I did not grow up with a mom who used the Crockpot. In fact, I can't think of a single Crockpot meal that I had before I got married. I started to get interested in the idea of a Crockpot after the Mister and I moved in together. We were both working full time and sometimes I was just so pooped after work I just couldn't imagine cooking. This was fine when I lived alone, I just ate a lot of cereal and PB & J, but after we bought our house, I started to feel guilty and a failure as a wifey (to-be). For the wedding we received 2 Crockpots and then I started my search for recipes. I started with a book, but wasn't impressed. So, I turned to my friend Google, and then I "met" my hero. This woman used her Crockpot everyday for a year and blogged about it.
Friday, I had a root canal. This did not make me calm and relaxed. For a couple of nights before, I was worring about all this stuff I wouldn't be able to control, but then I realized, I could still control dinner on Friday night. I decided that I would pull the Crockpot out and have dinner cooking while I was having my procedure done. Do you know what works perfectly in a Crockpot? Soup! And I assumed that soup would be the perfect meal post-root canal. So I turned to her blog and read through a couple of her soup recipes when I clicked on her Corn Chowder recipe. Bingo! I had several of the ingredients already, and it sounded yummy. I cut her recipe in half, and added some garlic and jalepeno. The Mister and I also discussed what we want to change for the next time we make it.
Corn Chowder
1 box chicken stock
1/2 red onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1 chopped carrot
1 jalapeno
1 (16 ounce) bag of frozen corn- I used super sweet white corn
2 red potatoes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
The beauty of this is how much can be made the night before. Pretty much all the prep work. I chopped all the veggies the night before and put them all (except the onion) in a food storage bag. The onion was put in its own bag.
Put all veggies into the Crock (including onion & garlic)
Cover with chicken stock.
Cover and turn on the crockpot (4-5 Hours on high, 8ish hours on low)
Write a note for the Mister to turn it to warm and use the immersion blender in case I am incapacitated when I get back from the root canal.
I cooked mine on high for about 5 hours. Usually I always cook on low for longer, but I started this after I was home from my half day of work and before I took my happy pills that the dentist prescribed.
I felt okay enough to finish out the recipe myself, so after taking 3 Advil, I turned the Crock to warm and used the immersion blender. (I didn't own one, but the Mister did for his protein shakes he used to drink back when he was buff... before I met him. Love you Mister!) The Immersion blender is fantastic for soups and sauces. Makes them creamy and yummy without having to transfer steaming hot liquid into an upright blender in small increments. Get one!
So, how was it?
The Mister ate his with leftover French bread. I just ate the soup. It was good but, we both wanted more potato, and I think half a block of cream cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking would boost the flavor and creamy texture tons. With these additions it will make it into my pink book for sure!
The next day the leftovers were even better (isn't that always the case with soup?).
Do you have any favorite soup recipes or are you a Campbell's family?
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