Mediterranean Fish Soup

I love to cook...actually I hate being rushed and having to think of things last minute to cook. But, when I have time to plan and create I love to cook. I use my crock pot A LOT, working mother! For my birthday this year my wonderful mother-in-law gave me a Hamilton Beach: Programmable Slow Cooker with a prob for checking meat temperatures, that I LOVE!!! This weekend, for my seafood loving family, I made a Mediterranean Fish Soup with Baking Powder Biscuits so yummy! Enjoy the recipe:




Ingredients:

I minced all of the veggies, so that the kiddies wouldn't noticed them, and it worked but, try anyway you want

1 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth (I used a container of Campbell's chicken broth)
1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce (I didn't have this and it was still good)
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound medium shrimp-peeled and deveined
1 pound cod fillets, cubed (I fried it with oil, fennel seeds, salt, pepper, garlic, and basil before adding it to the soup)

I also added to the recipe:

1 can baby clams and juices
1 can crab and juices
2 cups cooked rice

Directions:

1. Place onion, green bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato sauce, mushrooms, olives, clams, crab, orange juice, wine, bay leaves, dried basil, fennel seeds, and pepper into slow cooker. Cover, and cook on low 4-5 hours or until veggies are crisp tender.

2. Stir in rice, shrimp, and cod. I also added more spices, as sometimes the slow cooker will cook out the spices (probably 2 Tablespoons garlic powder, 1 Tablespoon salt and pepper). Cover. Cook 15-30 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve.