Crock Pot Sausage Minestrone Soup

My kids....eat like...Kids. Their dinners usually require being topped with cheese or come with a side of ketchup or ranch dressing and sometimes all of the above if it means they will eat something to relieve my ongoing concern that their only source of nutrition derives from frozen Go-Gurts!

I don't usually make meals that are claimed kid friendly, I make what I want and hope for the best or add cheese, ketchup, or ranch to make it more appealing to their highly trained palates. We are working on adding Guacamole to their list of toppings...

Parmesan seems to be their recent favorite which goes perfectly with this soup. My boys not only ate the soup, they licked the bowls. My husband, who loves minestrone, liked it as well and had seconds which is usually a sign of his seal of approval.

I highly suggest you serve this with garlic bread or my Fast and Simple Focaccia bread

You will also need a 6qt or larger crock pot - if not - half the recipe!

Crock Pot

Sausage Minestrone Inspired Soup

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds Italian ground sausage (mild or spicy - its up to you) - Browned and drained.

1 small red onion, chopped

4 carrots peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks , chopped

2  14.5 oz  cans of diced tomatoes (save the juice!)

2  cans of kidney beans - Drained and rinsed

1 can of white beans - Drained and rinsed

5 cups of beef broth

1 jar (16.5 oz) of marinara sauce (sounds weird right? it totally works - don't worry)

3 tsp oregano

3 cloves of garlic smashed and minced

1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce (I know....Just do it, It adds a good kick, doesn't make it hot)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup  Dry pasta noodles (elbow, macaroni, penne - whatever you want!)

Parmesan for topping - optional

Half bunch of flat leaf italian parsley, chopped - optional

1. Brown and drain the sausage

2. Add the chopped carrots, celery, onion to the crock pot

3. Add the drained and rinsed beans

4. Add the tomatoes including the juice, and the pasta sauce

5. Add the beef broth, oregano, garlic, Tabasco, salt, pepper

6. Add the meat and stir all contents together

7. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.

8. Add the dry pasta 1 hour before serving. (It may take less time for pasta to become tender)

Serve and top with parmesan and a sprinkle of flat leaf italian parsley if desired



Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Last year I often made loaded baked potato soup on the stove. I sauteed my carrots and celery, baked my potato's, melted butter, whisked in the cream, cream cheese, and so on - It tasted Fabulous - And it took FOREVER!


As my sons first year of soccer, with practices/games right before dinner time- coming home after and making dinner felt like slave work. I want to come home and eat, not stand another hour over a hot stove. I love cooking but not on soccer days!


I set out to find some worthy crock pot recipes that don't taste like they were made in the crock pot - I found one HERE, (Really great blog) But it still needed some tweaking and so I added my spin and came up with some fabulous options and flavors!

Crock Pot

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

(This is a big recipe - I used my 7 quart crock pot, if you don't have a large one I would half the recipe)

You can pick and choose your toppings and "Stir-ins"
Lots of options = Lots of Awesome Deliciousness!

Ingredients:

1 30oz. Bag of frozen, SHREDDED hash browns

3 14oz. Cans of chicken broth  OR  5 and 1/4 cups of water and 3 crumbled bullion cubes

1 Can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup Onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. Black pepper

1 pkg. Regular cream cheese - Fat free doesn't melt - Considering how much soup this makes one package of cream cheese really isn't that much per serving.

Possible Toppings:

Cooked, Crumbled Bacon

Chopped Green Onion

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream

Possible Stir-ins about 1 hour before serving:

1 tiny can of diced green chillies

Cooked, chopped ham

2 baked potatoes, skins removed and diced

1/4 to a 1/2 pound of cooked, drained, Italian or sage ground sausage

Directions:

All ingredients except the cream cheese go into the crock pot.  Stir, to combined all together evenly.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8. Cube up the cream cheese and throw in 1 hour before serving (don't forget about any "Stir-ins' you may want to add in as well). ***See Recommendation Below***When serving, top with your desired toppings.

*****I like a smooth potato soup, so I used my immersion stick blender, directly in the crock pot, and blended it for a few seconds before serving it up. If you don't have an immersion blender - no worries - the soup can be served as is and it is good. If you like potato chunks in your soup - I highly recommend adding the diced baked potato an hour before serving.******

ENJOY!