Crockpot Ham and Potato Soup

Crockpot Ham and Potato Soup

3 cups water
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
3 chicken bouillon cubes
4 - 5 small red potatoes, peeled if desired and coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
3 -4 large green onions, with some of the green part, chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 cup diced ham
1/4 tsp dried mince garlic
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients except pepper in a 3 or 4 quart crockpot.  Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, or until vegetables are tender and flavors have melded.  Season with pepper before serving.

Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits and green onion if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Easy 5 Can Soup

I really, really, really need to work on eating better.  Two years ago, I lost 26 pounds on Weight Watchers.  After a while I decided that I knew how it worked, so why pay for it.  I'm sure you can guess what happened. I managed to gain back all the weight, plus 5 more pounds.  I lost the extra 5 pounds over the past couple of months and now I'm back where I was when I first tried WW.  So, today I'm starting again.  This is what I had for lunch.

I found a number of versions of this recipe online, and tweaked it a bit to my taste.

Ingredients:
1 14.5 oz can corn, drained
1 14.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (could probably substitute other types of beans)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth (or 2 cups water plus 2 chicken bouillon cubes)
1/2 cup refried beans (freeze leftovers)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 tsp dried minced garlic

Combine all ingredients in saucepan.  Bring to barely boiling over high heat, then turn heat to low and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes, stirring once in a while.  A little chili powder and cumin would probably be good in this, if you like those flavors.

Nutrition info. per serving:
236 calories
47 grams carbohydrates
11 grams fiber
13 grams protein
2 grams fat

4 servings, 6 points plus each, (if my calculations are correct.)

This tasted good, was quite filling and helped me towards my 5 or more fruit and vegetable servings for the day.  I also like the fact that I can easily keep the basic ingredients in my pantry.

Zero Point Vegetable Soup

I'm always on the lookout for low point weight watchers recipes.  I found a zero point vegetable soup recipe and it inspired me to create my own, using what I had on hand. This is easy, filling and zero points plus. Crockpot Vegetable soup I used a crockpot but this would be easy to adapt to stovetop. Amounts are approximate, I just chopped veggies and tossed them in. 1 package dry onion soup mix 8 cups water 1 1/2 cups canned crushed or diced tomatoes (I used leftovers, but I think a 14 oz can would work.) 3 or 4 beef or vegetable bouillon cubes 1 cup salsa (mostly because I was trying to clean stuff out of refrigerator, I used medium but both dh and I found the soup a bit too zippy, I'd use mild next time) 1 each: medium onion, large carrot, large celery rib, chopped 1 each: medium zucchini, and summer squash, quartered and sliced 2 to 3 cups chopped green cabbage (half a small head) 1 small fresh tomato, diced Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Season with your choice of herbs and spices. (I used basil, garlic, parsley, and lovage because that's what's growing outside my back door.). Cook on high for 4 or 5 hours or until veggies are cooked to your desired texture. It should at least come to a slight boil to really develop the flavor. I had planned to throw in some cooked spaghetti squash from the freezer for the last little while, but I forgot.

Creamy Potato Soup

As I was rummaging in the refrigerator for dinner ideas yesterday, I came upon the whipping cream that I had used in a recipe earlier in the week.  I decided that it would need to be used up, and that decision resulted in this soup.  I made this in a 2 quart crockpot, but it could easily be done on the stovetop, or increased for a larger crockpot.

Creamy Crockpot Potato Soup

3 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cube
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into half inch cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 clove crushed garlic (this would be about 1/3 teaspoon if using dried minced garlic)
1/2 cup whipping cream (milk can be substituted)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup (approximately) dry instant mashed potato flakes ( adjust amount used to get soup to desired thickness)
Fresh parsley, chopped ( dry will work as well)
5 to 6 ounces Diced leftover ham, or chopped smoked sausage (optional)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine water, bouillon cubes, potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic in the crock of a 2 quart slow cooker.  Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or until vegetables are tender.  Stir in cream, milk, potato flakes, parsley and meat if using.  Cook on low for another hour or so, until soup is warmed thoroughly and somewhat thick.  Makes 4 servings.

I think that some finely chopped green pepper would be good in this soup, but I cook for a picky eater, so I did not try it.  I contemplated adding cheese to this too, but I decided that using whipping cream in the soup had probably added enough fat to the pot already.  If I had used all milk, I might have added some cheese.