Corn Soup

*Please take a moment to check out our current giveaways!

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Over the years I've come to realize that people either love beans or hate beans.  There's no in between.  Our family lands in the love category.  When I invite people to my home for a meal, I need to remember to ask if everyone likes beans since I seem to add them to so many dishes!

Black bean soup is a favorite but it's one I don't prepare at home very often.  Until recently, that is!  We liked this recipe so much, I've made it twice already!  It's a frugal and pantry friendly recipe that is so quick and easy to prepare it's perfect for those nights you need to get something on the table quickly.

Chipotle Black Bean and Corn Soup
     adapted from Live Better America

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp. olive oil 
• 1/2 large onion, diced 
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. freshly ground cumin* 
• 2 chipotle peppers from a can (in adobo), diced 
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 tsp. adobo sauce 
• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
• 2 cans of black beans, rinsed/drained 
• 1/2 cup corn (optional) 

Directions: 

• In a soup pot or dutch oven, cook onion in hot oil.  
• When the onion is starting to turn translucent, add the garlic powder, cumin and diced chipotles.
• Continue cooking for another minute or two.  Stirring frequently.  
• Stir in the tomatoes, adobo, and chicken broth.  
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  
• In a bowl, mash 1/2 of the beans with a potato masher.  
• Add all of the beans and the corn to the pot, stir and allow to cook for another 10-15 minutes or until heated through.  

Notes: 

• I made this twice so far.  Once using regular ground cumin from the jar.  The second time I made this, I was out of cumin.  Rummaging in my pantry, I found a bottle of cumin seeds.  I measured out 2 tsp. and used my mortar and pestle to roughly grind them.  I found the flavor more intense when we used the seeds that I ground myself.  
• The corn in this recipe is completely optional.  I like black bean and corn dip, so I decided to add just a little to my soup.  

I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Homemaking Party

Potato Bacon Corn Chowder

The end of the year and all the added expenses it brings is almost upon us.  That means it's time for us to really buckle down and save some cash for anything unexpected that may pop up.  I find that making and serving homemade soups for lunches and dinners really helps us to keep our grocery bill low, allowing us to save some money while enjoying the best comfort food possible!

Potato Bacon Corn Chowder 
    Yield: 4 servings
    adapted from Mashed Potato Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients: 

• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 4 Tbs. Butter 
• 4 Tbs. Flour 
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 12 oz. evaporated milk 
• 1 cup frozen, whole kernel corn 
• 1/2 tsp. pepper 
• 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes 
• 1 cup shredded taco cheese

Directions:  

• In a large soup pot or dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.  
• Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.  
• Drain grease if necessary, leaving about a tsp. in the bottom of the pot.  
• Cook onion and celery in the reserved bacon grease until onions are translucent.  
• Add butter to the pot and once melted, stir in the flour.  Stir constantly until thickened. 
• Stir in the broth, water and evaporated milk.  Simmer until thick and bubbly. 
• Season with pepper, to taste.  
• Pour in the corn, allow to cook for another minute or two.  
• Stir the potatoes into the soup, breaking up with the spoon as you stir.  
• When the potatoes are heated through, whisk in the shredded cheese.  
• Soup is ready when the cheese has melted.  
• Serve immediately.  Soup thickens as it cools.  

Notes:  

• You could use leftover bacon in this soup, using reserved bacon grease to cook your vegetables.  If you don't save your bacon grease in a jar, just use a small amount of vegetable or olive oil to cook the celery and onion.  
• This is a very thick, hearty soup.  If you prefer it a bit thinner, add more broth.  
• Any cheese could be used with this soup, we really liked the taco flavor in this soup.  It wasn't over powering but delicious when combined with the smokey flavor of the bacon!  

Easy Beef Barley Soup

You all know that I can enjoy soup any time of the year, but I am so excited that soup season has official begun!  

I've been wanting beef barley soup for a couple of weeks now and was pleasantly surprised to find that roasts were on sale at our local market a couple of weeks ago.  We didn't check the add before going into the store, since we hardly ever pick up meat at this market as it's usually a lot more expensive than the supermarket where we usually do our grocery shopping.  

We couldn't help but notice the bright orange sale stickers in the meat department as we walked by on our way to show Grace the lobster tank. 

