Crockpot Hearty Lentil & Wild Rice Soup

This soup goes together in minutes and is fill of delicious ingredients.  Serve alongside some honey whole wheat pull apart dinner rolls and you have a meal that is filling.  

Crockpot Hearty Lentil & Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 oz. lentils, soaked
• 1-2 C diced chicken or turkey (cooked, or raw)
• 1 C wild rice, rinsed
• salt and pepper, to taste
• parsley

Directions

In a large 4 to 6-quart crockpot, place sliced carrots, soaked lentils and 1-2 C diced chicken or turkey. 

Add in 1 C wild rice, diced onion, minced garlic and celery. 

Add in 6 C of chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper. 

Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Garnish with parsley before serving. 

Serve warm.  Leftovers freeze well. 

Enjoy!

Cheesy Lentil Bake

Would you believe it if I told you this cheesy lentil bake is one of my new favorite recipes? 

My husband liked it too, and after having leftovers declared, “This was better than the spaghetti” (a dish he loves)! 

I’ve had this recipe on my to-try pile for a long while, and honestly, I’m bummed I didn’t try it sooner. 

The original recipe just used lentils, cheese and bacon.  We swapped ham for bacon, added mushrooms and bell peppers and reduced the amount of cheese. 

We loved it! 

Cheesy Lentil Bake – Adapted from Rebekah’s Family, Food & Fun

Ingredients

• 8 oz. dried lentils, soaked
• 2 C chicken broth
• 4 oz. mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 medium orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 T minced onion
• 1/2 C diced, cooked ham
• 6 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
• Pepper, to taste

Directions

Sauté mushrooms and bell pepper for 5 minutes until liquid from mushrooms has evaporated. 

Add in 1 T minced onion and ham.

Pour in chicken broth and soaked lentils.  Simmer for 5-7 minutes, covered. 

Season with pepper.  Simmer, uncovered until liquid is evaporated. 

Remove from the heat and stir in about 3 oz. of the cheddar cheese. 

Pour into a lightly greased 2-quart casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned. 

Enjoy! 

Crockpot Minestrone Pot Pie

To be honest, I had no idea how this pot-pie would turn out in the crockpot.  I first saw the recipe at How Sweet It Is and fell in love with the fall flavors.  Butternut squash, tomatoes, spinach, beans… oh my! 

But, I didn’t have 2.5 hours to make dinner. 

I converted the recipe to the crockpot, and made 10 minute biscuits in the oven.  We served the two together and enjoyed a yummy meal. 

The flavors are certainly fall, and are very different from our traditional soup or pot-pie recipes, so we enjoyed this dish very much. 

Hope you do too!

Crockpot Minestrone Pot Pie – Adapted from Jessica

Ingredients

• 2-4 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, quartered
• 4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 C cubed butternut squash (or sweet potatoes)
• 3 C spinach (fresh or frozen)
• 1 can (14-15oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (14-15oz) Cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
• 2 C chicken broth or stock
• 1 Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
• 1/4 C water
• 2-3 T cornstarch
• 1 recipe Greek Yogurt Parmesan Biscuits

Directions

Toss the quartered sweet onion & baby bella mushrooms into the base of your crockpot.  Add the butternut squash and season with salt & pepper. 

Stir in 1 can, undrained, stewed tomatoes along with 2 C chicken broth. 

Then, toss in diced Canadian bacon {note; you may wish to fry this first, and add towards the end of cooking}. 

Cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

1 hour before serving, add in 3 C spinach, 1 can (rinsed & drained) Cannellini Beans, and the Parmesan rind.  {sorry this photo is blurry!}

Mix together 1/4 C water and 2-3 T cornstarch.  Add this, while stirring constantly to the soup.  {note: our soup was made using 1/4 C water and 1 T cornstarch; I thought it was too soup like and less pot-pie in thickness, by increasing the cornstarch by 1-2 T, you should be able to achieve a good thickness}.  

Turn the heat up to high and simmer away.

Prepare the biscuits – they take about 20 minutes from start to finish. 

Spoon the soup into shallow bowls. 

Top with a biscuit or two, and serve. 

**If you wait to add the Canadian bacon, fry it up and add it to the bowls right before serving.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Stewed Tomato Minestrone

This is our first new soup recipe of the season – and it couldn’t be easier.

Stewed tomatoes, yummy veggies and delightful spices all dumped together in the crockpot to simmer all day long. 

You’ll come home to a delicious soup that is filling enough to be a meal, but light enough to serve alongside bread, grilled apple-cheddar sandwiches, or quesadilla. 

