Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup CrockPot Recipe

Day 132.

Happy Mother's Day! I hope all the moms out there are fully rested and fully pampered. If you are not a mom and are looking to feed your mom easy-to-prepare food, check out the archives and the categories over in the sidebar. There are lots of goodies to choose from! psst. Go for the Rocky Road Candy.

I decided to attempt to make my own cream-of-mushroom soup. I am not against the kind from a can at all. I have cooked with canned soups for years and years and years and years.

That line makes me feel incredibly old all of a sudden.

I'm not too awful old, but I did ask for a crockpot for my 21st birthday...

There are whole books that list crockpot recipes that revolve around cream-of soups. So, I sort of felt like it was cheating if I used them. Some people choose to not use the soups due to sodium restrictions or other dietary needs.

So! If you have your own reasons for not wanting to use canned cream-of-whatever soup, you can make your own and freeze it in bags or containers to use at your convenience.

or you can curl up on the couch and read a girly magazine and sip the soup out of your favorite mug while you're waiting for your toenails to dry.

it is Mother's Day after all...

The Ingredients.

This recipe is for a LARGE crockpot. Don't attempt these proportions in anything smaller than a 5qt.

--2 lbs mushrooms

--2 cups water

--2 cans (4 cups) vegetable broth

--1 qt of milk (to add later)

--juice of 1 lemon

--1/2 t salt

--1/2 t pepper

--1 T dried minced onion

--2 T Italian seasoning

The Directions.

Wash your mushrooms well and cut them into fourths. Put into your stoneware and add the spices and lemon juice. Pour in the vegetable broth and water.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

CAREFULLY use an immersible hand blender and blend until soupy. If you don't have an immersible hand blender, very, very carefully blend in batches in a regular blender.

Stir in an entire quart of milk. I used fat free cow's milk. You can use any percentage you'd like; even cream.

let cool on the counter for quite a few hours, then pour into freezer bags to store or plastic containers. I used 2 cups per bag--which is 16 fluid ounces. A can of cream-of-soup is 10 ounces.

The Verdict.

I am excited to cook with this soup. I haven't tested it out yet. It isn't as thick as the canned soups, but is very flavorful.

and it's brown.

Cream soups are white.

Even after adding the entire quart of milk.

it's still brown.

I'm working on my hypothesis as to why this is the case.

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CrockPot Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Day 131.

Oh these were good. You've got to try this recipe. The night I made these, Adam and I were

heading out to see the amazingly wonderful Jen Scharpen perform a reading. In a restaurant. Where they have restaurant food. So I figured I'd just cook these puppies up, take some pictures and do a tiny taste test.

Instead, I devoured two.

And didn't eat restaurant food.

They were that good.

The Ingredients.

--enough peppers to fit your crockpot. I have a 6qt oval Smart Pot, and six nestled perfectly in the stoneware

--1 lb lean ground beef

--1 cup cooked rice

--1 can flavored tomatoes (I used fire roasted, Italian would work. If you don't have flavored, add 1/2 t italian seasoning)

--1 t gluten free worcestershire sauce

--2 T ketchup

--1 t black pepper

--1/3 cup water

The Directions.

in a bowl, mix the ground beef and rice with all the stuff (except for the water and the peppers)

wash and clean out the peppers. Save the tops.

Stuff each pepper with a good amount of the ground beef and rice mixture

Nestle the peppers into your crock and put the little pepper tops back on.

Pour in 1/3 cup of water around the bases of the peppers

cook on low for 6-8 hours. I cooked these for exactly 8.

The Verdict.

I didn't offer these to the kids for dinner. They knew we were going out, and I fed them macaroni and cheese. The next day my little one "helped" me eat leftovers for lunch.

The peppers had an amazing roasted flavor, and the meat was cooked nicely with out a hint of grease--which was a fear I had.

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Honey Nut Chicken CrockPot Recipe

Day 130.

I don't like to buy in bulk. It annoys me to have more than I can house, and I'm constantly trying to shove this or that in some closet or cabinet to get it out of my way and then I forget what I have.

I like to have a bunch of meat in the freezer, and I guess you can never have too much toilet paper, but I have to admit that when two bags of honey roasted peanuts from Trader Joe's were brought home instead of one I was perturbed. It's a really lame thing to get perturbed about, I know.