Right away, I knew how I was going to use that roast!  

First, I made Spicy Chipotle Pot Roast.  This is the only roast recipe that I have ever successfully made, so it's a go-to meal when we find sales that are too good to pass up!  We had sliced beef with mashed potatoes and veggies for 2 nights before I diced the remainder of the meat for other recipes.  

After that, I made Beef Pot Pies.  Normally, when I make a pot pie, I make it in a casserole dish.  This time, I made 6 individual mini pot pies that we enjoyed 2 nights in a row!  

With the remaining 2 cups of the prepared roast beef, I made Beef Barley Soup.  In the past, I've followed this recipe for Crock Pot Beef Barley Soup-starting with raw London Broil.  But since I was starting out with leftover pot roast, I decided a quicker, stove-top soup would be the way to go.  

I was right!  The result was a very meaty, delicious soup that I served for 2 nights' dinner.  I also had enough for lunch for 3 days!  

While I'm super-excited to have another great soup recipe to share with you, I can't help but be very pleased with how far we stretched that single cut of meat!  Can't beat all of these meals from one less-than-six-dollars roast!  

Of course, my only complaint is that we only picked up one of those roasts while they were on sale.  With each meal, we've been kicking ourselves for not stocking our freezer for the winter!  

    

Easy Beef Barley Soup

     6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup celery, diced 
• 2 potatoes, diced 
• 6 1/2 cups water (see notes below) 
• 2/3 cup pearl barley
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce 
• 1/2 - 1 1/2 tsp. Chipotle Tabasco 
• 14 oz. can diced tomatoes 
• 2 cups leftover Spicy Roast Beef, diced 
• 2 cups frozen mixed veggies (peas, corn, carrots, green beans, lima beans) 

Directions: 

• Add all ingredients except for the frozen vegetables to a large soup pot. 
• Bring to a boil. 
• Cover, reduce heat.  
• Allow to simmer for 40-50 minutes, until barley is tender but still chewy. 
• Add frozen vegetables and allow to cook for another 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are done.  

Notes:

• Since I used leftover Spicy Chipotle Pot Roast for this soup, I replaced some of the liquid in this recipe with the juices/broth from the pot roast (about 2 cups).  The salsa and chipotle add nice flavor to the soup broth. 
• I usually use longer cooking barley when I make soup.  This time, all I had was pearl barley. According to this article, pearl barley is a quicker cooking barley and is not a whole grain.  If using medium barley, use 1/2 c. barley and increase the liquid to 7-7 1/2 cups.  You'll also want to increase the cooking time to 50-70 minutes.  
• This was a very hearty, meaty soup which we loved!  Next time, though, I think I will double the rest of the ingredients, for a bigger pot of soup (stretching the next roast even further)!  

Turkey Corn Chowder

I can't remember where I first had my first taste of Chicken Corn Chowder.  It could have been at a local deli when I first started working at the flower shop oh-too-many years ago to count.  Or, it could have been on a day trip to Lancaster, PA when I first started dating my hubby.  Either way, I was hooked ever since!

While the trips to Lancaster didn't happen too often, I could always count on the deli to serve up my favorite chowder at least once (sometimes twice) a month.  Soon, that wasn't enough to satisfy me!  I decided I'd try to make it myself.  Someday.  

Looking through my trusty Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, I was excited to find there was a recipe for corn chowder without the chicken.  Of course, I had to have the chicken, so I always added it near the end of the cooking time.  A few other small changes led us to our favorite Chicken Corn Chowder recipe...or in today's case, Turkey Corn Chowder!

Turkey Corn Chowder
     adapted from  Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients:

• 3 slices bacon, diced 
• 1/2 c. onion, diced
• 1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced 
• 1 medium potato, diced 
• 2 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade) 
• 3/4 cup diced turkey breast
• 2 T. all-purpose flour (or Wondra) 
• 1 1/2 cups milk 
• salt & pepper, to taste 
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 
• Chipotle Tabasco sauce, for garnish (optional) 

Directions: 

• In a dutch oven, cook diced bacon until crisp.  
• When bacon is done, remove from pot with a slotted spoon. 
• Drain all but 1 Tbs. bacon grease from pot.  
• Add the onions and peppers to the hot oil in the dutch oven, cook until tender.  
• Stir in broth, potato and corn.  
• Bring to boil. 
• Stir in the turkey.
• Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes (until potatoes are tender).  
• In a small bowl or glass, mix together the flour and milk.  Once well combined, stir into the chowder.  
• Season to taste with the salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes while allowing to cook uncovered until thick and bubbly.  
• If desired, use an immersion blender to lightly puree the chowder to desired texture.  
• Stir in crumbled bacon.  
• Once chowder is thick and bubbly, allow to cook for one minute longer before serving.  

