Actually, there are several reasons, but the most important one is flavor. By definition, food cooks slowly in a slow cooker, and whether you are making a stew, a casserole, a soup or something else, all the flavors in your meal blend together in a crockpot more intensely than with any other cooking method.

Crockpot cooking is also handy if you going to be out all day because you can leave your French onion soup recipe, or whichever recipe you are making, to cook by itself. To make the best crockpot soup recipes, it is important to follow the recipe closely. With a lot of crockpot recipes, you simply throw everything in, stir it, and leave it, but if there are any other steps, it is important to do them.

Essential Tips for Crockpot Soups

Fill your crockpot about three quarters full but no more, else your crockpot soup will not cook properly. Remember that crockpots cook whatever is on the bottom faster than what is on the top. This is why hard vegetables like carrots and potatoes are normally added to the crockpot first, and meat or poultry goes on top.

Tender mushrooms like tomatoes and mushrooms only need about forty-five minutes, so you can add these near the end of the cooking time. Add dairy products like heavy cream or sour cream in the last thirty minutes, unless the recipe tells you otherwise.

You do not have to stir your soup while it cooks. If you remove the crockpot lid, you will lose heat from inside, which means you need to add twenty more minutes to the cooking time. Turn the lid back and forth quickly a few times, so the condensation drips off, and you will be able to see inside the crockpot.

Crockpot Creamy Potato and Celery Soup Recipe

This recipe for potato and celery soup is very easy to make. You simply chop the ingredients, add everything to your crockpot, and leave it to cook for about eight hours. If you will be out working all day and you want to get home to something hot and delicious, this crockpot soup recipe is ideal. This recipe serves eight people, so halve it if you want.

Potato and Celery Soup in the Slow Cooker

What you will need:

6 red potatoes, in 1/2 inch cubes
2 sliced leeks (just the white part)
1 cup half and half
1 chopped yellow onion
1 can cream of cheddar soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 peeled, diced carrot or parsnip
1 can cream of celery soup
2 sliced stalks celery
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

How to make it:

Put the chopped potatoes and carrot or parsnip into the crockpot. Pour the cheddar soup and the celery soup over the top, then sprinkle over the salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Add the leeks, onion, garlic, and celery. Mix together the half-and-half and the chicken broth and pour this mixture over the top. Cover the crockpot and cook the potato and celery soup on low for 8 hours. Check the potato. If it is not quite tender, cook the soup for another hour. Serve this potato soup hot, with crusty bread and butter on the side.

With the cooler weather setting into the nights, air many a cooks attentions turn to warmer more filling meals. One of these meals so many like during the brisk nights dinners is soup. There are many different kinds of soup to many to name here but one soup above all conjures up images of elegance, sophistication and extraordinary presentations like that of French onion soup.

Ingredients

Serves about 10

* 6 whole chicken leg-thigh quarters
* 2 stalks celery, sliced into 2-inch pieces
* 2 whole carrots, coarsely chopped
* 1 large onion, quartered
* 1 parsnip, coarsely chopped
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
* Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 pound escarole, chopped

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with 4 quarts water; place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add chicken, return to a boil, skimming off any foam that has accumulated at the top. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, uncovered, for 2 hours.
2. Add celery, carrots, onion, parsnip, dill, and parsley. Continue cooking slowly, uncovered, for 1 hour.
3. Set a strainer over a large bowl and strain soup; discard solids. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.
4. Remove the layer of fat that has formed on top of the soup overnight and discard. Place soup in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Just before serving, add escarole and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes.

Reference : marthastewart.com

We purchased 18 different chicken noodles soups—both canned and dried—in major supermarkets. The soups included those marketed as traditional/old-fashioned, low-fat, and lower-sodium. Our goal: to discover for once and for all if any packaged chicken noodle soups can pass for homemade.

Methodology: In a blind taste test, six judges compared the flavor, consistency (of the chicken, noodles, and veggies), and appearance of the chicken noodle soups one at a time (all soups were heated according to directions on packaging). We then ranked them according to the standard Epicurious four-fork rating system. One Epi Top Pick emerged from the group, getting a three-fork rating (meaning, it qualified as “delicious.”) Four others merited distinction in their specific subcategories.

Best Overall Chicken Noodle Soup Epi Top Pick: Progresso Traditional 99% Fat Free Chicken Noodle Soup ($3.39 per 19 oz. can) Pros: This was the unanimous winner, beating several full-fat, organic, and higher-priced varieties. Aside from being marketed as a 99-percent fat-free option (it has 90 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving), this soup was “the most familiar and homey—like mom’s soup made from scratch,” according to one taster. We enjoyed the big, firm pieces of carrots and celery, toothsome curly noodles, and large chicken chunks. “Tastes like real veggies and chicken!” said another tester. Cons: Consistency of broth is somewhat viscous.

Best Traditional Chicken Noodle Soup Seven of the soups adhered to our definition of “traditional.” That means they were liquid (not dry powder) and not specifically marketed as healthy. Winner: Progresso Traditional Chicken Noodle Soup ($3.39 per 19 oz. can) Pros: “Chicken cubes are consistent in size and color, and not dark and reddish like some of the others,” observed one judge. Another noticed, and liked, the inviting chicken noodle soup aroma and rich herb-filled broth. Cons: Lacked the number of veggies found in Progresso’s healthier option.

Best Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup (Runner Up) Seven of the soups that we tried were marketed as low-fat/low-sodium, or 99-percent fat-free. Obviously, Progresso Traditional 99 % Fat Free Chicken Noodle Soup was the winner of this category, but our runner up was pretty darn yummy. Runner-up: Healthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup (Made with Only White Meat ($3.19 per 15 oz. can) Pros:“Broth tastes creamy and is not overly salty like some of the others,” stated one taster. “The noodles have a nice firm texture, and the soup has a pleasant aftertaste,” said another. Cons: Not much chicken. More of a veggie noodle soup.

Best Powder-Based (Dry) Chicken Noodle Soup Four of the soups that we sampled came dried and required the addition of boiling water. While none was outstanding, our editors found two worth making in a pinch. Winner #1: Nissin Cup Noodles Chicken Flavor (59 cents per 2.25 oz. cup) Pros: This was the least expensive soup of the bunch. All six judges swooned at the sight of corn kernels floating in the broth among the noodles. “I like it because it’s slightly sweet and full of veggie seasoning,” commented a taster. Cons: Demands a fork to deal with the long, unwieldy noodles. Ingredient list gives chicken powder and chicken fat, but no actual chicken pieces.

Winner #2: Lipton Soup Secrets Chicken Noodle ($2.19 for box with 2 pouches)Pros: “The buttery noodles and foamy broth really distinguish this soup from its competitors,” commented one taster. Another insisted that it doesn’t have the fake smell found in other dried soups. Cons: The thin, watery broth and sparse portion of veggies make this more of a warm afternoon snack than a meal.