Sheesh……….it seems like you just finish with dinner on Monday and you are already thinking about what to have on Tuesday, seems like a never ending cycle!

I’ll tell you one thing, Pinterest is my bff in the kitchen!  My family has never eaten so good!  I’m happy to report that I have had more winners than losers but cooking fails are bound to happen and when they do, it’s important to not take their gagging and fake smiles too personally!

One of my favorite Pinterest contributors is Six Sisters Stuff……..seriously though, these gals are amazing!  Every single recipe I have tried is super easy to follow and tastes so good!  I haven’t told my family but they are the ones who make me look good!  Sometimes when it’s a rainy West Coast day all I want is to hunker down with a good hot bowl of soup, so today’s mission was to make Slow Cooker 4 Cheese Broccoli Soup – so creamy and full of goodness!  The Sisters never steer me wrong – I made some changes, but here is the link to their recipe https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/slow-cooker-3-cheese-broccoli-soup/, which I used as a starting point.  They used Velveeta cheese and while I absolutely love Velveeta, I used cream cheese, whipping cream and mozzarella cheese and it turned out great and was just what the doctor ordered for a stay in close to the fire kind of day!  I encourage you to check them out (www.sixsisterstuff.com) – you will love their recipes too!

Crock Pot 4 Cheese Broccoli Soup

Cooking in Cowboy Boots

Creamy, cheesy and full of broccoli goodness, this cozy Crock Pot soup starts with homemade chicken bone broth and finishes with four delicious cheeses. Add some crusty bread and you've got comfort in a bowl.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Course Soup

Equipment

• Crock Pot

Ingredients

  

• 2 Tbsp Butter
• ½ Onion Finely Chopped
• 4 Cups Homemade Chicken Bone Broth Divided (see tip for store bought broth)
• 2 Cups Broccoli florets Fresh or frozen
• ½ Tsp Pepper
• ¼ tsp Sea Salt Or to taste
• 1½ Cups Whipping Cream or full fat milk
• 1 250 gram/8 oz Block of Cream Cheese Softened and Cubed
• 1 ½ Cups Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese Freshly Shredded
• 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese Freshly Shredded
• ¾ Cup Monterey Jack Cheese Freshly Shredded

Instructions

 

• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4–5 minutes, until softened and translucent.
• Meanwhile, lightly steam the broccoli until just tender. You don’t need to cook it until completely soft—it will continue cooking in the slow cooker.
• Place the steamed broccoli in a food processor or blender with about 1 cup of the chicken bone broth. Pulse until the broccoli is finely chopped and creamy but still has a little texture. For a completely smooth soup, blend it longer.
• Transfer the cooked onion and butter to the slow cooker. Add the broccoli mixture, remaining chicken bone broth, pepper and sea salt. Stir to combine.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 3–4 hours.
• About 30 minutes before serving, add the whipping cream or milk and the cubed cream cheese. Stir well, cover and continue cooking on LOW until the cream cheese has softened. Stir again until smooth.
• Turn the slow cooker to WARM or OFF. Add the cheddar, Parmesan and Monterey Jack a handful at a time, stirring gently after each addition until completely melted before adding more.
• Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed. If the soup is thicker than you’d like, stir in a little additional warm bone broth until it reaches your preferred consistency.
• Ladle into bowls and, if desired, top with a little extra shredded cheddar. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Notes

Cowgirl Tips

About the cheese: Freshly shredded cheese melts much more smoothly than packaged pre-shredded cheese, which contains anti-caking ingredients that can sometimes make creamy soups grainy.

For a little heat: Substitute Pepper Jack for some or all of the Monterey Jack.

For more broccoli texture: Before blending, reserve about 1/2 cup of the steamed broccoli. Chop it into small pieces and stir it into the slow cooker with the blended broccoli mixture.

Using store-bought broth: Homemade chicken bone broth gives this soup wonderful flavour, but a good-quality low-sodium chicken broth will work too. Taste before adding additional salt.

Another favourite of mine is this recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins!  With school in session, everyone is looking for good easy things to put in the little gaffers lunches – these will make them happy!   These muffins are easy, moist and delicious and whether you are a muffin making maniac or a new muffin baker, these are sure to please everyone in your house!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Cooking in Cowboy Boots

Moist and delicious muffins both adults and kids will love!

Print Recipe

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Muffins

Ingredients

  

• 1 ½ Cups Ripe Mashed Bananas
• ⅓ Cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
• ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• ¼ Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Cup Chocolate Chips
• ½ Cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut Can be omitted if you don't like coconut
• Sugar for sprinkling tops of muffins

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°
• In a large bowl combine bananas, oil and egg
• In a separate bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder and add to banana mixture
• Stir in the chocolate chips
• Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with approximately ½ - 1 tsp sugar
• Bake for 20-25 minutes
• Let muffins cool before removing them from the muffin tins

Enjoy!!!