Ragin' Cajun' Bean Soup

The soup recipe was from one of those soup in a bag from a craft fair. The soup was pre- assembled with the beans, soup mixes, and dehydrated veggies. We added some fresh ingredients to make it a bit more fresh. The recipe makes a TON of soup, so plan for many nights of leftovers, and freeze a portion of it first.

Ingredients:
Soup Mix
We added the following:
Peppers, diced
Onions, diced
Celery, diced
garlic, chopped
1/2 pound Kielbasa, cooked
1 can diced tomatoes

Directions:
1) Rinse the bean mix with cold water, drain, add to crockpot and cover with water (7 cups).
2) Add spices and dehydrated veggies and cook for 9 hours on low.
3) Add fresh veggies, Kielbasa, and diced tomatoes, and cook for 1 more hour on low.

Husband Rating: A
A wonderful, spicy, and savory soup.

Wife Rating: A
This soup was definitely hearty and spicy. I could only eat a little bit at a time. ;) I really enjoyed the meat in the soup too!

Creamy Green Chiles Soup

Jared and I receive a lot of food gifts, and this soup was one of them! We decided to try one before the soups take over our food cabinet. The soup mix is from Darby Creek Gourmet Soups and the mix contained it all, except for the milk and cream cheese!

Ingredients:
Creamy Green Chile soup mix
4 cups of milk
4 cups water
7 oz can of chopped green chiles (we used a 4.5oz can)
8 oz package of cream cheese
If using low fat or skim milk, use 8 cups of milk and no water.

Directions:
1) Boil 8 cups of milk and bring to a boil.
2) Add contents of soup package, can of green chiles, and cream cheese.
3) Simmer 30-35 minutes, stirring often.
4) Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Husband Rating: A
Jared loves a soup that is perfect for a cold day, and this is definitely one of them. He even finished my bowl!

Wife Rating: A
The soup is definitely creamy...and perfect for a cold day. I think if we added more green chiles it would have had more of a kick!

We are looking forward to the leftovers!

Potato Soup

Today was a perfect day to make potato soup in the crock pot. The weather reached a high of 20 degrees today and it snowed on and off all day. I borrowed this recipe from another Jknottie, Kristi, who posted the recipe on the JKnottie Cookbook blog -- http://jknottiecookbook.blogspot.com/ We started cooking the soup at 11am so it was ready for dinner.

Ingredients:
8 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 tsp garlic
4 cubes chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons dried parsley
6 cups water
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour


Directions:
1) Place the potatoes, onion, butter, chicken bouillon cubes, parsley and water into a slow cooker. Set on low and let cook for 6 to 8 hours.
2) At least half an hour before serving, stir together the milk and flour until no lumps remain, and mix into the soup.
3) Cook for 30 minutes or until the soup is thickened. Add real bacon bits and shredded cheese on top.

Husband Rating: A-
Jared thought this was a hearty soup for a cold day like today. He finished my bowl for me!

Wife Rating: A-
The soup was good, although I think it needed less flour (it was too thick for me) and some salt and pepper.