Cheesy Hash Brown Potato Soup

I love Potato Soups...There are actually several different recipes that I love and this is one of them. Easy, Delicious and you make it in a crock pot...grin...Enjoy...

Cheesy Hash Brown Potato Soup

1 (32 oz) bag thawed southern-style diced hash brown potatoes

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1 (32 oz) carton chicken broth

1 cup water

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese blend

1/4 cup real bacon pieces

Mix first 5 ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Just before serving, mix flour into milk and stir into crock pot mixture. Increase heat to HIGH, cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes. You want mixture to thicken. Stir in cheese until melted. Spoon into bowls, salt & pepper (to taste) and garnish with bacon and green onions.

Enjoy! Happy Slow Cooking!

Crock Pot Potato Soup

My mom use to make the best Potato Soup...It was something we loved to eat and almost couldn't wait for the weather to get cooler so she would make it...

Now that I have a home and family of my own, I enjoy making this for them...and of course, the fact that I can do this in my crock pot makes it all the better...

Crock Pot Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 carrots, sliced thin
  
• 2 ribs celery, small chunks
  
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups half n' half

• Bacon bits or cubed ham, optional
  

Directions:

Combine first set of ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours (HIGH 3 hours).

If using chunks of ham, put that in with the first set of ingredients. If using bacon bits, put that in during the last 30 minutes of cooking or you can sprinkle over individual bowls.

During last 30 minutes of cooking, you will want to mix the flour and half n' half together. Pour into the crockpot and mix well. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Simple Garden Delights

If your garden is like mine, it is busting at the seams. So what do you do with all those vegetables? You clean 'em up and put 'em in the crockpot silly...grin...

Here are a couple very simple recipes to help you use your fresh garden vegetables...

Caramelized Onions

6 - 8 large sweet onions (Vidalias, etc)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
10 oz can chicken or vegetable broth

Peel onions. Remove stems and root ends. Place in crockpot. Mix broth and butter and pour over onions. Cook on LOW 8 to 12 hours.

Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash, rinsed
salt
cinnamon
butter

Place whole squash in slow cooker and Cover. Cook on LOW 8 - 10 hours. Split and remove seeds. Sprinkle each half with salt and cinnamon. Dot with butter and serve.

Corn on the Cob

6-8 ears of corn (still in husk)
1/2 cup water

Remove silk from corn (as much as possible), but leave the husks on. Cut off the ends so that the ears can stand upright in your upright crockpot. Add water. Cover and cook on LOW for 2-3 hours.

Happy Slow Cooking! Hugs and Enjoy!

Here are more Crockpot Vegetable Recipes from Hazel's Crock Pot Kitchen...

Garlic Buttered Red Potatoes

I love red potatoes. To me they cook better than any of the other types of potatoes and with their skin left on, they add a little color to the table.

Garlic Buttered Red Potatoes

10 - 12 small red poatotes, close in size
2 -3 Tablespoon olive oil
half a stick of butter, melted
2 Tablespoons Garlic salt
Pepper to taste

Wash (do not dry) and cut potatoes in half. Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Pour potatoes into crock pot, pour oil over potatoes and mix to coat. Mix melted butter and garlic salt together and pour over potatoes. Sprinkle with pepper.

Cook on LOW 8 hours (HIGH 4 hours).

Happy Slow Cooking! Enjoy and Hugs...

Crock pot Baked Potatoes

Now I know this might seem like a long way to make a baked potato, but if you don't want to heat up your kitchen with the oven, then this is a way to have baked potatoes. Also, you can only cooked a couple baked potatoes in the microwave at a time...in the crockpot, you can cook up to 8-10 at a time...

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

2 to 10 baked potatoes
aluminum foil

Wash the potatoes, poke the potatoes a couple of times with a fork and then wrap each potato with aluminum foil. Place the potatoes in the slow cooker and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours.

This is very important: DO NOT PUT ANY LIQUID OR ANYTHING ELSE IN THE CROCKPOT WITH THE FOIL COVERED POTATOES.

Happy Slow Cooking....Enjoy and Hugs....

Creamy Vegetables?

Today, I'm posting two recipes and both are creamy. The reason for the ? in the title, is that I'm not sure if a potato is considered a vegetable...It is almost like the tomato...no one seems to know where it goes...

Wikipedia describes it as: The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family.

Dictionary.com:

pl. po·ta·toes

1. A South American plant (Solanum tuberosum) widely cultivated for its starchy edible tubers.
2. A tuber of this plant.
3. A sweet potato. See Regional Note at possum.

Huh? So is it a vegetable or not? For the purpose of this blog post, we are going to consider it a vegetable...

Creamy Corn

1 package frozen corn (20 oz)
1/2 cup butter
6 Tablespoon water
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 package cream cheese, softened (8 oz)

Mix first 4 ingredients in crock and cook on Low 2 hours. During the last half hour of cooking add the cream cheese.

Creamy Red Potatoes

2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
1 can cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 envelope Ranch Salad Dressing mix
1 Tablespoon milk
1 (8 0z) package cream cheese, softened

Place potatoes in crock. In mixing bowl beat next 3 ingredients. Pour over potatoes and stir. Make sure all potatoes are covered. Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours. During the last half hour of cooking, add the cream cheese and stir.


Now for a little something extra...

On families.com they had an unique tip that I thought I would share with you:

After traveling and lodging, food is the biggest expense while traveling. But you can get in some great meals for $10, $5 or less when you cook them yourself. How can you cook while traveling? There are a few fun and inventive ways to be frugal here.

Bring the slow cooker

While many hotels don't allow cooking in the room unless you have a suite that includes a kitchen, you can still use your crockpot in your car! If you have a long trip, at least four hours, then you are all set for a great meal. Add a liner to your crockpot, fill it up with ingredients and plug it into your car using an inverter. You can help secure it in the car with a cake pan. When you get to your destination, a hot meal will be waiting. Remove the liner for a fast cleanup.

Enjoy and Happy Slow Cooking...Hugs...