Crock Pot Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

• 2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbs dried basil
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups half and half, warmed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large crock pot.

Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hour, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

About 30 minutes before serving, prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup of hot soup, add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the crock pot. Stir and add the parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt, and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano, if needed.

Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Found this recipe HERE.

I doubled this as much as I could to fill the large, black crock pot. I also did 1 (28oz) can of diced tomatoes and 1 of crushed. And I think I still kept just kept it with 4 cups of broth; any more than that, and I don't think it would have fit in the crock pot! I cooked it on high much of the day to get the carrots soft. Once they were soft, I stirred in the roux, parmesan, and milk. After that, I let it cook for another hour or so, gave it a good stir, and put it in the fridge. When warming it up the next day, I left it on high for the entire service, and it was good and hot.

Southern Butternut Squash

I finally found a butternut squash casserole (and I bet you could substitute sweet potatoes for the squash with equally delicious results) recipe that uses sweetened condensed milk. I just KNEW there had to be some recipe with that in it! Anyway, this recipe is absolutely delicious! Daddy made a pie with some of the left overs after dinner the other night. Although, I thought (of course) it wasn't quite sweet enough for a pie. :)

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups mashed, cooked butternut squash
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter one 2 quart casserole dish.
2. Blend together the butternut squash, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, cream and sugar.
3. Pour into prepared casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 45 minutes or until set and edges begin to bubble.
4. Prepare a topping if desired by combining 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Mix together and sprinkle over squash before baking.

I did the brown sugar, flour, and butter for the top, but we didn't have any nuts. The topping melted into the rest of the casserole, but that only made those spots that much more delicious!

LINK

Turnip Greens

Ingredients:

1. a big bunch of fresh turnip greens (rinsed well)
2. a bit of water
3. Mrs. Dash
4. Black Pepper
5. 1 cayenne pepper
6. a couple of cubes of beef boulion (more or less to taste)

Preparation:

Cook the above ingredients in the pressure cooker for about 10 minutes. After the ten minutes are up, remove the lid and let the greens simmer while you finish up the rest of the meal.

Tip:

You really do need a big bunch of greens, even if there are only a few people planning to eat them. Turnip greens (and other greens - mustard, collard, etc.) cook down a whole lot, so we usually pick enough to fill an ordinary grocery bag. It should fill up the pressure cooker at first, but once they're done cooking, you'll just have a nice bowl full.