WIAW # 45: Crockpot Carrot Soup

It's officially Fall!!! I saw a giant pile of leaves in front of our University President's office and thought really hard about jumping in it. But alas, I was in a dress with no tights. Yes, that's probably the only reason I didn't go through with it! (It was taller than it looks.)

Happy WIAW everyone! I'm afraid my eats are a little boring this week (Sorry Jenn, promise I'm not comparing!)  Monday was super busy for me ironically as it is usually my least stressful day. With midterms right around the corner (yikes!) I've been a little busy. But really, when am I not busy? This month's theme for What I Ate Wednesday is Spooky Snacks and Healthy Halloween Treats. I haven't made that yet but I've definitely been keeping up with the healthy snacking primarily with Honeycrisp apples and a tbsp. of Almond butter or a banana, or a chobani, etc.

WIAW is also Pink for Breat Cancer Awareness. My grandmother passed away after her remission from Breast Cancer ended and the cells traveled causing other types. So for me  awareness is a good thing even if it is just taking care of your own body and being aware of the signs. If you have any questions, I recommend reading more from National Cancer Institute.

But on another note I do have a very fall themed recipe for you today that you have to try to believe how good it is...but that's the last thing included so scroll down!


   

Breakfast:

 

Cup of regular coffee

1 banana, sliced

 

Lunch:

 

Colby-Jack Grilled Cheese on my fav Martin's 100% Whole Wheat Potato Bread.
Love this stuff, reminds me of home.
Water

 

Low Key Dinner:

 

Big bowl of my freshly made (Sunday) Carrot Soup topped with toasted acorn squash seeds, dash of cream, two pieces of Salio bread, small glass of cabernet

Lunch Remix Next Day:
 

 

 

Carrot Soup, two pieces of bread, and

leftover Haricot Verts with Apples and Roasted Squash seeds= yum

 
More on that delicious looking carrot soup....

To say the least I had a lot of carrots to use. Two weeks ago "cooking carrots" were buy-one-get-one-free. Well, I needed carrots anyways so why not get 30 large carrots for a $1.50, eh?

I thought carrot soup, and no less in my crockpot would be a perfect use of these bad boys. I didn't realize until after trying the finished soup that I had actually had a very similar version in England as it is a popular type of soup. Perfect!
 

 

Since it's Fall (kind of) I've been dying for some fall recipes. What's better than a warm soup "Fall" soup?

 
When looking for some inspiration I found some other carrot soup recipes but for some reason most of these recipes had a very little percentage of actual carrots in them. From one, there was only six carrots to six potatoes. I had a lot of carrots to use so instead I added 15 carrots to two potatoes. Unlike expectations, this soup still blends perfectly and has a striking resemblance to the much more expensive and posh butternut squash soup.

 I added just a little cream cheese and cream to make the flavors blend better without too much extra calories, fat, or salt. At first I was going to call this "Curry Carrot Soup" since there is curry in it but as it is not the most profound flavor, I think it is fair just to call in "Carrot Soup" because it is delicious. I hope you'll agree with my new favorite Fall recipe.

Crockpot Carrot Soup

makes roughly 2 -3 quarts of soup

{Inspired by ATX Gluten-Free}

Ingredients:

15 large cooking carrots, peeled and sliced into thin medallions
2 medium russet potatoes, cut into small chunks, skin on
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsp. Apple cider (or white wine) vinegar
1 small tart apple, finely chopped (I used honeycrisp)
4. oz cream cheese
1/4 cup (2 oz.) half-n-half or light cream
1 tbsp. fresh or dried rosemary
2 tbsp. yellow curry
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cumin
Dash of chili powder
2 tsp. Sriracha
2 tsp. black pepper
garlic salt to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients except half-n-half and cream cheese into the crockpot and mix together well. Cook for 4 hours on HIGH. Carrots and potatoes should be tender when finished.

Working in batches transfer soup into a blender. Add cream and cream cheese proportionally in batches and blend until smooth. (If using an immersion blender you can carefully work right in the pot.) Add additional seasoning if needed.

Serve warm with a swirl of cream and toasted squash seeds or sauteed mushrooms for texture on top and warm bread and a side salad.

Enjoy!

P.s. Great  recipe for parties or Thanksgiving! Just bring the crockpot with you!

Love,

The College Cuisiner