Notes:

• You could easily use bacon leftover from the morning's breakfast or from the BLTs you enjoyed for lunch, just be sure to reserve some of the grease to cook your veggies.  It brings that wonderful smokey, bacon flavor throughout the entire pot of soup! 

I make corn chowder several different ways, but this recipe has continued to be our favorite even after all these years! 

Hamburger Soup

I love beef vegetable soup, but I don't make it as often as I would like since we don't purchase red meat that often.  On the occasions that we do buy red meat, it's usually in the form of hamburger patties or ground beef.  I stay away from pricey beef cubes unless I can find a really great sale.

Hamburger Soup is a good substitute for the more traditional beef vegetable soup.  I find it to be quicker as well as less expensive, especially if you have some pre-cooked ground beef in your freezer.  I didn't have any on hand, but starting from raw ground beef only adds a few more minutes to the process.

Hamburger Soup 

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 lb. ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 lg. carrot, diced 
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 3 Tbs. steak sauce
• 1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce 
• 2 cartons beef broth 
• 1/2 Tbs. oregano
• 1/2 Tbs. Mrs. Dash 
• pepper, to taste 
• 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed 
• cooked pasta, small variety preferred 

Directions: 

• Brown the the ground meat, drain. 
• Add in your diced vegetables and the broth. 
• Stir in the steak sauce, worcestershire sauce and seasonings.  
• bring to boil.
• Cover, reduce heat.  Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. 
• Stir in the mixed vegetables and pasta, simmer for another 5-10 minutes. 

We love this soup!  It's an easy, throw-together soup that's perfect for during the busy work week.  It's such an easy and quick soup that you can throw together in the morning and serve for lunch on a cold afternoon!  

Crock Pot Potato & Ham Chowder

The past few weeks, I've been spending time looking for some frugal dinner ideas.  Relying on some of our go-to meals has left me bored and uninspired when it comes to meal time.  During the month of December, I was in a real rut when it came to menu plans resulting in too many fend for yourself nights, frozen chicken nuggets and fries, and more take out than I'd like to admit.

January is more than half way gone and we've managed to skip the take out dinners!  Yay!  But that does mean more cooking for me, which for the most part, I do enjoy.  It's just that I need to find new recipes to prepare.  Cheap recipes.  Easy recipes.  One-pot recipes.  Recipes that will provide dinner for at least 2 nights.

This soup recipe fits the criteria that I'm looking for:
          cheap, easy, made in the crock pot, and plenty for 2 nights!

Crock Pot Potato and Ham Chowder 
          adapted from Hillbilly Housewife

Ingredients:  

• 3 russet potatoes, peeled & diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 2 celery stalks, diced 
• 1 cup ham, diced 
• 4 cups water
• 4 chicken bouillon cubes
• pepper, to taste 
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup cut green beans
• 5 Tbs. butter
• 5 Tbs. flour 
• 2 cups milk

Directions: 

• Fill crock pot insert with the potatoes, carrot, onion, celery and ham. 
• Stir in water and drop in bouillon cubes. 
• Season with pepper. 
• Cover and set crock pot on low. 
• Allow to cook for 6-8 hours (until potatoes are tender).  
• Add in the corn and green beans.  
• 45 minutes before serving, melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.  
• Add flour and gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.  
• Stir flour/butter/milk mixture into the contents in the crock pot. 
• Cover and allow to cook for another 30 minutes minutes.  

This is a great way to use up some of the leftover ham from the holidays.  When cleaning out the fridge from all the holiday food, I separated our leftover ham into 3 portions.  Although we had a spiral ham from the supermarket, the portions that I froze were from the end and not spiral cut.  Instead they were decent sized chunks that just need be diced up and added to future recipes.  

