I'm Baaaaack...

OK, it's been a LOOOOONG time, so you would think this would be a witty, life-changing blog post, but alas (I love when I can use that word), it is not. Just a yummy non-holiday recipe. Is anyone completely sick of holiday food, or just me. Anyway, here goes. This is our dinner tonight...

This came from The Domestic Diva. It is her Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Potato Soup that she came up with by combining two recipes. I made a couple of very minor alterations

Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts (I used leftover turkey and just chopped it)
• 1 1/2 c. chicken broth (depending on how thick you want the soup)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 8oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  
• salt & pepper to taste
• garlic powder
  
• 1 tsp. poultry seasoning (I didn't use this since my turkey was smoked and already quite flavorful)
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 12-15 small red potatoes, cut into quarters
  

Directions:
Coat bottom of crock pot with cooking spray. Add carrots to bottom if using. Place chicken on top, and add remaining veggies. Mix together chicken stock, soup, and cream cheese and pour over top. Add seasonings.
Cook on Low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken with forks before serving!
**I added my turkey 2/3 of the way through since it was already cooked and I just wanted the flavor.

The Best Bean and Ham Soup EVER

This is sooo cheap to make and is delicious on a cold night. It's great served with garlic cheese biscuits. Yummmm...

Ingredients:

• 4 (15.5 ounce) cans great northern beans
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups of matchstick carrots (or chopped carrots, but I'm lazy sometimes)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 cups chopped ham (my favorite is leftovers from a smoked ham, the smokey taste is FABULOUS)
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (I use the organic, low sodium kind)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbs white pepper
• 2 tsp mustard powder
  

Directions:

Puree 2 cans of the beans in a food processor or blender. Put everything in the crockpot and cook all day on low. The longer it cooks, the better. I've left it cooking through the day and night and it just gets better and better the longer it's in there. Of course if you want a quicker version, just saute the onion and carrots,throw it in the crockpot and cook for a couple of hours on high. It is a totally different soup, but is still fabulous.