By Ann Martin

Autumn is a beautiful time of year and family often enjoys the season by making weekend trips to the orchard, to the zoo, or families may even plan for a small hike through the woods. The cooler air and the falling leaves truly get us in the mood for comfort food, as we all get ready for the seasons to change. One of my favorite comfort foods is soup! Instead of spending hours in the kitchen making a delicious hot batch of soup, why not put your slow cooker to good use! There are quite a few scrumptious slow cooker soup recipes and here are some of my favorites! 

Slow Cooker Bean and Barley Soup

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Put beans, water, tomatoes and their juices, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, barley, bay leaf, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, herb blend, pepper, and porcini mushrooms (if using) in a slow cooker; cover and cook on LOW until the beans are quite tender and the soup is thick, about 8 hours.


2. Stir in the spinach, cheese, and vinegar, cover, and let the soup cook until the spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.


3. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and drizzle each serving with olive oil.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

Soup Ingredients:

• 3 large onions, sliced (3 cups)
• 3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) ready-to-serve beef broth
  

• 8 slices French bread, 1 inch thick
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Mix onions and margarine in 3 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker.


2. Cover and cook on high heat setting 30 to 35 minutes or until onions begin to slightly brown around edges.


3. Mix flour, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and pepper. Stir flour mixture and broth into onions. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 9 hours (or high heat setting 3 to 4 hours) or until onions are very tender.


4. Prepare Cheesy Broiled French Bread. Place 1 slice bread on top of each bowl of soup. Serve immediately.

Source: Bettycrocker.com

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1. In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside.


2. Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours.