Soup in the summer. You probably think I am crazy. I’m not. I promise. This endless house hunt has taken up many of our evenings. The quick solution would be to drive through the Golden Arches and fill up on a high-calorie, low-nutrition convenience meal. No, thank you! One day it dawned on me that I should utilize my cooker or slow if you will. I could easily throw some meat and veggies in there in the late afternoon, turn it on high, and magically it would be ready to go when we returned home hungry and with little motivation to cook.
I really don’t have a very diverse cooker-cooking background. I have made pot roast, pulled pork, and hot turkey. My soup experience in the cooker has been limited to chili, and that is it. As of late, I have been using a cooker that was older than me, I am pretty sure my parents received it as a wedding gift. Unfortunately, the cooker components fizzled out this spring, unlike my parent’s love for each other; they will be celebrating their 27th anniversary this fall.
All cheesiness aside, the cooker can be a very useful kitchen appliance. My husband bought me a new cooker, however, I opted to get a simple one with warm, low, and high options. Since I am a SAHM I felt the extra expense of a programmable one was a little silly for me. People have dedicated entire blogs to chronicling their adventures in slow cooking.
Using the cooker could be a way to make healthier meals for your family, meat and vegetables cook wonderfully without the need to add any oil. My husband and I are trying to cut back on refined flour, sugars, and highly processed foods. A meal cooked in the cooker seemed like a perfect answer.
This soup came to be because it was what I had on hand. I had chicken stock, but you could easily make this vegan-friendly by adding vegetable broth and using more beans instead of chicken. Either way, it sounds delicious to me. Serve with a salad and crusty bread, and you will have yourself a delicious and nutritious meal.
Ingredients
4 c low sodium chicken stock (or enough to cover meat)
4 c fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 c celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 15 oz cans of Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (fat trimmed)
Put raw chicken in the bottom of the cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure the broth covers all the ingredients. Turn the cooker on high and cook for 4 hours. Take chicken breasts out, shred them with two forks, and return to pot. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
