Crockpot Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

One of our absolute favorite soups is my Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. A few weeks ago I had the rice and chicken prepped for this soup but I didn’t actually have time to sit down and make it. So I decided that I needed to figure out how to make this in the crockpot. This saved me time when it came to the cooking since I could just set it and forget it.If you were to cook this longer you could totally cook the chicken and the rice in the the pot with everything else. I already had the rice and chicken cooked so I chose to add them about an hour before serving this. Just long enough to let the flavors simmer together but not long enough to actually cook anything. I wasn’t sure how this would actually turn out so I left out the creamy portions from my original recipe. I’m planning to try this crockpot version again in the future but this time cooking the rice and chicken in the crockpot. I’ll probably also include the creamy portions of this recipe back in too. I’ll update you once I have a chance to perfect the recipe![amd-yrecipe-recipe:233]

Hearty Chili

I make this for Alex at least once a month since it is one of his favorite dishes. However, he always does the seasoning since I “don’t make it spicy enough”. This is a very malleable recipe. You can make it sweeter, spicier or in between.  The directions for this recipe are all spices to your own particular taste. We tend to go heavy on the chili powder, cumin and siracha. But if your taste buds don’t like super spicy things you could go heavier on other things.With the quantities I’ve listed below you can either feed a small army, or you can have leftovers for a week. Since this is an easy dish to reheat Alex loves taking it to work for lunch. It also freezes really nicely if you get tired of it before you finish the leftovers. ;)[amd-yrecipe-recipe:182]

Chicken Noodle Soup

Soup is a staple in our house during the cold winter months. I’ve been stuck in a proverbial soup rut though, making the exact same rotation of soups for the last month or two. I decided to break out of this rut by making a hearty chicken noodle soup.This soup is wonderful. It is chock full of veggies, chicken and spices. Alex even complimented the combination of spices in this dish. This soup is also very easy to make and will take you no time at all if you’ve already cooked the chicken. I like to make a little extra chicken in my crockpot whenever I have a dish like this coming up, then have the chicken on hand to just throw in the recipe.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:178]Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ham Soup

I made a giant ham back over Christmas and Alex decided to use the leftover ham bone to make a soup. He told me that his parents would make this all the time when he was younger and he really enjoyed their recipe. So he decided to look up a recipe and make a few changes of his own, and this is the result.You do need to prep this soup ahead of time since it sits in the crock pot for a while. I would suggest prepping the ingredients the night before so you can easily assemble everything the next day. This soup is best when served with a nice loaf of crusty bread with butter.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:171]Source: Adapted from DamnDelicous

Crockpot Taco Soup

I love making new soups for Alex to try. He really enjoys a good hearty soup in the winter so I try and make one every week. I’ve been looking for new recipes and came across this one. I thought Alex would absolutely love it since it contains ground beef, beans and spices.This is a VERY easy recipe to make. You simply put everything in a crockpot and let it stew for several hours. I suggest cooking this soup on low so the flavors have more time to blend together. However, if you’re pressed for time you can cut the cook time in half by cooking it on high.Alex absolutely loved this soup. He said it was like a taco in a bowl. He chose to have it with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheddar on top. You could also include a little sour cream on top if you’d like to add a little bit of creaminess. Overall, if you like tacos and soup you should totally try this recipe. You won’t regret it![amd-yrecipe-recipe:169]Source: Adapted from AllRecipes

Gluten Free Baked Potato Soup

This soup was a surprise hit at my house! I had been searching for some new soups to broaden our horizons and came across this one. Baked potatoes are one of my favorite things to eat so I thought a soup version of it would be worth trying. I thoroughly enjoyed this soup. It tastes like the middle of a baked potato.Alex liked the base of this recipe too but he had a few suggestions for making this better. He thought adding ham chunks would make the soup a little more hearty. He also thought adding more pepper, both black and white would give the soup a bigger flavor. These suggestions are completely optional. I really loved the basic recipe below and don’t think it needs many changes.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:166]Source: Adapted from MyRecipes