Diced ham steak, sliced Canadian bacon or cooked bacon would be a good options for this too if you don't happen to have any leftover ham in your freezer.  

Creamy Potato Chicken Chowder

I'm off to a slow start with my resolutions this year.  I'm struggling with the organizing and decluttering that I planned for this month and I don't even want to discuss how the dieting is going.

I have been focusing on one of my resolutions:  Frugality.

Last week, I shared a savings plan that I am challenging myself to stick to for the year and so far (it's only week 3) I'm doing okay with that plan.

In addition to making small deposits to our savings account, I'm trying to get the most of our meals.  I'm back to preparing whole chickens in the crock pot instead of picking up rotisserie chickens from the supermarket. Keeping homemade broth and shredded chicken on-hand for easy and frugal meals.

Earlier this month, I shared an easy soup recipe using a bunch of leftovers from the fridge.  The soup was so tasty and incredibly easy to prepare that I promised myself that I would save leftovers specifically for this meal.  I now have a bowl of assorted leftovers in the freezer for when I need something quick and easy for dinner!  All I have to do is thaw it slightly, add it to some chicken broth, season to taste and serve!  So simple!

This week, I stumbled across another easy clean-out-the-fridge type soup recipe.  I was so excited to try another easy soup recipe that I skipped the meal that was already planned for that night.

Creamy Potato Chicken Chowder
     adapted from Wheatless Foodie

Ingredients:  

• 2-3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 3 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned 
• 1 cup peas
• 1 cup cut green beans
• 2 cups corn 
• 1 cup diced chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• ground black pepper, to taste

Directions: 

• combine mashed potatoes and chicken broth in a soup pot, stirring until heated through. 
• Add the vegetables, stirring to combine.  Heat through. 
• Next, add in the diced chicken and season with black pepper, to taste.  
• Stir in the shredded cheese and heat until thick and bubbly.    

See?  So simple!  I had the mashed potatoes, homemade broth and diced chicken in the fridge.  I used frozen veggies that I thawed for this meal, which was easy enough, but LOVE that it can be made so much quicker using vegetables leftover from another night's meal!  

I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Frugal Food Thursday hosted by Frugal Follies 

Lima Bean Soup ~ A Low Calorie, Low Budget Recipe

Hello, friends!

I hope you all haven't forgotten about me even though it may seem that I've forgotten about y'all!  I just figured I'd take a week off and then, after that one little week, it seemed more and more difficult to get back into the swing of things here on the blog and at home in the kitchen!  It's seriously been really quiet here in my my kitchen, only cooking out of necessity and not for enjoyment at all.  I'm not sure the reason for such a bleak outlook on food and cooking, but as December started to come to a close, I felt myself wanting to get back into the kitchen to try some new recipes.

The snow we had recently helped a bit, too!  Nothing puts me in the mood to cook like a snow storm!  So, while the snow was coming down, I spent some time in the kitchen throwing together a frugal, no-meat soup.

A month or two ago, I picked up a few different bags of dried beans figuring they'd come in handy this winter and help with keeping the grocery bill low as we recover from the overspending that always happens during the holidays.

While Grace was occupied with her new toys, I spent a lot of time trying to decide how I wanted to prepare those bags of beans in the next few months and chose a very easy Lima Bean Soup first.  While the original recipe is super easy, I did need to make a couple small changes to avoid a trip to the market.

half portion of Lima Bean Soup

Lima Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. bag dry lima beans 
• 4 cups water
• 5 carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, diced 
• 2 celery stalks, diced 
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced 
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 vegetable bouillon cubes 
• 8 cups water
• 1 bayleaf (optional) 

Directions:

• Rinse and sort through dry beans.  
• Bring 4 cups water to a boil, add beans and boil for 2-3 minutes.  
• Cover, remove from heat and allow beans to soak for 2 hours. 
• Drain and rinse beans.  
• In a skillet, saute carrots, onion, celery and garlic in hot oil until onions are translucent.  
• Add beans to the skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring to combine the beans with the vegetables.  
• Transfer vegetable/bean mixture to a large crock pot.  
• Dissolve bouillon cubes in 4 cups of boiling water and pour over the veggies in the crock pot, stirring to combine.  
• Pour another 4 cups of water over the veggies.  
• Add bay leaf if desired.
• Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours, until beans and vegetables are tender.  
• Remove bay leaf and serve.  

