melissa, this sounds fantastic. i'm going to try this for sure. thanks for posting.

I found the following recipes in a collection I saved while doing Flex. These sound great for fall weather!

Cream of Broccoli Soup
Servings | 4

1 medium onion(s), chopped
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
2 pound broccoli, tough ends removed, stems and florets chopped
4 cup fat-free chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste
1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Put onion and garlic in a 2-quart saucepan with 1/4 cup water and simmer until onion is soft, about 10 minutes; spoon into large pot. Add broccoli and broth to onion mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn down heat and simmer until broccoli is soft but still green, about 8 minutes. Do not cover pot while broccoli is cooking or it will turn gray.
Remove soup from heat and puree in batches in a blender until smooth. (Note: Be careful not to overfill blender; the hot liquid can splatter.) Add evaporated milk and hot pepper sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Yields about 1 3/4 cups per serving.

Beef and Bean Chowder

6 servings

1lb. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 or 4 small potatoes, peeled, chopped
1 l-lb. can stewed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in large saucepan, stirring until crumbly. Add onion, mixing well. Cook for 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining ingredients and 1 to 1 1/2 cups water. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Provencal Beef Slow Cooker Stew
Servings | 6
Preparation Time | 10 min
Cooking Time | 390 min
Level of Difficulty | Moderate

1 pound lean beef round, cut into 1-inch cubes (London Broil)
1 serving cooking spray (5 one-second sprays per serving)
1 small onion(s), chopped
2 cup mushroom(s), sliced
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
2 large carrot(s), sliced (about 1 cup)
15 oz canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cup canned beef broth
14 1/2 oz canned crushed tomatoes, (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp thyme, fresh, or 2 whole sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Place beef in a 5-quart slow cooker. Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add to slow cooker. Add carrots.
Place half of beans in slow cooker. Place remaining beans in blender. Add 1/2 cup of broth to blender and puree. Add mixture to slow cooker. Add remaining broth, tomatoes, oregano, dried thyme, salt and pepper.
Cover and cook on high setting of slow cooker for 6 to 7 hours. Garnish with fresh thyme. Yields about 2 cups per serving.

Southwestern Slow Cooker Chicken and Potato Soup
Servings | 4

3/4 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast(s), cut into 1-inch cubes
3 small sweet potato(es), or 2 medium, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large onion(s), chopped
29 oz canned diced tomatoes, salsa-style with chiles, undrained
14 1/2 oz fat-free chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, not thawed

Mix chicken, potatoes, onion, tomatoes, broth, oregano and cumin in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker (crockpot); cover and cook on low heat setting for at least 6 hours.
Stir in corn; cover and cook on high heat setting until chicken is no longer pink in the center and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

Just a note: Since I don't like sweet potatoes, I think that I will try this with white ones instead. I think it would still taste good.

thanks, melissa. these look good. soup weather's almost here. or maybe it is here?

Hamburger Soup (T&T)
brown 1/2 lb ground beef with 1 large onion
add 3 cups water, 4 cans of beef broth, 28oz can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato soup, 1 pkg onion soup mix
add chopped carrots, celery, 2 bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste
Simmer for an hour.
add 4-5 diced potatoes
simmer again for another 30-40 minutes till tender
enjoy

Core Mushroom Barley Soup

This soup is great and freezes well. Great separated into lunch sized portions. Nice way to get in some of our healthy oil!

3/4 cup Pearl Barley
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
4 onions, chopped (I only used one)
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
4 cups low sodium beef broth
3 carrots, sliced
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Minced parsley

In a large saucepan, stir the barley and 4 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the barley is partially cooked, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onions and celery; cook, stirring as needed, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring as needed, until the mushrooms begin to soften and release their liquid, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth, carrots, tomato paste and barley WITH its liquid; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring as needed, until the barley and carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper; serve garnished with the parsley.

Makes 6 servings; 182 calories, 3 grams fat, 7 grams fiber. 2 points per serving. This would be 3 servings for me!

