Fall Time Cooking

Fall Time Cooking

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I run out of ideas on what to make for dinner. It’s fall, the temperatures are getting cooler and the first thing I think of when it comes to planning meals this time of year is what I can make in the crock-pot. Crock-pot meals are great because with a little prep work in the morning (or the night before) your dinner is already done when you get home from work. You can essentially cook anything in a crock-pot from soups and stews, to roasts and ribs and even side dishes like macaroni and cheese! Today, I wanted to share with you a recipe my sister shared with me I plan to try out this weekend.  Enjoy!

Crock-pot Potato Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 cups shredded hash browns, thawed
• 3 cups small-chopped broccoli florets
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 shallot (or ½ small sweet onion), minced
• 3 cups sodium reduced chicken broth
• 4 oz. (½ cup) herbed cream cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 8 oz. (1 cup) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Into a 6-quart crock pot add shredded hash browns, broccoli florets, shredded carrots, shallot and chicken broth, then stir to combine, cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours or until broccoli is very tender.

2. Into a blender add the herbed cream cheese, milk and roughly 1/3 of the cooked veggies.  Blend until very creamy then stir back into the crock-pot, cover and cook on LOW for 10 minutes.

3. Then sprinkle ½ cup of cheddar cheese into soup, stirring until the cheese is completely melted before adding the second ½ cup. Add salt and pepper to taste then serve. Garnish with a little more cheese if desired. 

Serves 4 to 6