Teriyaki Chicken Stew

Ingredients

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen Asian stir-fry vegetable blend (such as Birds Eye)
2 cups halved baby carrots
0.5 cup low-sodium chicken broth
6 tbsp + 2 tbsp low-sodium teriyaki sauce, divided
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 cups broccoli flowerets
3 cups prepared rice (optional) - I used whole grain brown rice

Directions

Combine chicken, vegetables (minus the broccoli), carrots, broth and 6 tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce in slow cooker. Cover; cook on HIGH for 2.5 hours or on LOW for 5 hours.

Stir together remaining 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce with cornstarch. Stir teriyaki mixture into slow cooker along with broccoli and cook an additional 30 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Serve over rice, if desired.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium-size carrots, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large Idaho potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp paprika
4 cups frozen corn kernels
2 cups Lactaid milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tbsp water
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 slices turkey bacon, prepared and crumbled

Directions

1. Place oil in a 4- to 6-quart stovetop-safe slow-cooker bowl over medium-high heat on stovetop. Cook carrot, celery and onion for 7 minutes or until softened.

2. Transfer to slow-cooker base and add potatoes to bowl. Pour broth over top and add bay leaf, dried thyme and paprika. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1-1/2 hours or LOW for 3 hours, or until potatoes are cooked through.

3. Stir in corn and milk; cover and cook for 1 hour or until heated through.

4. In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and water and whisk into soup; cook an additional 10 minutes. Stir in salt.

5. Using a potato masher, gently mash the soup until slightly thickened. Sprinkle each serving with a generous 1/2 tablespoon crumbled bacon and serve immediately.

Pasta e Fagioli

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 large carrots, julienned
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15oz can red kidney beans with liquid
1 15oz can cannellini (white kidney) beans with liquid
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 46oz can V8 juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
0.5 tsp pepper
0.5 tsp thyme
o.5 tsp parsley
0.5 lb pasta

• Brown the ground beef in a large pot over medium heat.
• Drain most of the fat.
• Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.
• Saute for about 10 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients, except the pasta.
• Simmer for 1 hour.
• When soup is almost done simmering, cook the pasta until al dente and drain.
• Add pasta to the pot of soup.*
• Simmer for 5-10 minutes more.
• Serve and Enjoy.

• *If you know that there will be leftovers, I recommend adding the pasta as needed or else the noodles are super soggy the next day.

Based on the recipe found here.

Tastes Like Lasagna Soup

2 teaspoons olive oil
1.25 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 cup italian seasoning
6 broken lasagna noodles

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (optional)
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
8 breadsticks (optional)

Directions

• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven.
• Add the turkey, onion, bell pepper, and garlic.
• Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the turkey is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.
• Add the broth, tomato sauce, salt, paprika, and black pepper.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes.
• Add the noodles; bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes.
• Serve with the breadsticks and topped with cheese, if using.

Based off a Paula & Bobby Deen recipe found HERE.

Chicken Noodle Soup

64 oz of chicken broth or stock
up to 4 cups of water
1-2 lbs of chicken baked and seasoned to your liking
1 large bag of egg noodles
3-4 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium bunch of celery, sliced
1 tbsp onion salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Bake chicken to internal temp of 170 degrees. I season mine with black pepper and garlic salt.

Mix spices and liquid together in crock pot. Put on high while chicken is baking.


Saute celery and carrots in 1 tbsp olive oil for about 5 minutes (if you desire a speedier cooking time otherwise you can skip this step)

When chicken is finished baking cut it up into approximately 1 inch chunks; add to soup.



Add egg noodles to hot soup about 10 minutes before you are ready to serve soup.

Hamburger Soup Updated

1.5 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 tbsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 medium onion chopped
3 cups Beef Stock
3 cups boiling water
12 oz. can tomato sauce
3-4 medium carrots sliced
3-4 medium stalks of celery sliced
Optional: 1 cup macaroni, cooked and drained; Parmesan Cheese

Brown beef and drain; crumble into crock pot. Add the spices and onion. Stir in beef stock, water, and tomato sauce. Add celery and carrots. Cover, and cook on LOW about 6 hours. If desired, stir in cooked macaroni, and cover and cook on high another 20 minutes until heated through. Serve, and if desired top with Parmesan cheese.

White Bean and Sausage Soup

I made a soup the other day based on a recipe that I found HERE.

I made adjustments based on different dietary needs of my family. For the most part we do not eat pork. (Actually I am the only one that does and it is only in the form of pepperoni occasionally on pizza.) I was also trying to use up some of the items in my pantry.

First I started by soaking the navy beans overnight. Then I placed the beans in the crock pot with some home canned spicy tomato juice. Regular tomato juice would work as well and is what I plan to use next time I make it.

While the beans were simmering in the crock pot, I browned up a packaged of Jennie O Turkey Sausage (a kielbasa style sausage) adding about 2 tbsp olive oil to do so. I cut the sausage up into quarters first. After the sausage was browned, I added it to crock pot.

Next I cut up and sauteed some celery and carrots in the same skillet that I had used for the sausage. I did add a bit more olive oil at this point. After about ten minutes of sauteing I added the celery and carrots to the crock pot.

I also added salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, and onion salt at this point. I am bad about measuring but would say about 1-2 tsp of each. At this point I let the soup cook on high in the crock pot for six hours or so. I just kept testing the beans to make sure they were done.

My family loved the soup. My boys (1.5 and 2.5) each ate two bowls of the soup.

A recap of the ingredients I used:
1 lb bag of navy beans
46 oz can of tomato juice
1 lb pkg of Jennie O Turkey sausage
2-3 tbsp olive oil
3-4 stalks of celery
1-2 medium carrots
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning