Crock Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage Stew

**originally posted on WGLR.com on 3-9-15**

Oh my, with temps in the 50’s coming this week, and St.Patrick’s Day next week, spring is in the air! Yay! This week’s recipe is perfect for your St.Patrick’s Day celebrations this weekend and next week. It’s Crock Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage Stew! This is a great way to prepare the traditional St.Patty’s Day tradition, or it’s a great way to use up the leftovers from a meal of corned beef & cabbage! We really liked it, and the leftovers were even better. My only suggestion is to chop the cabbage up well and get the corned beef in a bite size way, because my pieces were a bit to large and made quite a mess when we tried to eat it, but the mess was worth it! Bake some crusty soda bread to go with it, and you have a perfect Irish meal to celebrate this fun holiday with. I got this from the awesome Skinnytaste blog. a serving of 1 3/4 cups is only about 280 calories. And if your corned beef brisket doesn’t come with a seasoning packet, you will have to season this up yourself.

CROCK POT CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE STEW

Ingredients:

• 2 leeks, chopped (whites and light green only)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 medium carrots, chopped (I just used matchstick carrots to save some prep time)
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 lb lean corned beef brisket (yields 9 oz cooked)
• 6 cups of water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
• 1 small head cabbage, cored and chopped
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed

Place the corned beef brisket in your crock pot. Add leeks, garlic, carrots, yellow pepper, water, bay leaves, and parsley. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the brisket shreds easily. Remove the brisket from the crock pot onto a plate, and shred it up. Return meat to the crock pot, and then add the chopped cabbage and potato. Cook on low for another hour, and serve!

Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Fajita Soup

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-5-15**

Well, with a cold week ahead like the one forecast, I pretty much only feel like eating soups & stews!! So, if you agree, here's a soup for you to help warm you up! It's Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Fajita soup! Pretty easy to throw together, and it has just enough spice to give you an extra warm-up while you eat it :) I was able to use some of the salsa I canned over the summer and some sweet corn off the cob that I froze. Was nice to enjoy some summer in this soup!

 

 

CROCK POT CREAMY CHICKEN FAJITA SOUP

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
2 cups frozen corn
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro (optional)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
favorite toppings like sour cream, tortilla chips, avocado, extra cheese/salsa, etc

Place the chicken breasts into the crock pot. Combine chicken soup, salsa, corn, beans, water, cumin & cilantro in a large bowl. Mix well and pour over chicken in the crock pot. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Remove chicken from the crock and shred it up with 2 forks. Return it to the crock pot, add the shredded cheddar, and cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve in bowls with your favorite fajita toppings!

Crock pot baked Potato Soup

I got this recipe on a blog called "Mama Loves Food!" and wow, is it delicious! I have tried a few potato soup recipes in the past, but non were a keeper until this one. I think it's because this recipe uses cream cheese instead of heavy cream or milk. It is delicious! I used the new product from Green Mountain Farms that is a blend of cream cheese/greek yogurt. It works well in any cream cheese recipe, and is less calories. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

• 5 pounds russet potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
• 1 medium/large yellow onion, diced
• 10 cloves of garlic, minced (if you use jarred, it's a 5 teaspoon equivalent)
• 64 ounces (8 cups) chicken stock or broth
• 16 oz cream cheese, softened 
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt 
• optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, green onions

1. Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.
2. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
3. Add the softened cream cheese and puree soup with an immersion blender until the cheese is incorporated and about half the soup is blended. (Alternately you could remove half the soup and the cream cheese to an upright blender, then re-incorporate).
4. Stir well, top with your choice of garnishes & enjoy!

(Originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 11-18-13)

This week’s recipe is a new one I tried over the weekend, and WOW! It’s DELICIOUS!! Definitely going to be made again in our house! It’s Crock Pot Lasagna Soup, and you will love it. Lasagna isn’t an ideal weeknight meal because of prep and bake time. Even prepping it ahead of time doesn’t always help because you need 45 minutes to an hour to bake it, which isn’t always possible with busy schedules. Here is the solution! It’s like lasagna in a bowl! Top it with some fresh mozzarella cheese, and you have the perfect meal for your family on a chilly evening.

