Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook (22 page)

Your-Choice-of-Vegetables Soup

Dawn Day

Westminster, CA

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 6 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.

4 cups vegetable, beef,
or
chicken stock

4 cups vegetables (use any or all of corn, peas, carrots, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, mushrooms), either fresh
or
frozen

leftover cooked meat, cut in small pieces,
or
1 lb. cubed beef, browned in oil in skillet

15-oz. can chopped tomatoes

1 bay leaf

¼ cup uncooked long-grain rice
or
small pearl barley,
or
½ cup cooked orzo
or
small shells

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker except rice, barley, or pasta.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 6 hours.

3. One hour before end of cooking time, stir in rice or barley. Or 30 minutes before end of cooking time, stir in cooked pasta.

Note:

Serve with rolls and a salad for a great comfort meal.

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Audrey Romonosky

Austin, TX

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 6-8 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.

1 lb. stewing meat, cut into pieces

1 bay leaf

1 small onion, diced

3 carrots, sliced

2 ribs celery, sliced

2-3 potatoes, diced

14½-oz. can stewed tomatoes, cut up

8-oz. can tomato sauce

¼ cup frozen corn

½ cup frozen green beans

¼ cup frozen peas

¼ cup chopped cabbage

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Add water to cover ingredients.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until meat and vegetables are as tender as you like them.

Stay-in-Bed Stew

Janie Steele

Moore, OK

Judy Newman

St. Mary’s, Ontario, Canada

Makes 6 servings

Prep. Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 5-6 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.

1 lb. chuck stewing meat

1 large onion, chunked

2 potatoes, peeled and diced large

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

10¾-oz. can tomato soup

½ soup can water

dash of pepper

½ tsp. salt

1 bay leaf

1 cup frozen peas

1. Put all ingredients except peas in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 5-6 hours, or until vegetables are as tender as you like them.

3. Add peas ½ hour before serving.

4. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Beef Dumpling Soup

Barbara Walker

Sturgis, SD

Makes 5-6 servings

Prep. Time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking Time: 4½-6½ hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.

1 lb. beef stewing meat, cubed

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

6 cups hot water

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 tomato, peeled and chopped

1 cup buttermilk biscuit mix

1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

6 Tbsp. milk

1. Place meat in slow cooker. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Pour water over meat.

2. Add carrots, celery, and tomato.

3. Cover. Cook on Low 4-6 hours, or until meat is tender.

4. Combine biscuit mix and parsley in bowl. Stir in milk with fork until moistened. Drop dumplings by teaspoonfuls into cooker.

5. Cover. Cook on High 30 minutes.

Variation:

Increase flavor of broth by adding 2 cloves garlic, ½ tsp. dried basil, and ¼ tsp. dill weed in Step 2.

Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Winifred Paul

Scottdale, PA

Makes 8-10 servings

Prep. Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 8-10 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.

1 lb. ground beef

oil

1 cup chopped onions

15-oz. can kidney beans,
or
butter beans, undrained

1 cup sliced carrots

¼ cup long-grain rice, uncooked

1 qt. stewed tomatoes

3½ cups water

5 beef bouillon cubes

1 Tbsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. dried basil

1 bay leaf

1. Brown ground beef in skillet in oil if needed. Stir frequently to break up clumps of meat. Cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain off drippings.

2. Place meat in cooker, along with all other ingredients.

3. Cover. Cook on Low 8-10 hours.

Tip:

Add more herbs and additional seasonings for zestier flavor in Step 2.

Ruth’s Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

Ruth Ann Penner

Hillsboro, KS

Makes 6 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 8-10 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.