Total Calories:  1991* 
8 servings @ 249* calories per serving.  

* calories are approximate and may not always be accurate.  

This soup is really tasty.  Not as flavorful as some of my favorite soups, but great for something a little different.  I wish I was good at keeping track of the cost of ingredients or at scoring great deals on produce, but I'm sure this soup is the cheapest dish I prepared in a long time!

I ate 2 half portions of this soup the first night I made it and froze the rest for some low calorie lunches throughout the rest of the month!


I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Hearth and Soul Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by Premeditated Leftovers

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Taco Soup is one of my favorite soups.  It's such a delicious and flavorful soup, but also it's so simple to make!  What I love the most is how easily you can switch up the ingredients based on what you have in your pantry, something I had to do this morning when I threw this soup together.

Normally, when following a recipe like this 8 Can Taco Soup, I'd sneak in some fresh vegetables.  But on this Monday morning, I appreciated the simplicity of this no chopping, just open some cans recipe!  Although, I did make a few changes based on what was in my pantry.  No running to the grocery store to prepare this meal!  I used what was on-hand!  Also, instead of cooking on the stove, I threw it all in the crock pot and let it cook while I was doing chores and running errands!

Crock Pot Taco Soup 

Ingredients: 

• 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes 
• 14.5 oz. can fat free chicken broth 
• 10 oz. can enchilada sauce (I used red) 
• can condensed cream of chicken soup 
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning 
• 15.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed/drained 
• 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed/drained 
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed slightly
• 2 cups pre-cooked chicken, frozen. 
• shredded cheese, sour cream, diced chilies for topping, optional  

Directions: 

• Pour tomatoes, chicken broth, enchilada sauce and cream of chicken soup to crock pot insert and stir to combine.  
• Add in taco season, stir.  
• Mix in the beans, corn and chicken. 
• Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours.  

This soup was delicious!  I'll tell you, I was a little worried about the addition of the cream of chicken soup to this recipe.  But in the end, I liked the creamy texture it brought to the soup.  Also, I loved how quickly this soup cooked, only 2 1/2 hours in the crock pot!  Cook on low for 4-5 hours if you have more time.

Instead of the Corn Quesadillas that I originally planned to serve with this soup, we enjoyed some leftover biscuits.  I also crumbled some tortilla chips into my bowl of soup, while Joe stirred in some sour cream into his soup and topped with cheese.  Mmm!  So good!

Also, I think it's time for me to find a homemade taco seasoning recipe to replace my usual bulk jar of seasoning that I keep in the pantry, as this seemed a little bit too salty for me (even before adding in the crumbled tortilla chips).


I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Delicious Dishes hosted by Pocket Change Gourmet
• Open Call Tuesday #36 hosted by Salt Tree

Clean Out the Fridge (Chicken Noodle) Soup

I was supposed to make Chicken 'n' Dumplings this week.  But as usual, things didn't go as planned this week as far as the menu plan was concerned.  I won't get into all of the details, but when I started to get my chicken out of the fridge and gather the rest of my ingredients for the Chicken 'n' Dumplings, I saw some leftover plain spaghetti noodles and leftover corn and green beans.  Thinking about the rest of the week, I knew I wasn't going to get around to using either of those leftovers before they would need to be tossed into the garbage. Sticking them in the freezer wasn't an option either, since it's pretty full at the moment.

I figured Chicken Noodle Soup would be the easiest thing to throw together using those leftover ingredients as well as the chicken that I needed to use and since I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment, it was perfect timing!

Let me tell you, when it comes to Chicken Noodle Soup, I usually like it a certain way - veggies measured out, chicken precisely diced, wide egg noodles - I'm don't normally just throw stuff together from the fridge.  I do that with other soups, but for some reason not with Chicken Noodle.  Goodness, this was an easy dinner to throw together and tasty, too!  I love when that happens, especially when I'm sick and not really feeling like being in the kitchen very long anway!

