Easy And Tasty Penne Pasta and Cannellini Bean Slow Cooker Soup Recipe

For busy moms, using a slow cooker is very convenient. Using a slow cooker, such as the West Bend Slow Cooker, saves you time for many other tasks you have to do. What is even better, you can even use your slow cooker to prepare meals or dishes when you are entertaining and once again it leaves you free for the other cooking you need to do.

To give you and idea of all the lovely dishes you can make with your slow cooker, here is a Penne Pasta and Cannellini Bean Slow Cooker Soup Recipe:

What You Need:

• 2 (19 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained
• 1 (1 lb) pkg. frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 t basil
• 1/4 t garlic
• 1/4 t oregano
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 (12 oz) bottle vegetable juice cocktail
• 1 C water
• 1/2 C uncooked penne pasta

How to Make It:

1. Place the beans, mixed vegetables and tomatoes into the crock pot.
2. Sprinkle in the basil, garlic, oregano and salt.
3. Pour the vegetable juice cocktail and water into the mixture and stir to combine.
4. Cover and cook on the low setting for 7 1/2 hours.
5. Stir in the uncooked pasta and increase the heat to high.
6. Recover and cook an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until the pasta is tender.

Serving Size: 6

1/2 C of the pasta may look a little skimpy but in all reality by the time it has cooked in the crock pot you will have just the right amount for your soup. If you purchase diced tomatoes with the garlic, basil and oregano added you won't need to add those spices to your soup.

As this  Penne Pasta and Cannellini Bean Slow Cooker Soup Recipe makes a very filling starter, it can be followed by a very light main course such as a chicken salad and crispy rolls.

A Little Bit Of Everything Slow Cooker Soup Recipe

What can be more welcoming on a cold winter's day than coming home to a tasty homemade soup and freshly baked homemade bread? Well it is easy to do if you have a West Bend Slow Cooker and a Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker.

The slow cooker can be set to cook your delicious little bit of everything slow cooker soup and the breadmaker has a delay timer which allow you to set it so that the bread will be ready when you get home.

To give you an idea of how easy slow cooker soups are to make, here is a recipe of A Little Bit Of Everything Slow Cooker Soup recipe:

What You Need:

• 1 T canola oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (19 oz) can minestrone soup
• 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained well
• 1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (11 oz) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (4 oz) can green chilies, chopped
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t onion powder

How to Make It:

1. Place the oil in your West Bend Slow Cooker's pot over medium heat.
2. Break up the ground beef into the pot and add the onions.
3. Cook 12 minutes or until the meat is completely browned.
4. Drain well and pat the excess grease off with a paper towel.
5. Pour in the minestrone soup, pinto beans, tomatoes, corn and the chilies.
6. Sprinkle in the salt, garlic and onion powder.
7. Stir from the bottom up to incorporate all the ingredients together.
8. Cover and cook on the low heat setting 6 hours.

Serving Size: 8

This great soup is made up of things everyone has in their pantry and refrigerator. Try adding a few of your own ideas such as canned green beans, peas or carrots to see if you can come up with you very own "a little bit of everything soup recipe."

This is the ideal soup for the busy mom who will be playing taxi driver all day. You can set your West Bend Slow Cooker, set your Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker and do what you have to do and come home to your fully cooked meal.

Bean And Sausage Bake In Your Dutch Oven

If you have a Dutch oven, such as the All Clad Dutch Oven 5.5, you will love all the one pot meals you can make with them. What is even better, you do not have to watch the pot as much as when you are cooking on the stove. So, you can do other things while dinner is taking care of itself.

This Bean And Sausage Bake only takes a little more than half and hour to make and it is surprisingly tasty. So, here is your recipe:

Bean And Sausage Bake In Your Dutch Oven

What You Need:

• 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 (14 oz.) cans of Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 t dried thyme
• 1 t celery seeds
• 1/2 t of salt
• 1/4 t of pepper
• 6 (1 ½ lbs.) sausage links
• 1 zucchini, sliced thin
• 2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, drained

How to Make It:

1. Set the oven temperature to 450 degrees allowing the oven to preheat.
2. Spray the lid, sides and bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven with a non stick cooking spray.
3. Scatter the onions over the bottom of the pan.
4. Scatter the garlic over the onions.
5. Place the beans into the pan and spread them out into a smooth layer.
6. Sprinkle the beans with the thyme, celery seeds, salt and pepper
7. Lay the sausage links in a single layer over the beans.
8. Add the zucchini and tomatoes.
9. Cover the pan and bake 35 minutes or until the beans are tender the sausage is cooked through.

Makes 4 servings

Any type of pork sausage links works well in this dish but if you want to make it a low fat dish use turkey sausage instead. 5 or 6 fresh tomatoes, chopped may be used in place of the canned tomatoes if you prefer.

I personally serve this dish with rice and a mixed salad. Of course, fresh home baked bread will also be very tasty, so if you have a breadmaker, such as a Cuisinart Cbk 100 Programmable Breadmaker, you can serve it with fresh crusty bread and it will be a real treat. So, try this Beans and Sausage Bake and see how tasty it is.