Crockpot Stewed Tomato Minestrone – Adapted from Gina’s Skinny Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 T minced onion
• 2 C sliced carrots
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 6 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (14 oz) stewed tomatoes
• 1 C cooked white beans
• 4 C chicken broth
• 1 C water
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered
• 2 C spinach, fresh or frozen
• 1 C uncooked, whole wheat pasta (we used shells)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. parsley
• salt & pepper, to taste
• Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions

In the bottom of a 6 quart crockpot, place 2 C sliced carrots, 6 oz. sliced mushrooms (about 1 C, or 1 small can, drained), 1 stalk sliced celery and 2 garlic cloves. 

Add 1 can (undrained) stewed tomatoes, 4 C chicken or vegetable broth, & season with salt & pepper. 

Pile on the spices!  Minced onion, bay leaf, parsley & basil.  Yum, yum!

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  About 1 hour before serving, add in 1 C water, 1 medium zucchini/summer squash, quartered, 1 C spinach, 1 C whole wheat pasta, and 1 C white beans. 

Cook for 1 hour on high. 

Serve warm. 

Garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Brown Rice, Broccoli & Roasted Tomatoes

Last week during our Back-To-School Series, I shared with you one of my new favorite lunches!  Those of you who “Like” Finding Joy in My Kitchen on Facebook even got to see a sneak peek of this one.  And, those of you that did, asked for the recipe. 

This lunch is my new favorite.  I love it. 

The ingredients are simple and the flavor is wonderful. 

Best yet, it’s really easy to prepare, and customizable!

Brown Rice, Broccoli & Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1 C brown rice, uncooked
• 2 C chicken broth
• 1 tsp. minced onion
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 C broccoli florets, steamed
• 1 C black beans
• 1 C cooked diced chicken (optional)
• 1 large tomato
• Extra sharp white cheddar cheese

Directions

Prepare the rice according to package directions.  Typically for us – that involves 1 C rice and 2 C water.  Use the proportions on your rice brand packaging, but replace the water with good quality chicken stock/broth and add in 1 tsp. of minced onion.  Cook. 

Meanwhile, steam some broccoli.  Slice the tomato and lay it out on tinfoil.  Spritz with olive oil, and season with salt & pepper.  Broil/roast the tomatoes on the top rack of your oven under the broiler for 5 minutes.  Watch them carefully to make sure they don’t burn. 

To assemble, mix together the rice, black beans, and broccoli in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper. 

To pack lunch – place the rice base in the bottom of a container (if you have a microwave and wish to reheat, make sure the container you use is microwave safe).  Layer cooked diced chicken (if desired). 

Top with extra sharp cheddar cheese (we use slices, but shredded will be fine).  Then, layer the tomatoes over the top. 

Store in the fridge until ready to eat. 

This dish can be eaten cold or warm – at your discretion. 

Enjoy!

To change it up, try:

• Brown Rice & Barley Mix
• Different kinds of beans
• Carrots or bell peppers
• Cauliflower in place of broccoli
• Mozzarella or Monterrey Jack Cheese rather than cheddar

Simple Minestrone Soup with Tortellini

Frog Prince requested a simple minestrone soup, which was a great way to clean out our fridge & freezer from leftover little dabs of veggies & stock.

As the soup simmered, our fridge & freezer were nice & clean and our house began to smell wonderful. 

We served this alongside cheese-filled quesadillas, which made an excellent addition. 

Simple Minestrone Soup with Tortellini – Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 C baby carrots, halved if desired
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 tsp. minced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 C water
• 4 C chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 C tomato sauce
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered
• 1 C green beans
• 1 C white beans, optional
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 – 3 C fresh tortellini
  

Directions

Begin by sautéing the celery, onion, garlic and carrots in a large stockpot.  If needed, add 1 tsp. olive oil to help prevent the veggies from sticking.  Saute until the garlic smells great – about 4-5 minutes. 

Add in the 4 C chicken broth & 2 C water, 8 oz. sliced mushrooms, along with 2 tsp. Italian seasoning & salt and pepper. 

Add in the can of undrained tomatoes and 1 C tomato sauce.  If you’d like to add white or kidney beans, add them (cooked) here. 

Cover and simmer the soup for 30 minutes, or until veggies are slightly tender.  Then, add in the 1 C frozen green beans and 1 medium zucchini, quartered. 

Return the soup to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Toss in the uncooked tortellini, and increase the soup to a boil.  Boil for 7-10 minutes until the tortellini is cooked.  If the soup becomes too thick as the pasta cooks, add in an additional 1 C water, adding in 1/4 C increments until the desired thickness is reached. 

Serve warm with a crusty bread, grilled cheese sandwich, or quesadillas. 

Enjoy!