Crockpot Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Needing a simple nourishing meal to offset the rich holiday foods?

This soup is perfect! Simple, healthy and nourishing plus it can cook for 10 or more hours in the crockpot. It's a great recipe for those long days at work.

1 pound ground beef, crumbled and browned
1- 16 ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
1 quart canned tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
2-4 cups water
Salt and pepper, other seasonings, to taste

Combine all ingredients in 3.5 to 5 quart crockpot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 10 or more hours.

Thanks to my mom for sharing this recipe. We've been making this soup at least once a month lately. It makes about 3 meals for the two of us. 

Pinned It, Made It: Ranch Mushrooms

I tried these Ranch Mushrooms for our Sunday Fellowship potluck. Aldi had mushrooms on sale for 69 cents a package so it was a good time to make this recipe!

Only three ingredients and cooked in the crockpot! Mushrooms, a stick of butter and a package of Ranch dressing mix.

I used homemade ranch dressing mix because
 a) we try to avoid prepackaged stuff with preservatives and MSG and other fancy words and
 b) half of my household doesn't like ranch dressing!

I figured a homemade mix may not taste quite so "ranchy" but instead more "herby". This is the recipe I used--I whirred it into a powder in my coffee grinder so it would be more like the  bought mix. (The comments said to use less if powdered--I used around 1 Tablespoon.)

The verdict: 

This couldn't be easier and it turned out delicious! Everyone who likes mushrooms really enjoyed this dish.

I used my little 2 quart crockpot and 1 pound of mushrooms (2-8 ounce packages) filled it up. But they cooked way down....so next time I would add another package after they started cooking. There's plenty of sauce to accommodate more mushrooms.

I saved the leftover butter sauce as the pin said that it was great on steaks or veggies--thinking I'll use it to cook some other veggies this week! Yum!

I'll definitely be making these mushrooms again!

**This post is part of Pinned It, Made It Monday over at Country Girl At Home!**

Pinned It, Made It: Garlic Beef Stew and Cauliflower Mash

I love crockpot meals. I also like crockpot meals that are very low-grain or grain-free.

We made some major changes in the way we eat almost 2 years ago now; the main change being that we no longer eat wheat and bread and pasta type things on a regular basis. We feel so much better when we eat mostly grain-free! In addition, we have both lost quite a bit of weight.

While we do eat some grains, mostly brown rice, and we do eat dairy, I've found that many recipes geared for the Paleo diet work well for us. The Paleo diet focuses mostly on meats, eggs, vegetables, fruits and nuts-- a "caveman diet".

A while back I pinned this great list of 30 Nights of Paleo Crockpot Meals. There are some really good looking yummy recipes in the list, whether you eat grain or not!

I decided to try the Garlic Beef Stew with Mashed Cauliflower. The stew was good-- I used 1 pound of beef as that's all I had and used Italian seasoning because I didn't have marjoram. The recipe calls for 6-12 cloves of garlic. I used 6 to be on the safe side and we felt it was plenty garlicky!

The mashed cauliflower was awesome! We aren't big fans of cauliflower so to say we really like a cauliflower recipe is saying something. I had tried mashed cauliflower before but for some reason had never thought to use the food processor to blend it up. The result was a very creamy mashed potato-like texture which we loved. 

The turmeric in the cauliflower gave it a bright yellow color which matched the shirt Andy was wearing. We both got a laugh out of that!

I will definitely make both of these recipes again.

This was a great winter meal--warm and nourishing!

**This post is part of Pinned It, Made It Monday over at Country Girl At Home.

Crockpot Sweet Potatoes

I made a crockpot full of sweet potatoes to take to Sunday's fellowship.

This is something I take frequently. It's healthful and delicious plus easy and cost-effective!

Crockpot Sweet Potatoes


Idea adapted from here.

Wash the sweet potatoes and prick each one with a fork or knife. Wrap in foil--at home I skip this step but they do get kind of gooey and messy so when I take them to a potluck, I wrap them. Pile in crockpot and cook on high for around 6 hours.  Your crockpot may vary so try it once and see how it turns out!

Serve with butter. Some folks also like cinnamon, brown sugar, cinnamon-sugar and/or marshmallows. I'm boring and really like a plain buttered sweet potato with salt and pepper the best! But do what you like!

**I usually use smallish sweet potatoes like those in the 3 pound bags from Aldi. Or I cut larger ones in half so they are closer to single serving size and also go further than just a few big ones! **

Making Yogurt In The Crockpot

Yogurt is easy to make in the crockpot! I follow these instructions from A Year Of Slow Cooking and have found it to work great.

When I first started making yogurt, I used a small yogurt maker that I picked up at Goodwill. It worked ok and made 1 quart at a time. But when I discovered that yogurt could be made in the crockpot I was eager to try it! Not only would I be able to make more at a time but it would eliminate the need for the yogurt maker and instead be made in the crockpot which can be used for lots of different recipes.

While yogurt making in the crockpot is super easy, you do want to plan to make it on a day when you're going to be mostly at home. And I find that setting the timer helps me to not forget about it!

1. Pour a half-gallon of milk into crockpot. Put lid on and turn to low. Let cook for 2 1/2 hours. (Or until just below boiling.)
2. Turn crockpot off and unplug. Let set for 3 hours. 
3. After about 3 hours the milk will have cooled down to about 110-120 degrees. Sometimes it takes a bit longer; I set the timer for a few more minutes and come back and check the temperature. I don't usually use the thermometer; I just test it with my finger. If it's too hot, it will kill the cultures in the yogurt starter you're about to add. Too cold and it won't work either. I guess a good way to explain it is that it should be just a bit warmer than lukewarm. I've done it both a  bit hotter and a bit cooler and it has worked so not too scary! If in doubt, use a thermometer until you get a feel for it!
4. When milk is right temp., scoop out a cup or two of warmish milk into a bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup of plain yogurt into milk. Any plain yogurt will work as long as it contains live active cultures. Stonyfield Farms organic plain yogurt is one of my favorites to use.
5. Pour milk/yogurt mixture into crockpot and mix gently to combine the yogurt.
6. Keeping crockpot unplugged, wrap with towels to cover and keep it warm. Let set to culture in a non-drafty place for 8-10 hours or overnight. I place mine in the bay window which is a nice sunny spot in my house! At the end of culturing, the milk should have thickened to make yogurt. Place crockpot in refrigerator to help it to thicken up a bit more.
7. Eat!

Notes: 

• Homemade yogurt will not be as thick as store-bought.
• For a thicker Greek-style yogurt, line a strainer with cheesecloth or tea towel. Pour yogurt in and let whey (the liquidy stuff) drain off, leaving a thicker yogurt. Draining longer will result in a kind of yogurt cheese,similar to cream cheese, which I think is delicious with crackers or celery!
• Pureed fruit or jam can be mixed into yogurt. We like to keep it plain and add fruit or honey right before eating.
• The longer it cultures, the tarter the yogurt!
• Save a half-cup of yogurt to add to your next batch. I like to drain it some before adding so it's a little thicker. 
• For more information and pictures, go here. 
• Previous posts I've written about making yogurt--Homemade Yogurt, Yogurt In The Crockpot, Steps We've Taken To A Healthier Diet.

Happy yogurt making!


If you have any questions, I will try to answer them.