Crock Pot Lasagna Soup

• 1- 20oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 lb ground beef (you can brown it first or just put it in the crock…depends on if you want to drain fat off the meat)
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 cup V8 vegetable juice
• 4-5 cloves minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 cups uncooked small shell pasta
• 1 cup water
• shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Combine together diced tomatoes and tomato paste in the crock pot. Add in beef, broth, V8, garlic, parsley, basil, onion, salt & pepper. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-6. After that cooking time, add in the uncooked pasta and cup of water, and cook for an additional 30 minutes. When serving, you can top with shredded mozzarella.  Serves 6-8.

Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken & Black Bean Soup

*originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 11-4-13

I just love the blend of Mexican spices in dishes, especially in soups. This soup fits the bill. It is hearty and filling, and you can easily stir in some sour cream and sprinkle with cheese and crushed tortilla chips to make a taco in a bowl. Mmmm yum. Make a double batch and freeze half of it for an easy dinner later in the season. So here you go, Southwest Chicken & Black Bean Soup!

SOUTHWEST CHICKEN & BLACK BEAN SOUP

• 1 lb. chicken breasts (frozen works fine)
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cans (14.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups no salt added chicken broth
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, chopped (or 4 tsp dried)

Lay chicken on bottom of crock, and add all ingredients on top. Cook on low for about 6 hours, or high for 3. Take chicken out and shred up with 2 forks. Return chicken to crock pot and cook on low for another hour or on high for another half hour.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, etc. 1 cup serving is only about 150 calories! Without the extras on top, of course :)

Sausage Spinach Tomato Soup

*originally published on www.WGLR.com on 10-21-13*

This weekend was our first really chilly one of the season, so I HAD to make something to warm us up on Saturday! That meant a delicious soup was needed. This one fit the bill! I made a double batch and will be enjoying it for lunch all week at work, too.

Sausage Spinach Tomato Soup

• 1 lb. bulk Italian Sausage
• 1-24oz jar pasta sauce
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained & rinsed
• 1 box (10oz) frozen chopped spinach
• 4 large carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup diced yellow onions
• 1 lb ditilini pasta (you can also sub rice)

Brown the sausage in pan before putting it in your crock. Throw in all ingredients except the pasta. (note...I subbed brown rice for the pasta in my soup. You can put 1/2 cup dry brown rice into the crock with everything and it will cook up just fine in the soup). Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.

Before serving, cook pasta according to box directions. Add to soup and serve!

*Note: I used turkey sausage, and brown rice instead of pasta (as noted above), and I was lazy and just bought match stick carrots, all worked well for a delicious soup! And my version is only 230 calories a cup, in case you are looking for a healthier modification.

Crock Pot Seafood Chowder

(originally posted on WGLR.com on 3-25-13)

Well folks, here we are! It’s the last ‘Crock of the Week’ for the season! Remember, all recipes are archived on Julie’s blog to see all year ’round.  Click here: http://juliescrockoftheweek.blogspot.com/

This week’s recipe is from the winner of our “Julie’s Crock of the Week” giveaway! We had 81 entries! Amazing! 

Cathy’s recipe is Seafood Chowder, which is a perfect meal for this time of the year. Now, when I was putting this together Saturday morning, I was very much distracted by my 3 year old, 9 month old, and husband, who were all in the kitchen. I realized when it was too late that I had diced up all the potatoes and threw them in without peeling them. OOps! It was too late to go back, so I just soldiered on. It still tasted great, but didn’t look too pretty at the end (quite brown, ha!), so I am not posting a pic of it, LOL! The only other change I made was that I added in some Old Bay spice. But this was a tasty meal, thanks Cathy! My husband loved it. It’s the first time I have ever used fish in a slow cooker too.

