Crockpots - A Girl's Best Friend

I got a crockpot a couple years ago for Christmas. It's perfect because it means I only have one thing to wash when everything is done, and it can cook while I take a nap :)

Sometimes I have a difficult time finding the crockpot recipes though. There's so many things that you can tweak just a little bit to turn into a slow cooker recipe. Soup is an excellent example of this, and is perfect for the cold weather that might eventually reach Florida.

And let me tell you, this baked potato soup received an excellent review from the boyfriend [and there's no meat in it, so this is a big deal!], and it made enough that we have at least 2 more meals out of it!



There aren't too many ingredients, which is great. For a lot of people, the more ingredients, the more difficult it is to follow along and not forget something or do something incorrectly. Plus, these are all items that are common to a kitchen, so chances are you can make this in a pinch if you don't know what else to cook.


I admit, I didn't want to put the oven time on for 6 hours, and I had to go to class, and live my life, etc, and I absolutely knew I wouldn't remember when I put it in. Here I am, early 20's, and I already need to give myself reminders. This is not a good sign for the future.

YUM. Tasty. Delicious. Fantastic. I'm going to go get myself a bowl right now actually.

[Small trivia fact for you: eating your food in a blue bowl/plate actually helps you eat less. Something about the things that are triggered in your brain when you look at the color blue. Cool, right?]


Loaded Baked Potato Soup for the slow cooker
[adapted from my mom's recipe, which is made on the stove]

3 good sized baking potatoes
14.5 oz chicken broth
1.5 c skim milk
1/2 c chopped celery
salt and pepper to taste [I don't actually use salt often when cooking, so I only added pepper to the soup]
1 garlic clove, pressed or very finely chopped
Bacon pieces
1 c sour cream
cheddar cheese for garnish
Green onions for garnish

Peel and cube potatoes. Put them in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the chicken broth and skim milk over the potatoes. Add in celery, salt and pepper, and garlic. Mix it all up, but make sure that all the potatoes are at least mostly submerged in the liquid. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours.

At about 5 hours and 45 minutes in, add enough bacon for your liking [I used real bacon pieces from the store, because I don't usually have bacon in my fridge, and I also don't really like to cook bacon], and stir in the sour cream. Let cook for 10-15 minutes longer.

Ladle into bowls and top with cheddar cheese and green onions [I didn't have green onions, but I can guarantee they would be delicious on this soup].

Enjoy :)