Gail's Menus & Recipes

Crockpot Meal ideas

2007-11-11T11:02:00.001-06:00

MAIN DISHES
Roast Beef, potatoes & carrots
Ham, scalloped potatoes & peas
Spanish Rice
Chicken casserole
Lasagna
Goulosh

SIDES
calico beans
hasbrown potatoes

SOUPS
minestrone
creamy potato
brocolli cheese
chicken noodle
chili

Slow Cooker Vegetable Minestrone

2007-11-11T10:33:00.000-06:00

Slow Cooker Vegetable Minestrone

33 Ratings
13 Reviews

Savor slow-cooked Italian soup with little effort by letting your slow cooker do all the work! This is one hearty soup recipe the whole family will love.

Prep Time:15 min

Start to Finish:8 hr 35 min

Makes:12 servings

4	cups vegetable or chicken broth
4	cups tomato juice
1	tablespoon dried basil leaves
1	teaspoon salt
1/2	teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4	teaspoon pepper
2	medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
2	medium celery stalks, chopped (1 cup)
1	medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1	cup sliced fresh mushrooms (3 ounces)
2	garlic cloves, finely chopped
1	can (28 oz) Progresso® diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2	cups uncooked rotini pasta (4 1/2 ounces)
	Shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

1.	Mix all ingredients except pasta and cheese in 4- to 5-quart slow cooker.
2.	Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.
3.	Stir in pasta. Cover and cook on high heat setting 15 to 20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle each serving with cheese. Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.
(Total time will vary with appliance and setting.)

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving: Calories 105 (Calories from Fat 10 ); Total Fat 1 g (Saturated Fat 2 g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 940 mg; Total Carbohydrate 21 g (Dietary Fiber 2 g); Protein 5 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 24 %; Vitamin C 22 %; Calcium 4 %; Iron 10 % Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 Vegetable
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Serve With

Minestrone means "big soup", and this big soup needs only thick slices of a whole-grain bread to make a big meal.

Substitution

Kids will love the little corkscrew rotini pasta in this vegetable-packed soup, but any small pasta works just as well.

Redirection to my main blog

2007-11-02T21:35:00.000-05:00

I have decided not to have this separate blog and just put it in my main blog, found here:

http://butterflygail.wordpress.com/

Next week I'll post my other blog in the Menu Mondays.

Menu for Nov. 5

2007-11-02T20:20:00.000-05:00

Monday - travel out of town for Dr. appt. - eating out

Tuesday - shepherd's stew (meat, potatoes, carrots in crockpot)

Wednesday - poppyseed chicken & rice

Thursday - creamy potato soup

Friday - Hawaiian meatballs

Menu Mondays

2007-11-02T20:05:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try this. There is a blog that starts this every week, and MANY others post their menus and link to it! I just found it last night, so I'm going to see if I can figure out how to link up here!

http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday/

Crock Pot Cooking

2007-11-02T07:26:00.001-05:00

I found a few websites that have lots of Crock Pot recipes. Check those out more closely.

http://crockpot.cdkitchen.com/

http://www.crockpot-cooking.com/

http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm

http://www.a-crock-cook.com/slow-cooker-recipe.html

http://allrecipes.com/