Crock Pot Tomato Parmesan Soup

*originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-13-14*

In my opinion, nothing beats a delicious soup in these cold winter months that are upon us, especially when they contain CHEESE. This week's recipe is CROCK POT TOMATO BASIL PARMESAN SOUP! It goes great as a first course to a larger meal, or as a meal in itself (especially if you pair it up with a grilled cheese sandwich!).

Ingredients:
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp. oregano (or 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano)
1 Tbsp. basil (or 1/4 cup fresh basil)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese (NOT the grated powder stuff!)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half, warm (can sub milk)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Directions:
Add the tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, chicken broth and bay leaf to slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-7 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour.  Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup.  Add another 3 cups of soup and stir until smooth.  Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half-and-half, salt and pepper.  Add additional basil and oregano if needed. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Crock Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe

Last week, Mr.Jacobs was my guest “Crocker,” kicking off the new year with a low-cal healthy recipe. I must point out that he has lost 110 pounds in the last year, in large part to the healthy and delicious recipes I whipped up in my crock pot for us. So proud of him! So, if your New Year’s resolution is to get healthier, have your slow cooker help you!

Another New Year resolution that many make, is to save some money, and groceries are a good chunk of everybody’s budget. Slow cookers can help you stretch your pennies, too! So, this week’s recipe helps with that resolution, Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe’s! This recipe is made with ground beef, and was honestly REALLY good! Better than I was expecting it to be. Depending on how lean your beef is, this recipe costs about $10 total to feed your whole family, and that includes the buns to serve it on. Now, I realize this isn’t an “authentic” Philly Cheesesteak, but get over that. It tastes darn delicious anyway!

Crock Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 large onion, slivered
• 1 large green pepper, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (optional…I didn’t use)
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 can condensed french onion soup (or beef broth)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella or provolone (or a combination of both)

Brown the beef in a pan with the garlic. Don’t break it up too much, you want some good sized chunks. Drain fat and place into slow cooker with onion, green pepper, and mushrooms (if using). Toss with the flour and black pepper. Pour soup and Worcestershire sauce over the mixture and cook on low for 4-5 hours.  Sprinkle the cheese on top and replace the lid for a few minutes to let it melt.  Serve on buns/rolls. I think it would be tasty over pasta or rice, too!

Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-6-14**

This week, I have a guest "Crocker", my husband! Mr.Jacobs spent a few weeks over the holidays home with our kiddos while I was working, so I took advantage of it, and asked him to crock something! he was excited to be a "guest crocker" on Julie's Crock of the Week, and I have to say, he did well! This week's recipe is Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki! He even went the distance and tried something else I have always wanted to...cooking brown rice in a crock pot! It did get overcooked, but it worked, we will just have to adjust cooking time next time, as every crock is different. But I recommend it, as brown rice takes a long time to make the old fashioned way.  But the chicken over the rice was really delicious and very flavorful. AND, a public shout out to my husband, Scott, who has lost 110 lbs in the last year, in large part due to the healthy recipes I made in my wonderful slow cooker :) So proud of you, honey!

Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki

• 3 to 4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs (we used chicken breasts)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 1/2 teaspoons cold water
• Cooked rice (Your choice, we used brown rice)

Put chicken in crock pot.  In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper.  pour over the chicken.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until the chicken pulls apart easily with a fork.  Remove chicken from the slow cooker, and pour the liquid into a saucepan (if you use chicken thighs, you may want to skim the fat off the top of the liquid) and bring to a boil.  Combine cornstarch and water until smooth, then gradually stir into liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. If you use chicken breasts like we did, you will have to use more cornstarch to thicken it up, since there isn't as much fat.

Serve over rice. You can either shred the chicken up and put everything back in the crock, or put chicken on the rice then top with the sauce, whichever you prefer. The flavor was great! Leftovers were delicious as well. This would freeze wonderfully, too.

Crock Pot Whiskey Meatballs

**Originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 12-3-13**

First, a big shout out to my husband who bought me a programmable slow cooker for Christmas! Some women would not be thrilled with a gift like that from their husbands, but NOT ME! I love it. I already used it this past weekend for this week's recipe...Whiskey Meatballs! With New Year's Eve parties, and now a Packer playoff game this weekend, this is a great dish for a party. I actually made it for a gathering of friends yesterday. Now, back in season 1, I shared with you my Dad's meatball & weinie recipe , and I admit that I still prefer that one best, but this one is tasty as well.

Crock Pot Whiskey Meatballs

• 1 bag (2 lbs) frozen meatballs (I prefer Italian Style)
• 1 heaping cup ketchup
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup whiskey
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Use a smaller crock for this, like a 4 quart one.  Add  all ingredients into the crock pot EXCEPT meatballs. Whisk together to create the sauce, then add in the meatballs and stir to coat them all.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or if you need them for a midday event, you can put them on high for an hour, then low for a few. Leave on warm when serving at a gathering. Just don't cook on high too long or the sauce with get too thin.