Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook (19 page)

Onion Soup

Lucille Amos

Greensboro, NC

Makes 10 servings

Prep. Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 4-5 hours

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

6 large onions

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter

6 10½-oz. cans beef broth

1½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

pepper to taste

10 ½”-thick slices French bread

shredded mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese, shredded

1. In large skillet or saucepan, sauté onions in butter until tender. Do not brown. Transfer to slow cooker.

2. Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper.

3. Cover. Cook on Low 4-5 hours or until onions are very tender.

4. Top each serving with French bread and cheese.

Creamy Potato Soup

Janeen Troyer

Fairview, MI

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 3¼-3½ hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.

3 cups chopped potatoes, peeled or unpeeled

1 cup water

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped carrots

¼ cup chopped onions

2 cubes chicken,
or
vegetable, bouillon

1 tsp. parsley

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1½ cups milk

2 Tbsp. flour

½ lb. cheese, your choice, shredded

1. Combine potatoes, water, celery, carrots, onion, bouillon, parsley, salt, and pepper in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on High 3 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

3. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, add milk to flour. Cover tightly and shake until flour dissolves in milk. When smooth, add mixture to vegetables in cooker. Stir well.

4. Cover. Cook on High another 15-30 minutes, or until soup is thickened and smooth. Stir occasionally to prevent lumps from forming.

5. Add cheese. Stir until melted.

Note from Tester:

For the Christmas holidays, garnish individual soup bowls with fresh parsley and chopped red bell peppers.

Ham and Potato Chowder

Penny Blosser

Beavercreek, OH

Makes 5 servings

Prep. Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 8 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.

5-oz. pkg. scalloped potatoes

sauce mix from potato pkg.

1 cup cooked ham, cut into narrow strips

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup chopped celery

⅓ cup chopped onions

salt to taste

pepper to taste

2 cups half-and-half

⅓ cup flour

1. Combine potatoes, sauce mix, ham, broth, celery, onions, salt, and pepper in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 7 hours.

3. Combine half-and-half and flour in small bowl. Gradually stir into slow cooker, blending well.

4. Cover. Cook on Low up to 1 hour, stirring occasionally until thickened.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Susie Shenk Wenger

Lancaster, PA

Makes 4 servings

Prep. Time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking Time: 3-4 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.

29-oz. can tomato sauce,
or
crushed tomatoes,
or
1 qt. home-canned tomatoes, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1-2 carrots, sliced thin

2 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 tsp. freshly chopped parsley

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 cup heaving whipping cream

croutons, preferably homemade

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Combine tomato sauce, onions, carrots, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 3-4 hours, or until vegetables are soft.

3. Cool Soup a bit. Purée with immersion blender.

4. Add cream and blend lightly again.

5. Serve hot with croutons and Parmesan as garnish.

Tip:

This recipe can be easily doubled.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Tina Hartman

Lancaster, PA

Makes 25-28 1-cup servings

Prep. Time: 30-60 minutes

Cooking Time: 1-2 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 8-qt.

¼ stick (2 Tbsp.) unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 cups chopped yellow onions

2 Tbsp. mild curry powder

5 lbs. butternut squash (2 large ones)

1½ lbs. sweet apples

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground pepper

2 cups water

2 cups apple cider,
or
juice

1. Warm butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in large stockpot over low heat on stove until onions are tender (15 to 20 minutes).

2. Peel squash and remove seeds. Cut squash into chunks.

3. Peel, core, and cut apples into about 8 wedges each.

4. Add squash, apples, salt, pepper, and water to pot. Cook until soft enough to purée.

5. Purée or process with a food processor.

6. Pour entire mixture into slow cooker. Add apple cider or juice.

7. Cover. Cook on Low 1-2 hours. Serve hot from the cooker.

Note:

This recipe is actually from my friends Brittany Leffler and Brian McKee. (They should get credit for it!) They host a cookie-exchange party every Christmas, and they serve this and chili. The rest of us bring the cookies. It is wonderful.

We have an old holiday storybook which my mother used to read to us children. It’s pretty battered, but it’s a family treasure. One year my sister crafted and painted a special box for it, and now whoever hosts Christmas (we take turns) gets to keep the book until the following Christmas, when it’s always the first gift opened.

Carol L. Miller, Lockport, NY

Naturally Colorful Vegetable Soup

Darla Sathre

Baxter, MN

Makes 6 servings

Prep. Time: 20-30 minutes

Cooking Time: 9-11 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.