Wondering what Mommy Homework is??? Each week you will have an “assignment” here to share in our comments here on this site. You will love this-both sharing AND enjoying answers by others. Some of them, I compile into an ebook (contributors can resell as a product of their own–be sure to submit your email and full name when you register so I can credit you appropriately!).
The result is AWESOME!
We get to know each other…we are encouraged in our journey…and we glean super ideas from other great moms!
Ready for this week’s MH? This is a good one!
Our topic this week is “What’s in Your Crock-Pot???”
Your Assignment This Week…
Oh! I LOVE Fall! There is something about this time of year that makes me want those yummies cooking away in my crock-pot. I love ANYTHING in a crock-pot! It just amazes me that I can take a few minutes, dump all of the ingredients into my crock-pot, move on to my daily tasks, then come back to PERFECT MEALS!
Downside? I like fresh, new recipes. So, this week, let’s share our family’s favorite crock pot meal. Got a favorite? Share it. Just imagine the treasure we will have at the end of this week as we all jump in and share our favorites! YUM! YUM!
OH! Yes! We can compile these into an ebook that you can resale on your websites (If you participate, you will have Resale Rights–details on that later!). So, be sure that these are YOUR recipes. Share away! We will have a blast!
AND…Have any details that you want to throw in about your recipe, feel free to include it. Any background–like is it your grandmothers…the first thing you learned to cook…etc. Tell us your STUFF! 🙂
Dig into this one sweet friends!!
Love ya!
Cindy
PS! Please remember to use your real name if you want credit for your Mommy Homework Credit. 
PPS! You CAN just share and not participate in Mommy Homework, BUT I would LOVE for you to get some goodies along the way!
PPSS! Want to check your credit? Here is the newest update: http://www.talk-a-latte.com/ebooks/MommyHomeworkCredits.pdf
PPPSS! If you are new, all you do to share your MH is first register (see the link on the bottom of the page–scroll all the way to the very bottom), then log in with your name and password that you select. Share away!
Deadline–Friday at midnight CST.
Way TOO EASY and YUMMY Chicken Noodle Soup…
This is one of my LAZY MOM meals! 🙂 It is ALWAYS perfect. Very nice on those really busy days when you want comfort foods.
1 whole chicken
1 large can Cream of Chicken Soup
One bag of Egg Noodles
Prepare your chicken by boiling in a large soup pot. Save your stock. You will use it in the soup. If you prefer salt, pepper, garlic salt or any other seasoning, add to your stock. Usually takes about one hour to fully cook your chicken.
Allow your chicken and stock to cool. De-bone your chicken and drain out all fat and bones. I usually pour my stock through a drainer several times.
Mix stock juice and can of Cream of Chicken Soup together in cleaned soup pot. Bring to a rolling boil. Add chicken. Bring to a rolling boil again. Add noodles to your preference—we add LOTS! Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until noodles are fully cooked. Serve! Note: this soup can also be made in the Crock-pot. It will take a bit longer, but it is still yummy!
I just drug my crock pot out this week, we have been remodeling and you would think the logical solution to 2 kitchens (we have 2 trailors side by side) and everything but the sink and the oven in one, and just a sink and an oven in the other, I would have been using the thing…. All I did with it this week though is put some spaghetti sauce in it. Straight from the jar, all I added was mushrooms and a little leftover meat, but since I was brave enough to also drag out the bread machine and make french bread, I wanted the house to smell like I had been cooking all day. The result, my son told me that was the best spaghetti I ever made.
My favorite crockpot recipe is also my favorite freezer recipe (freezer recipe-hint hint) and it is called Cowboy Stew.
1 Restaruant size can of Ranch Stye Beans (pintos with fav seasoning will do)
1 bag of frozen crinkle cut carrots
1-2lb of meat of choice(hmbgr, leftover brisket diced etc.)
Cook on low all day, serve over rice with cornbread, this is a stick to your ribs meal and freezes beautifully.
Valerie Neal
I LOVE my crock-pot and this is such a great idea because I can never have enough crock-pot recipes. I can however guarantee you that you wouldn’t want the first thing I ever cooked.So I have chosen something a bit more palatable lol. This is one of our favorite slow cooker meals. Enjoy!
Creamy Mexican Chicken (Serves 6-7)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use frozen)
1 15-16oz jar of your favorite salsa, (homemade is best)
I can of black beans, rinsed
5 oz of frozen corn
1 sm. can of sliced black olives
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
Add first 4 ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Now I like to take the chicken out and cut it up into bite size pieces so I can pour this over rice but that is optional and up to you. After you do that then add your block of cream cheese and olives and cover for about 20 mins. Stir into chicken mixture and enjoy!
I can’t wait to see some yummo recipes!
Blessings to you all.
Kim Wilson
My favorite Crock Pot Recipe:
1 roast
potatoes (peeled)
carrots
onion
onion soup mix pouch
water to cover
Cook on high 12 hours or low for 6
It is so nice to come home from Sunday church to this yummy lunch!!
Lori Duncan
One of the EASIEST things I do is get a corn beef brisket. Rinse it, sprinkle only part of the season packet over it and pop it in. Add water and cook on low.
Another one I do is pinto beans overnight. All I add is the water, salt, and black pepper. I also sometimes cook my chili overnight on low and then put these things on the warm setting until time. I don’t have a set recipe for my chili. I use the ground beef, tomato sauce (usually one 15 oz can), water, chili powder, salt, garlic, powder, onion powder, dash of cayenne pepper, a little more cumin , and paprika.
Rebecca Smith
I use my crock-pot at least twice a week when the weather turns cold, and I frequently use in in the summer so the oven doesn’t heat up the house (I just put it out in the garage.) Here are two of my family’s favorite recipes.
Crock-pot meatloaf
2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
2/3 cup oatmeal
1 packet onion soup mix
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Mix everything together and cook all day on low. Turns out nice and moist every time.
Cabbage Roll Casserole
1 pound ground beef
dash of chili powder
1/2 medium head cabbage
1 onion
2/3 cup rice
2 cans tomato soup
1T brown sugar
Chop the cabbage and the onion. Put the cabbage in the bottom of the crock-pot. Brown the ground beef and the onion adding the chili powder when they are done. Transfer the meat to crock-pot and sprinkle the rice on top. Mix together soup, brown sugar and 1 soup can of water then pour into crock-pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5. Serve sprinkled with mozzarella cheese if desired.
Colleen Day
At our church, we all bring covered dishes to share after services each Sunday. One of the easiest things I’ve found to do in the crock pot is what I call Easy McCormick Chicken.