I'm working on it.

Anyhow, like any normal person faced with an imagined surplus of honey roasted peanuts, I breaded chicken.

Because that makes sense.

I truly thought I was the most creative being --ever-- until I googled my idea, and found that it had already been done.

The Ingredients.

--the equivalent of 4 breasts of chicken pieces (I thawed my meat for this, because I assumed that I was going to bread the chicken. I ended up just dumping the topping in because I wasn't in the mood for slimy hands. Which means frozen chicken would work just fine. Unless you want the sliminess and go for the breading.

--1 cup of whole honey roasted peanuts, chopped

--1/2 cup apple juice

--1 t barbecue rub pepper blend (or 1/2 t pepper; 1/2 t itallian seasoning, and then some rosemary)

--2 t tobasco sauce

--1/4 t red pepper flakes

The Directions.

--Spray the inside of your crock with cooking spray

--add chicken

--chop up peanuts, and mix with the dry spices

--top chicken

--mix apple juice with the tobasco sauce and pour on top

cook on low for about 6 hours--I used little breast tenderloins that were thawed, so it only took about 4 hours. If your pieces are thicker and are frozen, it will be a longer cooking time.

The Verdict.

Adam and the kids liked this. The peanuts were very sweet and the tobasco and the chili flake flavor was drowned out. Adam added more chili flakes to his dish.

I didn't like it. The flavor was fine, but I had a weird textural problem with the peanuts. I gave it a good effort, then ate frozen yogurt for dinner after the kids were in bed.

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CrockPot Pancakes Recipe

Day 129.

Pretty much every single day since I began this project, my three-year-old has told me we should make gluten-free pancakes in the crockpot (yup, she labels everything gluten-free when asking for food).

And like any good mom, I've ignored her for five-and-a-half months.

But, good ol' Trader Joe's. They now have their own brand of gluten-free pancake mix. And what better way to test it out, than in the crockpot.

Right?

The Ingredients.

the stuff you need to make pancakes.

The Directions.

Follow the directions listed on the back of your pancake mix package. If you're all fancy-like, you could make them from scratch.

Spray the inside of your crock liberally with cooking spray, or rub butter all along the sides and bottom.

Pour your batter in, and put the lid on. Cook on high for 2 hours, then test with a knife. You'll know it's done when the top is golden-brown, pulls away from the sides, and the knife comes out clean.

Cut into wedges or slices, and remove with a spatula.

--knock on wood-- our pieces came out perfectly.

The Verdict.

This was a fun and easy week day breakfast. The kids were thrilled to have pancakes before school, and I was thrilled that they could cook before they were awake and while I was getting stuff done for work and around the house.

The pieces are thick, and reminiscent of scones. They need a lot of syrup, but weren't as dry and crumbly as they could have been.

I do think we'll make these again; they were fun, easy, and different.

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CrockPot Lemon and Dill Salmon with Spinach

Day 128.

Each time I make fish in the crockpot, I'm amazed at how juicy and flavorful it is---the fish comes out flaky and slightly buttery. The key to cooking fish in the crock is the key to cooking fish out of the crock: don't overcook it, or you'll end up with a chewy, dried out mess, along with a stinky kitchen.

The Ingredients.

--1/2 pound to 2 pounds of salmon

--2 lemons

--12 oz of fresh spinach

--1/2 t black pepper

--3/4 t kosher salt

--2 t dill

--1/4 cup white wine (again with the wine! sorry. water, vegetable broth, or apple juice would all work instead.)

The Directions.

Wash your spinach and shove it into the crock. It will look like a lot, but it really shrinks down and you'll end up wishing you put in two bags after it shrivels up.

Place your fish onto the bed of spinach, and sprinkle it on each side with the spices and herbs.

Slice the lemons and layer them on top of the fish and on all sides of it. Add the wine.

Cook on LOW for 2 hours, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

The Verdict.

A moist, flavorful fish without a hint of stink. We made this on a relatively warm evening, and I put it on at 4, then took the kids to the park for an hour or so. We came home, washed up, set the table and dinner was all ready.

My kids like fish, and ate a good amount. They also got a kick out of sucking the cooked lemons slices.

weirdos.

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Sundried Tomatoes and Feta Tri-Tip CrockPot Recipe

Day 127.

