Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

I am not a fan of Italian food. There, I said it. I'm that crazy person you find in every group who detests lasagna and doesn't want any sauce on their pizza. On those rare occasions when we go to Olive Garden, this is what I order, along with salad and breadsticks. It's crazy good!

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup diced onion
1 cup julienne carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, with liquid
1 can white kidney beans, with liquid
15 oz. tomato sauce
12 oz. V-8 juice, plus extra as needed
1 tbl. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 lb. ditalini pasta

Brown ground beef in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Transfer to crockpot and add remaining ingredients, except pasta. Cook on low 5 hours. Before serving, cook pasta according to package directions just until al dente and stir into soup. Makes 8 servings.

Notes:
• If soup is too thick, add more V-8 juice until desired consistency is reached.
• Substitute 2 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning for oregano, basil, and thyme, if desired.
• Try adding pasta to serving bowls and ladling soup on top instead of adding pasta directly to soup. This will keep pasta from becoming mushy if leftovers are refrigerated or frozen.

Adapted from: http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Olive-Garden-Pasta-e-Fagioli-Recipe.html

8 Can Taco Soup

Great for those days when you have absolutely no time to cook. This soup is ridiculously easy and crazy good.

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15.25 oz.) can sweet corn, drained
1 (12.5 oz.) can white chicken breast, drained
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Heat until warm, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips.

I used two cans of pinto beans and added an extra 1/2 can of water because I didn't think it was "soupy" enough. This would be excellent with a bit of grated cheese and/or sour cream on top.

From: http://highheelsandgrills.blogspot.com/2012/09/8-can-taco-soup.html

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 lb. shredded, cooked chicken

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can enchilada sauce

1 can chopped green chilis

10 oz. frozen corn

1 can chicken broth

2 cups water

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 tbl. chopped cilantro

7 corn tortillas

vegetable oil

Place all ingredients except tortillas and oil in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly brush both sides of each tortilla with oil. Cut into strips and spread on baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until crisp. Serve soup garnished with tortilla strips.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/

My changes:

Put frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts straight into slow cooker. I will shred them later.

Used dehydrated minced onions so the onion haters won't know they're there.

Used green enchilada sauce.

Used canned corn, drained.

I didn't have chili powder so I used chili seasoning.

Left out bay leaf because I didn't have one.

Left out cilantro since Little Girl can't tolerate it.

Super Quick Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

1 onion, chopped

2 cans pinto beans or your favorite canned bean

1 can corn

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix

1 1/2 cups water

Crumble and cook ground beef and onion in a soup pot until done. Drain. Add in remaining ingredients (don’t drain vegetables). Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips, if desired.

Crockpot variation: Brown ground beef and onion in a skillet. Drain and add to crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low 6-8 hours.

Adapted from: http://www.southernplate.com/2008/09/worlds-easiest-supper-taco-soup.html

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

1 – 1 1/2 lb. stew beef, cut into 1/2” cubes
1 28 oz. can or 2 14.5 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cans beef broth
1 can water
1 pkg. frozen mixed vegetables
3/4 cup pearl barley
House seasoning* and Italian spice to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste (optional)

Spray a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add beef, tomatoes, broth, water and seasonings. Cook on high 2 hours. Turn to low and cook 6-7 hours. Approximately 1 1/2 hours before serving turn to high and add barley. Add vegetables during last 30 minutes.

*House seasoning (from Paula Deen): 4 parts salt, 1 part pepper, 1 part garlic powder.

Green Chili Stew

I'd love to be able to take credit for this recipe. It was a favorite in the cafeteria at the Texas Instruments plant in Midland, Texas. When that plant closed, the recipe followed the the transferred employees to the facility here. I still sometimes go out to the plant and have lunch with hubby on days they serve this, but my homemade is better.

2 1/2 lb. ground beef
3 medium onions, chopped
4 medium potatoes, diced
1 tbl. salt
1 tbl. garlic powder
1 tbl. basil
1 tbl. cumin
2 16 oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 7 oz. cans diced green chilies
1/4 lb. jalapenos, deveined, seeded and chopped
4 cans pinto beans
2 cups water

Drain juice from beans and save. Brown meat, onion and spices in a large dutch oven. Add other ingredients (except beans) and simmer uncovered for 1 hour 10 minutes. Add pinto beans and simmer for additional 20 minutes. Serve with tortillas. Makes 15 servings.

Note: Recipe may be halved. For a less spicy dish, use fewer jalapenos.

Beef Stew

My friend Patty created this recipe many years ago. Now, Patty is a bit of a perfectionist, so all her vegetables will be cut into perfect little cubes or slices, but I usually just chunk things up. It tastes great all the same. The turnip is surprisingly good in this recipe. I don't usually like turnips, but the flavor blends in well and it holds up better than the potatoes to the long cooking time.

