Easy Beef Stroganoff

For a quick and easy dinner that makes you happy and warm in all the right ways, this stroganoff is the way to go. I have many fond memories of family dinners around this meal. We loved it served over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Perfect for easy homestyle cooking. And only 4 ingredients (plus noodles!)

Easy Beef Stroganoff 

from my mom

Serves 3 

Ingredients

1 pound stew meat (beef or venison)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can water

1/2 packet dry onion soup mix

3 cups dry egg noodles 

Directions

Combine stew meat, soup, water, and dry mix in a 4 or 5 quart crock pot. Cook on high 4-5 hours or until meat is fall-apart tender. 

When ready to serve, cook egg noodles until tender. Spoon stroganoff over the noodles in a shallow bowl. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Recipe

I am a lover of buffalo chicken wings in any form. This recipe is one of the fastest Crockpot recipes I've ever made, with just 3 key ingredients (plus a little butter). It's a perfect lunch or dinner for your hungry family OR  you could double (or triple) the recipe for a perfect party snack on mini buns. 

If you like a little spice in your meal and delight in delicious hot sandwich that melts in your mouth, this is the meal for you.  

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwich Recipe

recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Makes 4 Sandwiches

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)

2 Tbsp Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (or 2/3 of one packet)

8 oz hot sauce (half a bottle)

1 Tbsp butter

4 sandwich buns or homemade sandwich thins 

Directions

Coat a small crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in the crockpot and sprinkle in ranch dressing and hot sauce. Cook on low 6 hours. Once tender, pull apart to shred using 2 forks. 

Add in butter and let it melt. Stir. Serve atop buns.  

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Vegetable Stew Recipe (Slow Cooker)

Perfect for a chilly winter's day, this hearty vegetable stew will fill your belly and warm you to the core. I love anything that is loaded with vegetables. I don't feel the need to have meat in every meal, but I think this stew would fill even the carnivorous eater. 

I tossed the ingredients together at 6am on Sunday morning and it was beautiful cooked and thickened by noon when we returned from church. I hope you and your family enjoy this stew as much as we did. 

Vegetable Stew Recipe (Slow Cooker)

recipe adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 -14.5 oz can stewed or diced tomatoes

2 medium russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup chopped cabbage

1 cup chicken broth or bouillon

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours. Serve with crusty bread and butter.

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Ham Stew Recipe (Slow Cooker)

Crockpot meals are perfect for Sundays. Step one: throw ingredients into slow cooker. Step two: turn on slow cooker. Step three: wait a long while. Step four: come home to a perfectly cooked meal.

With leftover ham still on hand, this chunky ham and vegetable stew was the perfect option. Easy and most importantly, delicious.


Ham Stew Recipe (Slow Cooker)
recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 cup ham, cubed (leftovers are perfect)
1/2 pound baby carrots
3-4 small potatoes, cubed
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasonings
2 cups beef or chicken broth or bouillon
1-2 cups water (depending on desired amount of juices)

Directions
Combine all ingredients into a small slow cooker/Crockpot. Cook on high 4-5 hours, until vegetables are softened.


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Leftover Ham and Potato Soup Recipe

I always have grandiose plans for holiday dinner leftovers. But they almost always fail to come to fruition. I'm either burnt out on ham or turkey or mashed potatoes OR I'm just burnt out on cooking (or being in the kitchen) altogether. Maybe you can relate? 


Well, this soup is the solution to all of my problems (and hopefully yours, too.) Starting with the idea of a ham and potato soup (rather than ham and bean, which my husband detests really dislikes), I pulled out the ingredients and washed up a few fresh potatoes. But then I thought to myself, "Self, you have another container in the fridge full of leftover mashed potatoes. Are you really ever going to eat those? Mashed potatoes the second (or twelfth) time around really aren't the best. But put them in a soup and it might be creamy and thick and delicious."  My brainstorm did not lead me astray, friends.

