Category: Soups (Page 1 of 3)

Soups, stews, chili, and the like — a spoon is optional!

Instant Pot Meatless Taco Soup

December 5, 2019 / Nicki / 0 Comments

With it being so cold lately, I’ve been craving some Taco Soup.Â You know, that recipe that has been around forever?Â I decided to try to make some in my Instant Pot here at work, and it turned out great!Â I used this recipe as a base, leaving out the meat.Â You could easily brown some beef in the IP before adding all of the other ingredients, but I was mostly craving the spices and beans.

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz) cans Black Beans
1 (15 oz) can Chili Beans w/seasoning
1 (14.5 oz) can petite Diced Tomatoes
1 can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes
1 small can Tomato Sauce (optional)
1 (15 oz) can Sweet Corn
1 (14 oz) can Chicken Broth
1 (1.25 oz) packet Taco Seasoning (I used Chili-O)
1 teaspoon ground Cumin
1 teaspoon ground Chili Powder
1 teaspoon ground Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon ground Smoked Paprika
1 (1 oz) packet Ranch Seasoning mix

Directions:

Add all ingredients into your Instant Pot. Close the lid and make sure the knob is on sealing, NOT venting. Push the manual button, and set the timer for 4 minutes. Once the timer is done counting down, you can turn your knob to venting.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocados, and tortilla chips.

Note:

Makes approximately 8 servings.

This recipe turned out GREAT!Â And it made so much that I shared with anyone and everyone who wanted some.Â Everyone who tried it loved it, and I shared the above recipe with anyone who asked.Â The one thing I messed up was that I did not add enough water.Â Normally when I make this in the crockpot/slowcooker or stove top, I rinse all the cans out with a bit of water and add that to the mixture.Â I didn’t do that this time.Â It was a bit too thick and burned a little, so next time I will definitely add a bit more liquid.Â Otherwise, it was perfect!Â 🙂

Slow-Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

October 3, 2015 / Nicki / 0 Comments

I’ve seen this recipe in several places, but I think I saw it first by Betty. ^_^

Recipe Source: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

Reynoldsâ„¢ Slow Cooker Liners
1 bag (32 oz) frozen southern-style diced hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 cup frozen chopped onion (from 12-oz bag), thawed
1 medium stalk celery, diced (1/2 cup)
1 carton (32-oz) Progressoâ„¢ chicken broth
1 cup water
3 tablespoons Gold Medalâ„¢ all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 bag (8 oz) shredded American-Cheddar cheese blend (2 cups)
1/4 cup real bacon pieces (from 2.8-oz package)
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

Directions:

Place Reynoldsâ„¢ Slow Cooker Liners inside a 5- to 6 1/2 -qt slow cooker bowl. Make sure that liner fits snugly against the bottom and sides of bowl and pull the top of the liner over rim of bowl.

In lined slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, celery, broth and water.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.

In small bowl, mix flour into milk; stir into potato mixture. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish individual servings with bacon and green onions. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

I’ve made this soup a couple times and love it. I didn’t use a liner this time, honestly my slow cooker is so easy to clean I don’t bother with liners anymore but I can see how someone who cooks every day with ’em will find them handy.

I omitted the celery and onions. I do add some smoked paprika and garlic powder to the flour and milk mixture. Also, I don’t thaw the hashbrowns. I take them straight from the freezer into the crock pot, and they’ve always been plenty done after 6 hours. Your mileage may vary of course. 🙂

Slightly sweet leftovers

March 14, 2015 / Nicki / 2 Comments

One of the great things about crockpot recipes is that you can cook a decent amount of food all at once and have plenty of leftovers. Remember that Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken I made? I had about half of that left over and I found myself wondering whether to just freeze them to eat later or use them for something else. I took half of it and added some chili beans and taco seasoning for a sweet chicken burrito filling. I combined that with some sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce, fresh tomato, and sour cream. That covered another two meals and they were fantastic!

The last couple of days I’ve been craving some chili. I thought I’d try using what was left of the sesame chicken to make a slightly sweet chili. Using the Taco Soup recipe as a base, I combined the sesame chicken mix into my crockpot with a large can of diced tomatoes, two cans of chili beans, a can of black beans, about a cup of whole kernel corn (from the freezer), a packet of taco seasoning, a packet of Ranch seasoning, and a mix of the following to taste: Tabasco sauce, ground chili pepper, ground white pepper, ground cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt.