I simply place about 4-5 chicken breasts (or a whole chicken or chicken pieces, etc.) in my largest crock pot the night before and sprinkle it all with one McCormick Grill Mate seasoning packet of my choice, and cook on low all night.. Yes, these are actually made for grilling marinade, but they work GREAT in the crock pot as well. I usually choose Zesty Herb or Baja Citrus and the results in the morning are spectacular! I never come home with any chicken left over….and it’s SO easy! The McCormick Grill Mate packets are usually found on the ‘spice’ aisle at the store in the same section as spaghetti seasoning, taco seasoning, etc. For the most part, I make my own seasonings, but the McCormick Grill Mates are really good. Oh, and you can use them for the grill too! LOL
Many times I also do crock pot cooked chicken in order to have chicken for pot pies, soups, etc. for supper. So easy and I don’t have to worry about it if I am not at home during the day or something. I’ll just put the chicken in the crock pot first thing in the morning, leave it on low all day…and by supper preparation time, I have super moist, flavorful chicken to use in all kinds of dishes! You can cut it with a fork!
So good! Yum!
Looking forward to reading more great crock pot recipes!
Blessings,
Amy O’Quinn
Well, today I have pinto beans in my crock pot. I will add some cornbread and the kids some mac and cheese to make our dinner complete tonight. But, that is not my favorite recipe. I like cooking a roast in the crock pot, or beef stew. I just put the roast or beef in, add seasoning and water and what veggies I want in, and let cook on high all day. Swells wonderful!! I really don’t have any crock pot recipes and really could use some good dinner recipes. I can’t wait to read everyone’s recipes!
Here is one that I do have and just used recently. A dear friend gave it to me. It is for Apple Butter. We had picked a bunch of apples (my mom and I) and made this yummy butter out of them. I hope you enjoy.
Here’s the recipe.
APPLE BUTTER
5 quarts finely chopped apples
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Fill a 5 quart crock pot heaping full with apples.
Drizzle remaining ingredients over apples.
Cover. (Lid may not fit tightly at first.)
Begin cooking on high for 1 hour, then
lower heat and cook all day (or all night)
until thick and dark. Stir occasionally.
Place in small jars and seal or you can put it
in freezer container and store in freezer (Both
work well).
Notes:
Substitute Equal or Splenda for the sugar (mixture
will not turn as dark).
May omit the cloves, if desired.
Works for pears as well.
Donna Scott
The easiest thing ever to do is to just throw in some chicken breasts and dump BBQ sauce on top of it! LOL Then you can either have BBQ chicken and add some sides or you can shred it up and have BQ chicken sandwhiches! YUM
Oh I LOVE this kind of homework! Yesterday I cooked a roast in the crockpot. I use the slow cooker liners for easy cleanup and an easy way to get all the juice out to use for a broth or soup starter later!
I broil my roast just a bit before I put it in the crockpot.
I put the roast in, sprinkle a packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix on top, and usually add about 6-8oz of beef broth. Yesterday I also added peeled and quartered red potatoes (4 of them), I put them in wih the meat before I put the onion mix and broth in.
I cooked this on low for about 8 hours. It was delicious!
Today I took the leftover meat, shredded it with two forks, and added my Carolina-style barbecue sauce on it. We heated it up and had sandwiches!!
My sauce recipe is pretty easy. I make it ahead of time and store it in the cabinet.
I make it usually in old spagetti sauce jars, but you can of course make it in any kind of jar.
2 cups cider vinegar
about 1 oz crushed red pepper
1/8 to 1/4 cup Texas Pete (I like it hotter than most folks, so I use 1/4 cup)
Close jar with lid and shake to mix. I put mine out in the sun on the porch for a whole day to release the heat from the peppers!
YUMM!!
I have two favorite crock pot recipes:
Tennessee Pulled Pork Barbecue
1 pork loin or pork roast (boneless is easiest, but bone in is fine. Get a large one – you will want leftovers!)
2 jars sliced banana peppers (hot or mild – your preference)
Cook 6-8 hours on high or 12-14 on low. When the meat is “fall apart” tender, remove from liquid and shred meat. Serve on buns with some of the cooking liquid or bottled barbecue sauce.
#2 – Turnip Green Soup
This soup recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law. My family won’t eat greens cooked in a traditional fashion, but they inhale this soup!
2 packages (@15oz) frozen chopped turnip greens (with or without chopped turnips)
2 chopped onions (or 2 packages frozen chopped onions)
1/2 package southern style hash browns (frozen – if these aren’t readily available add 3 peeled and chopped potatoes)
1 quart chicken broth
1 pound smoked sausage – your choice of brand – cut into bite sized pieces
tabasco sauce – to taste
Let cook on high for around 6 hours or low around 10 hours.
Serve over rice if desired, with more tabasco!
Whew, an easy one this week 😉
Roast Beef Burritos (Well, you don’t finish this in the crockpot!)
You can “hodge-podge” this for the size of your family.
1 roast
refried beans (it depends on how far you want to stretch the meat)
15 oz/pint of diced tomatoes with green chiles (or jalapenos)
8 oz. brick of cream cheese
tortilla shells
cheese (sharp cheddar or Mont. Jack)
sour cream and salsa
Cook your roast in the crock pot; when tender (falling apart) remove to plate/platter; save/freeze broth for another recipe. Put cream cheese, refried beans and tomatoes in crock pot on low/warm while you shred the roast. Add shredded beef back in crock pot and mix all together for your filling. When you don’t see any lumps of cream cheese, you’re ready to fill your tortilla shells. You can either put these in a 9×13 pan, cover with cheese, cover with greased or non-stick foil and bake (350 for 20 minutes, remove foil, then another 10 minutes), or if you’re in a hurry, put 2-3 on a plate at a time, sprinkle with cheese and microwave. Serve with sour cream and salsa.
How about super easy and yummy?
Cheesy Chicken
about 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz velveeta OR 1 can condensed cheese soup
1 tsp garlic salt (or to taste)
If using the 2 soups, mix them together in the pot. If using the velveeta, cut into cubes and stir into the soup. Put in the chicken breasts. Cook several hours to all day. Serve.
I usually serve this with rice and a quick veggie.
My sister gave me this recipe and it’s a good one!
Chicken Lickin’ Good Pork Chops
6-8 lean pork chops, 1 in. thick
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbls oil
1 large can chicken and rice soup.
Mix together flour, mustard, and garlic powder. Dredge chops in dry mixture. Brown in oil using a large skillet. Place browned chops in crock pot. Add soup, undiluted. Cover & cook on low 6-8 hours. (High 3 1/2 hrs.)