This soup is out-of-this-world delicious and way too easy. Kevin and I were both in love with the taste, the texture, and the perfect combination of leftovers and fresh ingredients. YUM.

 




Leftover Ham and Potato Soup Recipe
recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com
serves 4

Ingredients
3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1-1/2 cup chopped leftover ham
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 beef bouillon cubes
3 cups water
1 cup milk
1-1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp pepper
for topping (optional)
chili sauce
oyster crackers

Directions
In a small crockpot (slow cooker) combine all ingredients, except toppings (chili sauce and oyster crackers). Stir together. Cook on high 4-5 hours, until celery and onion are softened and soup is fragrant. Serve (with chili sauce and crackers, if desired.)


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Sausage, Peppers & Potatoes (Slow Cooker)

In search a a perfect quick and delicious after-church meal, I came up with this tasty combination. Potatoes, sausage and peppers (with onions and garlic of course!) is one of our favorite combinations. Traditionally I cook up the trio in a large skillet. In the name of efficiency, I opted to give the crockpot a chance to shine. 

Boy, are we glad I did! This was SO fast and SO tasty. Double the recipe and feed your family with this recipe today!  

Sausage, Peppers & Potatoes (Slow Cooker)

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

serves 2-3

Ingredients

2 fully cooked sausages

3 small red potatoes, cubed

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, sliced

salt 

pepper

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil 

1/2 cup water

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a 4 quart slow cooker. Cook on high 3-4 hours, or on low 5-6 hours. 

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Vegetable Soup (Slow Cooker)

With 10 minutes to go before church, I realized I needed to have a plan for lunch. The Crockpot was called my name, but I was at a loss for ideas. I started pulled out piles of fresh vegetables from the refrigerator, and before I knew it I had compiled a delicious and TOTALLY healthy soup. 

Simple. Overflowing with fresh vegetables. Nothing is lacking. (Assuming you love your veggies!)

Vegetable Soup (Slow Cooker)

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 small zucchini, sliced

4 carrots, sliced

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 whole small onion, chopped

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped (OR 1 can diced tomatoes)

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

pepper

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2-3 cups water

Directions

Place all ingredients into a 4 quart slow cooker, stir. Cook on High 4-5 hours or on Low 6-8 hours. Serve with a side of Honey Yeast Rolls or French Bread. 

Hawaiian Barbecue Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

This recipe is as fast as lighting to put together and so delicious--everyone will be asking for more! It takes no more than 5 minutes to put together. It cooks to perfection in the crockpot, tantalizing your tastebuds all afternoon. Then simply shred the meat, pile it on top of your favorite hamburger bun and enjoy!

Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

recipe adapted from tastykitchen.com

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 whole onion, sliced into chunks

1 -20 oz can pineapple (niblets or crushed), drained

1 -18-20 oz bottle favorite BBQ sauce

Hamburger buns

Directions

Coat the inside of a 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spraying. Combine chicken, onion, pineapple, and barbecue sauce in the slow cooker. Cook on high 4-5 hours. Using two forks shred the chicken and allow it to soak up the juices for a few minutes before serving atop your favorite sandwich bun. 

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Easy Beef Stew (Slow Cooker)

This dish is the epitome of comfort food with the ease of preparation you won't believe. I grew up loving this dinner and only recently asked my mom for the recipe. It was super fast and easy to throw together and all 7 20somethings who dined with us, loved it! I'm sure your family will too!

Easy Beef Stew (Slow Cooker)

recipe adapted from my mom

Serves 8 

Ingredients

1-1/2 pound stew meat

3 stalks celery, chopped

6-7 carrots, sliced

6-7 potatoes, chopped

2 small onions, chopped

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 can water

1 beef bouillon cube

1/2 package dry onion soup mix

Directions

Coat the edges of a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add all ingredients to the pot. Stir to combine. Cook on high 4-5 hours. 

