Chilly, fall weather is just around the corner. There is nothing better than coming home to a warm bowl of soup and a yummy smelling house.. especially when it took me just minutes to prepare it! I LOVE my crockpot recipes... they just make life easier. This one for Easy, Peasy Veggie Soup & 'Baked Cheese Sandwiches' is one of my faves {{kiddos too}}!!
Kitchen Tools Needed:
Crock pot
Cookie Sheet
Knife
Cutting Board
Peeler
Skillet
Can Opener
Ingredients:
Easy, Peasy Veggie Soup
1 lb of ground beef (optional-- just veggies in the soup are great too!)
1 bag of frozen corn
1 bag of frozen peas
1 bag of frozen green beans
1 36 oz can of tomato juice
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 bag of fresh carrots- I leave mine whole because I have some carrot lovers, but chop if you are trying to hide them a little
2 medium potatoes- rinsed, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
About 8 spears of fresh okra (or frozen)- chopped into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon of fresh, minced garlic
half of a medium onion, chopped
one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of pepper
'Baked Cheese Sandwiches'
8 slices of bread
4 slices of cheese-- we use cheddar but if you have a favorite, by all means, try it out!
First, I go ahead and turn my crockpot on and let it start warming up. Next, I chop all of the ingredients that need chopping. Then, I go straight to assembling the soup, starting with browning the ground beef. I throw the onions and garlic in with the ground beef to flavor it as well as cook a little to get the raw taste out so it doesn't overpower the soup. Drain the ground beef before adding to the soup. Next, I open all of the cans of tomato juice and soup and pour those in, since they are the base. Add each ingredient one by one to the crock pot. Stir until ingredients are well distributed throughout the soup. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours. I try to hit the low for 8 hours because everything is just perfectly tender by then. When I'm about 15 minutes from dinner time, I preheat the oven to 400 degrees for the Baked Cheese Sandwiches. Assemble the sandwiches as 2 sliced of cheese between 2 pieces of bread. Bake them for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet for optimal crunch, flipping them over halfway through .
I serve a hearty bowl of soup with 2 baked cheese triangles. The baked cheeses are so crunchy and melty all at the same time... it's heavenly when dipped into the soup! This recipe is a kid pleaser. My husband loves it. There's ALWAYS left overs for the next day. It serves a big group perfectly if you double the recipe. It is definitely a go-to in our house when it starts getting chilly out. Enjoy!