Here's what I used for this easy, clean out the fridge soup!

Clean Out the Fridge (Chicken Noodle) Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. butter
• 2 cartons, fat free Chicken Broth 
• 1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles, cooked 
• 2-3 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded 
• 2-3 cups cooked veggies 
• 1 small celery stalk, diced 
• 1 small carrot, diced 
• 1/4 cup onion, diced 
• 1 tsp. garlic, minced 
• oregano, salt & pepper to taste

Directions: 

• Cook onion, celery and carrots in hot butter until onions are translucent. Add a small amount of broth if needed.  
• Add garlic and cook for a minute longer.  
• Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil then add in the cooked spaghetti, chicken and oregano, salt & pepper to taste. 
• Allow soup to return to boiling.  Cover and reduce heat, simmer until heated through.  

I was really pleasantly surprised with how well this turned out.  With leftover ingredients that I almost always have in my fridge!  I'll definitely be doing this again soon in my attempt to eliminate wasting food.

Soup's On! Sunday Link Party ~ Week 2

Last week's Soup's On! was a great success!  Thanks so much to everyone that took the time to stop by for a visit and of course for sharing your great recipes!

While I made sure that I visited each one of your recipe posts, I didn't get a chance to leave a comment for all of you.  I apologize!  Between a very demanding 3 year old and a slow computer, commenting took longer than it normally should.  I will do better this week!

Shockingly, I didn't prepare soup this week.  In fact, I didn't cook much at all this week so I don't have a recipe of my own to share.  Instead, I thought I'd share a photo my aunt sent me earlier today.

Mmmm!  Doesn't that look delicious?  I wish I could eat a bowl right now!

And how about that gorgeous gingham bowl?  I am in love!

To find out more about this Chicken Vermicelli Soup, click on over to my aunt's webpage and scroll down in the comments to see just what makes up this wonderful soup!  While you're there, check out some of her other photos!  Home Crafts & The Old Ways is filled with all sorts of amazing photos of her projects and property she calls home!


*Soup's On! Sunday Link Party will begin every Sunday at 12:01am and will close on Wednesday evenings.

There are just a few simple rules, please:

• Link to your recipe post and not your home page. It just makes it easier to find your recipe!

• No Giveaways Please!

• Provide a link back to this Soup's On! Sunday post somewhere within your post.

• Leave a comment on this post after linking up. Let me know what you shared this week or simply say "hello"!

• Check out some of the other recipes shared here this week!

• Enjoy!  

Soup's On! Sunday Link Party ~ Week 1

We love soup here at our house and I'm always on the look out for new soup recipes. Especially now that the cooler weather has finally arrived!

For the next several weeks, I invite you to join me for Soup's On! Sunday where you can link up your best soup recipes (recipes for stews and chilis are welcome as well!)!

*Soup's On! Sunday Link Party will begin every Sunday at 12:01am and will close on Wednesday evenings.

There are just a few simple rules, please:

• Link to your recipe post and not your home page. It just makes it easier to find your recipe! 

• No Giveaways Please!  

• Provide a link back to this Soup's On! Sunday post somewhere within your post.

• Leave a comment on this post after linking up. Let me know what you shared this week or simply say "hello"!

• Check out some of the other recipes shared here this week!

• Enjoy! 

Soup's On! Sunday ~ Bacon, Bean & Butternut Squash Soup

I love soup!  I love how easy it can be to prepare a big pot of soup from scratch and enjoy for several nights!  Or how it can be frozen for meals later in the season!  I love how soup can also be used to turn leftovers into an entirely different meal, often stretching those leftovers into another night or two!  Something that comes in handy during this bad economy!  Or how warm and satisfying a bowl of hot soup can be after being out on a cold day!

All of the reasons listed above is why I am always on the search for new soup recipes and why I invite you to join me each Sunday (starting next week) and link up your favorite soup recipes!  It can a new favorite or an older post of one of your best tried and true soup recipes!

The first Soup's On! Sunday blog carnival will be posted on Sunday, November 4th!  So, mark your calendars and tell your friends!  Be sure to come back and share links to your best soup recipes for us all to try and enjoy during the cold winter we'll be heading into soon!  Hopefully, by then, I'll figure out how to set up a linky party and also come up with a cool logo for the party!

