Taste of Tuesday - Crockpot Ham Potato Soup

Don't forget about the giveaway going on right now!! $60 to Victoria's Secret for some sexaayyy!!

OK, so first off, this was originally created by Paula Deen. So...I'm just saying you should try it for that reason only. lol. But, as usual, I changed it around a little to make it fit us.

Crockpot Potato Soup with Ham

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (30 oz) frozen hash browns, cubed not shredded

3-4 cups ham, cubed

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup diced onion

8oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese (you can use regular, of course)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

green onion for garnish

pepper to taste

additional herbs as you like

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all ingredients except for cream cheese and shredded cheese in crockpot. Put on medium or high for about 4 hours.

Add cream cheese and shredded cheese. Cook an additional 30 minutes.

Done. BOOM!

Heart-y Beef Stew

     

     Someone came into work last week with a bowl of beef stew for lunch. Now, I'm not normally a beef soup kind of person. But it smelled delicious!! So, knowing that Mike loves any kind of beef stew I set out to look at a few recipes.

     My mom's birthday was last Monday so we had her over for dinner on Wednesday along with my sister and the kids. I had suggested that we make the stew then, but Mike had another dish in mind. Plus, he said he only gets beef stew every once in a while so he wants leftovers. lol. Needless to say, we never made it, but it's been on my mind. 

     

     This weekend, Mike's friend Ryan had his bachelor party. Instead of the typical club/bar scene with half naked ladies, Ryan kept it classy. The boys went to WISP for the weekend and had a blast skiing. This was perfect because Mike has been begging me to ski for the past 5 years. You see, I AM NOT a skier. I've been a few times but hurt myself pretty badly the last time and I have been scarred ever since. I've tried explaining that I'm perfectly fine sitting in our cabin with a bottle (or two) of wine and making at hot dinner for everyone when they're done, but that's not good enough. At least with this boys weekend Mike got to ski a little and get his fix. 

     Thinking about Mike being out in this cold all weekend reminded me of this beef stew. Fortunately for me, I didn't have too much of a boring weekend. My friend Taylor and I went to sushi on Friday and mom and Lynn and I went on a shopping spree all day yesterday. So today was my only down day and I figured what better way to keep me busy than some beef stew!!

P.S. These ingredients look like a lot, but it's all stuff you would have on hand.

P.P.S. You'll also notice that I used this Pinterest idea to make my carrots into hearts in honor of Valentine's Day this Thursday!! Hence the name "Heart-y"

Heart-y Beef Stew

INGREDIENTS:

     1-2 pounds cubed beef for stew

     1 tablespoon oil

     3 or so cups beef broth

     2 cups water

     1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

     1 tsp garlic, minced

     2 bay leaves

     1 medium onion, chopped or sliced

     1 tsp salt

     1 tsp sugar

     1/2 tsp paprika

     1/2 tsp pepper

     dash garlic powder

     few dashes of celery seed (I don't like actual celery in my soups so this was my alternative.)

     3 large carrots, sliced

     3 large red potatoes, quartered

     1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

     1 can green beans, drained

     

DIRECTIONS:

     Brown beef in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, paprika, pepper, garlic powder, and celery seed. Cover and simmer 1- 1/2 hours. Add carrots, potatoes, corn, and green beans. Simmer another 30-40 minutes. DONE!! 

     If you want to thicken the broth about 1/4 cup of the broth and 1/4 cup of milk with flour until it makes a pancake consistency. That's why my broth looks a little greenish. :)

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Sorry about the horrible pic...

 

     I hosted our monthly Book Club at my house last night which gave me the opportunity to try out some things I have been looking forward to. I have been searching Pinterest and made one of the new "secret boards" in order to keep my thoughts straight. Might I say that those boards have come in handy lately. Especially for Christmas present ideas.

My menu included:
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Deviled Eggs
Mini Pizza Bites
Tortilla Roll-ups
Warm Cheese Dip
Cheese and Crackers
and Pumpkin Spice Cake
     (I can post the recipe to most of these but I, unfortunately, did not get to take many pictures.)

      I have been really getting into soup mode since it is getting so much colder outside. I, unlike Mike, must prefer potatoey, creamy, chicken soups. He is more of a vegetable beef, brothy type of person. I came across this recipe from Pinterest and decided it seemed cheap easy enough. Most of the ingredients I already had in my pantry or fridge and it's a crock pot recipe!! So much easier for something on a school night!!

     As usual I changed some things around but here is the final recipe!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
INGREDIENTS:
     5 cups chicken broth
     1 10.75oz can cream of chicken soup
     1 15oz can whole kernel corn
     1/2 cup carrots, sliced
     1/2 cup celery (I don't like celery so I left this out)
     1 cup onions, diced
     2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
     1 1/2 cups egg noodles 
     salt and pepper to taste
     

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine everything except for the chicken and egg noodles in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

2. Add chicken and egg noodles. Turn crockpot up to high and cook another hour. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Corn Chowder

 

   Last Saturday seemed to be a very uneventful eventful day. I guess what that means is, although nothing was really going on, the day seemed to be quite a busy one. I woke up early in order to get to my hairdresser so she could chop 10 inches of my hair off. After that, I made a few stops in town at our local farmers market, the consignment shop, and then a few stores to pick up some groceries.

   Mike decided on Friday that he wanted to go race the car at the track one last time before winter. He left early Saturday morning in order to get the car ready and inspected before testing. While I was walking around the farmer's market I realized how cold it was getting and decided I would make some soup. Mike would be outside in the cold all day and figured he would enjoy something to warm his bones. The only problem was that I wasn't exactly sure what soup to make, nor did I have a recipe in mind, so, I bought a few different things that I figured would get me started at least.

   When I got home I checked our stock and noticed we still had some potatoes left from the potato soup we made last week. I also knew I wanted some kind of corn chowder so I got to work on both my Pinterest board and the web. I finally came across this soup from Tasty Kitchen and, judging by the picture, it looked AMAZING!!! I read through the ingredients and had everything but the bacon. (bummer!!) I kept looking but eventually decided I would just suck it up and go get the bacon because this soup looked awesome! AND IT WAS!! I changed the recipe a little, as usual, but I'm hoping it only made it better.

Chicken Corn Chowder
INGREDIENTS:
     1 lb cooked chicken, shredded (The recipe didn't tell me whether to cook it first but better safe than      sorry)
     1 cup chopped onions
     1 cup chopped red pepper
     2 cloves of garlic, minced
     1 4oz. can chiles (I used Rotel chiles and tomatoes)
     5 cups of chicken broth
     2 cups russet potatoes, peeled and diced
     1 can whole kernel corn, drained
     1 14oz. can creamed corn
     1/2 cup all-purpose flour
     1 cup skim milk
     1 1/2 cup grated cheese
     a couple hits of hot sauce
     salt and pepper to taste
     3 slices of bacon

DIRECTIONS:
Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and let it drain on a paper towel. Place off to the side. Keep drippings in the saucepan.

Add chicken, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic to the saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or so. Add diced chiles and cook for another minute. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add whole kernel corn and creamed corn, stir well.

Pour flour into a medium bowl. (I use a mason jar instead, easier to mix.) Whisk in the skim milk, or pour it into the mason jar and shake. It should get to be like a pancake mix consistency. Add the milk mixture to the soup and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens. Stir in grated cheese and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with crumbled bacon and extra cheese.

Enjoy!!