Vegetable and Bean Soup

I have never met someone who loves soup more than Jason. The year before we were married and he was living with some friend in Oshkosh, WI, he would bring soup for lunch every single day. While I enjoy soup, I usually only like to have one bowl a week. Since we have been married, we have stopped buy canned soup (unless it is the low-sodium version and is on sale for $1 per can). Instead, once the first chill of fall comes I start up the crock pot and begin making batch after batch of soup and chili. One crock pot usually makes 4 large yogurt containers worth of soup (we eat a lot of yogurt, so we save the containers). I will keep two in the refrigerator and two in the freezer for later. Soup is fool-proof and works well with pretty much any items we have on hand. I try to always use fresh ingredients, but this is not always possible, so I usually keep extra cans of diced tomatoes, beans, and frozen vegetables on hand. If you use dry beans, be sure to soak them overnight before using them. This well help get some of the gas out and prepare them for cooking. Since the weather finally seems to be turning around (55F and sunny today!) I decided it was a good day for one last batch of soup. Soup can really be anything you want, so if you don't have or like some of these ingredients, feel free to substitute something else.

Vegetable and Bean Soup

Makes about 1 gallon of soup

Ingredients

• 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (I used an onion and green pepper seasoning and garlic, oregano and basil seasoning)
• 2 cans of water (use the tomato cans)
• 4 stalks of celery
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen peas
• 1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed well 
• 1 can of great northern beans, drained and rinsed well 
• 2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp pepper
•  1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in a 4-5 quart crock pot. Stir well. Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 5 hours. If you use dry beans, you may need to cook it longer. 

White Bean Chili

Although it is not officially winter yet, it sure feels like it! Today it has been in the teens all day with the windchill feels like the single digits. Jason and I love eating soup and chili when it is cold like this. I usually never buy canned soup because it is so easy to make in the crock pot. I wanted to try something new, so after skimming some white bean chili recipes online, I came up with my own simple version. It turned out great, especially for a first try!

Ingredients

• 2 cans of Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups of chicken broth (I used water with a powder broth)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 3 TBSP of sweet chili sauce (recipe can be found at Sweet and Spicy (American) Chinese)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a 3-4 serving crock pot. Stir well. Cook on high for 5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Turkey Chili

Jason loves this recipe and it is extremely easy to make.

Ingredients

• 10oz of ground turkey, browned
• 15oz can of kidney beans or 1 cup dried beans, soaked
• 24oz can diced tomatoes
• 15oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup whole wheat elbow noodles, not cooked*
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup spaghetti cause or tomato sauce

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients into a 3-4 serving crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent the side from burning.

*It is okay to put the uncooked noodles in directly because the water and heat will cook them. If you do not like mushy noodles, add them when there is 2 hours left.

Vegetable Soup

Soup is another crock pot favorite. It is one of the easiest things to make, so I rarely ever buy canned soup.


Ingredients
It is really whatever you want and can fit in your crock pot! Here is what I used:
-1 24-oz can of diced tomatoes
-1 15oz can of black bean
-1 15oz can of white beans
-1 yellow onion, diced
-3 large carrots, chopped
-1 large zucchini
-1 cup of frozen green beans, unthawed
-4 tsp vegetable bouillon cub powder
-1 cup of water (plus more if you think it needs it)


Directions
Place all of the ingredients, except the last two, in a 5-6 serving crock pot. Mix the bouillon cube powder with the water until the clumps are gone. Pour over the ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low for 5-8 hours.