Crock Pot Potato Soup

It's a little chilly here in Indiana, which means I've been in the mood for belly warming foods. Today I'm cooking up a big pot of potato soup, and my mouth is watering waiting for dinner time! This soup is  super easy, chop some potatoes, through some stuff in the crock pot, wait (and wait), and yum. Comfort food at it's finest.

Crock Pot Potato Soup

2.5 lbs russet potatoes (washed, but not peeled. Cubed)

1/2 yellow onion (diced)
5 cloves of garlic (minced)
4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken)
8 oz cream cheese (softened & cubed)
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
optional garnish: cheddar cheese, green onions, crumbled bacon or real bacon bits

Add potatoes, onion, garlic, broth, and spices to crock pot. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours. Put about half of the soup into a blender with the cream cheese, and blend until smooth. Add back to the crock pot and stir well. Add your toppings and dig in. Told you it was easy.

Original recipe at Mama Loves Food!

YUM- Vegetarian Italian Hoagie

Bold statement: This is my FAVORITE sandwich. 

I don't think it could get more delicious if it tried. 

I haven't tried, because there is no point. It's there.

Vegetarian Italian Hoagie

What you need for 4 sandwiches:

4 hoagie rolls. I like the ones that Fresh Market carries in their bakery, and the Sarah Lee ones are so friggin soft I want to make a pillow out of them.

4 slices pepper jack cheese, torn in half

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings

1 14-oz jar artichoke hearts, rinsed and coarsely chopped

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini

1 medium tomato, seeded and diced

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

Dash of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine artichoke, tomato, vinegar, oil, oregano and salt & pepper in a bowl.

If necessary, split your hoagie rolls  horizontally and pull out some of the soft bread from each side.

To assemble sandwiches, lay 2 halves of cheese on 1 side. 

Spread on the artichoke mixture and top with the onion, lettuce and pepperoncini's.

Press sandwiches together, and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Place in oven until bread is browned and cheese is melted, about 8-10 minutes.

On the left is the Fresh Market hoagie rolls, and the right is the Sarah Lee soft sandwich rolls

Recipe adapted from LaaLosh

YUM-Veggie & Noodle Stir Fry and Crab Rangoon

I LOVE Chinese food. And I think it's really easy to eat healthy (or healthier) version of Chinese food. With That being said, here's my recipes for Veggie Stir Fry and Crab Rangoon.

Veggie & Noodle Stir Fry

What you need for 2 servings:

6 oz. of whole wheat spaghetti noodles (I use Bionature organic whole wheat. And I'm totally guessing on the 6 ounces...I usually just grab a handful.)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Grated fresh ginger, or dry, whatever's cleaver.

About a cup of whatever chopped vegetables you like/have handy. Good choices are: Red, yellow, green peppers. Red or yellow onion. Carrots. Zucchini. Yellow squash. Celery. Broccoli. 

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp Sesame oil

3 tbsp Organic Soy sauce

1 tbsp Creamy natural peanut butter

1 tbsp Honey

1-3 tsp Sriracha-Chinese hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)

1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Start by bringing water to boil in a large pot. 

Add pasta and cook till al dente. Drain and toss with sesame oil.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook 3 minutes. Add other vegetables, and saute until tender.

Add soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, sriracha, rice vinegar, and pepper. Mix it all up till everything is coated, the add noodles to skillet.

Stir it all up so everything is good and saucy, and your done!

Crab Rangoon

This recipe makes about 25, but adjust to how many you need. Wonton's can be frozen, and so can leftover crab meat.

What you need:

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 oz crab meat. You can use imitation if you want. I got a lb of actual crab meat from the Fresh Market for like $13, and just used what I needed and froze the rest. I'll get so many crab rangoon out of that!!

1/2 of a white onion, finely chopped

25 wonton wrappers- We got the large size egg roll wrappers, and cut them in quarters.

canola oil for frying

Combine cream cheese, crab meat, and onion in a mixing bowl until well combined. You could use a food processor if you wanted. 

Place about 2 tsp of the crab mixture into the center of each wonton.

Wet your finger, and dampen the edges of the wonton wrapper to help it seal shut.

You can either just fold the wrapper in half to form a triangle, or bunch it up and lightly twist at the top to seal. We did the bunch a twist method, 

and it was like tiny little crab rangoon presents, just waiting to be opened.

Heat about 2 inches of oil to medium high heat in a large pot. 

Add a few crab rangoon at a time, and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Let cool slightly, and start popping them in your mouth! 

YUM!

Recipe adapted from I Breath...I'm Hungry

YUM- Crock Pot Apple Butter

This is one of those things that at soon as I put in in my mouth, I felt like my life before that point was void of meaning because no apple butter had been in it.

I mean seriously. It's that good.

Unfortunately, I have an irrational fear that if I leave the crock pot on all day, my house will burn to the ground. And no amount of apple butter is worth that. So I will have to save making this dish for days when I don't plan to leave the house. Like Sunday.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

What you need:

about a dozen apples, peeled, cored, and cubed. I say about, because I used organic apples, which tend to be a little smaller, so I used more. Use the equivalent to a dozen average size apples...I just made that confusing, didn't I? Moving on...

1/2 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon All Spice

1/4-1/2 Cup Honey

Now just put everything but the honey into your crock pot and set it for high (6-8 hours) or low (10-12 hours). Depends on how bad you want the butter, I guess. 

I started mine on high, then turned it down to low once things started getting good and cooked in there.

Every few hours, give it a stir. Once the apples have disintegrated and it seems like an appropriate consistency, add a 1/4 cup of the honey. Stir. Taste. 

Sweet enough? If not, add some more honey.

Totally not necessary, but I blended about half of the mixture until smooth, then added it back to the rest. It gave it more spreadable texture.

This recipe made about a pint of butter, which lasted no time in my house. Next time I will double the amount, cause once you go for the butter, you'll never go back.

Recipe adapted from Cake Student

YUM-Apple Pie Oatmeal

I love oatmeal. Most days I just pour some oats in a jar, add a dash of salt and brown sugar, and pour in some Almond Milk. Then I put a lid on it, let it soak on my way to work, and by time I'm sitting at my desk I have a easy, filling breakfast.

But, on days when I have more time, this 

Apple Pie Oatmeal 

is like my special treat.

And easy. All you need is:

1 apple, cut from the core and chopped into bite size pieces
1 cup  of water
1/2 cup organic rolled oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the oats, apple, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Adjusted the heat to low and simmer the oatmeal until apples are a little soft and liquid is all absorbed, about 5-7 minutes. Top it off with a little milk (I use Sugar Free Vanilla Almond Milk) and a sprinkle of brown sugar. 

So. Good.

Recipe adapted from Family Feedbag