Tag: slow cooker

Souper Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup

No, I didn’t spell “super” wrong in the title.  That’s just me having a little fun since this post is about soup and it’s SUPER easy to make!

I found this recipe floating around on Pinterest (you can follow me HERE) and I decided to give it a try, since it’s been a while since I’ve made any kind of soup.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 bag (32oz) frozen, cubed hash browns
  • 2 (14 oz) cans of chicken broth
  • 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (optional — I omitted this since I’m not a big onion fan)
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated black pepper
  • 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese (softened)
  • Salt to taste
  • Optional garnishes: bacon, shredded cheese, chopped green onion, or whatever your little heart desires

Start by adding the entire bag of hash browns to your crock pot.

Then pour in the chicken broth…

and cream of chicken soup.  There’s really no pretty way to photograph the pouring of cream of chicken soup.  It’s just a slimy, flubber-like blob that plops out — usually accompanied by an unpleasant farting sound.  But hey, what are ya gonna do?  That’s just the way it is!

Moving on.

Add salt and pepper and give it all a stir until combined.  Cook on low for 5 hours.

Once 5 hours has passed, add cream cheese.

Stir to combine, breaking up any cream cheese clumps with your spoon.  Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes.

Top with your favorite garnishes (in this case bacon, cheese, and green onions) and enjoy!

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3 Bean Slow Cooker Chili

When we went to our best friends’ Super Bowl party a couple weeks ago, I was in charge of making the chili.  I’ve tried a few different recipes before and none really hit the nail on the head for me, but this 3-bean chili recipe I found in one of my slow cooker cookbooks really turned out great!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 3 tsp chili powder
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cans (16 oz) Dark Red Kidney Beans
  • 2 cans (16 oz) Pinto Beans
  • 2 cans (15 oz) Black Beans
  • 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Add ground beef to a hot skillet and cook until browned.

 

While your meat is browning, chop up your onion into a small dice.

 

Transfer browned meat to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon.

 

Then pour the remaining fat from the pan into a mason jar, or another heat proof container where you can let it cool and harden.

 

Look at all that fat that’s in the jar that could have ended up in your arteries!  Whenever I have to drain fat or grease like this, I add it to a jar, and just keep that jar sealed in one of my cabinets.  Then when the jar gets full I throw it away.  Keeps my drain from getting clogged.

 

Transfer meat to your slow cooker.

 

Add the diced onion to the meat.

 

Add the black beans,

 

Pinto Beans,

 

And kidney beans to the slow cooker.

 

Then add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste.  I used a can of diced tomatoes with bits of jalapeno to give it a little extra kick.

 

Then add salts, pepper, cumin and cinnamon.

 

Then stir it around so that everything is blended and mixed together thoroughly.

Cover and cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours or on High for 2 hours.

Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the final product because we finished cooking the chili at our friends’ house, but hopefully you get the idea.  Enjoy!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

OH. MY. GOODNESS.  You have got to try this pulled pork recipe I found on The Pioneer Woman.  Definitely a winner!  I know it sounds kinda weird to cook a pork shoulder in Dr. Pepper, but trust me, you won’t be sorry!  You can’t really even taste a Dr. Pepper flavor.  It just brightens the whole experience and adds a little sweetness to contrast the spiciness of the chipotle peppers.  The Pioneer Woman cooked this in the oven, but I used a slow cooker and it turned out great.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 large onion
  • 1 whole pork shoulder (“pork butt”) – 5 to 7 lbs (however, I only used about 1/4 of the meat since I was only feeding 2 people)
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 can (11 oz) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (can be found on the Mexican food aisle)
  • 2 cans Dr. Pepper
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

Start by peeling and quartering a large onion and scatter around the bottom of the slow cooker (or pot if you’re cooking it in the oven).

Here’s what the label will most likely say.  Don’t worry.  It’s not really a pork “butt”.  It’s the shoulder. 🙂  Still figuring out why they call it a butt.

The whole shoulder would have probably fed about 10 people so I cut about a quarter of it and put the rest in the freezer to use later.  Liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place on top of the onion.

Pour the whole can of chipotle peppers onto the meat (sauce too).

Now, I know this might be going against your nature, and may seem weird, but trust me!  It’ll be worth it!

Pour both cans of Dr. Pepper over the meat, peppers, and onion.  I used room temperature Dr. Pepper even though we had cold ones in the fridge.  I figured, it was going to need to get hot anyway, so I might as well help it along.

Next add the brown sugar.  Stir it around so that everything is nice and combined.

Cook for at least 6 hours on Low if using a slow cooker, and at 300° if cooking in the oven.  You’ll want to turn the meat over 2-3 times while cooking.

When the meat is ready it will be practically falling apart, so use caution when taking it out of the pot.

Shred meat with 2 forks, separating the big chunks of fat as you go.  The fat should be pretty easy to see since it will be slimy and soft, and the meat will be more firm.

Place the shredded meat back into the slow cooker and keep warm until ready to serve.  Discard the fat.

I served the pork with a side of mashed potatoes.  The juices from the slow cooker made a wonderful gravy!  Hope you love it as much as we did!