Valentine Tortellini

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 3 hours 

Ingredients:
1 (19oz) bag of frozen cheese tortellini 
1 small bag of fresh spinach (I used about half of a 5 oz package, but more is better!)
1 (14.5 oz) cans of Italian style diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 block (8 oz) of cream cheese
1 lb. of ground beef {or sausage}
1 cups of chicken broth {water + bouillon cubes} 

2 cups of milk {+ 2 bouillon cubes}

2 cloves of crushed garlic 

Directions:

Brown the meat then put all ingredients in crockpot except the tortellini. Don't drain the tomatos. Chunk up the cream cheese when you put it in. After an hour, put in the tortellini {you don't want the tortellini to get soggy}. 
Cook on high for 1 hour and then on low for 2 hrs.

*Keep an eye on your tortellini, it may be done sooner.

*If still soupy, leave lid off for the last half hour or so of cooking. 

Original Recipe

Potato Pepper Soup

Ingredients:
¼- ½ c cream or cream cheese (*optional)

1½ c milk

¼ bag of fresh spinach; I rip them in half

4½ c water + 6 bouillon cubes = Chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic

3-4 sweet potatos

2 bell peppers

½-1 onion {depends on how much you like them}

½ lb. hamburger meat or sausage
3-4 potatoes

1 tsp. crushed Red Pepper, and salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop onion and peppers into little or medium squares (depending on your preference) and start cooking on medium heat in a large pan. 
Add minced garlic. Cook for a few minutes. 

Peel and thinly slice all of the potatoes. 

Add meat and cook until done. Strain grease. 
Add bouillon cubes and crushed red pepper.

Add water, milk and cream/cream cheese (you don’t want to wait too long to add the dairy or else it may clump in tiny clumps). 

Add the potatoes and cook for several minutes (they take longer than the sweet potatoes).
Add the sweet potatoes, and spinach. 

*If there is not enough water to cover the potatoes add more milk/water/cream cheese (which ever you prefer) and bouillon cubes.

Let cook for 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Note: if you cook the potatoes too long they will not keep their shape and it will become more like a mushy stew

Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

8 cups milk

1/2 cup yogurt {I like Vanilla}

* Note: the yogurt comes out pretty plain so we add powdered honey. You can also add in sugar (or your favorite sweetener), vanilla, any flavor of jam, cinnamon & nutmeg, seeds, practically ANYTHING you feel like to get the desired yummy affect that you are looking for.

Directions:

1. Pour 8 cups milk into crock pot. Put the lid on and turn the crock pot on low heat. 

Let cook for 2 1/2 hrs.

*Careful: do NOT use the warm setting on your crock-pot

2. After the 2 1/2 hours are up, turn the crock pot off. Do not take off the lid. Let this sit for 3 hrs.

3. When the 3 hours are through, take off the lid and measure 2 cups of the warm milk into a separate bowl. Then add 1/2 cup of yogurt to the milk.Whisk the milk and yogurt together thoroughly until there are no clumps. I put it in my kitchen aid and use the whisk attachment.

* The more thorough you are with this step, the smoother your yogurt will be* 

 Once you have whisked the milk and yogurt together thoroughly, add it back into the crock pot, and whisk everything into the crock pot together thoroughly, so that the yogurt is mixed evenly throughout.

4. Place the lid back on the crock pot, wrap the crock pot in a towel {I use an old towel}, and put into the oven with the oven light on. The towel will help insulate the crock pot, and the light will let the yogurt incubate at a great temperature. Now let the crock pot incubate in the oven for 8 hrs. 

*The longer you let it incubate past the normal 8 hrs. the more tart your yogurt will be* 

My husband was worried about this step, but don't worry. I was surprised by how warm the oven was when I took it out.

5. Once the 8 hours is through, take the crock pot out of the oven and strain it. I use a colander lined with cheese cloth {I used to use paper towels, but be careful no to tear the paper towel! If you need some cheese cloth, I have a lot extra I can give you :)}. Gently pour/scoop the yogurt into the colander and let it sit for approximately 1 hour. The longer you let it strain, the thicker your yogurt will be. I found that it gets thicker on the bottom and sides (where it is straining) so I like to stir/scrape it. Careful not to push the yogurt through the holes though. If some falls out, it's fine.

6. After it has strained, put it into a container and let chill in the fridge until desired chilliness :)

There you have it!! Cook for 2 1/2. Sit for 3. Whisk. Oven. Strain.Done!

Timing: 

I have found that if you start the process around 5:30 in the afternoon. It will be ready to start the incubation process in the oven at 11 pm. Then you can go to bed, and around 7 am the next morning, it will be ready to come out of the oven, start the straining process and then be cooled by around 9. This has made for the most fluid transitions. {Adjust it by one hour if you are a morning/night person}.

I hope you enjoy it! We really love this recipe, and love how cheap and easy it is! Don't give up if the first time it isn't exactly how you'd like.