It was delicious! I do not have any “starting” images, but here’s the end result:

I served a bowl of the chili topped with a mix of white and mild cheddar cheese and sour cream, with cinnamon rolls which were soaked in vanilla bourbon just before baking. They were very sweet and I found complemented the meal nicely. 🙂

Creamy Cheesy White Chicken Chili

November 16, 2014 / Nicki / 0 Comments

Ok, so I ran across this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Yammie’s Noshery. Her pictures that accompany the recipes always look soooooo good, and this recipe sounded so tasty I just had to try it!

So here’s the recipe as she posted it:

Creamy Cheesy White Chicken Chili

Recipe Source: yammiesnoshery.com

Ingredients:

1 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded
1/2 of a white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
7 oz. can of green chiles
8 oz. frozen corn
2 15.5 oz. cans white kidney beans (cannellini beans)
32 oz. chicken stock
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of pepperjack and monterey jack)
Cilantro and limes for serving

Directions:

In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper in a little bit of oil on medium heat until softened. Add the chicken, chiles, corn, beans chicken stock, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and continue cooking until it comes to a simmer (if you prefer a non-creamy soup, it’s great at this point too!). Add the sour cream and cream cheese. Toss together the cornstarch and cheese and add to the pot. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened. Serve with cilantro and lime wedges.

I deviated a bit from the recipe:

I had only one can of cannellini beans, so I drained and rinsed a can of black beans too. I figured this would give it a bit more color, and I love them so. 🙂
I added 1/2 can of petite diced tomatoes that I had saved in the freezer from the last time I made chili. Doing this made it a bit darker in color, so it wasn’t really a true ‘white’ chili, but I love tomatoes and I was making this for me! 🙂
I used not quite all of the 32 oz. container of chicken stock so that the chili will be a bit thicker.
I omitted the onion, bell pepper, and chiles. I have weird food issues, this is one of them. 😛
I didn’t have any fresh garlic, so I doubled up on the garlic powder — this made it a bit TOO garlicky. I love the taste of garlic, but it was very strong.
Lastly, I omitted the cream cheese. It probably would have added to the “creamy factor” but I hate the taste. I may try substituting some velveeta next time.

This was my result:

All in all, this was a very good recipe. Leaving the chiles out left me wanting more kick, so I added some hot sauce when I served my bowl. The flavor was very good, I will try a bit more chili powder and add some white pepper next time to give it a bit more heat.

This was a nice thick chili. In fact, I’ve had its leftovers for breakfast this morning, and over tortilla chips as a snack! I think I may pair it with some refried beans in a chicken burrito for lunch tomorrow. This is definitely a chili I will fix again soon!

Lasagna Soup

January 12, 2009 / Nicki / 1 Comment

Recipe Source: Modified from a Betty Crocker recipe.

Originally called ‘Cheesy Lasagna Soup‘

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, sliced
2 large green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups water
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 cups uncooked pasta (4 ounces)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese of your choice (6 ounces)

Directions:

Cook beef, onion, bell peppers and garlic in Dutch oven over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown and onion is tender; drain.

Stir in water, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir in pasta, brown sugar, Italian seasoning and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.

Top with cheese and serve.

Jules’ Homemade Tomato Soup

September 12, 2007 / Nicki / 0 Comments

Recipe Source: Everydaymommy.net

Ingredients:

2 cans (28oz) whole tomatoes or homegrowns
1-2 cans (14oz) beef or chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup Half & half
1/2 stick butter
1/2 tsp sugar
House seasoning to taste *

Directions:

In large soup pot saute diced onion in olive oil over medium heat till tender. Season with house seasoning to taste.

Blend the whole tomatoes in a blender until just smooth, only a few seconds. You’ll want a slightly lumpy consistency. Pour tomatoes into soup pot. Add broth to pot to a pleasing consistency. If you prefer a thicker soup add 1 can broth. If a thinner soup add 2 cans broth. Season again with house seasoning to taste. Simmer 10 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Add half & half, sugar and butter. Stir well as butter melts. Simmer another 20 minutes. Serve with grilled cheddar cheese on rye bread. Yum!