1/2 cup flour
1 tbl. + 1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tbl. sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 tbl. shortening
2 lb. stew meat
6 cups hot water, divided
3 potatoes, cut into cubes
4 carrots, cut into 1" slices
1 cup sliced celery
1 turnip, cut into cubes
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 can (16 oz.) tomatoes

Mix flour, salt and pepper. Coat meat with flour mixture. Brown meat in shortening in large stew pot. Add 2 cups of water, vegetables (except tomatoes) and remaining seasoning. Cover and simmer, adding hot water as needed until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes and cook an additional 15 minutes or until done. To thicken liquid, mix 2-3 tbl. flour with 1/2 cup water to make smooth paste. Stir into stew, cook and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Mexican Cheeseburger Soup

1 lb. shredded cheese (half sharp cheddar/half mild cheddar)
1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
1 can (8 1/4 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, undrained
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can beef broth
1 can diced new potatoes, drained

Spray inside of crock with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients except potatoes in crock. Cover; cook on low 4-5 hours or high 3 hours. Stir in potatoes about 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Crockpot Chili

Fall has definitely arrived! October isn't usually this cool here in Texas, but the weather is just fine and dandy for me 'cause I've been craving all my favorite winter dishes. Since it was a brisk 48 degrees this morning, I decided a pot of chili would be a welcome Friday night dinner.

The Ingredients:

Crushed tomatoes, beans, and spices. There's also ground beef and onions, which didn't make it into the picture because they were browning on the stove when I remembered to go get my camera. Doh!

This isn't true Texas chili because it's made with beans. Also, no self-respecting Texas chili would ever be caught containing ground beef. No sir! Authentic Texas chili starts off with stew beef or a big ole chuck roast cut into cubes. But for fast, out-of-this-world delicious, everyday chili, you can't go wrong with this.

Use whatever beans you happen to like: kidney beans, red beans, black beans, great northern beans, etc. I prefer pinto beans and/or chili beans. Today all I had was one can of pintos and one can of pork & beans, so that's what I used. It was a little sweeter than usual, but still tasted great.


Here's everything stirred together in my 4-quart crockpot. Sorry about the picture, I had to tip the pot to get good light.


If you asked 100 cooks, you would get 100 different recipes for chili. I just happen to think mine is the best of the lot. Looks good, doesn't it? Oh, and I didn't need the oatmeal this time, it was thick enough without.

I hope you'll try this recipe and that it helps to keep you warm and satisfied all through the fall and winter months.

Crockpot Chili

2 lb. ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cans pinto or chili beans
3 tbl. or 2 pkg. chili seasoning
1 tbl. chili powder
1 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 cup dry oatmeal (optional)

Brown ground beef and onions. Put all ingredients into crockpot (except oatmeal) and stir together, adjusting seasonings to taste. Cook on high/low 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Add oatmeal about 30 minutes before serving to thicken, if desired.

Meatball "Stone" Soup

Earlier this year I participated in a Betty Crocker Dinner Made Easy recipe test. Betty Crocker provided us with several recipes to choose from and I made the "Meatball 'Stone' Soup."

The Ingredients:

Italian style meatballs, diced tomatoes, beef broth, mixed vegetables, onion, potatoes and spices.

I didn't have the exact spices called for so I substituted garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper for garlic-pepper blend and since my can of tomatoes was unseasoned, I added some Italian seasoning. I thought I had a potato, but discovered too late that I didn't, so I added a can of diced potatoes, drained, at the same time as the frozen veggies.


This is how full my 4-quart crock pot was when all the ingredients had been added. The size was perfect; I wouldn't go any smaller.


Our whole family enjoyed this soup very much. Even my finicky 11 year-old ate it to the last drop. I've made this soup several times in the past few months and it is always greeted with enthusiasm.

This is the recipe, exactly as it was provided to me by Betty Crocker with my changes in italics. It doesn't need to cook as long as the recipe recommends. It turns out fine at 6-7 hours instead of the original 9-11.

MEATBALL STONE SOUP

Prep Time: 10 Min
Start to Finish: 10 Hr 10 Min

1 bag (16 oz.) frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs
1 can (28 oz.) Progresso® diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
(or 1 can (28 oz.) regular diced tomatoes, undrained plus 1 tsp. Italian seasoning blend)
1 medium potato, chopped (1 cup)
(or 1 can diced new potatoes, drained)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 cans (14 oz. each) beef broth
1/4 tsp. garlic-pepper blend
(or 1/8 tsp. each garlic powder and black pepper)
1 bag (1 lb.) Green Giant® frozen mixed vegetables

1. Spray inside of 3- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In slow cooker, mix frozen meatballs, tomatoes, potato (if using canned, wait until adding frozen vegetables), onion, garlic-pepper blend (Italian seasoning blend) and broth.
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 9 to 11 hours (6 to 7 hours).
3. Increase heat setting to High. Stir in frozen mixed vegetables (and canned potatoes). Cover; cook 1 hour longer.

6 servings

1 Serving: Calories 375 (Calories from Fat 170); Total Fat 19g (Saturated Fat 7g, Trans Fat nc); Cholesterol 120mg; Sodium 1670mg; Total Carbohydrate 27g (Dietary Fiber 7g, Sugars nc); Protein 31g
% Daily Value: Vitamin A nc; Vitamin C nc; Calcium nc; Iron 24%
Exchanges: 1 Starch, 2 Vegetable
Carbohydrate Choices:

2008 © and ®/™ of General Mills

Betty Crocker Kitchens® Tips: "Stone Soup" is a children's folktale that tells an optimistic story of townspeople sharing ingredients from their cupboards and an actual stone to make a pot of soup. We used some of the same ingredients -- but not the stone! -- and cooked them in the slow cooker.
Make this hot and hearty soup the main course of a simple meal. Sprinkle the soup with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, and serve with whole-grain rolls or assorted crackers. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.