Pin 25 Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

I love finding recipes that I can use in my Crockpot.  Football Saturdays are my favorite days to use my crockpot.  I can let the meal cook while I sit back and root on my Ohio State Buckeyes!  Saturday I tried something new.....I figure my kids all love cheeseburgers (well except my vegetarian!) so this soup couldn't go wrong.  The original pin wasn't done in a crockpot, but it worked well.

 

Source: tasteofhome.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Taste of Home is one of my favorite magazines.   I think for the most part the recipes they have in them are family friendly.   I could have made two crockpots full of this....The first one disappeared very quickly.  I used the recipe more as an inspiration.

What I used

Frozen Hashbrowns (square kind)
Chicken Broth
Velveeta
Cheddar Cheese Soup
Shredded Cheddar (to sprinkle on each bowl)
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
Famous Dave's Seasoning for Burgers & Steak
Browned Ground Beef
Instant Mashed Potatoes (were just sitting on my shelf and I wanted to make it a little thicker)
Heavy Cream (totally optional)

First I browned my ground beef, and got out my crockpot and put my liner in (best invention EVER!!!) Poured in my chicken broth and hashbrowns, seasoning.  When the ground beef was done I added it in and turned the crockpot on high for a few hours.  I set an alarm on my cell phone so I don't forget about it.  I also threw in remnants of shredded cheese that were left in several bags in my fridge......



Once it had cooked for a few hours I added in the heavy whipping cream and instant potatoes.  I didn't measure.  I just poured till it looked right.  I reseasoned and let it cook for a little longer.   I'm not sure how long.... I lost track of time watching football.

I didn't take any pics of the finished product, but trust me it was good.  I made a huge crockpot full and when I went back for a second bowl, it was all gone.  This will be in my regular winter line-up for dinner.

Pin 16 Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken

Mondays are wrestling days in this household.  If it were your typical school wrestling things wouldn't be so hectic, but the boys go to a wrestling "club" about 45 min. away.  The drive and time of day is a huge pain in the butt.  The club is one of the top rated clubs, not in the state, but in the country.  Humphrey Wrestling is beyond excellent!  Dinner...............it is an almost impossible task on wrestling days.  First we have track conditioning that ends in just enough time for me to go pick them up, switch out a few kids and head out to the wrestling club.  We get back pretty late, so everyone eating together isn't in the cards.   A lot of times (more times then I would like to admit) we eat quick meals.....aka whatever anyone can find, whether it be leftovers or something for the microwave.  When I'm thinking ahead I use my crockpot.  I LOVE MY CROCKPOT!!!!   Trying something new to me, Crockpot Creamy Chicken. 

Source: forkinit.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Checked to make sure I had everything I needed then got started.  Normally I use crockpot liners (best invention ever!) but since I first had to soften the cream cheese, and stir it in with the cream of chicken soup and seasoning I opted to go without.  Since there are a lot of us I doubled the recipe.

This made the whole house smell good.  The chicken shred extremely easily.  I made brown rice for this to go on top of.

It definately doesn't look appetizing.  Some fresh cut herbs or other garnish probably would have helped the appearance, but we were in a hurry.  This didn't have a whole lot of taste. I might make this again, but would definately have to change up the seasoning.  The italian dressing can barely be tasted.

Pin No. 4 Crockpot Potato Soup

It's Saturday, and for this household its always a big day of the week.   We are a huge Football family.  We LOVE The Ohio State Buckeyes.   We like them so much we literally named one of our kids after their school colors, Scarlett-Ann Greye.   Weekends are also special because my Hubby works away from home all week and we only see him on the weekends.  I like to pick meals that allow me to enjoy time with him and the kids, instead of spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  I went through my Crockpot/ Recipes-Dinner Pins and come across this

Source: flickr.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I'm actually Cheating a little bit here!  I think I'm in trouble if I' doing that already, Lol!   I have made this before, it's simple and very delicious.   Everyone loves it, and it takes minimal effort, and best of all it's cooked in my favorite appliance, the CrockPot! 
We ate a little later than planned tonight. I sorta forgot to plug in the Crockpot!  Turned out to be the perfect day for soup.  It was cold and sleeting.  I should add I use the above pin as a base......I add ham, and season as I go.

For my crockpot I used 3 boxes of Chicken Broth (I do not add the water called for) 2 bags of hashbrowns, and 4 cups of Shredded Cheddar.

About an hour before we were ready to eat I mixed the milk with the flour then added it to the crockpot. 

Once again a big hit with the family.  We never have much left over, but there are 8 of us, and 4 of those are teenagers!  I have frozen this successfully.  After thawed I just add a little water or chicken broth to thin it out some.  This has become a recipe that is in regular rotation!  Yummo!