Serve over rice. Enjoy!
Katy Horn
Okay, I’m not even sure these even deserve mommy homework credit, especially the first one, because they are just SO easy. But they’re really the only meals that I make in the crock pot (other than dumping Manwich over ground beef, which actually IS a 3rd favorite around here) that I know will consistently be a hit.
Crock BBQ Chicken: Dump your favorite bbq sauce over chicken thighs, add a few sliced onions if you like them, and cook on low 6-8 hours. I do this one as a freezer meal (ie. I freeze the thighs with the sauce/onions) and just thaw overnight, dump the whole bag in the crock in the morning, and that’s it. We’ve had it with corn on the cob & salad over the summer, haven’t picked a winter side yet.
Honey-Mustard Pork Tenderloin: This is one of those NON-recipes, it comes out slightly different over time, but mix honey, dijon mustard, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar & garlic (heaviest on the honey & mustard, the vinegar thins it out) and keep tasting until you like the flavor. Then pour over a pork tenderloin, and cook on low 6-8 hours. This also works as a freeze-ahead meal. It comes out like a pulled pork, we usually just eat it as is, but could be put on rolls for a sandwich.
Cari
Wow, the process to log in was a new one for me. My crock pot recipe is very simple:
Pork roast
1 pork tenderloin roast
2/3 cup water
liberally sprinkle Old Bay seasoning on roast
Cook on low for approx. 6 hours. We like to serve with mashed potatoes and green beans.
Variation:
1 pork tenderloin roast
1 med jar of La Victoria salsa (mild or hot)
Cook on low for approx 6 hours
Serve on its own, or make tacos. I have found that for some reason, other salsas don’t work as well.
Enjoy!
Well for us we call it a slow cooker and our fave is stew
beef mince
corned beef
onion
mushrooms
peas
potatoes
oxo cubes
water
seasoning
all chopped up and placed in and switched on. I am not so great at working out british-amercian equivlanets etc! So sorr y !!
Cherie
Ok, now somewhere I have an ebook with like, 350 pages of recipes for the Crock Pot. I have yet to go thru them all and try em. That is on my to do list. Anyhoo-I tend to cook more with my favorite dutch oven pan in my oven-that baby makes everything soooooo tender…but when we do the Crock Pot….we have some favs.
My friend does this one all the time: Lasagna in the crock pot
(now I prefer mine in the oven, cuz I like my cheese bubbly and browned on top-so to fix that-when your lasagna is done-pop the whole pot into the over under the broiler til the top is nice and golded)
Simply layer your lasagna as you would for a 9×13 pan for the oven (for those who want to do this via the oven: that would bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 min).
Ingredients: (this is my mom’s recipe but I dunno where she originally got it, I add the spinach b/cuz we really like it :-))
Cook 1 1/2# ground meat (turkey is really good, beef or even chicken)-drain grease when done and add:
1 clove of chopped garlic
1 TBSP Basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
One 1 # can diced tomatoes (liquid and all)
2 6oz cans tomato paste
simmer about 30 min. (this could easily be done the day before or even made many days ahead and frozen…just let defrost enough to spread to assemble)
OR JUST add 1 large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce to the browned meat.
Be sure to add extra water to accommodate the fact that the noodle will absorb it (since you put them in dry)-maybe a cup or so
In bowl add:
3 cups of cottage cheese
1/2 cup Parmesean cheese
2 TBSP parsley
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
Mix this together well
1- 1 1/2 # of mozzie cheese
1 # of fresh or a box or bag of frozen spinach (optional)
in crock pot put a layer of noodles down first ( I prefer the thinner noodle that Barilla makes-look for them-they taste better and do not make the lasagna so starchy)
then a thin layer of meat sauce, thin layer of spinach (fresh or rinsed, squeezed frozen) [this is optional-for those who do not like Popeye food, leave this out]
thin layer of cottage cheese mix, then thin layer of mozzie cheese
continue layering until your goodies are used up. Top with thin layer of mozzie.
This will need to cook several hours -4-6, so start it pretty early (esp. if using traditional noodles) You should have about 4 layers worth-maybe more /less depending on the size of your crock pot
Enjoy
Sheri Hagemann
I have a confession to make. I was up until 6 a.m. working (yes, I worked all night long because my time management skills are lacking), and I woke up to a scrumptious smell. My sweet hubby had put the beef roast I bought the other day into the crock pot, and has it going. I am definitely one blessed sleepy mama!
So, my sweetie put on the roast and is making Italian roast beef sandwiches. You poke some large holes in the roast, large enough to put garlic pieces in (we like LOTS of garlic). Then you season it with salt and pepper, a little onion powder, and oregano. Sear it on all sides and then put it in the crock pot.
Add a can of beef broth, mushrooms, and sliced onions. Then let the crock pot do it’s magic. The smell is enough to drive you nuts, especially if you haven’t eaten breakfast. It’s definitely making my stomach growl!!
I’ll be using my crock pot more since the weather is starting to get cooler. I anticipate lots of homemade chili and vegetable soups being made in the next little while. YUM-O!!
Mara
This is one of the very first meals I learned to make ater we got married while hubby was still in college!
Crockpot Roast with Vegetables
Place roast (use a larger one if you want leftovers) in crockpot with some water (so it doesn’t dry out) and seasonings. Use salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and any other seasoning you prefer. Add raw carrots, potatoes, and some onions. Cook on High for 8-9 hours. Start this in the morning and it will be done by dinner time. Serve with green beans and homemade bisuits or rolls.
The roast turns our very tender and the vegetables are just right. It’s so easy and a nice warm meal during the chilly fall weather. Something else I do with the leftover roast is make:
Beef Stroganoff
Place leftover roast (small slices or strips) into large skillet with a small onion, shopped. Cook until onion is tender. Next, put 8-16 oz. (depends on the amount of meat you have) in pan and cook until heated through. Serve over rice, potatoes, or egg noodles. Add a vegetable, and it’s a complete meal!
It is so delicious, and is a great way to make something new out of leftovers. We love it!
Wendy Woerner
My favorite Crock-Pot recipe is a breakfast recipe. I heard the idea of making oatmeal in the crockpot and played around with it until I got it just the way our family likes it. It is economical, healthy and super easy. I think it’s so good it tastes like dessert to me!!
Crock Pot Oatmeal
4 Cups oatmeal
8 1/4 cup water
1/2 (or more) brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
Mix ingredients in crockpot and put on low-medium overnight.
