If the howling winds and frigid temperatures weren’t indication enough, we can certainly help confirm: winter is here folks! And while the powdery fresh snowfalls and Holiday merriment can be enjoyable, it’s safe to say that gusts of wind, sharp as whips, and early morning alarm clocks, forcing you from your warm bed, are not.
Winter can be a difficult and arduous time, and most of us are just trying to get through it. It is during these tough months that we feel ever so grateful to the kitchen companion that everyone should have by now: Slow Cookers. What can be more comforting than a warm bowl of stew waiting for you after a treacherous commute home?
So, in ode to the magnificent invention that is the crockpot, here is a list of our favorite Slow Cooker recipes:
Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli
This easy soup recipe is an Italian masterpiece! Bits of Bacon complete a flavorful, tomato-y broth that’s accompanied with tender bites of pasta and hearty cannellini beans. Here’s how you make it:
Here’s what you will need:
- 6 slices of bacon, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 can of cannellini beans (or white kidney beans)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 3 chicken flavored bouillon cubes, crumbled
- 4 cups of water
- ¾ cup of ditalini or other small pasta
How to make it:
1. Crisp the bacon in a nonstick skillet, removing after cooked and reserving two tablespoons of the drippings.
2. In the grease, cook the chopped onion, carrots and celery until they’re soft.
3. Add the garlic and cook for an additional thirty seconds, before emptying the vegetables into the slow cooker.
4. Add half of the bacon and half a cup of beans (mashed with a fork) to the cooker.
5. Add the tomatoes, chicken bouillon and water and set the timer between eight to ten hours, if cooking on low, or four to six hours, if cooking on high.
6. After that time has passed, add the pasta and cook, uncovered for an additional thirty minutes. Garnish the delicious soup recipe with the remaining bacon and a flourish of Parmesan cheese. If desired, serve with crusty Italian bread.
Hearty Slow Cooker Beef Stew
If anything is deserving of a long, slow cook time, it’s without doubt a hearty beef stew. This delicious soup recipe gets all of its flavor from a period of time that allows the individual ingredients to flavor the broth, and a slow heat that tenderizes the tasty beef chunks. A slow cooker certainly helps with this process, as you’re free to go about your day while the easy soup recipe simmers away at your stovetop!
Here’s what you will need:
- 3 ¼ cups boiling water
- 1 tub Home-Style Stock- Beef
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 lb. medium potatoes, cut into cubes (about 3 cups)
- 4 medium carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 2 medium onions, cut into wedges
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup thawed frozen green peas
How to make it:
1. Ready your stock by adding boiling water and stirring it thoroughly.
2. Proceed by seasoning your beef with the black pepper and coating it well with two tablespoons of the flour.
3. On medium heat, brown the pieces of beef and set aside. In the slow cooker, add the potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic.
4. Nestle the beef amongst the vegetables and add three cups of stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaf.
5. Cover and cook on low for eight hours, or five hours on high.
6. Blend the remaining flour with the leftover stock until smooth and then add the gravy and peas to the slow cooker. After fifteen minutes, this delicious soup recipe is ready to eat.
A slow cooker makes these easy soup recipes even simpler on the days when they’re most appreciated. The next time you’re in the mood for something ultra comforting on a busy day, try one of these dynamite slow cooker soups!