Minestrone Milanese (from WW Slow Good cookbook)

Serving Size : 6

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 can small white beans -- rinsed and drained
2 carrots -- chopped
2 russet potatoes -- peeled and chopped
2 red onions -- chopped
2 small zucchini -- chopped
1 stalk celery with leaves -- chopped
1/4 pound fresh green beans -- trimmed and cut into 1" pieces (I used canned and it worked fine)
10 flat leaf parlsey sprigs
2 cloves garlic -- peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 cups vegetable broth
1 cup tiny pasta (you could use whole wheat pasta)
parsley leaves -- for garnish

Place the white beans, carrots, potatoes, onions, zucchini, celery, green beans, parsley sprigs, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large slow cooker. Pour the broth over the beans and veggies.

Cover and cook till the veggies are fork-tender, 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Discard the parsley sprigs and garlic.

About 15 min before the cooking time is up, cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting the salt. Drain and add to the soup. Garnish each serving with parsley leaves.

POTATO CHILI

(from Donna, found at barbosdietkitchen.com)

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound potatoes -- peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieced
1 large onion -- chopped
1 large green bell pepper -- chopped
1 clove garlic -- minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15.5 oz. can kidney beans -- drained and rinsed
2 cups tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. In a large soup kettle, saute potatoes, onion and green bell pepper in
oil for 5 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder, cook an additional minute.

2. Be sure to coat the vegetables with the garlic and chili powder. Add
remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and the mixture has
thickened.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 432 Calories; 6g Fat (12.7% calories
from fat); 22g Protein; 77g Carbohydrate; 25g Dietary Fiber; 0mg
Cholesterol; 785mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 3
Vegetable; 1 Fat.

NOTES : FLEX POINTS PER SERVING: 8

Core Creamy Chicken and Rice soup

olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 large carrot chopped
couple of celery ribs chopped
8 cups ff chicken broth
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup evaporated skim milk
2 large chicken breasts, chopped (boneless, skinless)

Cook rices per package instructions.

In a saucepan or soup pot, saute onion, celery and carrots in a bit of
olive oil. Cook until vegetables are tender. Puree 1/4 of mixture to
add thickness without using flour (add a bit of the broth to ease the
process, if desired). Mix puree and vegetables in a large stock pot,
and slowly add broth. Stir in chicken breast. Cook until chicken is
done, 10 minutes or so. Add rice, salt and pepper. Cook over medium
heat until bubbling and thickened. Stir in evaporated skim milk. Cook
for another 5 minutes. Yield: 2 1/2 quarts.

Taco Soup

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can mexican corn
1 can fat free refried beans
1 taco seasoning package
1 can ff chicken broth
1 large onion diced

Sautee onion in your choice in olive oil, then add all ingredients into pot. Stir the refried beans in until they disappear. Simmer about 30 min. very low heat, but keeps a bubble to it. Stir often. Serving is one cup which=2 pts. Makes about 9-10 servings. Core or 2 pts. per cup.

Taco Soup


1 can pinto beans
1 can rotel tomatoes (don't drain)
1 large can stewed tomatoes (don't drain)
1 package taco seasoning
1 package dry ranch seasoning
1 can chili beans
1 can kernel corn (don't drain)
1 large onion, chopped


Mix all together in a crock pot.

White Bean & Chicken Chili

3 teaspoons olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons basil
3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 small can diced chilis
3 cans navy beans, drained and rinsed
5 cups chicken stock

Saute chicken, spices, onion and garlic in large pot. Add navy beans and broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 1 hour, the longer the better.

The person who posted this on WW site said that they soaked dry navy beans overnight and then put this all in the crockpot for about 8 hours.

Red Potato Soup

From the kitchen of REDSLED65

Servings | 10
Estimated POINTS® value per serving | 4
Course | Soups


Ingredients

7 red potatoes
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 C carrots
1 1/2 C frozen corn
3 C skim milk
water
seasonings for your tastes (pepper, onion powder, beef boullion, basil, cavanders, etc).
Cornstarch

Instructions


Cook the ground beef and drain.
Slice uncooked red pototes about 1/8 inch thick.
Cut up uncooked carrots.
Put all ingredients into crock pot and cook 4-6 hours. Add as much water as you need (1-3 cups).
You can add cornstarch to thicken but not necessary.