Beans with Turkey Sausage Chili

This is a quick and easy bean soup recipe.  I like to shop the bulk bins at the grocery store, and so my recipes usually contain dried beans.  If you prefer to purchase canned beans, that's perfectly fine!  You don't have to go through the work of soaking and/or boiling dry beans if you do not want to, or don't have time to.  :)  Canned beans will work just as well.

3 Bean Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound turkey sausage (your favorite flavor, smoked, spicy, whatever you want to use), cut into thin slices

1 cup dried kidney beans, prepared (soaked/boiled)

1 cup dried black beans, prepared (soaked/boiled)

1 cup great northern beans, prepared (soaked/boiled)

1 - 20 ounce package frozen corn

3 cups salsa

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 chili pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, diced

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

Instructions:

Prepare dried beans, use over night soak method or boil method.  Drain and rinse well.

Cook sausage if you purchased uncooked.  If you purchased the pre-cooked kind, just slice it up and toss it into the slow cooker.  Another option is to fry up the sausage like a ground meat, and then add into slow cooker.  It just depends on how you prefer your meat. ;) 

Put all ingredients into a 6 quart slow cooker, give it a stir, cover and set to low for 6 hours.

Yep - it's that easy!  Enjoy! :) 

Tomato Basil Oregano Soup

This recipe is pretty simple yet very tasty.  I am not usually one for tomato soups, but that must be because I've never had a tomato soup so flavorful before.

 Ingredients:

30 oz diced tomatoes, with juice
2 celery stalks, diced into small pieces
3 tablespoons dried diced onions
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried sweet basil
32 oz (4 cups) chicken stalk (or broth)

1/2 cup gluten-free featherlight flour mix
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup grated Italian cheese blend
2 cups warmed half and half

salt, pepper to taste

Instructions:

Add top 6 ingredients into 6 quart slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

About 45 minutes before serving prepare a roux (melt butter over low heat in a skillet, add flour and garlic mixture to melted butter.  Whisk constantly for about 5 minutes.  Slowly add in 1 cup of the soup.  Whisk to prevent lumps.  Slowly add in another 3 cups of the soup, stirring until smooth.  Pour back into slow cooker.  Stir in the grated cheese and warmed half and half.   Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes.

Yield about 10 servings.

Turkey Tortilla Soup - slow cooker - gluten-free

I had some left over turkey from Christmas dinner that we put into the freezer, what a better use than to make a turkey tortilla soup?!  Yum!

Turkey Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds shredded, cooked turkey
2 (15 oz) cans/jars crushed tomatoes
1 (28 oz) can enchilada sauce
2 medium onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
4 cups chicken broth (or turkey stock)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 (about 12 oz, you can use more or less) package frozen corn

Tortilla chips (you can use tortilla strips from the store, or you can take corn tortillas and cut them into one inch strips and fry them in oil until crispy.  My family prefers the home-made from corn tortillas best.)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients, except the tortilla chips, into a 6 quart slow cooker.  Cover and set to low for 6 hours.

If you are making the home-made tortilla strips, then start making those about 30 minutes before serving.

You may also like to add shredded cheese, sour cream, and/or guacamole.

Yield about 12 servings (or so, depending on the size of your servings)

Enjoy!

Black Bean, Turkey, & Pumpkin Chili

This is a hearty winter day chili, sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Black Bean, Turkey and Pumpkin chili

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground turkey (or left over turkey, shredded or cubed)
1 medium onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper
3 cups chicken broth (or turkey stock)
2 cups dried black beans
1 (15 oz) can/jar of pumpkin puree
1 (14 1/2 oz) can/jar diced tomatoes, undrained
3 teaspoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
2 rounded teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric

Instructions:

Soak black beans over night.  If not softened, do a quick stove top soaking (bring to boil and simmer) until beans are tender.  Drain and rinse beans, set aside. (You can be frying turkey meat while you wait for the beans if you want to.)

In a frying pan brown the ground turkey, add onion and bell pepper and cook another 5-10 minutes (until veggies are soft).  Place in 6 quart slow cooker, add the rest of the ingredients (including the black beans that have been drained and rinsed), cover and set slow cooker to low for 6 hours.

Yield about 10 servings

Chicken Noodle Soup - Gluten-free

This soup turned out so yummy, and will be a wonderful soup to have on had during cold and flu season.

Gluten-Free Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts, cubed
64 oz chicken broth (or stock)
1 can/jar (about 15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
4 large carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon dried oregano

Place all items in the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours.

2 cups cooked gluten free pasta (I use elbow noodles - because that is my kiddos favorite.  You could use fettachini noodles broken in half, penne pasta, or any other pasta you have on hand.   About 30 minutes before serving, put cooked pasta into slow cooker and turn slow cooker down to keep warm (or your lowest setting).

Super simple - just the way I like it!

Tasty Soup for a Winter day

This is a tasty soup that contains ingredients that can easily be obtained in winter.  It's quick and easy to throw together and cooks all day long in the slow cooker.

Warm Up Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground meat (I use turkey, pork, or beef, whatever is on sale)
3 medium onions, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
64 oz beef broth
30 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
4 large carrots, chopped
4 large celery stalks, chopped
2 cups frozen cut green beans
4 small potatoes, chopped (i leave the peeling on, but you could peel it if you have pickier eaters)
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 tablespoon dried sweet basil
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
Salt/Pepper to taste: optional

Another option is to cook about 2 cups of pasta and add that into the slow cooker about 30 minutes before serving.  My kids really like some gluten-free pasta added in, I usually use elbow noodles or penne pasta.


Instructions:

In a large skilled, brown ground meat over medium heat. Add in onions and garlic, cook about 3-5 minutes longer, until onions and garlic are tender and meat is no longer pink and well cooked.  Drain off fat.   Add meat mixture to 6 quart slow cooker.  Add all remaining ingredients and give it a good stirring, cover, set to high and cook for 8-9 hours.

Stir slow cooker contents before serving.  Enjoy!

White Bean & Chicken Chili - Gluten-free

This is a tasty chili that will warm you up on a cold day with out a lot of work, after all, it is a slow cooker meal - right?!  :)

White Bean and Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts (or 5-6 small ones)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium onions, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
5 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
9-10 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups dried white beans (I used great northern beans), overnight soak in 10-12 cups water,  stove top cook until beans are tender if needed.
6 cups chicken broth

Toppings:  shredded cheddar cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, (or my favorite) shredded Dubliner cheese, and/or sour cream.

Instructions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, add a little olive oil (about a tablespoon), and saute chicken until no longer pink.  Add in minced onion, garlic and diced jalapeno.  Cook until veggies are tender.  Pour into 6 quart slow cooker.

Put 2 1/2 cups of the prepared beans into a medium bowl.  Add about 1 cup of the broth and mash beans.  Add to slow cooker.  Add all remaining ingredients (except toppings, of course) to the slow cooker, give it a stir and cover, set on low for 4 hours (or longer, after 4 hours you can set to keep warm and leave it the rest of the day if you want to).

Stir slow cooker contents before serving, add toppings of choice to each bowl of chili, and Enjoy!