Best Ever Cheese Soup

So, been slacking lately on meals and blogging, and was inspired today after having lunch with some friends (for which I made the following soup):

1 1/2 qts. water
2 1/2 c. diced potatoes (I use the frozen ones, if short on time)
1 1/2 c. chopped celery
1 c. diced onion
4-6 cubes of chicken bouillon (or substitute chicken broth for some of the water)
1 pkg. frozen california blend vegetables
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1# Velveeta, cubed

Boil the first 5 ingredients for 20 minutes.  Add frozen vegetables and boil for an additional 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, then add cream soups, stir until mixed, then add cubed Velveeta. 

Enjoy!

Taco Soup

2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can RoTel tomatoes
3 cans Ranch style Texas beans (or pinto beans will work, too)
2 cups water

Brown ground beef and onion.  Drain.  (At this point, if you're doing an "ingredient dump" for the freezer, put all ingredients in a freezer bag and put in the freezer  Add meat and remaining ingredients to crockpot.  Cook on low for 4 hours. 

Ingredient Dump Recipes

Time to post a few recipes while my hubby is out picking up my new (used) upright freezer!  So I thought I'd try a somewhat different approach to this month's cooking session...ingredient dumps!  At least that's what I call it...simply adding all of your ingredients to a freezer bag and freezing it prior to cooking, to be taken out of the freezer at a later date and cooked in a slow cooker, for a convenient, fresh, simple meal.  I've noticed that in my recipe planning, I tend to end up with a lot of similar recipes, i.e. last month was pasta heavy, this month was a spicier month.  So here's a simple recipe for white chicken and corn chili from the Hamilton Beach website:

http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/products/recipes/white-chicken-andamp-corn-chili.html

White Chicken & Corn Chili

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• Two 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• Two 15 oz. cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, minced
• 1 14 oz. can yellow corn, drained
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese for garnish

1. Mash 1/2 cup of cannellini beans with fork.
2. Place all ingredients (except cheese) including mashed beans in slow cooker and stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
4. Top with shredded cheddar cheese before serving.

I did not mash the beans, I simply put all of the ingredients in a freezer bag, put it in my freezer, and when I'm ready for it, pull it out of the freezer, dump in my slow cooker, turn it on low and forget about it!  I also used chicken that I had previously cooked and de-boned (cheaper than boneless, skinless breasts).

Ready for the freezer!

Fresh Mushroom Soup (Pressure Cooker Recipe)

As I have started on this freezer cooking "project", I am looking at meals and grocery shopping in a whole new light.  I actually shop from ads now.  I go out of my way to look at what is on sale, from meats to pantry staples.  So as I was shooting down the produce aisle this evening to get lettuce for a salad for dinner tonight, I noticed that mushrooms were on sale for $1 for an 8 oz package.  Cheap!!!  So I whipped up a batch of this fresh cream of mushroom soup to put in the freezer.  Only takes 15 minutes from start to finish using the pressure cooker.  This has become my favorite soup ever!

Mushroom Soup

2 tbsp butter
6 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
3 cups water (or chicken broth, if not needing vegetarian)
1/4 cup half and half
6 tbsp baking mix
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper

1.  Melt the butter on medium-high heat in the pressure cooker.
2.  Add the onions and mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
3.  In a large bowl, combine water, half and half, garlic powder and baking mix.  Mix well.
4.  Add the water mixture, salt and thyme to the mushrooms.  Stir well to combine.
5.  Once all ingredients are in the pressure cooker, lock the lid.
6.  Bring the cooker to 15 psi using high heat.
7.  Once at high pressure, lower the heat to maintain pressure.
8.  Set the timer.  Cook for 3 minutes.
9.  Once the time is up, remove the pressure cooker from the heat and use a natural release.
10.  When the pressure drops, remove the lid, stir in sour cream, parsley and pepper.

I love this soup with the asiago Baking Stone bread from HyVee!!