Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

Original recipe is here

Ingredients:
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (basil, garlic & oregano), with juice
3/4 c diced celery
1/2 c diced carrots
onion powder to taste
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 T basil
2 c vegetable broth
1/4 c flour
1/4 c butter (Blue Bonnet light)
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
1 c milk, warmed in microwave
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
Place tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion powder, oregano, basil and broth in crock pot. Cook on low 5-7 hours on low. (Or you know, on high for shorter, or whatever.)
About a half hour before serving, melt butter on low and stir in flour. I actually pureed my soup in a food processor at this point because I don't enjoy the tomato chunks. Mix 1/2 c soup into the flour/butter mixture. Then mix in another 1-1/2c. Transfer back to the crock pot. Stir in milk and cheese and season to taste (I added salt, pepper, and garlic powder.)
Cook for another 30 min on low and enjoy!

Nutritional Information: (Let's call it 4 servings for nutritional purposes, but I didn't measure how much it made LOL)

Calories: 182
Fat: 9g
Saturated: 3.5g
Carbs: 15g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 8g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4.5
Dave: Not home from work yet :-P

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

Hm, I made a veggie lasagne a while back that I didn't post. I don't know where the recipe is now! If I can find it, I'll post it. I had found it online.

Anyway, right now I am making this in the crock pot! It'll be ready before too long and then I'll take a picture and we'll rate it! The original recipe is here. I made just a few slight changes/additions.

Ingredients:

32 oz. potatoes, diced
1/2 c celery, diced
1 carrot, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
onion powder, to taste
32 oz. no-chicken broth
1 c water
1 c milk
3 T all-purpose flour
8 oz (2 c) shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c bacon bits, if desired

Directions:
1. Combine potatoes, celery, and carrot in crock pot. Sprinkle with onion powder. Pour in the water and broth. Cook on low for 5 hours.
2. Stir flour into milk. Add to crock pot. Change to high and cook 20-30 minutes, until thickened.
3. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish individual bowls with bacon bits. Enjoy!*
Makes 6 servings.

Nutritonal Information:
Calories: 300
Fat: 12.5g
Saturated Fat: 7g
Carbs: 35g
Fiber: 2.5g
Protein: 14.5g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4
Dave: 4

*We seasoned with salt & pepper. Next time I make this, I'm going to replace the water with beer. And maybe throw in some broccoli.

Savory Bean and Kale Soup

Original recipe is here, courtesy of Fitness Magazine.

Ingredients:
42 oz vegetable broth (mine's homemade!)
15 oz tomato puree
15.5 oz great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c uncooked rice
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bunch of kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped (or spinach!)

Directions:
In a crockpot, combine vegetable broth, tomato puree, beans, rice, onion powder, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic.
Cover; cook on low 5 to 7 hours or on high 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours.
Just before serving, stir in kale.
Makes 8 (1 cup) servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 93
Fat: 0.5g
Saturated: 0g
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 5g

DELICIOUS! :)
***FORK SYSTEM!!! (Back by popular demand!!)
Kristen: 5

Vegetarian Stew

Original recipe is here. I changed it slightly just based on what I had. Here's what I did.

Ingredients:
2 c apple cider
2 c vegetable broth
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into large chunks
4 apples, cut into large chunks
1 parsnip, sliced
4 ribs of celery, sliced
2 potatoes, chopped into large chunks
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
5 small carrots, peeled and sliced
1 red onion, sliced into large chunks
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
Makes 12 1-cup servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 152
Fat: 0.3g
Carbs: 38g
Fiber: 5g
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 3g

I also sprinkled my individual bowl with cinnamon and nutmeg. Yum!

Crockpot Parmesan Chicken & Rice

I got this recipe from my brother-in-law

Ingredients:

 6 T butter (1/3 less fat imperial, only 1.5 T) 

1 (1 oz) package dry onion soup mix (Meijer brand, it was a little more than 1 oz) 

1 c converted long-grain white rice (Uncle Ben's) 

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese for topping (Kraft)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (26 oz) 

1-1/2 c milk (1/2%) 

2 (10.75 oz) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of celery, 1 can of Meijer brand and one can of Campbell's 98% fat free... but I have used the mushroom in the past and it was better) 

salt to taste (used it but it really doesn't need it with the salt in the cheese and soup)
ground black pepper to taste 

Directions:  

Mix together onion soup mix, milk, cream of mushroom soup, and rice in a medium bowl.  

Lay chicken breasts in the bottom of a lightly greased slow cooker. Place one tablespoon margarine on each chicken breast and pour soup mixture over all. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours, or on High for 4 to 6 hours. (I have cooked this on high for 4-5 hours, but today I cooked it on low and it was done in 6 hours.)

Nutritional Information (per cup):

Calories: 320

Fat: 11.3g

Saturated Fat: 2.3g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g

Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g

Carbs: 16.9g

Protein: 37.6g

Rating:

Kristen: 4
Dave: 4.5