Potato Chowder

Southern BC is currently going through a cold front - we had our first snow a few days ago and it's been severely windy and cold since. I don't mind the cold but that wind! Straight to the bones. Broke out the crock pot for this potato chowder.

I've always thought of clam or corn as being 'the chowders' but after doing some research learned that "chowder is any of a variety of soups, enriched with salt pork fatback and thickened with flour or more traditionally with crushed ship biscuit or saltine crackers, and milk; however, the most accepted etymology for the word chowder comes from the cooking pot in which it is cooked, known in French as a chaudière."

So, potato chowder. It's definitely thick (could even be eaten with a fork), extremely creamy and rich from cream cheese. I've made it with the bacon and onions sauteed together and stirred directly into the crock pot but this time left it quite plain, garnishing simply with cooked and crumbled bacon, no onions.

I usually make double the recipe shown below and freeze half; it is easily reheated over low heat with a bit of milk or cream added to loosen things up.

Crock Pot Potato Chowder
Food.com
Serves 4

1/4 pound bacon, diced
8 ounces chicken broth
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
4 cups diced potatoes
4 ounces cream cheese, softened and cubed
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon till crisp. Let cool then crumble and set aside.

Combine chicken broth, soup, and potatoes in crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until potatoes are fork tender. Mash till mostly smooth and add cubed cream cheese; stir to melt and combine. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with crumbled bacon.


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Crock Pot Lasagna

I love, no - I adore lasagna. It's one of my favorite comfort foods.

Two and sometimes three days a week I work till 8pm and have just a half an hour break in which to get things as ready as possible for Matt and the Bear to have dinner. We like meals that I can start simmering, baking or roasting during that half hour break, or ones that can be tossed in the crock pot earlier in the day. When this slow cooker lasagna recipe came up in my Reader, I knew it would make the menu for one of my work days.

This is Matt's favorite lasagna. He chooses this over the more labor intensive recipes I've made in the past, not because it's easier but because he actually likes this one better. It's simple, and it's delicious.

Slow Cooker Lasagna
Delightfully Sweet who adapted it from Kraft Foods

1 lb. ground beef
1 26 ounce jarred or homemade pasta sauce
1 cup water
1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved, optional)
1 15 ounce container ricotta cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
lasagna noodles (uncooked)

Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in sauce and water.

In a separate bowl mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, egg, pepper and parsley.

Spoon approximately 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Alternate cheese mixture and meat sauce ending with the meat sauce. Cover with lid.

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.


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