at 12:54 PM

Crockpot Minestrone Soup - Paleo

Crockpot Minestrone Soup from OurPaleoLife.com

A friend of ours made this on Christmas Eve and while it's different than a traditional Minestrone, it was absolutely delicious... and healthy!  We prefer it with a mild versus spicy sausage.  And a full 8 hours is best.

A simple crockpot minestrone soup with no beans or pasta. You can leave out the pork for a vegan meal.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Yellow Sweet Potato, diced
• 1 cup Carrots, diced
• 2 Celery Stalks, diced
• 2 Zucchini Squash, diced
• 2 Shallots, diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 28 oz Chicken or Vegetable Broth
• 28 oz can Diced Tomatoes w/ Juice
• ½ cup Frozen Spinach -or- 1 cup packed Fresh Spinach, chopped
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp Parsley
• ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
• ¼ tsp Sea Salt
• 1-1/2 lb Ground Pork Sausage (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Add the prepared sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, shallots, and garlic to the crock pot.
3. Pour in the chicken (or vegetable) broth.
4. Add the entire can (including juice) of diced tomatoes.
5. Add the frozen spinach (no need to thaw and drain, just add it frozen).
6. Add in the oregano, basil, parsley, cayenne, and salt.
7. Stir everything together, add the bay leaved, cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours (I prefer 8 hours).
8. About 2 hours before the soup is done, brown the ground pork sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon.
9. Once the pork is cooked through (no pink), add it to the crock pot and mix it all together.
10. Remove bay leaves before serving.

at 7:21 PM

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden copycat)

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden copycat)                  from Heidi
Servings: 4-6

1 lb Italian sausage (mild, medium or hot)
3 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices (unpeeled)
1 large onion, chopped
¹⁄₄ cup bacon bits (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups kale or 2 cups swiss chard, chopped (veins removed optional)
2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces.  Brown sausage in your soup pot.  Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir.  Place onions, potatoes, and garlic in the pot.  Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.  Add bacon.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.  Turn to low heat.  Add kale and cream.  Heat through and serve.

at 2:39 AM

Delicious Ham & Potato Soup

Delicious Ham & Potato Soup       from Amanda

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

·         1/3 cup diced celery

·         1/3 cup finely chopped onion

·         3/4 cup diced cooked ham

·         3 1/4 cups water

·         2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

·         1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

·         1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste

·         5 tablespoons butter

·         5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·         2 cups milk

Directions

1.    Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

2.    In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3.    Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

at 2:38 AM

White Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili        from Amanda

Ingredients:

·     1-2 lbs. chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (can use canned chicken or turkey chunks)

·     4 15 oz. cans Northern White Beans, do not drain

·     2 14 oz. cans of chicken broth

·     4 4oz. cans chopped green chilies

·     1 T. dried minced onion

·     2 tsp. Garlic powder

·     2 tsp salt

·     2 tsp. Cumin

·     2 tsp. Oregano

·     1 tsp. Black pepper

·     can also add ½ tsp cayenne pepper if desired

·     2 c. sour cream

·     1 c. milk, half and half or whipping cream

Method:

Pour all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to slow boil, add sour cream and milk, half and half or whipping cream.

This makes a lot! Usually half of this feeds a family.

Recipe halved:

·         1 lb. chicken

·         2 -15oz. cans Northern White beans, don’t drain

·         1  1/3 cups chicken broth

·         2 cans chopped green chilies

·         ½ T dried minced onion

·         1 tsp garlic powder

·         1 tsp salt

·         1 tsp. cumin

·         1 tsp. oregano

·         ½  tsp. black pepper

·         ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

·         1 c. sour cream

 ½ c. milk, half and half, or whipping cream

·        

at 2:32 AM

Homemade Chili

Homemade Chili:                from Jaclyn
SO SO SO easy and delicious!

·  1 lb. ground hamburger or ground turkey 

·  1 medium onion, chopped

·  1 medium green pepper, chopped

·  2 cans of creamed corn

·  2 cans of kidney beans

·  2 cans of diced tomatoes

·  2 cans of Hormel chili (or any brand of chili you prefer)

·  1 can of black olives (slice them in half)

1. Sauté onion and green pepper together and then put into large pot.

2. Cook the hamburger (or turkey burger) and add into pot.
3. Then add all the cans.
4. Simmer for one hour, stirring often. Or you could just heat the ingredients together until they are warm because it is just as delicious.

at 2:28 AM

Nordstrom's Tomato Basil Soup, Small Batch

Nordstrom's Tomato Basil Soup, Small Batch    from Janet

;  

·         Prep Time: 10 mins

·         Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

·         Servings: 4-8

About This Recipe

"If you don't want to make many gallons of this soup, here's a version scaled down for the home cook, adapted from Serious Eats. I use Mexican crema instead of cream, tempered with a bit of the hot soup before adding. Make sure to use dried basil, it won't work well at all with fresh because of the cooking time. Although this allegedly makes 4 servings, I got 6 generous bowls of soup."

Ingredients

o    6 tablespoons olive oil

o    4 large carrots, peeled and diced

o    1 large onion, sliced

o    1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed

o    3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes ( 84 ounces total)

o    1 quart chicken stock

o    1 pint heavy cream ( I use Mexican crema, tempered)

o    salt and pepper

Directions

1.    In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add carrot and onion and cook until beginning to soften, 10 minutes, then add basil and cook until vegetables are completely soft, about 5 minutes more.

2.    Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.

3.    Allow the soup to cool somewhat, then purée until smooth in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender. Strain the purée before returning to the pot for a smoother texture.

4.    Add cream or tempered crema little by little over over low heat until desired texture is reached. Do not boil it! Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.