* House seasoning is equal parts kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

April 28, 2007 / Nicki / 0 Comments

Recipe Source: “Soul Food Recipes Learned on a North Carolina Tobacco Farm” by Willie Crawford

Ingredients:

2 slices bacon
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon beef bullion powder
1 large green pepper (seeded and chopped)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 pound shredded mild cheddar cheese
4 cups milk
4 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

Directions:

Fry bacon in medium pot. Remove bacon from grease and leave 1 1/2 tablespoons bacon drippings in pot. Stir in onion, celery and green pepper, lightly cook until done. Stir in the ground been and cook over medium heat until browned.

Slowly stir in the beef bullion and the seasoned salt. Stir in the flour, mixing well. Turn down heat to low and mix in the milk slowly. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the cheese and allow to melt.

Serve hot sprinkling some of the crumbled bacon bits in each bowl.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

April 19, 2007 / Nicki / 0 Comments

Recipe Source: Marsha Baker / Pioneer, OH

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups diced cooked chicken

Directions:

In a large pan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Gradually stir in milk and cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese and cook until melted. Add to broth and vegetables along with chicken. Cook and stir over low heat until heated through.

Serves 6 to 8.

Cannellini Bean Soup

January 20, 2007 / Nicki / 3 Comments

Recipe Source: drgourmet.com

Prep/Cooking Time: 30 minutes with canned beans / 90 minutes dried beans

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups cannellini beans (or 2 – 15 ounce cans no salt added cannellini beans)
3 quarts water
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 large white onion (diced)
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 tsp. salt
2 ribs (with leaves) celery (minced)
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano
to taste fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Dried Beans: Place the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Let the beans soak overnight. Drain the beans the next day and cover with water, then place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the beans cook for about an hour until soft. Drain the beans and set aside. Rinse the pot well.

(Alternatively use 2 – 15 ounce cans no salt added cannellini beans.)

Place the olive oil in the same pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and white onion. Cook slowly over medium until the onions are translucent. Add the beans back to the pot and stir well.

Add the chicken stock and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the celery, fresh oregano and black pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Using a stick blender (or a conventional blender in batches), blend the soup until it is pureed. The soup may be served hot or chilled.

Serves 4.

Clean the Freezer Soup

January 15, 2007 / Nicki / 0 Comments

Recipe Source: Alicia Ross / desperationdinners.com

From Alicia:

When I came home from the publicity tour, I didn’t have a clue what was in my pantry, refrigerator or freezer. So I took stock. What I found was a bunch of half-used and nearly-used bags of everything in the freezer and not much of anything anywhere else. Time for Clean the Freezer Soup.

Cook’s Notes:

How fast you can make this soup depends on how fast you can clean your freezer, but assembly should take no more than 10 minutes of actual effort. Anything goes in this soup, except do not use broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or frozen spinach.

Ingredients:

8 ounces frozen extra-lean meat, such as round steak, hamburger or chicken
6 cups assorted frozen vegetables, such as corn, peas, beans, potatoes, carrots
3 cups water
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) nonfat chicken broth
1 1/2 cups bottled spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) crushed or stewed tomatoes, optional
1 cup (1 large) onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium chicken-flavor bouillon crystals (or 1 cube), optional

Directions:

Put all ingredients in an electric slow-cooker (3-quart or larger). (If freezer vegetables do not include potatoes, you can add 1 1/2 cups fresh potato cubes.)

Cook on low heat overnight or for 8 to 10 hours. When the soup is cooked, remove any large pieces of meat and shred them. Return meat to pot and stir. Soup keeps refrigerated for several days.

Makes 8 servings (1 1/2 cups each).

Category: Soups (Page 1 of 3)

Instant Pot Meatless Taco Soup

Slow-Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

Slightly sweet leftovers

Creamy Cheesy White Chicken Chili

Lasagna Soup

Jules’ Homemade Tomato Soup

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

Cheesy Chicken Chowder

Cannellini Bean Soup

Clean the Freezer Soup

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