Slow-Cooker Tequila Lime Chili

It's been hot all week and today I finally got smart and remembered my slow cooker. I discovered this amazing, summery chili recipe in America's Test Kitchen's Slow Cooker Revolution. With very little prep in the morning, I had a flavorful and nutritious dinner by the heat of the evening. My husband and I topped our bowls with only some shredded cheese—nothing else necessary! Serves 6.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

First of all, sorry for the lack of a picture. I could take a picture of the empty stockpot, but that would do us no good. Yes, this disappeared as quickly as it was made, if that's any testament to just how good this version of Mexican tortilla soup is. Forget any sorry excuses of this soup you've had in the past—this is where it's at. Serves 6-8

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is a lovely recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen. You'll notice the unusal addition of baking soda to this soup. The baking soda helps break down the broccoli—without it, the brocoli would have to cook for a good hour to be soft enough for our purposes. This hearty soup serves 6 to 8. I think this would also be really good over potatoes—baked or boiled or on grilled chicken.

Glazed Carrot Soup

Another delicious recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Before this recipe, I'd started to give up on ever coming across a truly delicious creamy vegetable soup. This soup completely blew me away. It needs no accompaniment...it's just that delicious. Although, serving with some french bread is lovely.

Roasted Beet and Beef Borscht

I have fallen head-over-heels in love with Mark Bittman's cookbooks: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and How to Cook Everything. This recipe comes from his vegetarian cookbook and I modified it to have lovely tender chunks of beef and potatoes. This is health food at its most elegant and tasty. Unfortunately, no photos are available this time due to technical difficulties, but trust me, this soup is a beautiful magenta colour.

Turkey Chili with Kidney Beans

This chili is absolutely fabulous either on it's own or over a baked potato with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and chives. The flavor of the chili improves with age. Try to make it a day or two before serving. It can also be frozen for a month.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

I first had this soup at an Italian grocery and sandwich shop in Pike's Place. I had no idea the flavors of carrot and ginger could work so well together, so, of course, I had to duplicate it at home. For making a smoothly blended soup, an immersion blender is essential. Although, if you do not have one, the soup may be blended in a blender after it has cooled (if you put the hot soup in a blender, the gases inside will force the top of the blender off and the hot soup splatter will hurt you!)

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Recently, I had a wisdom tooth pulled. The perfect solution to not being able to chew was a creamy, filling soup. So, I developed this delicious and unique cream of broccoli.

Lentil & Collard Chili Soup

This lentil chili was great for when I was sick recently. It has a nice amount of heat and tastes great over a baked potato. The lentils impart an amazing amount of fiber to the soup—about 19g per serving! This recipe was adapted from an American Heart Association recipe.

Green Pasta Soup

This is a great hearty vegetarian soup. This soup is probably more suited for wintertime, but I couldn't resist the gorgeous greens at the market today. The recipe calls for a Parmigiano Reggiano rind. It's quite important to the overall flavor of the soup, so, hopefully, you can find it at your market.