Ham and Veggie Soup

Fall is here and it's the time of year I love to eat good comfort foods like soup, stews, chili, ect. These are budget-friendly meals that get us through the winter. In our house, I’ve been known to make soup out of anything edible I can find in the cabinets, pantry, fridge, and freezer. Yep, it’s all but the kitchen sink. Hubby and son make jokes about how much I love soup. I can literally eat soup every day and won't get tired of it :-) Today I'm sharing with you an easy soup that can be modified to include anything you like.


Ham and Veggie Soup

Ingredients:
1 Ham Steak cubed (bone discarded) or use 2 cups leftover ham cut into cubes
1 12-16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 Tbsp. of EVOO (or oil of your choice)
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Bay leaf (big size)
1 14.5oz. can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce
6 cups of chicken broth/stock (I make my own)

Directions:
Spray a 6 qt. crockpot with cooking spray. Add cubed ham and frozen mixed vegetables. In a skillet heat oil on medium heat. Sauté onion and celery for 5 minutes then add in garlic and sauté for another minute. Put in crockpot and add other ingredients. Stir and cover. Cook on LOW heat 6-8 hours or HIGH heat 3-4 hours. Serve with crackers, cornbread, or a good piece of crusty type bread with butter. YUM!

 

White Bean Chicken Chili

Good eats on a cold/chilly day

White Bean Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts (or 2 lbs. cooked ground chicken)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 14oz. cans cannellini (white kidney) beans

15 oz. jar of Salsa Verde
1 4oz. can green chilies
Juice from 1/2 a lime
1.5 cups of chicken broth (I use my homemade broth)

Chili Seasoning:
2 Tbsp. ground chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ground white pepper (or black)
1.5 tsp. salt


Directions:
In a skillet heat oil on medium heat. Wash and cut chicken breasts into 4-5 pieces (if not using ground) and let drain for a moment. Sauté onion and garlic in oil for 5-10 minutes. Spray a 6 qt. crockpot with cooking spray. Add raw chicken pieces. Open 2 of the cans of beans and drain before pouring into the crockpot. Add in cooked onion and garlic, green chilies, lime juice, and seasonings. Pour in chicken broth and cover. Cook on LOW for 6 hours. After 4 hours open the other can of beans and mash up in its juices. Stir into chili the last 2 hours of cooking to help thicken it. When it’s done fish out chicken pieces and let cool down a few minutes. Shred meat with forks or fingers. Add back to crockpot (Chili will thicken a little more when you add the meat back to it). 

Sprinkle some Pepper of Monterey Jack cheese in your bowl of chili and serve like we did in the South with cornbread or crackers. 

*For a southwestern style add sour cream and salsa with the cheese and eat with tortilla chips.

Note: This chili was so GOOD! You can stir in some heavy whipping cream or add a block of softened cream cheese at the end to make it creamier. I'm thinking of making a double batch of this by cooking it with some ground chicken and ground turkey mixed next time. YUM!!!

Chili with cheese melted on top

Crockpot Beef Curry with Rice

Crockpot Easy Beef Curry with Rice

Ingredients:
1lb. ground beef or turkey (can also use some cubed chicken, beef, or pork)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 14oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup Ketchup
1 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. curry powder (use more or less depending on your level of spicyness)
1 Tbsp. Thai Premium Fish Sauce (optional but makes it taste even better)
1 can coconut milk (can leave this out but makes the curry tastes yummy)
2 cups uncooked white or brown rice cooked in 4 cups water or broth

Directions:
In a skillet heat oil on med. heat. Sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add in ground meat if you’re using that and cook until no longer pink. I added half of my curry seasoning to the meat right before it finished cooking. If you are using cubed meat just add it in raw to cook with everything else in crockpot. In a sprayed 5-6 qt. crock pot add potatoes, frozen vegetables, tomatoes, ketchup, and broth. Stir in meat mixture and the rest of the curry seasoning. Cook on LOW 7-8 hours. You'll want to stir in the Fish Sauce and Coconut Milk (if you're using them) 30 minutes before it's done. Before it finishes cooking cook your rice or use any rice you cooked ahead of time. I like using broth instead of water to cook my rice when I’m serving a savory dish like this. Just like when doing mashed potatoes the broth helps to give the rice more flavor. You can also stir in 2 Tbsp. of butter right before your rice finish cooking.

Once your curry is done serve it over a bed of rice in a plate or bowl and with Pita bread or Naan. Beware~ your house will smell yummy while this is cooking. Your family will keep coming to the kitchen wandering when dinner will be done   I used ground turkey this time and it tasted great! I like that you can swap things up with this recipe. Here's another one we tried...

Rice and Curry w/chicken

To make curry with chicken follow the same recipe above replacing the ground beef with some boneless chicken breasts or thighs cut into bite size cubes. We really liked the flavors especially using lemon curry to season the rice I made with it. Now I have to try making this with cubed boneless pork and some coconut rice too. YUM!!! :-)

Crockpot Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

*If you are looking for some comfort in a bowl on a cold winter day, this is the soup for you. If you love stuffed bell peppers be sure to stock up so you can try a bowl of this yumminess.

Crockpot Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. ground beef (or turkey)
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bell peppers cut into cubes (I use a mixture of different colors)
2 14.5 oz. cans stewed or diced tomatoes
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce (or sub with 28 o. crushed tomatoes)
1-2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning (or 1 tsp. dried basil and 1 tsp. dried oregano)
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4-6 cups chicken or beef broth (or 1/2 of each kind of broth if you'd like)
1 cup of uncooked rice (or 2 cups cooked rice *see note)
Shredded Mozzarella or Montery Jack cheese to sprinkle on top (optional)

Directions:
In a skillet brown beef and onions. I like to throw my cut up bell peppers in right before all the meat has browned but you can just add them raw to cook with the other ingredients. In a 6 qt. crockpot add all the other ingredients except the rice and cheese. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.

To serve: Place a little warmed cook rice into bowls (if prepared separately) and pour your desired amount of soup over the top. Sprinkle on the cheese of your choice and enjoy!

*Note: I used some brown rice I had already cooked in some broth but you could add a cup of uncooked rice in the last 30-45 minutes of cook time if you prefer. I'm also known to use I use 2 cups of my homemade sauce in place of the tomato sauce and ground beef when I want to just dump and go.