You can add cut fresh fruit such as apples or peaches and they get deliciously tender overnight. Eat as is or top with frozen blueberries or vanilla yogurt as my family often does. I top with sprinkles for my young ones who with gobble up anything with them on. Also, this can be reheated in the microwave if this big batch is too big for your family to eat in one day. I think it almost tastes better a day or two later. Just add some extra water before putting it in the fridge because it can get pretty thick in the fridge. Enjoy!
OH this is a wonderful idea getting ideas of food to share. Funny it is so true in the fall/winter we think more of using our crock pots but I sometimes think of using it in the summer to help keep the kitchen cooler vs. using the oven and heating the entire house up.
I do use the crock pot to make my pinto beans in, just add some fat back and let them cook and cook YUM. All day works well on low or half that time on high.
I use it to cook other things too, but my priorities for some of you who do not can or think you can put things up.
I make my spagetti sauce in it to freeze:
I wash my tomatoes how ever many I have at the time and then take off the stems, run the tomatoe through the vita mix till they are just liquid and then put them in the crock pot. When it is almost full I add 1 c of vegtable or canola oil. a large diced onion, oregano and basil, about 1/2 c sugar and 1/8 c salt.
Stir and let cook. It takes fewer days on high than it does on low so you decide which you want. If “tomorrow” is going to be busy I keep it on low but if I want it done up faster I leave it on high. If i want spagetti sauce I turn it off quicker than if I want pizza sauce. When it gets to the consistance that I like for the purpose I have for it, I turn the crock pot off and let it cool. When it is well cooled I use a dipper, ladle or cup to measure it out into 4 c and put it in 1 qt freezer bags. Marked with the date and what I have made.
Very easy and convenient. Freeze flat as you can for space saving in the freezer.
I also use my crock pot to make my apple butter in, as I was told to let it cook for days. I wash the apples and cut them in quarters and put them in my vita mix
peels, cores I just take out the bruises and bad spots. Makes for a nice color.
fill the crock pot up with the apple mixture add cinnamon sugar to flavor not as much as you might think. Let it cook for a couple days on low.
When it is ready just spoon into clean jars with new bands and lids. As it cools it seals YUM and you can put up just a few jars at a time. So again it is not a huge production of canning 100’s of jars just a few at a time. 🙂
Much easier on those of us who do not have days to can but a few minutes for a blessing for our families or wonderful gifts too.
those are my ideas hope you can use them.
Nancy~Jane Holbrook
I Thes 4:11 🙂
Wow, great idea, Cindy!! I just loooove using my Crock-Pot! Here are a few of our favorites!
BBQ Pork Chops
Pork Chops – enough for your family
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 – 1 can cola drink
Layer pork chops in crock pot. (can add sliced onions if desired) Sprinkle with brown sugar and chili powder. Spread ketchup over all, and pour soft drink over all, enough to almost cover pork chops. Cook until done.
Beef Tips
1 1/2 lbs beef (stew meat, chuck steak, or any other cut)
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 onion, chopped
Optional – mushrooms, bell pepper
Chop beef into thin strips, and salt and pepper it generously. I like to flour and lightly brown them – it makes the dish more rich. Add beef and other ingredients to the crock pot. Add one can of water to all and stir slightly to mix together. Cook until tender – about 8 hours on low. I like this recipe because it makes any cut of beef tender. We like to serve it over noodles.
This past Tuesday I made Home Made Spaghetti Sauce in mine!
I have a 7 quart crock.
Home Made Spaghetti…
3 Tblsns Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
3-4 cups diced red onions
1 lb italian sausage
1 lb ground turkey
1 1/2 tspn worshestershire sauce
2 tspn rubbed sage
1 Tblspn Oregano
2 Tspn Basil
2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese.
Brown sausage, ground turkey and onions in olive oil. When meat is mostly done and onion is tender place in crock pot. Add canned tomatoes (crushed and diced), worshestershire sauce, and spices. Cook on low for all day cooking or on high for a quick cooking. Cook till done, during the last hour tilt the lid a bit to let the sauce breathe. During the lsat 15-20 minutes stir in Parmesan.
Serve over favorite pasta, or spaghetti squacsh. Can also be used with rice and beans to stuff peppers.
Crock Pot Oatmeal. This is a great way to get ahead for breakfast for the next day.
I have a 1 qt crock.
Place 2 cups old fashioned oats (not the quick cooking kind) and 3 1/2 to 4 cups water. Add cinnamon, diced apples, and sugar (white, brown, or splenda) to taste. Stir once to mix and cook on low during the night.
Easy Turkey Breast…. Using my 7 quart crock
1 10-13 lb Turkey breast
2 carrots, peeled and sliced in thick slices.
4-6 small red potatoes, washed and quartered
2 tspn rosemary
1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt
Wash and place turkey breast in crock pot. Baste turkey with olive oil. Sprinkle turkey with rosemary and juice of 1 lemon. Drop carrots and potatoes in crock around turkey. Season with salt to taste.
Add enough water to cover bottom with about 1″-2″ of water….
Cook on low overnight for a Sunday after church supper or cook all day for an evening dinner.
With Love…Angela
Hello Ladies,
My favorite Crock Pot meal is a simple roast that seems to feed us for days. We begin to thaw a 1-2 pound pork roast (or beef if it is available) and throw it into our crock pot on low. We add carrots (peeled and sliced- we like lots) around the bottom and sides, onions(1-2 according to your likes) and potatoes(8-10 (un)peeled and quartered) on top. Sometimes we add a little adobo seasoning or an onion soup mix package(especially if we don’t have the onions).
Set it on low and enjoy dinner 8-10 hours later.
We use leftovers for sandwiches and even for breakfast the next day ( my husband likes that). We even use some of the meat to mix with Bar-B-Que sauce a day or two later for BBQ sandwiches.
We also use our crock-pot for chili and soups(but I don’t really have a recipe). These will become more frequently enjoyed as it gets cooler.
I haven’t gotten very creative but I would say roast is definitely our favorite. I look forward to reading all of your ideas and growing as we share.
Hope you can enjoy a good slow cooked meal soon with your beautiful families.
In His Abounding Grace,
Jeniver Boyer
Cowboy Beans-This is one of Mama’s recipes that we used to have in the summer out by the pool with hamburgers and hotdogs.
