Baked Potato Soup in the Crock Pot

Baked potato soup is one of those delicious comfort foods, that can make any kind of a day so much better, with just one spoonful. Even more so, if you don't have to stand, mash, and cook for hours. I have a family of five, and tonight we had an extra house guest. I love making this soup, and in this recipe, I made a half of a crock full of soup. You can obviously cut down the ingredients if you have a smaller family.  Enjoy my take on Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup:

 

 

Here's what you need:
1 medium onion, diced
5-6 white potatoes, diced
1 8-12 oz package of turkey bacon
1 boxed carton of chicken broth
garlic powder (or fresh garlic, minced)
salt and pepper (about a tsp each..to taste)
1 cup heavy cream

Dice onions and place into crock pot.

Wash, peel, and dice potatoes and add to the slow cooker.

Add salt, pepper, garlic (or garlic powder).

Add the carton of chicken broth, cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3.

About 30 minutes before you're going to eat, lower the crock pot to "Keep Warm" if yours has that setting. Add about 1 cup of heavy cream. Use your handheld mixer to beat the soup slowly. Be careful, because it might splatter out if you're making a large quantity. Don't thoroughly blend, because you want to keep some lumps. It's not going to look pretty, but it tastes amazing!

Cook your turkey bacon until it's crispy. (Real bacon crisps quicker, but the picture above is turkey bacon!)

Serve with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and scallions.

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Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Chops (Pork Loin)

I tweaked this recipe a little because I had a loin of pork instead of pork chops, but I've been in the mood for cranberries and ran into this recipe at MomOnDealz. It looked SO good, so I knew I had to make it!

Her recipe:
*4-5 boneless pork chops
*2 tablespoons butter
*2 tablespoons brown sugar
*1 tablespoon corn starch
*1/2 cup of dried cranberries (original called for these plus a Granny Smith apple. I didn’t have one so there was no apple in mine)
*1 cup cranberry juice (original was apple juice)
*1 teaspoon of pepper (original also called for salt, I don’t use salt in anything)
*1 tablespoon onion chopped (original called for whole onion, I don’t like onions so I cut it down in portion)
I put everything in the crockpot and cooked it on high for 4 hours.

Mine:

• One loin of pork (approx 2 lbs)
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 small onion
• 2 Tbs Brown Sugar
• 3/4 cup of dried cranberries
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• Salt and Pepper

It looked like this after I threw it all into the slow cooker:

I used a liner, (because this preggo mama is feeling like her hips are going to explode today), so I can have an easy and quick clean-up. I'm cooking it on high for about 4 hours. I may lower it.. Depending on how hungry the troops are in an hour or so. I'm planning on serving this yummy smelling meal with stuffing and corn; thanksgiving-with-a-twist style.

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Oh-my-gosh! Totally yummy!!! I will be making this again sometime soon, but next time I will add more cranberry juice and a granny smith apple. I will also put the cranberries in last, because the ones that were on the top tasted really yummy, and the ones in the "gravy" were ok, but I really preferred the ones on top. 

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Intensity Academy All Natural Gourmet Hot Sauces Review + Giveaway!

While at IzeaFest in October, I had the great pleasure of meeting several bloggers and business people from the Tampa Bay Area. While receiving introductions, I had the honor to meet the fabulous entrepreneur, award winner, and creator of Intensity Academy Gourmet Sauces, Michele Northrup.

Since then, I've seen Intensity Academy in the paper, all over Facebook, and on the news. Watch the saucy interview on FOX here:

In October, I was told that Intensity Academy's carrot-based hot sauces and tea infused delicious-ness had won 26 awards in only 24 months- including the #1 Ketchup in America! Those numbers continue to rise, and are at 40 in less than 36 months- and hot sauce lovers all over Florida have ignited in delight with Intensity Academy sauces. Fans have been petitioning for restaurants like Tijuana Flats to carry Intensity Academy hot sauces, and local Whole Foods stores have already stocked their shelves. Rumor has it that Intensity Academy may also be on Costco shelves this summer!

We love spicy food. Our kids eat Spanish, Puerto Rican and Mexican dishes without batting an eyelash. I love adding an extra kick to classic dishes, and using sauces as a dipping sauce to many favorites (from pork chops to meatballs).

Now that the weather is getting chillier- yes, the west coast of Florida gets chilly- I love to cook in my crock-pot. Several of my family's favorite crock pot recipes involve using BBQ or hot sauce. I was given a bottle of all natural, family friendly, Chai Chipotle 'Q from Michele herself in October, and thought that combining it with some boneless pork ribs in the crockpot would be perfect for a chilly evening meal.

I threw two medium racks into the crock pot with about a half of a bottle poured over the ribs and covered it on HIGH for about 5 hours. The result was a savory pulled-pork style, soft as butter, with a hint of spicy, spectacularness.

Seriously, even the kids realized it wasn't the normal BBQ sauce I use, but asked for seconds. If you don't normally do spicy food, don't worry, the Chai Chipotle 'Q sauce is a family friendly alternative as the smoothness from the Organic Tea balances the chipotle peppers to appease any palate.

Bri can't wait to try the Hot squared (and cubed!), as he loves the really hot stuff, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a bottle of the 'Chup, as I live on Ketchup! I am really hoping that Santa sticks some bottles in our stockings this year!

Want it?
Shop online, visit Whole Foods Stores in Florida, or request Intensity Academy Sauces by name from your local Whole Foods store. Plus, 4BabyAndMom readers can take advantage of a special sale- ANY 5 Bottles for only $20! Email michele at intensityacademy dot com with your order, but be sure to mention you read about Intensity Academy here, at 4BabyAndMom!

This giveaway is open to residents of the US and will end on December 15th, at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. Disclosure: The featured product was provided to me, at no cost, by Intensity Academy. I did not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about this experience, and all opinions expressed are my own. Special thanks to our new friend, Michele Northrup from Intensity Academy, for sponsoring this giveaway.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER!

Please read the WINNERS POST for more information on how to claim your prize! Thank you all for participating. Happy Holidays!

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