Cathy’s Seafood Chowder

1 1/2 lbs. fresh or frozen fish fillets (Haddock, cod, etc.)
1/4 lb. bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped green onion, with tops
2 to 3 potatoes, pared and cubed
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 13-ounce can evaporated milk

Thaw frozen fillets and cut into bite-size peices. In small skillet, saute bacon and onion until golden, drain and put into CROCK-POT with fish. Add all remaining ingredients except evaporated milk. Cover and cook on Low 6 to 9 hours or until potatoes are tender. (High: 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours) Add evaporated milk during last hour.

THANKS AGAIN to everybody who submitted a recipe! And thanks for all the fun from the second season of ‘Julie’s Crock of the Week.’ I always enjoy the notes and calls I get from listeners to chat about recipes 

- Julie Jacobs

Bell Pepper Stew with Ground Turkey

(originally posted on WGLR.com on 3-18-13)

Hard to believe this is my last Crock of the Week for the season (You’ll still get one next week, BUT it will be the winning recipe from “The Crock of the Week Crock Pot Giveaway!”).

So, remember, I told you at the New Year that you would be getting some healthier crock pot recipes because the Jacobs’ household was making an effort to get healthy? I am happy to say we have stuck to the resolution, haha! This soup is one I have made a few times for us in the last few months. It is delicious AND healthy, and works great for The Husband and I to take to work for lunches. Make a double batch, and you’ll have lunch at work for a week for you and another person.

So now, let’s talk ground turkey. Some love it, some hate it. It is a healthier option than ground beef, BUT I have to say I am not a fan of a regular old boring turkey burger. However, I am a HUGE fan of it in combination recipes. It works awesome for Mexican dishes like tacos, and also in Italian dishes like lasagna. So, if you aren’t usually a fan of ground turkey, give it a chance in this recipe. You won’t be disappointed. Don’t let the recipe name scare you away! This tastes like stuffed peppers in a soup, it really does! And a 1 cup serving is only 140 calories!!! For real!

GROUND TURKEY BELL PEPPER STEW

1.5 lbs lean ground turkey

1 onion, diced

salt & pepper

paprika

1 tsp minced garlic

30 oz canned diced tomatoes (you can use no-salt if you’d like)

32 oz chicken or turkey broth (I use low-sodium)

Two bell peppers, diced (you can use green, red or yellow. I use one green and one red)

4 oz uncooked brown rice

curry

Brown the turkey in a skillet with the onion, garlic, some dashes of salt & pepper and paprika. transfer mixture to the crock pot and add all the remaining ingredients. You can throw in some more salt & pepper and curry to taste if you would like once everything is mixed together.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.5 hours. Serve with some shredded mozzarella cheese if you would like.

Salsa Chicken 2-for-1!

This week, I am giving you a bit of a 2-for-1 treat. I made this original recipe, Crock Pot Salsa Chicken, for the first time a few years ago and LOVED it. It comes from the great cookbook "A Year of Slow Cooking" by Stephanie O'Dea.  I recently came upon a variation of the original which made it into a soup, on her blog, which is the same name as her book (Google it, it's worth it!).  So I decided to try the soup version over the weekend and it was SO TASTY! My husband and I both agreed it is one of our favorite things I have ever made in the slow cooker. So not only am I giving you the soup recipe, but I'm also giving you the original salsa chicken recipe. Not only can you enjoy it as is, but it also works great as a filling in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, etc,  when you shred up the chicken.  It's also very low fat! YAY! Would be a nice dish for a taco bar at your Super Bowl party this weekend!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

• 1 lb boneless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 cup chunky salsa (1.5 cups if you use breasts)
• 1 cup frozen corn

Pretty simple here...put the chicken in the crock (frozen is fine), and pour the other ingredients over the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

• 1 lb boneless chicken ( I used frozen breast tenderloins)
• 1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained & rinsed)
• 4 cups chicken broth (I used low sodium)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1-16oz jar salsa
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end, I used light)

If you know you are going to make this the day before, I recommend using the dried beans, just soak them overnight for at least 8 hours. I really think they tasted great in this soup, and are less expensive than the canned. But the canned beans would work well too, I am sure.

