Soup's On!

Welcome to another Thursday

another Community Meal

and another recipe!

Today's Meal is...

SPICY POTATO SOUP

taken from 200 Slow Cooker Creations by Ashcraft and Eyring

Makes 10-12 Servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb gorund beef or sausage, browned and drained

(we used pork sausage and it was a good choice)

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

(we choose to use golden potatoes, which of course required way more than four, but it saved some time because we didn't peel all of them since the skin is so thin)

1 small onion, chopped
5-6 cups of water
3 (8oz) cans of tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon hot pepper

(those last three we didn't really measure)

Optional: cheese, ketchup

(a couple of my co-workers added these ingredients and really liked the flavors they brought out)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a greased 4 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker.

(I've found liners that fit into your pot... really helps with the post lunch clean up!)

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-9 hours or on high heat for 3-4 hours.

Note: For a more mild soup, omit the black pepper and hot pepper sauce and replace with 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.

(It's not that spicy on the scale though, though so we left it as is.)

At the last minute a few people ran out and found some soft white bakery bread 
and it really made the meal!

super easy and was quite delicious for a semi-chilly Thrusday

Next week in the office we've got a Christmas Party on Thursday, and the management kick everyone out of the office at noon so they can set up. Therefore, no Crock Pot meal...

But we can't go two weeks with no Crock Pot use.
HOWEVER
I've claimed it as 

DRINK WEEK!
and I'll be concocting some great tastes that can simmer away all day long.
I'll be posting pictures and recipes throughout the week so check back!

I See the King of Glory

This post is part of a series called

Mundane Mondays
To see how I started the series click HERE.

So again, I know my MUNDANE MONDAYS are not arriving on Mondays...

But yesterday was anything but mundane,

as I flitted in and out of staff meetings,

fulfilled curriculum orders that were flying in from our 1st 12 Days of Christmas Sale,

and then ran off to a high school to run some pre-trip training for the students who will join me and Shane for our first trip of the year in the Dominican Republic - woot woot!

I even got in some painting with my host mom, Barb, as we transform the infamous BLUE room into a stylish new Green and Beige room - super cute and I can't wait to move in this weekend!

However, when your days do become mundane, don't forget the power music can play in reminding you of the important things.

Take this one for example - not a Christmas song specifically, but since we're in the season of ADVENT and it speaks of the second coming of the Lord I found it quite powerful when we sang it in church on Sunday!

What songs are you currently listening to that helps pull you out of the MUNDANE and remind you that our Savior has come and is coming again?

Crock Pot Thursdays

SEVERAL months ago I wrote about my deep deep affection for Crock Pots.

And with the return to the office this past September I decided to bring back

CROCK POT WEDNESDAYs

but now they actually fall on

THURSDAYS

(worked better for more of the staff)

And last week I was discussing recipes with a dear sweet college friend and she desired to have some of the great recipes I've been trying over the past two months through this weekly tradition. So I told her I'd email her the recipes. However, today as we chowed down on another delectable treat from the Crock, I thought why not share these recipes with my devoted readers here at Attraversiamo.

So welcome to THURSDAYS

won't you cross over with me to some hopefully delicious slow cooked meals!

This week:

Easy Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

recipe found on food.com by erinBOberrin

Prep Time: 2 min
Total Time: 8 hours 2 min

Servings: 10

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 lbs)

32 ounces salsa

(we used a conglomerate of mild, medium and hot salsa)

2 cans corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

Directions:
1) Place ingredients in crock pot
2) Cook on low 6-8 hours - since we do this for lunch I put my crock pot on high for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours and it came out perfect!

3) Prior to serving (anywhere from 30 minutes to right before) remove chicken, shred and return to crock pot
4) To serve, get creative!
Today we made tacos with tortillas, sour cream, guacamole  lettuce, & cheese. You can also see by the picture that my second round ended up more like nachos, also delicious! My friend Grace made a salad option out of it with the tortilla on the side. The sky's the limit my friends.

My co-worker Robbie claimed this was his favorite so far - not a unanimous decision around the office for those of us who partook in the FABULOUS chicken a couple weeks ago (I'll share that recipe sometime soon), but still a WINNER!

Hope you enjoy, and if you've got any smash hits coming out of your slow cooker feel free to share the recipes!