Slow Cooker Chicken & Veggie Soup

Enjoy your favorite flavors of late summer in this comforting & nourishing soup that is perfect for fall...

As you all may recall from the recipe I shared for my Italian Steak Sandwiches with Roasted Vegetable Tapenade last month, I am on a mission this outdoor farmers market season to show you all how you can create a delicious recipe purchasing only locally grown & raised produce and meats at your local farmers market this summer. Each month I will be sharing a recipe here to the blog inspired by and featuring some of my own personal favorite fresh & local finds from my local market. 

For the month of September, I am sharing the recipe for this comforting & nourishing Slow Cooker Chicken & Veggie Soup with you all. This soup is the perfect dinner idea for making the transition from late summer to early fall with. 

It fully takes advantage of the late summer veggies that are still in season like sweet corn, okra, & fresh basil. But this soup is so cozy and satisfying that it will have you wishing for crisp fall days.

Slow Cooker Soup Beans & Ham

Not only is this Slow Cooker Soup Beans & Ham recipe super flavorful & simple to make, but it also happens to be budget friendly as well... 

Let me introduce you all to the only way I can get my husband to eat beans- this Slow Cooker Soup Beans & Ham recipe I am sharing with you all today. As long as I serve it alongside a slice of fresh baked cornbread, he dives right in. 

But beans in chili? Nope. He picks them out. A three bean salad at a backyard BBQ? The man won't go near it. Refried beans at our favorite Mexican restaurant? It's never going to happen. But somehow homemade soup beans & cornbread is a whole other ball game for him. 

Maybe it is the nostalgia factor. I think most of us (at least most of here in West Virginia) grew up eating some variation of soup beans. In fact, many local diners and family owned restaurants around here often have a daily special of soup beans & cornbread on their menu board. 

And yes, I do think that the cornbread is essential, folks. I am not saying that you can't be perfectly content with a bowl of these soup beans and ham on their own, but the sweet cornbread just pairs so well with the creamy beans and the saltiness of the ham. 

It is definitely worth the extra 30 minutes or so to bake up a little homemade cornbread. This Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread recipe happens to be one of my personal favorites... :)

Slow Cooker Banh Mi Pork Sandwiches

Flavorful slow roasted pulled pork, a quick pickled slaw, and a simple sriracha mayo are the delicious building blocks for these Slow Cooker Banh Mi Pork Sandwiches...

This tasty recipe post is sponsored by the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council, & the Minnesota Pork Board. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

Happy Friday, friends! I would like to take this moment to introduce you all to one of my new favorite things- Banh Mi! :) Not familiar? No worries. You certainly will be by the end of today's recipe post. 

I hadn't actually tried Bahn Mi myself until last month when I attended the Pass the Pork tour in Minneapolis & found myself in charge of mixing up the Bahn Mi Pork Burgers recipe that my team was assigned to during our group cooking class. 

I had definitely heard of Banh Mi before, but I had not actually tried it until we had cooked up those flavorful and juicy burgers. And guess what, folks? I am now 100% hooked! 

For those not familiar with Banh Mi, let's start with just what it is exactly. Banh Mi actually refers to the Vietnamese baquette or roll that these tasty sandwiches are usually served on.

These crusty on the outside, soft on the inside rolls are stuffed with flavorful meat and are then usually topped with some kind of pickled veggies. Some people also add a little mayonnaise, chili paste, fresh cilantro, or thinly cut slices of jalapeno to their Banh Mi. 

For this Slow Cooker Banh Mi Pork Sandwich recipe I am sharing with you all today, I simply topped them with a quick pickled slaw and a sriracha mayo. But feel free to throw on some fresh cilantro springs or a few jalapeno slices as well if that happens to be your thing... ;)

Slow Cooker Apple Butter Rice Pudding

Creamy, comforting rice pudding is jazzed up with apple butter & chunks of fresh apple in this easy to make Slow Cooker Apple Butter Rice Pudding...

Since a good, home cooked risotto happens to be my favorite savory adult comfort food, then a creamy rice pudding has to be my ultimate sweet comfort food. But rice pudding wasn't a comfort food that I came to love as a child. Now my mama made this great quick version of rice pudding with a little leftover rice mixed with melted margarine & sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar. 

But the first time that I tried an honest for goodness homemade rice pudding was when I baked up a batch myself a few years after moving out of my parents' house. Yes, making rice pudding from scratch equals adulting when you are in your earlier 20's. ;) And thus began my love affair with creamy, comforting rice pudding.

But the thing with most homemade rice pudding recipes is that they require both stove top cooking & oven baking and thus twice the dirty dishes. Is it worth the extra effort and dish washing? Yes! 

But I knew there had to be a better way to whip a homemade rice pudding recipe that I would love without all the extra steps. My solution? The slow cooker- duh! ;) 

You literally just dump everything in, mix, and let the slow cooker do the rest. Now I jazzed up the basic rice pudding with spicy apple butter and chunks of fresh apple for this Slow Cooker Apple Butter Rice Pudding I am sharing with you all today, but you could leave out the apple flavors for a classic creamy rice pudding (just increase the cinnamon to a 1/2 teaspoon)... 

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Marsala

This creamy slow cooker version of Chicken Marsala has all the flavor of the traditional dish minus a lot of the work...