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Slow Cooker Steak and Potatoes

A few months back (I won't specify how long...) we purchased a few pounds of NY Strip Steaks that we had sliced to order. My lack of knowledge in the strip steak arena led me to have the steaks cut into 3/4 or 1 inch thick portions. Unfortunately, grilling a steak this thin results in tough, dried out meat. Not cool. Besides that, this particular cut of steak had far too much fat on the edges for our liking. I wanted another delicious way to use of this perfectly-good-except-not-for-grilling-meat. 

Lucky for me, Slow Cookers make ANY cut of meat fork tender and delicious!!

This was the perfect dinner to come home to after a long morning at church. Any man (or woman for that matter!) in your life, will LOVE you for throwing this in the Crockpot in 10 minutes flat. You will look like a rock star. 

Slow Cooker Steak and Potatoes

Recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 New York strip steaks 

3-4 red potatoes, washed and chopped

2 cups baby carrots

1 cup sliced mushrooms 

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/2 package onion soup mix 

1 small onion, sliced or chopped 

3/4 cup water 

salt pepper 

Directions

Coat the sides and bottom of a 4 quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Combine potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, celery and onion soup mix in slow cooker. Place uncooked strip steaks on top of the vegetables, sprinkling generously with salt and pepper. Add onions on top. Cook on high 4 hours or until meat and potatoes are tender. 

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Honey Glazed Ham (Slow Cooker)

Yesterday's holiday Easter dinner preparation and clean up was by FAR the simplest and easiest ever. I could hardly believe it was a holiday when I was done with dishes so quickly. (It helped there were just four of us so fewer dishes to begin with, but still.) I decided to cook the ham in the crockpot. Then I decided to cook the potatoes in my second crockpot. I baked the pecan pie the night before. The green beans steamed in minutes. And the honey yeast rolls came fresh from the oven (after I prepped them and stored them in the fridge before church, came home, preheated the oven and baked them fresh for lunch.)

I don't think I'll ever go back to the oven cooked ham again. It can NOT get any easier than putting your ham in the crockpot, pouring a glaze over it, and plugging it in. DONE. Perfectly. 

Honey Glazed Ham (Slow Cooker) 

recipe adapted from crockpot365.blogspot.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

6-8 lb bone in ham (spiral cut makes this method even easier)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp dried thyme 

Directions

Spray the inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Unwrap ham and discard flavor packet. Place ham into slow cooker. 

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, honey, butter, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and thyme. Pour mixture evenly over the ham. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until heated through. 

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Vegetable Pasta Sauce (Slow Cooker)

I have nothing against canned pasta sauce. In fact, the Meijer brand is really quite delicious. I am known for frequently jazzing up the jarred variety with various vegetables or sauteed garlic or sausage, but sometimes I have a craving for an true homemade variety. (True as it can be when you're using canned tomatoes and a crockpot, that is.) This slow cooked sauce smells delicious all afternoon and goes together in minutes. 

Homemade Vegetable Pasta Sauce (Slow Cooker)
recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com
serves 6

Ingredients
1--28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1--8 oz can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
salt, to taste
pinch of crushed red pepper

Directions
Combine all ingredients into a 4 quart Crockpot and cook on low 3-4 hours. Serve over freshly cooked pasta.

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Sweet Heat Chili (Slow Cooker)

When I came across this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe, I immediately wanted to try it. Normally, when it comes to chili, I totally wing it and end up with a new recipe each time. I LOVE it. But there was something special, something unique about this recipe, so I did my best to follow it to a T. I love the wide array of vegetables in this chili. I think that's my favorite part of this recipe. It's not just meat, beans, and tomatoes

The only changes I made to the original recipe (besides slow cooking rather than stove-topping it) were roasted red peppers for sundried tomatoes (as I didn't have any) and I added jalapeños--making my chili a bit heavier on the "heat" than the "sweet" side of things. . It was still really delicious, and we're super excited to have leftovers. Chili just gets better with time. 