My mom never tells me the exact measurements:)
2-3 cans of pork n beans
brown sugar(1 cup? ) to taste
ketchup ( squirt a lot)
cook “hot” sausage (1lb)
cook hamburger (1/2 lb – 1 lb)
a little salsa (1 cup)
This is a hearty side dish. Really, healthy:)
Dee Dee Helmers
My recipe above, for beef stroganoff should say…place 8-16 oz SOUR CREAM in the pan with the beef…somehow I forgot to add that in. Sorry!
Wendy Woerner
Ok, I used to use my crock pot a lot…until it passed away. I haven’t gotten another one yet…the pain is still too fresh… I’m just kidding!!!!!!
I like to make a good bone broth in the crock pot…
You take a couple of soup bones from a good grass fed steer and plop it in the pot. Then you add all the fresh veggies you like…carrots, potatoes, celery, mushrooms, parsnip, you get the idea!
Then you add an onion, several cloves of garlic and a little sea salt.
Cook all this together on low (at least 12 hours) until the bones are bleached white…that way you know all the calcium and gelatin (and whatever else you get out of the bones) is in the broth.
After you’re through cooking let it cool a bit, then strain off the liquid to use in all the above yummy roast recipes. You can do save the veggies (some will puree’ the veggies and add it back to the broth) or toss them to your chickens or pigs (if you got ’em!) and bones can go to the doggie if they aren’t too small… the bones, I mean!
I know a few others have mentioned stew but it’s about the only thing I make in a crock pot… I know, I need to get it out more often and get more creative! This is probably a variation on what my mother used to make, but with all the stuff I don’t like taken out and the stuff I do like added in… (she hates it when I do that!)
1. Dredge your stew beef (quantity to suit your family) in flour and brown in olive oil in a non-stick pan.
2. Add meat, drippings, onion soup mix and water to crock pot. Cook for several hours. (Make sure it doesn’t dry out!)
3. About an hour before you plan to serve, add your favorite chopped veggies. I like mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and peas. My mom also includes stewed tomatoes and celery.
4. If the gravy isn’t thick enough for you, add a little flour mixed with water at this point as well.
5. When the veggies are tender, enjoy your stew! This is great served with french bread or sourdough or even in a bread bowl!
Terri Griffin
WooHoo!! This IS my fav homework.
Around here my family is the guinea pig.
And I Love the convenience of cooking with a crock-pot.
Esp. as the weather gets cooler & we are busy with school.
Here are some of our favorite’s:
1) After dredging about 2lbs cube steak in flour (with some pepper added) fry til brown. Put the meat into a crock-pot and add 1 pkg onion gravy mix, 1 can mushroom soup and 1 1/2C water. Cook on low for 7hrs.
2) `Crock-pot Beef Stew`
2 lbs cubed stew meat 1C flour garlic powder (to taste)
black pepper (to your liking)
1 large onion, sliced 1lb baby carrots
6 baking potatoes, peeled & diced 3C beef broth
Mix together flour, garlic powder, and pepper.. Add meat, a little at a time, and coat well. Brown in 4T olive oil. Continue til all meat is browned. Put cooked meat in crock-pot. Add onion, carrots, potatoes and broth. Cook on low 6-8hrs
3) `Easy Pot Roast`
Mix together dry onion soup mix & (1-2 cans) beef consomme’
Put 5 lbs Pot roast in crock-pot and cover with mixture.
Add a little water, if needed.
Cook on high 3-4hrs or on low about 8hrs.
4) `Crock-pot Pork chops`
(My hubby’s fav. He Loves to smell this cooking when he comes home)
5 boneless porkchops chopped onion (to liking)
1C ketchup 1/2C water
2T Brown sugar 2T Worcestershire
Pepper (to taste)
Put meat into crock-pot. Mix everything else together and pour over meat.
Cook on low 7hrs.
5) `Easy Crock-pot Sloppy Joe`
Fry 4lbs ground chuck til brown. Drain. Mix with 16oz. tomato sauce,
1C ketchup, pepper, chili powder, onion powder & garlic powder (all to taste)
Put in crock-pot. Cook on low 6hrs
6) `Chili`
1-2 lbs ground chuck, browned & drained 1 onion, sliced
lg. can copped tomatoes 6 oz tomato paste
2 lg cans chili beans
garlic powder, chili powder, and pepper (all to taste)
Put meat in crock-pot. Add remaining ingredients.
Cook on low 6-8hrs
7) `Bean Soup`
Soak the following dried beans overnight. According to family size. Then pre-cook before adding to crock-pot.
Kidney beans, Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, & chick peas
After cooking beans, til soft, put in crock-pot. Add 15oz diced Italian Tomatoes, minced onion, garlic powder, basil, pepper, (to taste)(I rarely measure my spices). Add some browned bulk sausage, if you want.
8) Put boneless, skinless chicken thighs (amt. needed for family) in crock-pot. Cover with salsa & let cook 6-8hrs.
9)`B.B.Q. Beef`
1lb. pork tenderloin 1 LG. sliced onion
1C ketchup 2C B.B.Q. Sauce
Put tenderloin in crock-pot, with sliced onion. Mix together Ketchup & B.B.Q. Cover tenderloin with sauce. Cook on low 8-10hrs
Hope you enjoy!!
Michelle Fitzgerald
I am so happy to see this topic! I have a crockpot but I don’t have very many recipes that I use. I usually use it to make a soup or roast with some combination of potatoes, onions, carrots or cabbage. Here is a recipe that I found at texascook.com this spring when we had wild leeks growing in the woods. I made 2-3 batches of this and froze some for when our baby was born. I didn’t think about that fact that soup is not very desireable at the end of June and so I just recently finally sent a container of it in my husband’s lunch box.
Potato and Leek Soup
2 pounds potatoes (about 5 to 6 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups homemade or canned chicken broth
2 medium leeks, rinsed and chopped (white and light green parts)
6 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 2 1/2 tablespoons dried dill
1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked ham or 1 1/2 cups cooked shelled shrimp
3/4 cup heavy cream
Place the potatoes in a 4 quart crock pot. Sprinkle on the flour and toss
well. Add the chicken broth, mixing well. Stir in the leeks and 3 tablespoons
of the fresh dill or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried. Cover and cook on the low setting
8 to 8 1/2 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.
In a blender or food processor, puree 1 to 2 cups of the potatoes and
leeks with a little of the soup liquid and return the remaining soup. Stir in
ham and cream and remaining dill. Cover and heat 10 minutes longer.
Makes 5 to 6 servings.
Cathy Dunlap
I too, LOVE my crockpot……it’s the ultimate helper in both summer and wintertimes!! But, being the first day of Autumn…it begins to obtain a permanent place on the counter!! I am looking at all these wonderful cooks and their recipes!! You all have my recipes!! LOL….
