slow cooker soups Archives - The Midnight Baker

Slow Cooker Steak & Ale Cheese Soup

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Steak and Ale Cheese Soup

This steak and ale soup is so rich and full of meat and potatoes, you’ll have to decide whether it’s a soup or a stew! Made easy in your slow cooker.

Here’s a rich Olde English pub dish that’s sure to please!

Tasty beef chunks, sharp cheddar cheese, ale or beer and a hint of cream. There’s nothing more satisfying on a cold winter night.

Made easy in the slow cooker

I used plain old (and cheap) locally-brewed beer, but dark beer is a great substitute as is any microbrewed ale if you want to get fancy.

If you want to forego the beer, just omit the chicken stock cube and use 12 oz of good chicken stock. Grated carrot makes a nice addition as well. Use about 1 cup in addition to the other veggies, but just add it to the slow cooker–don’t saute the carrots!

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Slow Cooker Steak & Ale Cheese Soup

This steak and ale soup is so rich and full of meat and potatoes, you’ll have to decide whether it’s a soup or a stew! Made easy in your slow cooker.

Prep Time20

Cook Time8

Total Time8 20

Course: beef, Slow Cooker, soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: ale, Steak & Cheese Soup, steak & potatoes, steak recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 727kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb chuck or round cut in 1-inch cubes
2 large potatoes cut in chunks
1 stalk celery sliced
1 small onion sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp fresh thyme -or- 1/2 tsp dehydrated
1 chicken stock cube
1 large garlic clove crushed
1 12 oz beer or ale
1/2 cup cream or evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp olive oil

SEASONED FLOUR

1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

Instructions

Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Mix the seasoned flour ingredients and place mixture in a plastic bag. Place the cubed meat in the bag and shake until meat is coated.
Place meat in hot skillet, shaking off any excess flour. Brown meat on all sides. Place browned meat in the slow cooker.
Return skillet to heat and add the remaining 1 tbs of oil. Saute the onions, mushrooms, garlic and celery until almost tender. Place vegetable mixture in slow cooker. Add the potato chunks to the slow cooker.
Pour the can of beer over the beef/vegetable mixture. Add stock cube & thyme.
Cover and cook on HI for 5-6 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours (I recommend cooking on HI as meat didn't break apart).
Turn off cooker and add cream. Stir well. Add cheese and stir again. Replace cover and let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir again and serve.
Makes about 4 servings.

Nutrition

A bowl full of comfort

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Split Pea Soup with Ham

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Split Pea Soup with Ham

Here’s another great way to use some more of that leftover ham from Easter dinner.

Nothing could be easier. Just put everything in the slow cooker and let ‘er rip.

I serve with buttered toasted croutons. All I do here is melt butter in a skillet and “toast” the bread that way then cut in cubes. Easy peasy.

Soup does thicken when it’s chilled–and there will be leftovers of this unless you’re feeding about 8 people, so on the redux, thin with a little water or chicken stock.

I’ve made this with smoked sausage and kielbasa too. Both great substitutions if you don’t have ham.

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Split Pea Soup with Ham

Here’s another great way to use some more of that leftover ham from Easter dinner. Nothing could be easier. Just put everything in the slow cooker and let ‘er rip.

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Total Time8 10

Course: Slow Cooker, soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: ham, split pea soup

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 297kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 ham bone that has meat still on it OR 2 cups thickly diced boneless ham
2 1/2 cups 1 regular bag green split peas
1 small onion chopped
2 carrots sliced thickly
5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
5 whole peppercorns
1/8 tsp dehydrated dill or a sprig of fresh
1 clove garlic crushed

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Set on low and cook for 6-8 hrs. Soup may have to be thinned with more water, depending on how your individual slow cooker cooks--5 cups of water was about right for my cooker and produced a thick, hearty soup. If you like a thinner soup, use 6 cups water.
Serve with buttered croutons.
Serves 6-8

Nutrition

Split Pea Soup with Ham

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Northeast Hearty Bean Soup

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Northeast Hearty Bean Soup

With the recent snows and cold snaps we’ve been experiencing in upstate New York the past couple of weeks, soup, and especially hearty and filling soups have been on my mind.

I finally settled on making my hearty bean soup when I saw a huge bag of great northern beans staring at me in Aldi last week. I know many swear by navy beans, but I’ve always been partial to great northern. They’re large and, well, beany.

I have been making this soup for so long I forget exactly when I came up with this recipe. Usually I made this after having leftover bone-in ham, but it’s not necessary. You can always use chunk ham and even kielbasa. Try both. I did that this time and the flavor is superb.

This soup was always made by a pinch of this and a poke of that, but I did take note of all my pinches and pokes and wrote down the measurements and amounts this time.

I added no additional seasoning, as it was fine for my taste. I do suggest you taste this before you serve and correct the seasonings if you feel it needs any correction. Firmly resist the urge to add salt, etc. before it is done. The very long cooking will draw out the flavors of all ingredients, including the salt in the ham and the sausage. I also cheated and started out with 1 package, portion, whatever you call that little tub thing, of Knorr vegetable stock (which is seasoned). If you do have a leftover meaty ham bone, forego the vegetable stock and just use the ham bone and 4 cups of water.

Serve this with a crusty roll and it’s a meal–and then some.

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Northeast Hearty Bean Soup

Prep Time1

Cook Time8

Total Time1 8

Course: Comfort Foods, Pork, Slow Cooker, soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bean soup

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 250kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 cups great northern beans plus water to cover to soak
3 carrots sliced thickly
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery sliced
1/2 tsp OR about 5 large fresh basil leaves
about 3 or 4 bunches celery leaves
6 whole black peppercorns
1 cup diced kielbasa Polish sausage or smoked sausage
1 cup cubed smoked ham
4 cups vegetable stock

Instructions

Cover beans with water. Soak overnight. Drain beans.
Add beans to 5 quart slow cooker. Add all other ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours. Reduce slow cooker heat to LOW and cook for 10-12 hours or until beans are very soft and soup looks thick and stew-like.

Nutrition

Northeast Hearty Bean Soup

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