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Cozy Slow Cooker Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

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Time for some cozy slow cooker chicken & wild rice soup! Delicious combination of chicken, wild rice, sweet potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery with a blend of seasonings.

slow-cooker-chicken-soup3

How is it Thanksgiving already?! Tis the season of fun family get-togethers, cold weather, and delicious food! What is different about 2016 for us? A whole heapful! For the months of November and December we are living in a hotel…ya the shock factor has pretty much gone away. Now my husband and I seem to be in the “yep, this is where we live” stage. We have reached acceptance! Haha! We cannot complain though, because this hotel is fantastic! We have free laundry, a dishwasher, and someone to clean our room! 😉

cozy slow cooker chicken & wild rice soup

Living in a hotel means we do quick and easy meals like this simple winner winner slow cooker chicken soup dinner! We have an electric stovetop and a microwave to work with so if we want a warm and cozy meal we sometimes have to be a little more creative. I am sure glad this hotel has a lending cabinet where we were able to borrow the slow cooker for this yummy meal.

I brought two small appliances with me to the hotel- my keurig because well I need access to coffee at all times if ya know what I mean, and my panini grill/griddle. We have been here for 25 days so far and I have made a real effort to cook on a regular basis. Call me crazy, but I just would rather not eat fast food if I don’t have to. Some days it is okay, but I just don’t care for it much.

For a little look back, here are a few of the things I have cooked so far:
Penne pasta with meat sauce, hamburger soup, orecchiette with sausage and tomatoes, sloppy joes, grilled burgers, cajun style andouille, kale, and barley stew, and turkey, avocado, & hummus paninis. I am excited to work with an oven again!

slow cooker chicken & wild rice soup

I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I am so looking forward to our new beginning in Kansas in a few weeks! Post turkey day, try out this cozy slow cooker chicken & wild rice soup!

slow cooker chicken & wild rice soup

Cozy Slow Cooker Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

3 Scoops of Sugar
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes
Course Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 cups brown and wild rice blend
  • 1 1/4- 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs skinless and boneless
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 cups celery chopped
  • 2 cups carrots chopped
  • 1 small sweet potato peeled and chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients except the heavy cream in a large slow cooker.
  • Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove bay leaves. Shred chicken thighs.
  • In a medium bowl, add heavy cream and 1-2 scoopfuls of soup.
  • Slowly whisk soup into cream and return mixture back into slow cooker and incorporate into remaining soup.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Cajun Style Andouille, Kale, and Barley Stew

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Welcome! How are you today? Glad to have you here at 3SS!! I am excited to share this post with you today! This Cajun style andouille, kale, and barley stew is going to knock your socks off! Your bowl will quickly find itself empty and without a drop leftover…this stew is amazing. There are so many different textures and the spiciness of the sausage gives the stew great flavor.

andouille sausage, kale, and barley stew

Soups and stews are great, in my opinion, during the fall and winter months. They warm you up quickly and can provide you with a lot of nutrients. It isn’t everyday I can convince my husband to eat kale, but his bowl of stew was gone so fast you would not have even known kale was an ingredient. Kale is packed with nutrition. It is a nutrition powerhouse. Kale is high in Vitamins A, C, and K. Adding kale to soups is a great way to tame down the bitterness of the vegetable.

Daylight savings time has come to an end. How ’bout that extra hour of sleep, eh?! I am pretty sure here it was an extra hour of trying to tame my 3 kiddos down in this hotel room. I feel so sorry for whomever is below us. There is endless running, spinning, jumping, and screaming going on in our room. I am actually amazed we have not received a call about the amount of noise our kids let out. As a little getaway, we decided to make a trip to my parent’s cabin over the weekend for some much-needed outdoor time, relaxation (ha! ha!), and great food! I must say it is amazing that we haven’t just eaten at McDonald’s and Runza night after night. It is tempting once in a while though. If it weren’t for me, I think my husband would actually go for that. I like to think that I am in charge of what we eat…most of the time anyway. 😉

A day at the cabin. In the Fall. Must have soup.

Why Andouille sausage, kale, and barley stew? Because why not?

I used Cajun style andouille sausage to give the stew a bit of a kick, but you wouldn’t have to use spicy sausage. I just thought it really completed the meal.

andouille sausage, kaley, and barley stew

andouille sausage, kaley, and barley stew

Time Out…picture time!! 🙂

kids at cabin in fall

It is not an easy task to take a picture of a 2, 3, and 4-year-old and get all three of them to smile for more than a half a second. But I will take what I can get! I will remember these weekend cabin days forever. It is so peaceful and relaxing…besides the constant head count of my kids making sure they are far enough away from the river. I mean let’s get real…there is not a lot of relaxation at our house unless it is the middle of the night and I am sleeping. And that isn’t always a guarantee.

andouille sausage, kale, and barley stew

Try this soup out because you will enjoy it!! This recipe was adapted from Williams Sonoma.

andouille sausage, kale, and barley stew

Cajun Style Andouille, Kale, and Barley Stew

3 Scoops of Sugar
Soup with a kick! Try this Cajun Style Andouille, Kale, and Barley Stew to warm you up during the winter months!!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb cajun style andouille sausage
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup quick cooking barley
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cups kale stemmed and chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • COOK BARLEY-Pour water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add barley with a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook barley for 10-12 minutes and drain. Set aside for later use.
  • COOK SAUSAGE- In a dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown each side for a total of about 7 minutes. Transfer sausage to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.
  • MIX STEW INGREDIENTS- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, onion, and garlic to the dutch oven. Saute for about 4 minutes. Slice sausage links and return them to the dutch oven. Cook for about another 5 minutes or until sausage is thoroughly cooked. Add can of tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring contents to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the barley and kale and cook until kale just starts to wilt. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
  • Serve and enjoy!