Pour beans into the crock. Lay the chicken on top, and then pur the remaining ingredients over the chicken and beans. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you are using the dried beans, it will be closer to 8 hours, check the beans for tenderness. With an hour or two to go, shred up the chicken in the crock (or remove, shred, and put back in crock, which is a bit easier!).  When the soup is done, stir in the sour cream before serving.

When serving, you can top with cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc. 1 cup serving on it's own is only 200 calories!

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Well, now that we have officially gotten our first snow, it is REALLY soup and stew time! It is also cold & flu season, and nothing is better to fill your belly when it is cold or if you have a cold, than Chicken Noodle Soup. It is a pretty basic recipe which you can easily tweak yourself, but it really gets some good flavor made in the crock pot. Enjoy with some cornbread, my favorite! Yum!

 

 

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

1 to 1-1/2lbs of chicken (I used frozen chicken breasts)

1 large box chicken broth, about 48oz (I used low sodium)

1 can Cream of Chicken soup (or 2 if you like)

1/2 cup onions finely chopped

1/2 cup celery chopped

1/2 cup carrots chopped

1/2 cup green onions chopped

one 15oz can corn drained (I didn't use because I didn't have any on hand, oops!)

salt & pepper to taste

any other seasonings you would like (I used garlic sea salt, thyme and parsley)

1-1/2 cups egg noodles (I used 2c because I love noodles)

Place the chicken on the bottom of the crock. Add all the ingredients EXCEPT THE NOODLES. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Chunk up the chicken. You can do thins right in the crock pot with a few forks if you would like, or you can carefully remove the breasts with tongs, chunk it up on a plate and then place back into the crock, which is how I do it. Then add the noodles and keep cooking on low for another hour.

With the extra noodles I put in it, it resembled more of a stew than a soup, but that's how I prefer it! Store any leftovers. Noodles soak up a lot of moisture, so to reheat, you will have to add a bit of water to thin it out again. I whipped up a box of Jiffy cornbread to go with the soup, delicious! Perfect for a cold winter day.

This kind of weather begs for soups and stews to be eaten. Crock Pots and soups go together like PB & J. So this week, I am offering an easy-to-throw-together soup for your enjoyment! I took this recipe and tweaked it some by adding a few extra ingredients, to make it more like it's name...Crock Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Soup! Serve this with a chunk of crusty bread, and you are all set.

Crock Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 container Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Cream, Original flavor (I used the garlic flavor since the original was sold out, it was good!)
8oz Velveeta (I use the lighter 2% variety)
1-15oz can diced tomatoes
5oz DILL pickle relish
1 small onion diced
6 slices bacon, crumbled (I used the Real Bacon Pieces by the salad dressings to save time...DON'T use the fake pink bacon bits, or you'll get pink soup!)
1 bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (about a pound and a half to a 2lb bag)
32oz chicken broth (I used low sodium)

Brown and drain the ground beef. Cook and crumble the bacon. Then add all ingredients into the Crock Pot. The Velveeta will work better if you dice it up instead of throwing in the whole chunk. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6, stirring every hour or so.

Italian Chicken

Well folks, we are nearing the end of this weekly feature for the season. Spring is inching in, so I will shelve the Crock of the Week for now, and maybe bring it back in the Fall. Next week will be the last Crock of the Week. But don't cry, because here is another recipe to add to your collection, Italian Chicken. Super easy and tasty! My 2 year-old son gobbled this up like he was never going to get another meal in his life.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)

1 envelope dry Zesty Italian Dressing mix

1 8oz brick cream cheese

1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending on how much 'sauce' you want

Place chicken breasts in the crockpot (I used frozen, and it worked just fine). Sprinkle the Italian dressing mix over the chicken. In a saucepan, melt the cream cheese on low heat with the cream of chicken soup. Pour mixture over chicken in the crock, and cook on low for at least 4 hours (at least 5 if using frozen chicken), but you can leave it on all day if you need/want to.