Guess what? This tasted amazing. It was wonderful--full of flavor, and the meat held it's shape and form through the slow cooking. This is a company-worthy, in-law-worthy, queen of England-worthy crockpot meal.

And it took all of 6 seconds to prepare.

The Ingredients.

--2 lbs of tri-tip

--1/3 cup of white wine

--1 jar of sundried tomatoes, oil drained

--8.5 oz package of feta cheese

The Directions.

I put the meat in frozen. Drain the tomatoes, and pour on top of the meat. Crumble the entire package of feta on top of the meat and tomatoes and around the side of the meat hunk. Add the 1/3 cup of wine.

Cook on low for 6-10 hours, depending on the thickness and cut of the meat you are using and whether or not it's frozen.

I cooked our tri-tip for 6 hours, and it held it's shape and needed to be cut with a knife.

The Verdict.

Excellent meal. We all enjoyed every bit of it. My kids love feta, and are happy whenever it's on their plate. We had ate this out in the yard with a big green salad.

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A CrockPot Party

Day 126.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! If you are looking for some ideas for Mexican food tonight, you've come to the right place.

Some of my favorites are:

Enchilada Casserole

Tamale Pie

Taco Soup

Chimichangas

Tortilla Soup

Turkey With Mango Salsa

Tacos

Not-Too-Spicy Bean Dip

Chicken Nachos

We had a party on Friday, and served crockpot fare along with some barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs. I had four crockpots in use (I borrowed two) and they did a great job at not only cooking the food, but keeping it warm through the four-hour duration.

Our theme was American Food, and I cooked the following:

Barbecued Beans

Creamed Corn

Buffalo Wing Dip

Super Duper Garlic Dip

It was fun to see the crockpots lined up on the countertop, and crockpotting is a terribly easy way to entertain. I was out of the kitchen hours and hours before party time, and was able to focus my attention on other things.

Like work.

and the phone.

and the never-ending pile of laundry.

and the children.

The Verdict.

I will definitely have more crockpot parties. I loved not standing in the kitchen while my guests were mingling or monitoring food from the oven.

Clean up was a snap, too.

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Super Duper Garlic Dip CrockPot Recipe

Day 125.

This is the easiest dip ever, yet your guests' eyeballs will roll backwards at how good it is. I've made this as a cold dip before, but figured since it's the year of the crockpot, I might as well try it warm.

It's delicious.

I made it for a party on Friday, and I should have doubled it---the crock was literally licked clean.

which is actually kind of gross.

The Ingredients.

--1 8 oz block of cream cheese

--1/3 cup of mayonnaise

--whole head of garlic

The Directions.

I used my mini crockpot for this dip, and it only filled it halfway. Next time I will double the recipe if we are expecting company. If you don't have a mini-crock, you can nestle an oven-safe dish in the stoneware of your large one.

Smash and peel all of the garlic cloves, and dice the garlic into tiny pieces. I used my Pampered Chef chopper thingy.

Put the cream cheese and mayo into the crock, plop the diced garlic on top. You won't be able to stir until the cream cheese melts.

Cook on high for 1 hour, low for 2. Stir well and serve with your favorite crackers and vegetables.

If you cook it a bit too long and it looks like the garlic is scorching on the side, unplug the crock and give the dip a good stir. This happened to me because I had it plugged in too long and wasn't paying close enough attention. I just pretended it didn't and no one could tell.

The Verdict.

well my crockpot was licked clean...

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Creamy CrockPot Vegetables Recipe

Day 124.

I was playing around with ingredients-on-hand last week and attempted to make a creamy vegetable side dish that didn't involve making a roux on the stove. This worked! Since I didn't put in any flour I didn't get any weird dots all over the food, and the cheese and spices worked nicely together to make a creamy, smokey flavor.

The Ingredients.

--12 oz fresh broccoli

--16 oz fresh green beans

--1/4 cup sour cream

--1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

--1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

--2 T butter

--1/2 t black pepper

--1/2 t garam masala (my new favorite spice!)

--2 whole jalapeno peppers (don't chop them up, just lay them nicely on top)

--2 T water

The Directions.

Wash and trim your vegetables, put into crockpot.

cover them with the sour cream, cheeses, butter, spices, and add your touch of water.