I do simple things in the crockpot, chicken, stews of all kinds……I have RUINED oatmeal (have not mastered that recipe yet!!) I cook like my grandmas did: a spoonful of this, a handful of that……you know, NO measurements!! So…………soak those beans at night, throw them in pot in the morning (don’t salt yet!)…..add all sorts of yummy ingrediants: veggie broth, chicken broth……..7-8 hours, and you’ve got soup!! I love to add sausage to beans & chicken broth: makes a yummy “Tuscany” style soup!!
Thanks for all the ideas!! Good, good topic Cindy!!
Blessings!
Kelly
HI! I love our crockpot and we do use it a lot during the fall and winter time frame! I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s favorite recipes!
My most used recipe is very simple!
Beef Roast with Vegetables
Roast–sized to fit your crockpot–mine is usually around 5lbs
Baby Carrots–usually a whole 1lb bag
Gold Potatoes or small red potatoes–usually 3-4 cut in chunks
Onion–usually 1-2 cut in chunks–we like the sweet or yellow onions
Garlic cloves–several–crushed or diced
Worchestershire Sauce
Salt
Pepper
Water/broth–just about 1/2 to 1 cup depending on the amount of veggies & meat you have in the crockpot
-other seasonings thrown in as the mood strikes!
1. Cut up all the vegetables and place them in the bottom of the crockpot. I will sometimes reserve a bit of the onion and garlic to put on top and on the sides of the meat also.
2. Put meat in the pot.
3. Pour Worchestershire sauce over the meat and poke with a fork to let it soak into the meat.
4. Sprinkle on fresh ground pepper and salt. Add any other spices your family likes also at this time.
5. Place some onions and garlic on top of meat if you desire.
6. Put the lid on!
7. Check your crockpot settings…ours has 4 different ones. We usually cook this for 6 hrs on high or 10 hrs on low.
8. Let it cook and then enjoy when it is done!
For me, the only downside to using the crockpot is being home all day and smelling it cooking….it makes me really hungry!
We have also started making baked potatoes in the crockpot! They turn out so good!!
We just wash the potatoes, poke with a fork, wrap in foil and then place in the crock pot. These usually take about 3-4 hrs on high or 4-6 hrs on low in our crockpot!
We serve them with sour cream, bacon/bacon bits, shredded cheese, butter and ranch dressing…or whatever we have on hand! Chili goes great with them also!
Have a great week!
Wendy Clayton
I love using my crockpot, especially in the fall.
I like my children to eat healthy. We make our own whole wheat bread and I want something that is healthy that can go on it. So I’ll cook a whole chicken. I put some veggies, whatever is on hand, in with a tiny bit of water. Then I put in a frozen chicken (they say now not to do this so you can put in a thawed one and just cook it for less time- I never remember to thaw anything 🙂 ) I sprinkle some salt and pepper on it and let it go all day. When it’s done I have broth for use in soups or cooking rice. My kids like white meat so I cut that up for sandwhiches and cut and freeze the dark meat ifor soups or casseroles.
Another recipe I should have added is roast:
Again, since I forget to thaw it I put it in all day frozen.
Add a little water and either season it with salt, and pepper, italian dressing mix or onion soup mix, whichever I have on hand.
One more, stew meat or rib meat cooked all day. Then add bbq sauce for the last hour of crockpotting. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
Crockpot Fried Apples
3 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup granulated sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons of butter, cut in small pieces
Place apple slices in the slow cooker/Crock Pot; stir in remaining ingredients and dot with the butter. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or until apples are tender but not mushy. Stir about halfway through
We love this one as is as a dinner side dish or a dessert over vanilla ice cream.
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup & 1/3 cup sugar, added separately
3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup brown sugar
11/2 cups hot water
Whipped cream or ice cream
1. Coat the inside of a 2 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. (Note: the cake’s cooking time and final appearance will vary depending on your crock’s size.) COATING IS IMPORTANT IF YOU DON”T WANT A MESS ON YOUR HANDS
2. Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water and mix well.
3. Whisk in the 2/3 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, vanilla extract, salt, milk, and egg yolk. Add the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed.
4. Pour the batter into the slow cooker and spread it evenly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, cocoa, and hot water until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Pour the mixture over the batter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the crock pot.
6. Even when done, the cake will be very moist and floating on a layer of molten chocolate, but you’ll know it’s ready when nearly all of the cake is set and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pot. (As you check, try not to let the condensed steam from the lid drip onto the cake.- you always lay paper towels across the crock before placing the lid on)
7. When it’s done, turn off the power and remove the lid. Let it cool for 25 minutes, then serve it in bowls topped with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Dinner BBQ Beans
1 pound lean ground beef, sausages, or hotdogs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. sorghum or other molasses
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. mustard
16 oz dried pinto beans
16 oz dried black-eyed peas
16 oz dried garbanzo beans
16 oz dried great northern beans
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
Rinse and pick over dried beans then soak overnight. Cook hamburger until brown. Add onion and green pepper and cook until tender; drain well. Add remaining ingredients, except bacon. Put in crockpot and top with bacon crumbs. Cook in covered slow cooker or crockpot on HIGH for an hour…reduce heat and cook 2 to 4 hours on LOW heat.
We enjoy this served with biscuits or cornbread
We love this next one especially in the winter. It alllows us to wake up to a warm filling breakfast.
4 cups water
2 tsp. salt
2 cups grits; not quick or instant
Mist crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Combine ingredients. Cover and cook on LOW 8-9 hours.
Hi Cindy,
What a fun assignment! Crock pots are the BEST! I have three cookbooks for crockpot recipes. 🙂 Here is one of my favorites:
Crockpot Chili
(for our family of 7 we double this and there are no leftovers)
Brown in a skillet:
1# of hamburger
3/4 cup of onion
1 clove of garlic ~ we use about 6 times this amount
3 stalks of celery, chopped
Add the above into the crock pot along with:
26 oz crushed tomatoes
3 cans (16oz each) of cooked kidney beans WITH JUICE
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon of chili powder
3 Tablespoons of vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 teaspoons of worcestershire
Start this mid-morning on high and then turn down to low after lunch.
We like to serve it with cheddar and buttered crackers. Sometimes we add sour cream…
Yum!
This is very timely homework as I just broke out my crock pot today for our first fall soup! This time of year I use my crock pot at least once per week, so it’s nice to read all these great ideas! Here is what we’re having for supper tonight!
