Make Ahead Meals:Crock Pot Vegetable Soup

I love the idea that dinner is cooking even when I’m away at the office, and I absolutely enjoy the aroma when I walk in the door. Whether it’s a pot roast, chicken and dumplings, beef stew or simply a soup-what could be easier! Slow cooking is the easiest cooking technique ever developed.

I always have at least one slow cooker meal a week using leftovers or ingredients on hand in the pantry. Slow cookers are great for convenience.  This recipe was created for my Slow Cooker Thursday. I used the vegetables I hand on hand and some of the whole wheat pasta noodles from my Smoked Brats Spinach & Cheese Pasta Bake recipe I made for Tuesday night’s meal. By using similar ingredients throughout your week’s menu plan you are saving a lot of time and making your cooking much easier.

Crockpot Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups broth (Turkey, Chicken Vegetable or Beef)

1 28 ounce can peeled tomatoes

1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup spinach

1 cup baby Bella sliced mushrooms

1 15 ounce can red kidney beans drained

1 1/2 cups whole wheat spiral pasta noodles

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Add ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on low heat 6-8 hours.

Slow Cooking Tip: Save time with patience. Each time you open the lid, built up steam escapes. This can delay your cooking time by 2o minutes. There’s no need to peek under the lid anyway. The great thing about slow cooking is that it takes care of itself.

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