Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana Soup and Brie Stuffed Mushrooms

May I introduce my very first slow cooker meal, ever!  I finally got a slow cooker for Christmas and have been dying to use it!  My friend Liz and I get together on Monday evenings and watch "The Bachelor" on ABC.  We decided to take turns making dinner every other Monday.  I decided to do the first meal with my slow cooker.  While sifting for ideas on Pinterest, I became inspired to try an Italian soup.  Inspired by Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup, I came up with this  ( I used pieces and parts from a few recipes I found online and made the recipe my own).

Ingredients:

1 lb Bob Evans Italian Pork Sausage
8-12 red skinned potatoes, cut into quarters
1 medium white or yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
3-5 leaves of fresh oregano, chopped finely
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth
12 oz evaporated milk
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 cups fresh spinach leaves


Instructions:

If you haven't already, cut red skinned potatoes into quarters.

Chop onion into small pieces, enough for 1 cup.

If you haven't already, peel 2 cloves of garlic.

(If you've never used fresh garlic while cooking, these smaller pieces that break off of the garlic bulb are considered cloves.)

If you haven't already, chop the 2 cloves of garlic as finely as you can.

(You may also use 1 TBSP minced garlic in place of fresh garlic cloves.)

If you haven't already, chop 3-5 leaves of fresh oregano finely.

Begin cooking your Italian sausage in a large frying pan over medium heat with the garlic and onion.

(Thank you Aunt Ann for the new Martha Stewart deep frying pan!  It came in handy for this recipe!)

After the meat is completely cooked and the onions are tender, drain the fat off.  

(I find the best way to drain the fat with the least amount of mess/clean-up is to line a small dish/glass with a zip loc bag and pour the grease into that.  Then you can just close the bag up and toss it.  This eliminates lingering funky grease smells AND messes/residue in your trash.)

Return meat to skillet, add the salt, oregano and crushed red pepper and cook for an additional minute.

Combine meat, potatoes, and chicken broth in large slow cooker and stir to mix evenly.

Cook in slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low heat, or for 3-4 hours on high heat.

In medium bowl, combine evaporated milk and corn starch until mixture is smooth.

Pour the milk mixture into the slow cooker and turn the heat setting to high (if it is not already on high).

Add spinach to slow cooker, stir in, and cook for an additional hour on high heat.

The soup is ready to be served.  I topped mine with shredded parmesan cheese. You could also use romano cheese.  Enjoy!

Brie Stuffed Mushrooms

I decided at the last minute (20 minutes before The Bachelor started) that my soup needed a side dish.  I grazed my fridge and decided I needed to put some mushrooms to use (since I bought twice as many as I needed for my omeletes).  I made up this recipe on the spot with what I had on hand, and they actually turned out really good!

Ingredients:

12 medium/large mushrooms of your choice

1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp crush red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

Brie cheese (about 1/4 wheel or 1/2 wedge) cut into 1/2 cubes

Olive oil cooking spray

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash mushrooms and remove stems to create an opening in each one for the stuffing.  In small bowl, combine bread crumbs, seasonings and egg with fork until evenly mixed.  Arrange mushrooms (opening facing upward) on cookie sheet greased with olive oil cooking spray.  Place one 1/2 cube of brie cheese in the opening of each mushroom and top with 1 Tbsp of bread crumb mixture.  Bake mushrooms for 20-25 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender and stuffing is golden brown. 

Enjoy!