Crock Pot Taco Soup
1 lb browned, ground beef
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 package taco seasoning
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 jar salsa
1 c. water
1 bag frozen corn
1 can sliced, black olives
1 Tb. minced garlic
Dump everything into the crock pot and stir to combine. Cook on low for 4-5 hours until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and jalapeno slices. Fresh chopped cilantro would be nice as well!
I wanted to add green beans to this soup as well, but I was out. You could add some of your favorite veggies. You could call it “Clean Out Your Crisper Taco Soup”!! LOL
Linda Botkin
I cannot FUNCTION without my crockpot. OK — I’m going to embarrass myself with how “lazy” I do crockpot cooking…..but then again, isn’t that why we do it? So I quizzed my 10, 9 and 5 year old kiddos about their faves….and here’s the three recipies they picked:
Crockpot Lasagna
1 28-oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
1 package frozen cheese ravioli (about 24-oz.)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom and layer with half of the ravioli. Sprinkle with half of the cheese and another cup of sauce. Layer the remaining ravioli and top with the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake on low for 3-5 hours, depending on how hot your crockpot cooks.
Crockpot Enchiladas
1 lb. ground beef, cooked w/ Taco Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
4 whole wheat flour tortillas
1 can corn, drained
1 10-oz. can enchilada sauce
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
sour cream
In a bowl, combine ground beef, and onion. In another bowl, mix the Rotel and enchilada sauce. Place 2 tortillas in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place half of the following in layers over the tortillas: meat, corn, sauce mixture, and cheese. Repeat layers. Cook on low 5-6 hours.
White Chicken Chili
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried leaf oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 cans (about 15 ounces each) great northern beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (12 to 15 oz.) corn, drained
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, optional
Mix onion, garlic, chicken broth, cumin, oregano, salt and Tabasco in 3 1/2 to 6-quart crockpot . Add chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours, or until chicken is tender (this may vary depending on how hot your crockpot cooks). Stir in beans, corn, and cilantro, if using. Cover and cook on low 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Some of our favorite CP meals are these:
Put a whole chicken cleaned and patted dry into CP. Then add some onions and celery. Sprinkle with spices like parsley, thyme, pepper and salt. Let roast on low for about 8-10 hours. Once done take out and it will just fall off the bone. Serve this with your usual sides. Take all the bones put them back into the CP add some onions and celery and a few spices, like parsley, thyme oregano, whatever you have on hand. Let this go over night. In the morning put the broth you made in the fridge and when the fat is on to remove the fat. For that nights dinner I chop up some onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes. I put all the veggies in a fry pan and saute them in a little oil for about 5 minutes. Then I put these veggies into the CP along with the broth I made and the left over chicken cooked yesterday. Let this cook on low. About 30 minutes before serving add a can of diced tomatoes. Serve with some rolls and some fruit and you have a great second dinner.
The other one we do alot is Pulled Pork.
I take a pork roast(shoulder roast is good and less expensive). Rub the roast witha spice rub. I make my own with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Mix the spices and rub on the roast. Then put it into the CP. Let it go on low for 8 hours or so. Once it is done remove the roast pull the pork apart with two forks to break it up. Remove any fat that remains in the roast. Put the shredded pork back into the CP with the juices and add a little BBQ sauce and mix well. Serve on Rolls as sandwiches or on Baked potatoes with a little sour cream and butter. This also works well without the BBQ sauce to use for enchillada filling or shredded taco filling.
We also do Oatmeal but I use Steel cut oats and toast them in a fry pan until fragrant. Then add to CP with water in the amounts of 2 parts water to 1 part oats. Cook overnight. Then add a little maple syrup or brown sugar. So good.
Let’s see…
BBQ Ribs
beef ribs
BBQ sauce
onion, chopped
1. Broil the rubs in your oven for 5 minutes. Take out and turn over. Broil for 5 more minutes.
2. Place ribs in crock pot.
3. Chop an onion, to taste, and put in crock pot.
4. Pour in your favorite BBQ sauce until all the meat is covered.
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Meat will fall off the bone!
I just made this recently. It was given to me by a friend, and it is really delicious. Serve it over rice or hot buttered noodles.
Chicken Marengo
3-4 lb. chicken pieces
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 oz cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1-16 oz can tomatoes
1-6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 c water
3/4 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and drained
Rub chicken with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover and cook on Low 7-10 hours. Stir occasionally.
Enjoy!
Lori Lynn Lydell
I use the crock pot for making roast beef, cooking beans, and casseroles. I really like it for making meat for tacos or enchiladas. It is super easy, just dump your favorite salsa over your preferred meat. I usually use salsa and beef roast or pork roast. Cook on low all day and shred. You can cut the meat into chunks before cooking to make it easier to shred or leave it whole if you don’t have time. The crock pot is VERY forgiving.
A recipe I want to try is making yogurt. I found it at a friend’s website:
http://crockpothappiness.blogspot.com/
HOMEMADE YOGURT
1/4 cup full fat plain yogurt
8 cups whole milk (NOT ultra pasteurized)
Step 1: Pour 8 cups milk into crock-pot. Cook on LOW, covered, for 2 1/2 hours.
Step 2: Turn crock-pot off, leave lid on. Leave alone for 3 hours.
Step 3: Remove 1-2 cups of warm milk from crock-pot and mix in 1/4 cup of yogurt.
Step 4: Stir milk/yogurt mix back into crock-pot.
Step 5: Put lid back on the crock-pot, then cover with a heavy towel to insulate remaining heat. Leave overnight.
Thanks for all the great inspiration for crock pot recipes.
Enjoy,
Carolyn Lange
I often think the crockpot is overlooked and can be a great tool. If mine isn’t where I can see it in the kitchen, then I forget to use it!
One of my favorite, simple recipies is to place chicken (whole or pieces, depending on what you have around) and cover it with salsa. I usually put a fair amount of meat in so there will be leftovers. My main crockpot is a “smart crock”, so I set it for 4 hours on high and then it switches to warm.
Serving suggestions:
Place the chicken pieces (or shreds!) on top rice with corn (plain or Mexican style) with shredded cheese on top. You can get fancy and place a dollop of sour cream on it with diced green onions to finish the presentation.
Alternatively, use the chicken to make soft tacos with whatever garnishes you have available.
Another favorite of my husbands is just pork cooked with BBQ sauce. We usually serve it one night with different sides (e.g. garlic mashed potatoes and veggies) and then pull the meat to make shredded pork sandwiches another night.
For anyone looking for a great crock pot cookbook, I absolutely love “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker” series. I own the original, but have seen the recipies for 2 and the entertaining one they produced as well.