Even though the party doesn't start until next weekend, I still wanted to share a soup recipe that we enjoyed this past week!


I always thought of myself as someone that loved vegetables.  In my teens, I've been known to fill my plate with just veggies and not even miss the meat portion of the meal, especially if we were having a meat dish that I wasn't particularly fond of back then.

As much as I loved vegetables, I never strayed very far from the basics:  mashed potatoes, peas, corn, carrots, green beans.  I hated broccoli and cauliflower and usually picked the peppers and onions out of anything my mom prepared.  (Sorry, mom!)  As I grew older, my tastes have sure changed.  I now love all of those veggies I tried to avoid all those years.

Still, there are so many different veggies I haven't tried yet!

On the first day of autumn, my friend Diahanna and I took our girls to the local dairy farm for ice cream.  While we were there, the girls posed for pictures, picked out pumpkins and of course, ate some delicious ice cream!

Feeling festive, I grabbed a spaghetti squash and an butternut squash when I paid for Grace's pumpkins.  I already knew what I wanted to make with the spaghetti squash.  I had no plans at all for the butternut squash.  I had never cooked with nor have I eaten butternut squash before, but I've seen it mentioned so many times in recipes on blogs and all over Pinterest.

Since I love soup, it only made sense for me to look for a soup recipe to test out the new-to-me squash!

I posted a list of soups that I want to try this season and one of the soups mentioned was this Bacon Butternut Squash Soup.  I knew I wanted to make a few changes to accommodate our tastes as well as use items mostly found in our pantry.

The result was a wonderfully flavorful soup that I enjoyed very much!

Bacon, Bean & Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 1 whole butternut squash
• 1 1/2 Tbs. pancake syrup
• 2 1/2 Tbs. butter
• salt, to taste
• 6 slices turkey bacon
• 1/2 large onion
• 15 oz. chicken broth, canned or homemade
• 1 c. water
• 2 - 15 oz. cans Cannellini beans, rinsed/drained
• 1/4 c. cream
• salt & pepper, to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut butternut squash in half. Scrape with a spoon to remove seeds.
3. Place squash halves flesh side down in a baking dish.
4. Add about a cup of water to the baking dish.
5. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until squash skin is tender and easily pierced with a fork.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
7. Slice butter and place into a large bowl.
8. When squash is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh from the shell into the bowl with the butter.
9. Add syrup and salt and mash with a potato masher.
10. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, puree squash mixture and set aside.
11. In a soup pot or dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat until cooked through. Drain if necessary.
12. Add onion, cook for another minute or two.
13. Slowly stir in chicken broth, scraping the sides of the pot to remove browned bits.
14. Bring to a boil.
15. Cover and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
16. Stir in the butternut squash puree and the cannellini beans. Simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes.
17. Add the cream and salt and pepper, stirring to combine.
18. Simmer until heated through.

It seems like a lot of steps for a simple soup, but that's because I included the Butternut Squash Puree recipe  as well.  The original recipe called for frozen puree from the grocery store, but since I had a fresh squash here that needed to be used, I didn't see the sense in purchasing a bag of frozen puree.

Instead, I prepared a  homemade puree using the Pioneer Woman's Butternut Squash Puree recipe as a guideline.  I reduced the amount of syrup and butter in the recipe.  Honestly, the squash has such a lovely flavor that the I'll probably just omit the butter completely next time.

I left out the greens that were included in the original soup recipe as well and added an additional can of beans for a heartier soup.  I really wasn't sure of how I was going to like the bean and squash combo, but in the end, I really liked the way the soup turned out.

The final change in this recipe was the turkey bacon.  The original recipe called for regular bacon.  I didn't have any int he freezer and really didn't want to add it to the shopping list since it wasn't on sale this week.  To me, turkey bacon tastes more like ham than bacon.  But that's okay because ham, Canadian bacon or even some smoked kielbasa would be tasty alternatives to the real bacon in this delicious soup!


I've linked this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Sundae Scoop Link Party hosted by I {heart} Nap Time
• Open Call Tuesday #26 hosted by Salt Tree
• Delicious Dishes hosted by It's a Blog Party!
• Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage
• Frugal Food Thursday hosted by Frugal Follies