Take-out Tuesday, Slow Cooker Creamy Potato & Corn Soup and Broccoli Mushroom Pastries

the Painted Apron

6 years ago

It is feeling like Fall more and more in the South

Sunday I played in the kitchen,

putting a comfort soup in the slow cooker

and making pastries filled with broccoli, mushrooms and cheese

I wanted to make HHjr a welcome back dinner,

he was returning from another weekend of hard work on the coast,

cleaning up after Hurricane Sally

Now it appears that we are in the target area again

with forecasted Hurricane Delta

Please continue to pray for our battered Gulf Coast 🙏

Okay, let’s make some soup!

Thawed frozen hash browns, onion, corn, celery, cream soup,

chicken or vegetable broth, cream cheese, and grated cheddar

combine to make a bowl of creamy comfort

Be prepared to hear moans of delight!

This soup is so simple to prepare,

and you can use a slow cooker or an instant pot

I actually used my slow cooker like an instant pot,

I put the onions and celery in the bottom with a Tablespoon of butter,

set it on HIGH and covered it

After 1 hour the veggies were soft just like I had sauteed them,

but I didn’t have a skillet to clean

I cut the corn off the cobs {or you can use canned or frozen kernels}

and added it to the onions and celery, turning the heat to LOW

Mix the cream soup* with the chicken broth

*you can use Cream of Corn, Cream of Celery, Cream of Mushroom

or even Cream of Bacon

Add the potatoes to the veggies in the slow cooker,

season with salt, pepper and a dash of garlic powder,

pour creamy broth mixture over all and stir

1 hour before serving, add the cream cheese and cheddar, stir, recover

When ready to serve, use an immersion blender

to make a more creamy consistency if desired

Garnish with crispy bacon for a special touch

Later in the afternoon I assembled the pastries

Saute the onions in butter and olive oil over medium high heat

for a minute or so, then push them to the perimeter

Add the mushrooms to the skillet

Once the mushrooms are golden on one side 2-3 minutes,

then turn them over and brown the other side

Season with fresh thyme, salt and pepper

Add cheeses, turn off burner and let cheeses melt into the vegetables

while you prepare the pastry

Place puff pastry sheets on parchment paper

and gently roll out into even rectangles

Cut each sheet into 9 squares

Divide filling evenly on top of 9 squares

Brush the edges with egg wash

Top each square with another square of puff pastry,

pushing edges together and crimping with a fork

Brush tops with egg wash,

make a slit in the top of the pastry squares,

sprinkle with sharp cheddar

and sprinkle with Everything seasoning

You can prepare these ahead of time,

cover and refrigerate for baking later in the day

In about 30 minutes you will have these gorgeous fragrant pastry hand pies!

This recipe is an updated version of my Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato & Corn Soup

Easy to make, and perfect comfort food!

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword cheesy soup, comfort food, corn chowder, potato soup, slow cooker, vegetable soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 7

Slow cooker saute time 1

Servings 4

Equipment

slow cooker
instant pot

Ingredients

1 bag 30 oz. frozen hash browns, diced or shredded
3 ears corn or 2 cups corn kernels
3 cups chicken broth
1 can Cream of Corn soup or any creamed soup
1/2 large onion, diced
1 cup chopped celery
8 oz cream cheese use full fat for best results
1 cup 4 oz, grated cheddar I used Kraft Creamy Melt Triple Cheddar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Optional Garnishes

4 slices cooked crisp bacon
chopped green onions
grated cheddar

Instructions

Turn slow cooker to high and add butter. When butter starts to melt, add onions and celery, stir and cover.
Let onions and celery cook for 1 hour, stirring once or twice, keeping slow cooker covered
After 1 hour, reduce heat to low, add corn and potatoes
Season vegetables with salt & pepper and a dash of garlic powder
Combine broth with creamed soup and pour over vegetables and potatoes. Stir well and cover
Cook on low for 6-7 hours
Cube cream cheese and add it to soup along with grated cheddar. Stir and cover
Let soup cook 1 more hour. Puree soup with an immersion blender for a smoother soup if desired
Garnish soup with crispy bacon, chopped scallions or grated cheddar if desired.

Notes

You can make this in an instant pot too, use the saute function for the onions and celery then switch it to slow cook and proceed with the recipe

This recipe is adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Broccoli Mushroom Pastries

A savory filling of broccoli, mushrooms and cheese enclosed in puff pastry and baked

Course Appetizer, Brunch, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword appetizer, broccoli, hand pie, mushrooms, puff pastry, savory pastry, side dish

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Servings 9 pastries

Equipment

parchment paper

Ingredients

1 box 2 sheets, frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
4 oz sliced Baby Bella mushrooms
2 oz cream cheese
1 cup grated sharp cheddar I used Kraft Creamy Melt Triple Cheddar
1/2 cup grated white cheddar
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves plus more for garnish
1 tsp minced garlic
salt & pepper
1 egg beaten
Everything Bagel Seasoning Trader Joe's
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Melt butter in a large skillet with olive oil, over medium high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes then push them to the perimeter of the pan
Add mushrooms to the center of skillet and cook for 3-3 minutes. Once mushrooms are golden on that side turn them over and brown the other side. Turn heat to low
Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring
Season vegetables with thyme, salt and pepper.
Add cream cheese and grated cheddar, reserving white cheddar for topping later
Remove skillet from heat and set aside for cheeses to melt as you prepare the pastry
Place pastry sheets on a large piece of parchment paper and gently roll out with a rolling pin to stretch a little and smooth. Cut each sheet into 9 squares. You will have 18 squares in all.
Stir filling to blend melted cheeses and divide among 9 squares, placing filling in the center, away from the edges
Beat egg and using a pastry brush, brush the pastry edges with egg wash
Enclose pastry filling with remaining 9 squares of pastry, pushing edges together to seal and then crimp edges with a fork
Brush tops of pastry with egg wash. Cut a small slit in the top of each pastry with the tip of a sharp knife and sprinkle with white cheddar and Everything Bagel Seasoning
Transfer parchment sheet of pastries to a large baking pan
Bake pastries at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden

Notes

I used frozen broccoli to save time, but I recommend using fresh broccoli florets and roasting* them for even better flavor

*to roast florets, put them on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the edges just begin to char. Chop and continue with the recipe

You can easily make your own Everything Seasoning

See the recipe here