Gluten Free Cheesy Potato, Chicken and Wild Rice Chowder

Alex asked me the other week to make a new wild rice soup. He said he wanted it to be full of wild rice, no chicken and really cheesy. I said ok, and came up with this recipe! I wanted to combine several hearty ingredients to make a thick, chunky chowder that he would enjoy. I think you’ll like this recipe as much as we did!This is a seriously thick soup. Between the cheese and regular creaminess of a wild rice soup this ends up being SO creamy and thick! The chunky vegetables perfectly compliment the wild rice and potatoes. I used crumbled bacon in this recipe because I didn’t have any ham or beef chunks pre-prepared. Alex said he really enjoyed that, but he wouldn’t want it every time. I highly suggest using cubed ham if you have it on hand.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:153]

Crockpot Beef Stew

This recipe is easy. I mean REALLY easy.  Pretty much all you need to do is stick stuff in the crock pot, let it cook all day then come back and add some things at the very end of cooking. My Mom has made this recipe for years and it really is just that easy! It is the perfect warm meal for the upcoming cold winter nights.Every week Alex and I teach a Financial Peace University class and we have everyone over for dinner before the class. This is a recipe I’ve made for them and it received such great reviews I decided I needed to include it here on the blog.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:141]

Amish Pizza Soup

My sister sent me this recipe several months ago. Since she lived in the middle of Amish country she was constantly getting wonderful recipes from the Amish cooks who lived and worked nearby. She told me that Alex and I HAD to try this recipe. I don’t really know why it took me so long to try it, but after we had it I was sad I hadn’t made it sooner.The original recipe calls for using Tomato soup. However, since tomato soup contains wheat ingredients I had to make a couple of changes. If you don’t need to eat gluten free you can substitute the tomato sauce for two 10oz cans of tomato soup and two cans water.

 The finished product is an amazingly rich and full flavored soup. It really seems like you are eating a pizza! Ideally if you were serving a multiple course meal this would make an amazing soup course. You could also cut down the ingredients and just serve it as a marinara sauce. It would be a delicious topping for breadsticks or garlic toast.

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Amish Pizza Soup:33.5oz Tomato Sauce1 Cup Water2 Teaspoons Oregano2 Teaspoons Basil¼ Teaspoon Parsley½ Teaspoon Onion Powder½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder1 Teaspoon Salt5 Tablespoons Sugar1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar½ Cup Mozzarella (shredded)¼ Cup Parmesan (shredded)¼ LB Sausage (cooked)¼ Cup Pepperoni (chopped)

Combine the tomato sauce, water, seasonings and sugar in a 5qt Dutch Oven. Cook until boiling. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the cheese and meat to the pot. Cook until everything is heated through and the cheese is just starting to melt.

Serve with breadsticks or garlic toast.

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Chicken and Quinoa Soup

I’d been wanting to try quinoa for a long time now and since it is a gluten free grain I thought it would be a fantastic addition to a soup. I’ve based this recipe on a chicken and barley soup (which isn’t gluten free) and it is just as good as the original idea.

You need to make sure to prepare your quinoa before you make the recipe. I’ve used Trader Joe’s Organic Fully Cooked (frozen) Quinoa. It was easy to prepare, I just popped it in the microwave for a few minutes then it was ready to add to the soup.

You also want to cook your chicken in advance. What I like to do is when I’m cooking chicken in the crock pot I add a few extra chicken breasts. I cook them until done then shred it. I set aside what I need for another recipe. If I’m going to use the chicken in the next week I will store it in the refrigerator. If it is going to be longer I will freeze it. This works very well. You just want to unfreeze the chicken before adding it to any recipe.

