Winter Warmer: Chicken and Vegetable Soup

This hearty soup is very tasty and will give you a good dose of vitamins and minerals too. To simplify this recipe I used a BBQ chicken as it removes a few steps of browning the chicken and onions. I was able to pick up vegetable soup pack from the supermarket as it contained several of the vegetables needed for this recipe.  I really enjoy dense soups so I also added a cup of pearl barley, which is an optional extra.

Ingredients:

1 medium turnip

1 medium parsnip

1 medium onion

3 large carrots

5 stalks celery

2 large spinach leaves, finely chopped

1 small red capsicum, finely diced

1 BBQ chicken

1 sprig fresh thyme

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups hot water

2 bay leaves

¼ bunch parsley, stalks removed, finely chopped

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

1 x 45g packet powdered onion soup mix

1 ½ tablespoons crushed garlic

1 cup pearl barley (optional)

Method:

1. Place hot water and chicken stock the in slow cooker and turn on HIGH. Add soup mix and stir.

2. Dice turnip, parsnip, carrots , onion and celery then add to the slow cooker.

3. Debone, remove skin and dice BBQ chicken. Place in slow cooker

4. Add garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves & if desired pearl barley.

5. Cook on LOW 6 hours

6. Add capsicum and spinach stir and cook for a further two hours.

7. Remove the bay leaves and thyme and serve.

Adapted from

http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-and-winter-vegetable-soup-L15144.html

Potato and leek soup

One of my family's favourite restaurants serves an amazing potato and leek soup. The secret? It seems to be adding some Swiss cheese to the pot at the end, just before serving! Yum.

Today, I gave Margaret Fulton's recipe a go, which is designed for the slow cooker, adding the extra touch of Swiss cheesy goodness!

4 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 leeks, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks
4 cups of chicken stock
Salt and pepper
1 cup of cream (I probably just used 1/2 a cup)
2 slices of Swiss cheese, chopped ( you could add more!)

The celery makes the soup a little lighter. More potatoes would make it creamier. You can also add a little bacon you've browned in a pan. It's just a matter of how you'd like it!!

I cooked the soup on high for about 4 hours and kept in warm on low for another two, otherwise you could cook it on low for about 10 hours.

I added the cream and cheese at the very end after blending the soup in the slow cooker with a stick blender to get a ready consistency. Some extra cracked pepper and some parsley on top and off you go!

Potato and Fennel Soup

Soup is definitely one of the best ways to warm up on a cold day. I made this soup as a 'Happy Friday' lunchtime treat for my colleagues. I found this recipe in a fabulous book by Sally Wise called 'Slow cooker- Easy and delicious recipes for all seasons'. Unfortunately in the flurry of lunchtime I completely forgot to take a photo of the soup-bummer!

1 kg fennel bulbs
900g potatoes
1 small onion
100g diced bacon
3 cups of chicken stock
90 ml sour cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint

Remove and discard any tough sections from the fennel and dice finely. Peel and dice the potatoes. Peel and dice the onion. Place all in the slow cooker with bacon and stock.

Place lid on cooker and cook for 4 hours on High.

Purée or sieve until smooth, then add the sour cream.

Serve topped with a little chopped mint.

Serves 6 - 8

Spicy Moroccan Lamb Shank Soup

Mid-week entertaining is such a treat!  Having friends over on a 'school' night somehow just feels more daring.  Well, the slow cooker makes this little luxury much more achievable, as we know so well. 

Tonight - a rather cold and drizzly evening - I was able to host a relaxed dinner in a snap!  I tried a new dish, which was a lovely lamb and lentil soup. Just perfect for these late autumn evenings!

My guest - the lady in the blue trench - described the soup as "warm, comforting ... with a little bit of bite!"  

Here's how you can enjoy this hearty soup at your place:

1. Preheat the slow cooker, setting it on high. 

2.  Brown four lamb shanks in a frying pan in a little oil. 

3.  Meanwhile, in the slow cooker, with a little olive oil, add a roughly chopped brown onion with a teaspoon of crushed garlic and the ground herbs: 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp ground coriander; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp ground cloves; a dash of paprika; and as many or as few dried chilli flakes as you like. Stir all together. 

4.  Add 4 or so chopped celery stalks to the slow cooker, with two chopped carrots. 

5.  Next, add a can of diced tomatoes and some tomato paste. From the just boiled kettle, fill the now empty tomato can and add that amount of water to the slow cooker. 

6.  Then in go a few bay leaves and a beef stock cube. Salt and pepper as you like. 

7.  Next, stir in about a cup of rinsed brown lentils. 

8.  The lamb shanks should be ready to pop in now. The slow cooker may be close to full, so just monitor how much liquid you add at step 5. 

9.  Pop the lid on the slow cooker and turn it down to low if you are leaving it on overnight or during the day while you are at work (roughly 8-9 hours). 

10.  After the cooking time, pull out the lamb shanks and shred the meat from the bones (it should be very tender) and discard the bones, returning the shredded meat to the slow cooker.  

To serve, I topped generous helpings of this exciting soup with natural Greek yoghurt and fresh coriander, and I toasted fingers of Turkish bread to enjoy with delicious hummus on the side. A little mid-week gem!  

Nothing beats a sweet treat: Sugar & Cinnamon Coated Almonds

I love finding easy and yummy recipes. These sugared cinnamon almonds just seem too good to be true. I was a little worried that the sugar would sticks to the slices of the crockpot, but it was completely fine. I found this recipe from a fellow slow cooker blogger Detrimental Beauty
http://detrimentalbeauty.com/2012/09/18/crock-pot-cinnamon-almonds-an-easy-recipe-and-gift/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg white
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups almonds
1/4 cup water

In a medium sized bowl, mix together sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In another medium sized bowl, whisk the egg white and vanilla until it is a little frothy. Add almonds. Make sure the almonds are thoroughly coated in the egg white mixture. Add cinnamon mixture to the almonds and toss until coated.

Thoroughly spray the stoneware of your large crock pot with oil. Add the mixture of almonds and sugars to the crock pot and turn it to low.

Cook with the lid on for 3-4 hours stirring every 20 minutes. In the last hour add the 1/4 cup water and stir well. Continue to cook the nuts for another 45 minutes to an hour. This ensures a crunchy coating.

Stir really well, especially as it gets later in the cooking process.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the almonds flat to cool. The almonds will be sticky at this point, so make sure you separate them a little and have no large mounds.

Store in an air tight container if they last that long! Enjoy!