Slow Cooker Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced onion (or 1/2 onion, diced)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 4 tsp dried basil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups milk, warm
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 black pepper

Preparations:

1. Add vegetables, tomatoes, broth, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to the crock pot. 
2. Cook on low for roughly six hours.
3. Remove bay leaf. In batches, blend the hot soup. Return the smoothed soup to the pot. 
4. 30 minutes before serving, prepare the roux. Melt the butter on low in a sauce pan. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Stir for 6-7 minutes. Slowly mix in one cup of the soup. Once thoroughly combined, return mixture to the crock pot.
5. Add the parmesan, milk, salt, and pepper. Cook another 30 minutes.
6. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Pancit Noodles

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package rice noodles (roughly 3.5 oz), broken or cut into small pieces
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 vegetarian chicken breasts
• 1/4 of an onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 carrot, diced (or 4 baby carrots)
• 1/4 head cabbage, shredded
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup condensed vegetable broth (1/2 cup water to 1/2 bouillon cube)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp paprika

 Preparations:

1. Soak noodles in a large bowl of boiling water until they start to soften, roughly 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add chicken, cover, and cook 12 minuetes, flipping once. Remove from pan. 
3. Add remaining oil, onion, celery, carrots, cabbage, and garlic. Dice chicken and add to pan. Cook for five minutes. Add broth and soy sauce. Reduce heat and cover for several minutes, until cabbage and carrots start to soften. 
4. Drain the noodles and add them to the frying pan. Stir noodles around until evenly coated and warmed up. Sprinkle with paprika and stir until noodles are a nice light orange color. 

Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 5 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 small carrot (or 4 baby carrots), finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 - 1, depending, onion, minced
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 - 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4 - 8 oz)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preparations:

1. In a large saucepan, bring potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, vegetable broth and salt to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, roughly 15 to 20 minutes. 
2. Mash mixture coarsely. Stir in milk. Return to a simmer.
3. In a small mixing bowl, blend butter, flour, parsley, and pepper; stir into potato mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 10 minutes.
4. Add cheeses. Reduce heat to low and let barely simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 45 minutes

Appetizer Pictures

Holiday Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 2 large yellow onions , chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 (12-ounce) boxes corn bread stuffing
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (10-ounce) can cream of celery soup
• 3/4 cups fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup green onions (1 bunch from grocery store), chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tsp. pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. 
2. Pour the cornbread stuffing into a large bowl.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, cover with a lid and lower the heat to sweat—about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the celery, butter, and carrots. Sauté for another 10 minutes. Pour in quarter of a cup of vegetable broth, then add the sautéed vegetables to the stuffing. 
4. Add the cream of celery soup, remaining vegetable broth, orange juice, lemon juice, scallions, salt, and pepper to the stuffing. Mix well. 
5. Place the stuffing in a 9x13 baking pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Poke holes in the foil with a fork. Bake for 45 minutes. You can prepare it the night before and pop it in the oven the next day.

Cook Time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 8-10