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Chicken and Quinoa Soup:32oz Chicken Broth2 Carrots (chopped)2 Celery Stalks (chopped)1 Green Onion (chopped)½ Cup Onion (diced)3 Minced Garlic Cloves14.5oz can Diced Tomatoes (drained)8oz Prepared Quinoa2 Cups Shredded Chicken1/8 Teaspoon Salt¼ Teaspoon White Pepper¼ Teaspoon Thyme1/8 Teaspoon RosemaryDash of Nutmeg

Prepare your quinoa according to the directions on the package.

Combine the chicken broth, carrot, celery, green onion, onion and tomatoes in a large dutch oven and heat until boiling.

Add the seasoning, chicken and quinoa and bring back to a boil.

Serve immediately.

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Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is a monthly winter staple at our house. When we lived in Minnesota we were introduced to this native dish. It is great with a fresh crusty bread. When I was searching for a recipe to make this most had a base of cream of something soup. This recipe is completely from scratch however. This provides you with a superior flavor and texture.My favorite Minnesota rice is this one from the Red Lake Nation. When we lived in Minnesota it was readily available at the grocery stores, but since we moved I either order it or wait until we go back to pick some up.I have always made this with plain Minnesota harvested wild rice. I’ve never tried the quick cooking or something like Uncle Ben’s. I imagine this wouldn’t change the consistency much, it would just shorten the cooking time substantially.  Just remember to make the rice before you start the soup. It takes so long  to cook you won’t have enough time. I typically make extra chicken in the crop pot when we have tacos and then freeze some of the shredded chicken. This helps when cooking this meal because then you just need to defrost and add the chicken.

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Creamy Chicken and Minnesota Wild Rice Soup½ Cup Wild Rice (Prepared)2 Tablespoons ButterChopped OnionChopped CarrotChopped Celery4 Tablespoons Flour32oz Chicken Broth1 Cup Cream2 Large Cooked Chicken Breasted Shredded or ChunkedThyme, Pepper and Salt to taste

Prepare your Wild Rice (½ Cup Rice, 2 Cups of water, boiled for 50-55min and then drained and rinsed)

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven.

Add the veggies and cook until the carrots are tender and the onion is translucent.

Add the flour and whisk until combined.

Add the broth, cream and seasonings.Bring to a boil

Add the rice and seasonings, heat thoroughly and serve.

Potato Soup

Alex and I love to have a different soup every Sunday night during the winter. This is one of our favorite recipes to enjoy. It makes a fantastic and hearty soup. This is a great recipe to make when you have leftover ham lying around. This recipe is from my Mother, originally from my Aunt I believe. I have made a couple of changes depending on what I have on hand when I go to make this. This pairs well with a nice crusty bread. Our favorites are and Italian or Flax Seed made in our bread maker. This would also be great with leftover rolls from your Christmas celebration.Typically I use water when making this recipe, but the last few times I’ve made it I’ve had leftover chicken stock from other soups in my fridge. I find that adding the chicken stock give the soup a more complex flavor and would suggest it if you have some on hand.The best veggies to use in this recipe (the ones my mother always uses) are the frozen California Blend veggies. These should be diced before they are put in the soup. However, I don’t always have those veggies on hand. When I photographed making this I had a bag of frozen mixed veggies in the freezer so I used that. Alex said he really enjoyed that since he got a wider variety of veggies.I have also cooked carrots and celery in the pot with the potatoes and removed them all before pureeing it. Then added them back in along with broccoli, corn or green beans. You can use whatever veggies your family prefers or that you have on hand. Just make sure that if you are using frozen veggies you don’t put them in the soup frozen.

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Potato Soup:4 Cups cubed Potatoes2 ½ Cups Chicken Stock (or Water)1 Small Onion3 Tablespoons Butter3oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese1 Cup California Blend Veggies (diced)Ham, CubedSalt, Pepper, Garlic and Paprika to tasteBring the potatoes, onion, butter and chicken stock to a boil in a large stockpot.Boil for approximately 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the onions are translucent.Spoon half the potatoes and one third of the liquid into a separate bowl.Puree the remaining potato mixture in stockpot. Put the potatoes and water back in the pot. Add the ham, cheese veggies and spices and heat through.