Sweet Heat Chili

recipe adapted from melskitchencafe.com

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced

1 large green bell pepper, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 to 1 lb ground meat

4 cups beef stock

2 cans (28 oz. each) whole stewed tomatoes

1- 14oz can kidney red beans, drained and rinsed

1- 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced 

3 bay leaves

1 tsp dry mustard

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt to taste

Directions

Heat a medium skillet over medium low heat and brown the ground meat. Drain and rinse off excess fat.

Pour the cans of stewed tomatoes into a food processor and pulse a few times to desired consistency. 

Combine all ingredients into a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours, or on high 4 hours. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream. 

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Slow Cooker Hearty Ham and Bean Chili

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This should probably be called "Ham and Bean Soup," but being the wise woman that I am, I knew better. My husband would judge a dish in very negative light if it had the word "bean" in the title. He'll eat chili and he now loves refried beans in taco dip and he goes wild for the black bean salsa, but he'll still tell you he doesn't like beans. I just smile and nod. And continue to make dishes with beans--because I love beans and beans are good for ya. 

While this dish was filling my home with magical aromas, I created a new title--Hearty Ham and Bean Chili (only I left out the word "bean" when announcing the dish to my husband.) There were no complaints from his side of the table, I got to use up the leftover ham in my fridge, and this went together in the crockpot in less than 7 minutes. Not too shabby.  

Hearty Ham and Bean Chili

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com with inspiration from bettycrocker.com

Serves 4-6 

Ingredients

1- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1- 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1- 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes

1-1/4 cup chicken broth or bouillon

1 cup diced, cooked ham

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Mix all ingredients into a 4 quart slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high 3-4 hours.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

You won't believe it. But it's true. This is the first time I've ever made chicken noodle soup. I KNOW, right? Moving past the initial shock of MOI putting off THIS recipe for so long, let's take a minute and experience the glorious qualities of chicken noodle soup. 

It's warm. 

It's hearty. 

It's healthy. 

It's everything that makes you think of "home."

My favorite form of chicken noodle soup is not one of the broth-heavy types. That genre of soup is perfect for cold and flu season, but if I want a bowl of soup, I want some consistency, you know? So I filled my pot full of vegetables and chicken, and finally, the perfect amount of noodles. The result was exactly what I love--and everyone else loved it too (we shared with our small group.)

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

serves: 6-8 

recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com

Ingredients

5 cups chicken broth (or bouillon)

5-6 cups water

2 cups carrots, sliced thin

1 cup celery, sliced thin

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp parsley flakes

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp pepper

2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup dry egg noodles

Directions

Mix all ingredients except the noodles into the crockpot pot. Keep chicken breast whole (or use pre-cooked, cut up or shredded chicken) and cut up or shred before adding in noodles during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Cook on high 4 hours, then turn to low until ready to serve. 

Slow Cooked Vegetable Pork Roast

This is one of the easiest meals to put together and by the end of its cooking time it's completely irresistible. I'm not a huge meat eater, but I was in love with this. Kevin went back for seconds and thirds--which only happens if he's totally crazy about the meal. 

Slow Cooker Vegetable Pork Roast

serves 4 

Ingredients

3-4 lb pork loin roast 

4-5 small potatoes, chopped

2 carrots, sliced (1/2" slices)

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1--14.5oz can cream of mushroom soup

      plus one can of water

salt

pepper

1 cup chopped kale, options

Directions

Fill your 4-5 qt. crockpot with potatoes, carrots, and half of the onions. Pour the mushroom soup and one can of water onto the potatoes and stir to combine. Generously salt and pepper the pork roast--patting the spices into the meat. Place meat on top of potato mixture and top with remaining onions. Cook on high 4 hours or on low 6-8 hours. Fifteen minutes prior to serving, stir in chopped kale. 

Crockpot Barbeque Chicken

I have made a recipe similar to this using pork shoulder but I am a personal fan of chicken breast. I decided I would make up this recipe this morning after thinking of it in the shower. What a great place for ideas. :) Kevin and I both loooooved this meal. It's fast and easy and AMAZING.