Earlier this week, I posed the question to my blog's Facebook page to find out if my readers would rather see a slow cooker recipe or a Valentine's Day recipe on the blog before the weekend.

Needless to say and as is proof of this post today, it was a resounding and overwhelming vote for the crock pot recipe. ;)

Man, you all love your slow cooker recipes!

One of my brilliant Facebook fans (ahem... Amanda) specifically asked if I could post a slow cooker recipe that would be perfect for a romantic dinner for Valentine's Day!

Clever girl. ;)

Secret Ingredient Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff {A Recipe Makeover}

This creamy & comforting Secret Ingredient Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff is sure to quickly become a family favorite...

It seems like us food bloggers are ever on a chase for the best natural light in our homes. And as the days grow shorter and the dark comes sooner each evening, it becomes more and more of a challenge to find the perfect lighting for shooting food.  

Sure, there are special light lamps and reflectors and light boxes and all that to help recreate the effects of natural light, but I have a preference for shooting my recipes in 100% natural, flattering light.

Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Chops

The Keeping It Crockin' Cool Crock Pot Week is just starting to simmer on the blog this week. ;)   I will be sharing THREE new slow cooker recipes this week with you all AND a slow cooker recipe round-up post or two!   First up is my Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Chops recipe that I originally shared on White Lights on Wednesday back in May when I participated in an Old-Fashioned Recipe Swap.

A few months back,  I had some fresh pineapple chunks I needed to use and was brainstorming what I could use them for.  Sweet & Sour Pork came to mind.  But not the breaded, deep fried sweet & sour pork you are probably used to from the Chinese takeout...

These are thick, tender pork loin chops that I slow cooked in a homemade sweet & sour sauce with chunks of fresh pineapple and orange bell pepper.

** Disclaimer:  I did not swipe the plate pictured above from a P.F. Chang's. ;)  I actually picked a few up at a restaurant surplus once years ago.  I swear!

Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Chops

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5-6 hours

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Ingredients (3-4 servings)

• 3-4 one inch thick pork loin chops (you could also use thinner chops, but I would reduce the cook time if you do)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• Pineapple puree (1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks blended with a splash of orange juice)
• 1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 2 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

Whisk together the soy sauce, ketchup, pineapple puree, brown sugar, & vinegar. Set aside.

Add your pork chops to your Crock Pot and place the fresh pineapple chunks and pepper chunks of top of them. Pour the whisked mixture over top.

Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 5-6 hours.

During the last half hour of cooking time, take the pork chops out of the slow cooker and then whisk in 2 tsp of cornstarch into the sauce. Place the chops back in the Crock Pot and cook for the remaining 30 minutes. This will thicken up the sauce.

Serve over rice.

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Serve with your favorite white or fried rice.  (Chopsticks are strictly optional. ;) )

If you loved this post, you might also like my...

Slow Cooker Apple Butter Pork Chops

Don't forget to stop on by the Keeping It Crockin' Cool Crock Pot Week Link Party & link up your best slow cooker recipes & then get entered to win our Crock Pot prize package! 

Slow Cooker Cranberry Coq au Vin

At the start of each week while I am doing my meal planning, I always try to ask my husband and my son if they have any special requests for dinner for that week.  9 out of 10 times my son will almost always ask me to make this Slow Cooker Coq au Vin from Better Homes & Gardens.  I mean, this child of mine would eat that EVERY single week if I would allow it. ;)

Since it has become such a staple in our home, I decided to put my own little spin on the classic slow cooker Coq au Vin I usually.  On one particular week when I had granted my son's request for his favorite dinner, I realized I had forgotten to pick up the mushrooms for it when I was at the store earlier in the week.  

I scoured my freezer and a rather large bag of frozen cranberries were staring back at me. 

Hmmmm...  how about a little Cranberry Coq au Vin?? 

What you will need:

4 large chicken thighs (about 2 lbs), with skin removed & trimmed of fat

Salt & pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup red wine

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 packet of dry onion soup mix

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Once the oil is heated, place the chicken in the skillet & brown both sides of the chicken thighs- about 2-3 minutes on each side.  Once browned, remove from the pan & place in the bottom of your Crock Pot.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients- the red wine through the cinnamon.  Dump the cranberries on top of the chicken thighs in the Crock pot, and then pour the red wine mixture over top.  

Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

The chicken thighs will slow roast beautifully until the meat is literally just falling off the bones.

When you are ready to serve your Cranberry Coq au Vin, whip up some rice or some nice homemade mashed potatoes to pair with it.  We usually do mashed potatoes with our Coq au Vin, but since I had changed up our traditional recipe I also decided to switch up our usual side to rice.

Is there a traditional recipe that you like to put your own clever and tasty spin on? :)

Cranberry Coq au Vin

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5-6 hours

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Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 4 large chicken thighs (about 2 lbs), with skin removed & trimmed of fat
• Salt & pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 packet of dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Once the oil is heated, place the chicken in the skillet & brown both sides of the chicken thighs- about 2-3 minutes on each side. Once browned, remove from the pan & place in the bottom of your Crock Pot.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients- the red wine through the cinnamon. Dump the cranberries on top of the chicken thighs in the Crock pot, and then pour the red wine mixture over top.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

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