Ingredients
Beef bones, as many as will fit into your slow cooker.  I used a combination of soup bones, marrow bones, and bones from previously roasted prime rib, etc. 
2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spread bones out on baking sheet and roast until browned. 

2. Transfer bones to slow cooker and add water up to one inch from top.  Add vinegar. 

3. Cover and cook on LOW for at least 24 hours and as many as 72.  Check occasionally to skim off any scum that has risen to the top and to add more water as necessary. 

4. Cool broth to room temperature, remove large chunks of bone or meat, then strain through wire mesh strainer.  You can line this with a clean kitchen towel if you’d like for better straining. 

5. Cool broth in refrigerator then skim fat off top.  You can use this fat for other things if you’d like. 

6. At this point you can boil it to condense it if you’d like.  Otherwise store it in small ziptop bags, 1/2-1 cup of broth per bag.  Freeze flat and stack for later use. 

Photo

Comments
This method is mainly from Food Renegade but I did a lot of googling and reading of other recipes as well.  I’ve made this a few times and it’s lovely.  I like to condense it and then put 1/2 cup in each of my freezer bags.  I reconstitute it with 1/2 cup water to get 1 cup of broth.  I haven’t bought beef broth in months!  

Only make this if you're okay with making your entire home smell like cow.  Preferably not before you have any veg*n company!

Ingredients
10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound short pasta, such as bowties
6 tablespoons butter
2 yellow onion, diced
16 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
6 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream or half and half
6 cubes chicken or vegetable bouillon
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked or grilled, and cut into pieces
1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400*F.  Place garlic on piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, and roast 30 minutes or until tender.  Remove from oven and mince. 

2. Bring large pot salted water to boil and cook pasta as instructed by package.  Drain. 

3. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add roasted minced garlic and stir to combine.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. 

4. Add flour and stir to combine.  Add wine and simmer for 1 minute, scraping pot to loosen any stuck bits with wooden spoon.  Add chicken and tomatoes and stir to combine.  Add broth, milk, and bouillon cubes.  Stir to combine and bring soup to simmer.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

5. Stir in parsley, Parmesan cheese, and cream then simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.  Add cooked pasta and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste then garnish with fresh parsley. 

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Daring Gourmet and it was super delicious.  It turned out very thick which is just the way we like soup, if you want something thinner, add more broth and/or cream.  The leftovers will get thicker as well.  This was a great, warming, lovely soup for a cold winter day.  

Ingredients
24 ounces spaghetti sauce
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
4 1/2 ounces fresh spinach
4 cups chicken broth
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
16 ounces cheese tortellini (or tortellini of choice)
Parmesan cheese, shredded, for serving

Instructions
1. Combine spaghetti sauce, spinach, cream cheese, chicken broth, and mushrooms in slow cooked.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours, or on HIGH for 3. 

2. 20 minutes before serving, increase heat to HIGH and stir in tortellini.  Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until tortellini are tender and hot. 

3. Top with Parmesan cheese before serving. 

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Heather Likes Food and I made it some weeks ago when I was in need of some delicious soup. 

I did make a few changes to what is shown here and I would make a few more. 
1. Omit spinach because I can’t eat it.
2. Double mushrooms.
3. Add cream cheese at the end with tortellini. 
4. I used dried tortellini by Barilla instead of frozen. 

Ingredients
1 pound bacon, cut into pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds tater tots
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Colby jack.)
Salt and pepper

Instructions
1. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Drain in sieve set over bowl.  Return 1 tablespoon bacon fat to skillet and add onion. Sauté onion until soft, about 4 or 5 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and continue cooking until fragrant. 

2. Place tater tots, onion mixture, broth, and milk into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.  Stir to break apart tater tots then stir in cheese until melted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and then serve. 

No photo.

Comments
This recipe is from Kayotic Kitchen and, sadly, I didn’t get a picture because I completely forgot.  Mine also didn’t look quite as pretty as Kay’s due to the color the bacon added to the soup.  If you like tater tots, and you like soup, you’ll probably like this.  It tastes like tater tots in soup form.  Good comfort food for a gray, rainy day.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 jalapeno, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup tomato paste
7 cups water
1 can coconut milk
2 cups red split lentils
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon lime juice

Instructions
1. Heat oil in Dutch oven or large soup pot.  Add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno.  Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetables have softened and start to color.  Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, cinnamon, salt, and tomato paste and continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is toasty and fragrant. 

2. Add water, coconut milk, lentils, and chickpeas.  Cook 20 to 25 minutes or until beans are tender.  Add lime juice and check for seasoning.  Add additional salt and lime juice if desired. 

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from Scaling Back.  It’s another one that I’ve seen bouncing around the blogosphere for some time but I finally got around to making it thanks to Amazon delivering red split lentils to me.  Sadly I didn’t take a photo, but it was pretty delicious.  Art and I enjoyed it with naan and rice.  It’s very similar to a dal and I was happy with how it turned out.