*note: all measurements are approximate. I didn't measure anything specifically. Use your instincts. :)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

OR 4-6 chicken tenderloins

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

sprinkle crushed red pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp oil

2 tsp ketchup

Mix all ingredients (minus chicken) thoroughly. Use non-stick spray inside a small crockpot (4qt or less). Place chicken in the bottom of the crockpot and pour bbq over top. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4.

Shred chicken or keep whole and serve over an open baked potato.

Top with remaining sauce.

Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Pork Chops

I needed to throw a dinner together before leaving for church this morning--as we had my family here visiting. I couldn't just procrastinate and come up with something "easy" like Kevin and I normally do. I wanted to be a good hostess. So I started the bread machine bright and early and then tried to brainstorm through ingredients and crockpot ideas. I had pork chops that I found in the back of the freezer that were from who knows how long ago. I wasn't sure they were still edible but I couldn't throw them away without at least trying to cook them. (They were still great, btw.) We had two sweet potatoes in the pantry which had somehow developed moisture in their packaging and thus mold was taking over. I knew I could save at least some of those root vegetables. I also still had a huge bag of apples from our neighbor's tree. Hmmm. Think, Mel, think.

The result was quite delicious. Kevin helped me quite a bit in the brainstorming process. I have to give him half the credit.

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 apples, peeled and sliced

1 whole onion, sliced

1/4 cup apple cider

3/4 cup water

salt

pepper

1 Tbsp cinnamon

sprinkle of nutmeg

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 boneless pork chops or pork roast

Combine all ingredients except pork in the bottom of the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Place pork on top and cook on high 4 hours.

Crockpot Applesauce

::before::

::after::

My neighbors apparently have an apple tree growing in their yard and they have given me three bags filled with these indisputably all natural apples that are best used for cooking. I definitely knew I would need to use these for applesauce. Kevin loves applesauce and I drool over the homemade version. I like mine overflowing with cinnamon and quite chunky. But that's the beauty of making your own sauce--you can tweak it to suite your tastes.

Peeling two bags of apples is a little bit of a pain, I'm not gonna lie, but it is so worth the effort. I found this crockpot version over at A Year of Slowcooking (who's author, Stephanie, was just featured on Good Morning, America in celebration of her newly released crockpot cookbook--Make It Fast, Cook It Slow.) I don't mind standing over stove and monitoring a small 2 quart batch of applesauce, but after experiencing the 6 qt stock pot experience, I was all for the slow cooker!

I altered Stephanie's recipe which indicates the use of 4 large apples, and multiplying the ingredients by 5 (as I used about 40 small apples which could be translated into 20 large.)

40 small apples, peeled, cored and quartered

Juice from one lemon

4 tsp cinnamon (I realize this is a bit more than I needed, but I love cinnamon!)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a large slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When apples are tender mash/break apart with a potato masher or a fork.

This many apples yielded 14 cups of apple sauce.

Mmmm, mmm, good.

"Baked" Potato Soup

I found this potato soup recipe I had copied out of Southern Living's Slow Cooker Cookbook. It looked easy enough and would require little preparation right before the meal. I set the crockpot to high for 4 hours the night before. Refrigerated the whole insert full of soup overnight. Set back to high on Sunday morning and added the cheese & half and half just before leaving for church. It turned out wonderfully. We all loved it!

Ingredients

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (~3 and 3/4 pounds)

1 large onion, chopped

3 (14 oz) cans chicken broth (I used 9 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 9 cubes water.)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup butter or margarine (this could be omitted I believe)

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup whipping cream or half and half (I used the latter)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (or anything similar), shredded

3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, optional for topping

Sour cream, optional for topping

4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (or "fake" bacon bits), optional

Shredded cheese, optional for topping

Directions

Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5 qt slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.

Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened.

Stir in cream, cheese, and chives.

Top with sour cream and bacon and cheese if desired.

Makes 12 cups.