Lazy cooking

If there is one thing that I love, it's how a crock pot can allow me to be lazy with dinner and yet a rock-star when we all sit down around the table.  Seriously...put everything in it in the morning, leave the house and return to the wonder of a fully cooked meal.  Accept love and accolades from your family.

I do this often....accept the love and accolades that is.

Super easy, super delicious, often requested by Uriah and Abby - Karen's Crockpot Soup comes from Uriah's aunt, but don't be deceived, it's more of a stew than a soup.  It gets nice and thick as it cooks and the smell is delicious, especially after a long day.  And, since I know of at least one vegetarian (Hi, Tara!  I miss you!) you could easily leave out the smoked sausage and it would be just as good.  It should be noted that I sometimes can't leave well enough alone, and usually Abby will ask me if I've "doctored" a recipe, I did adjust this one just a bit from Aunt Karen's original (sidebar: Aunt is pronounced Ant in Missouri- like the little black bugs.  I'm still not used to it.).  I like to serve it with biscuits and honey butter.  Leftovers re-heat well, too, so I take mine for lunch, although you might need to add just a bit of water to thin it out as it will thicken as it cools.

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 package smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 large can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 6 potatoes, chopped into small chunks
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups of water

Put about a tablespoon of olive oil in sauté pan and sauté sliced sausage until it caramelizes a little on the outside.  Remove from pan and place in crock pot.  Add a little more oil to the pan; sauté the onion and garlic just until the onion is soft.  Add onion and garlic to the crock pot and stir it in with the meat.  Add everything else.

Cook in crock pot on low for 8 hours; on high for 4-5 hours.  Check the soup before serving; if it seems too thick, add some water to thin it out a bit; also, add more salt and pepper.  I usually add just a little to start with because onion soup mix can add a lot of salt to the soup already.  Usually it just needs a little extra pepper.

You don’t have to sauté the sausage, onion and garlic first.  The original recipe says to just throw everything right into your crock pot.  I’m sure that’s good, too, but I kind of like the crispy outside that the sausage gets when you cook it a little first.  Also, if you're super lazy and not prone to wasting time in the morning doing things that involve not sleeping, put it together the night before, stick it in the refrigerator overnight, then pop it into the base in the morning, turn it on, and voila!  Dinner!  

So I guess this recipe isn't totally lazy...just slightly lazy!