This weekend was the first really cold, rainy/snowy, blah weekend of the winter. So I decided some soup was in order. I forgot to start it around noon today (which would have given it enough time to cook on low and be ready for dinner). I could have waited until tomorrow, but I had hamburger that I needed to cook today or toss tomorrow. So, what to do? I didn't think about it until dinnertime....so voila, Instant Crock-Pot Soup.

I started with a recipe from 101 Things to Do with a Slow Cooker by Stephanie Ashcraft and Janet Eyring, and modified it for my own tastes and the ingredients I had onhand (for example, the recipe calls for canned vegetables, but I used frozen.)

This recipe would normall take 4 - 8 hours to cook and I cut that down to 2.5 hours.

"Instant" Beef Vegetable Crock Pot Soup

•  
• 1 Pound Ground Beef (cooked and drained)
• 1 6-oz. Can of Tomato Paste
• 1 Quart Beef Stock (I used Rachel Ray Stock in a Box)
• 1 Cup Mr. & Mrs. T Bloody Mary Mix
• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Teaspoons Beef Buillion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1/2 Large  Yellow Onion (peeled and diced)
• 1 Large Red Potato (skin-on, diced into 1/2" cubes)
• 1 1-Pound Bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables (diced carrots, green beans, corn & peas)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/4 Teaspoon Fresh-Ground Black Pepper
• Salt to Taste (add at end of cooking)

Cook hamburger in a large stock pot, drain and reserve. Add onions and butter to pot and cook on medium heat until translucent. Turn slow cooker on high heat. Meanwhile, pre-cook diced potatoes in microwave on high until mostly done (about 3 minutes). Stir potatoes halfway through cooking.

Add tomato paste and remaining liquids to pot. Whisk to incorporate tomato paste. Add remaining ingredients, stir. Bring to near boiling. (This is the big time-saver! It takes a crock pot a long time to get cold ingredients up to cooking temperature, so you're giving it a head start on the stove.)

Turn off stove. Using a large ladle, carefully transfer hot soup to the preheated crock pot. Put on the lid. Do not remove lid during cooking.

Cook on high for 2.5 hours. Turn off crock pot. Taste soup and add salt (or more beef boullion powder) to your liking.

Yield: Way too much for one person (about 4 - 6 servings).

I had a bowl for dinner, then froze one-half and put the other half in the fridge for tomorrow. Mmmmm, vegetable soup.  :)