I didn't stir any of this---I was rushing to get it on and out the door and I was a bit worried about breaking up the broccoli florets.

Cook on low for 4-5 hours. This cooked for 4.5, and the vegetables still held shape and weren't overly-soggy. If I was home, I probably would have stopped cooking time right at 4 hours, though.

The Verdict.

I brought this over to a friends house, and we enjoyed the flavors. I wasn't paying attention to the kids, so I don't think they ate any of it. I was concerned a bit about the lack of moisture in the pot, but they did cook and the peppers plumped up nicely and added just a touch of smokey-spice to the other vegetables.

I need another adjective for smokey.

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CrockPot Fried Rice Recipe

Day 123.

It's day 1 2 3! Which is more amusing to me than it should be with no coffee in sight.

So lets just say that you've been using your crockpot every single day and your refrigerator has a million little plastic containers in it filled with meat and veggies and rice and quinoa. And your kids are a bit tired of eating "mommy's leftovers!" for breakfast and lunch so you need a way to disguise them. Because you can't throw away food due the starving children thing and the global food shortage thing and you're Scottish.

You can use your leftovers to make fried rice.

for reals.

in the crockpot.

I know! It totally blew my mind, too.

The Ingredients.

2 cups leftover rice/quinoa (brown rice, etc. totally fine to use)

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce (LaChoy is gluten free)

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce (Lea Perrins in US is gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/8 tsp iodized)

1/2 diced yellow onion

1 cup of whatever frozen or fresh vegetables you have on hand. (I had a bit of asparagus, some carrots and peas)

leftover meat (I had leftover chicken and 3/4 of a cheeseburger patty from a restaurant--I told you I was Scottish!)

1 egg (no shell. DUH!)

sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

The Directions.

Plop everything on in there together.

Mix it around, and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 3-4. You are only heating everything up and cooking the egg.

The Verdict.

This tasted great! The kids were happy, and Adam happily ate 2 bowls.

Now I have one tupperware in the fridge instead of seventy-eight gazillion, which makes me happy.

Happy Friday!

other take-out fake-out meals you should try for your Friday night "I really want to go out but we're trying to save money" fix:

General Tso's Chicken
Orange Beef
Mongolian Beef
Super Simple Thai Beef (great for beginners!!)
Thai Coconut Soup
Indian Butter Chicken
Chicken Chow Mein
Orange Chicken

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Lemon and Herb CrockPot Roasted Chicken Recipe

Day 122.

My oh my, what a tasty bird this was! I had a frozen chicken that I thawed for a few days in the fridge and plopped it whole into the crockpot. I did make a whole chicken earlier in the year, that was delicious, but this guy had an awesome moist, lemony garlic flavor that made my knees go a bit weak.



And it was so easy!





The Ingredients.

--one thawed and skinned whole chicken. It wasn't as gross for me this time! yay! But I'm not pregnant, so if you are and are prone to pukeage, be forewarned...

--head of garlic

--2 lemons (yeah, those are lemons. I tried to find yellow ones, and even went outside at 3:30am (I had insomnia) with a flashlight to find riper ones, and nearly scared the neighbors cat bald, but could only find green guys. They still tasted okay.)
--salt and pepper
--a bunch of fresh rosemary (this is from my mom's garden. hi, mom! thanks for the rosemary!)



The Directions.

After you skin the chicken and keep from puking, rub it inside and out with a bunch of salt and pepper.

Plop it into the crockpot.

Peel your garlic and shove a bunch of the whole cloves into the bird cavity and throw some more on top and around the chicken.

Slice the lemon and put slices on top, around, and inside the bird

Wash the rosemary and do the same. If you are using dried rosemary, use a good amount---probably 2-3T of dried herbs.

Your chicken should look a bit like this:

Do not add water.
cook on low for 8-10 hours. I put this on at 4am, and had it for lunch at noon. Then I took a 2hr nap!



The Verdict:

This is a moist, delicious chicken that is company-worthy. It will fall apart when you take it out of the crock if you cook it as long as I did. If you would like a fancier presentation, keep an eye on it and check the doneness after 6 or 7 hours, then carefully remove with large tongs.

Keep the garlic to serve alongside with some rice or potatoes and some fresh vegetables.

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