When done, you can serve how you want. I shredded the chicken in the crock which made for a good chunky sauce. Serve over pasta or rice. We used rotini pasta this time.

Slow Cooker Corn & Potato Chowder

OK, so no more naughty fudge cake for this week. Back to a good meal! Potato and corn chowder!! This hearty chowder will leave your belly full and your tastebuds happy too. Even my non-corn loving husband ate it. Although I don't think he is having leftovers, but that's his fault, not the chowder's :) And I am plugging an "As Seen on TV" gadget which helps me so much for recipes like this...the Vidalia Chopper. OMG, makes cubing potatoes and dicing veggies for recipes like this a BREEZE!

Slow Cooker Corn and Potato Chowder

-8 ounces (1/2 pound) bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled (I used the packages real bacon bits, I am all for ease in prep)
-2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes (approximately 5 medium sized potatoes), NOT peeled, diced in 1/4 inch cubes
-8 cups (about 2 pounds) kernel corn (I used frozen)
-1 medium/large sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
-1 cup chopped celery
-6 - 8 garlic cloves, crushed
-1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
-32 ounces (4 cups) chicken stock
-16 ounces (2 cups) half & half or heavy cream
-salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT half & half in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.

Blend about half the soup using an immersion blender or just scoop it into your upright blender then return to slow cooker. (Or if you are like me, and prefer easier ways, I just took a potato masher and mashed up the soup some in the crock pot, I like some potato chunks in my chowder anyway)

Add half & half or heavy cream and continue cooking, uncovered, for about another 15 minutes, until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe from the blog "Mama Loves Food."

Double recipe fun this week! Chicken and Dumplings and more!

This week I am sharing another great comfort food...chicken and dumplings! This is an EASY recipe, which makes it even better! Not to mention how delicious it is. There is just something about tender chicken made in a crock pot, I love it. Feel free to make it your own by adding peas, carrots, mushrooms, whatever you would like!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about a pound and a half)
2 Tbsp butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
4 refrigerated biscuits (I used the flaky layer type)
Place chicken in crock pot, and add the butter. Pour in the chicken soup and broth. Dice up the onion, and add to the pot, along with the parsley.

Cook on high 4-6 hours. When chicken is tender, break it up into pieces (I removed each breast and shredded it on a plate, then put it back in the crock). Now it is dumpling time! Cut each biscuit up into 9 pieces, and stir them into the pot. Cook for another half hour on high. You can also add additional chicken broth at this point to get the thickness you desire with this dish. Enjoy!




This week, we have a bonus recipe!!! Congratulations to Kevin Honahan, winner of Rural Route 1 Popcorn's Wild Game Recipe Contest! Way to go!

THAT'S A CROCK OF BUCK!

2 pounds of venison steak or roast

1 Can Golden Mushroom Soup

1 Small can of mushrooms

3 Carrots Sliced

1 Large Onion Chopped

1 Cup water

4 Small Potatoes Skinned and Quartered

¼ Teaspoon of Pepper

Put all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on high 5 to 6 hours.

First Crock of the Week! Taco Soup!

Here was the very first recipe for Julie Jacobs' "Crock of the Week" on 97.7 WGLR. I post a new recipe every week at www.wglr.com, and then archive the previous week's recipe here on this blog.

TACO SOUP

1 lb ground turkey or beef, browned and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
2 (15oz) cans kidney beans (I use one light red and one dark red)
2 (15oz) cans pinto beans
2 (15oz) cans corn with their juices
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes with their juices
1 (14oz) can tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel) with their juices
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch dressing mix
sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese for garnishing

Place the meat and onion in your crock pot. Rinse and drain the beans and add to the pot. Add corn and tomatoes with their juices, and then add the seasoning packets.
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

When serving, add a handful of cheese and a dollop of sour cream to each bowl. I also like to throw on some crushed up tortilla chips. Cornbread is also a nice friend with this soup. It is very filling, and freezes well if you want to save some for later!