Laura O’Neill
my crockpot broke and i never replaced it… I do use my roaster though. I love to buy a ham at aldis and throw it in the roaster with a little water and about 1hr to 1hr and 1/2 its finished.
Kris mione
This was made in my crock pot just last night.
One large package of cubed (chopped) steak
Coat the steak pieces with flour and brown in olive oil in skillet. Place in crock pot.
Add one can of cream of mushroom soup, one packet of onion soup mix, slice up about 1/2 of an onion, and dice up 2 medium to large size garden tomatoes. (I peeled mine).
Let cook in the crockpot all day…low for about 7-8 hours. It will make a nice rich, golden brown gravy. Serve over mashed potatoes.
My crock pot bit the dust this summer and it is on my Christmas list for December. I have missed my crock pot immensely. I have already told my husband that I do look forward to Sundays with the crock pot cooking while I am at church and being able to invite our church family to the house for a hot meal, prepared while we are worshipping.
Two of my favorite things to do in the crock pot are:
Fill crock pot with water to cover pork ribs.
Season with salt and pepper
Cook overnight on low and into the next day if you want the meat to fall off the ribs. I then take the ribs to the grill and bbq them or pull the meat from the ribs and make pulled pork bbq sandwiches.
Second, I love a roast in the crock pot.
I put a frozen roast in my crock pot and cover with water. I add onion, orange juice and a touch of olive oil. I will also add some garlic and steak seasoning if I have it handy. Let it cook until the meat fall apart. This makes a great meal with mashed potatoes and green beans/broccoli. Then with the left over roast, we make sandwiches with mayo, a touch of salt and the roast reheated.
Hope you enjoy!
Shannon Depew
Oh, I just love my Crock-Pot!! This recipe is a favorite with my bunch, and so easy!
Yummy Pineapple Chicken
3 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs (I find the dark meat stays juicier in the Crock-Pot)
2T oil
1 can unsweetened crushed pineapple , undrained
1c packed brown sugar
1/2 c honey
1/3 c lemon juice
1/4 c melted butter
2T prepared mustard
2t soy sauce or Tamari
Brown chicken in oil, transfer to Crock-Pot. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink. Strain pan juices, reserving pineapple. Serve pineapple over chicken.
This ismy favorite, way easy, crockpot recipe:
Steak in Mushroom Gravy:
1 – 10 3/4 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 to 2 envelopes dry onion soup mix
2 to 2 1/2 lbs beef round steaks (I use elk steak because my husband hunts)
1/2 cup water
Cut steak up into serving size pieces (I skip this step because the meat is so tender it just falls apart anyway). Place in crock pot.
Combine soup, onion mix, and water in a separate bowl and then pour over meat in crockpot.
Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or until meat is tender.
My family entire family of 11 (yes, even the little kids) love this recipe.
I serve it with mashed potatoes and peas.
God Bless,
Rosanne Muncy
Today, in my Crockpot –
Autumn Roast –
Don’t forget to spray the crockpot with some Pam – makes clean up a breeze!
Around lunch time –
A pork roast
a can of cranberry jelly (you know, the stuff you see on thanksgiving)
Apple juice (to about 1/2 way)
some cubed apples and a chopped onion
allspice and cinnamon
Cook on high for approx 6 hours.
As an aside;
I am serving it with baked pumpkin (we buy them whole and don’t carve them – we paint faces on and then – cut them in half scoop out the seeds (I also bake these with garlic & onion for hubby), bake until done, and run through the food processor with spices – I freeze them in quart size bags and have pumpkin year round for muffins, breads, cookies, pancakes, pies and so on.
Everyone loves it and when the word got out, everyone dropped off their pumpkins after halloween last year for me to bake – yippee!
Trish
PS: I do a lot of dump chicken recipes in the crock pot too!
Crockpot BBQ Chicken
1-8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
¾ cup Ketchup
2/3 cup Olive Oil
2 tsp. Vinegar (balsamic preferred)
1 drop Red Hot Sauce
1/2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1/8 cup Chicken Broth
6 Chicken Thighs
Mix together all ingredients except the chicken in a medium sized bowl; set aside. Put chicken in large ziploc bag and pour in sauce. Let marinate for desired length of time – about 30 min. to 1 hour (we like to put it in the freezer at this point to pull out for last minute/easy dinners). Put into crockpot on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve over rice or noodles.
that is 3/4 cup of ketchup …
it is not very legible the way it came up.
sorry
Debbie Phillips
I love my crock pot and my cooker! They are both the bomb!
I make a sausage and pepper dinner with the following ingredients:
2-4 pounds of mild italian sausage
1 med. red onion
1 each green, red, yellow pepper, cut into spears
Sweet bbq sauce
This is a quick crockpot meal for those last minute get togethers! You can put this in 4 hours and it will be ready! Just split some hoagie buns and set out all sorts of condiments. I make my homemade cottage fries to go with this:)
6-8 Russet Potatoes-washed and scrubbed clean
Slice them up into wedges and spread out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the top and salt, pepper, garlic powder. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.
Michelle Gills
I love my crock pot! I make all sorts of things in it but here is a couple of my favorite that the family loves.
Brown Beans
5 cups any kind of dried beans
3 cups of diced ham
1 tsp salt
Sort dried beans and wash them thoroughly. Put into crock pot. Add water (I fill the crock pot full), then salt and ham. Cook on high for 2-8 hrs.
This is a very easy dinner that I usually make with homemade bread (with my bread maker).
Veggie Soup
10 large potatoes (chopped
2 cans green beans (with liquid)
1/2 bag frozen corn
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato juice
3 stalks celery (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Put all ingredients into crock pot, fill the crock pot up with water (whatever is left after juice is put in). Let it cook on medium-high for 7-8 hrs.
Christmas In The Air
This recipe is used around Christmas at our house in a small crock pot.
apple juice (cheap kind)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp all spice
Pour apple juice and the spices into a small crock pot. Plug and enjoy the holiday smells all day. We usually start this on Thanksgiving and go through New Years. You don’t have to dumb the crock pot every day. You can use it over and over by just adding to it as it gets low.
Orilla Crider
We love salsa around here so this is an easy one. I use to fix it alot when I was still working outside the home…
Chicken Breast (boneless and skinless) I use a bag of frozen (fill the crock pot)
1 jar of Salsa (your favorite)
Cover and cook for 4-6 hours. When chicken is tender and cooked use 2 forks and shred the chicken (don’t drain the water as the salsa is still in)
Let sit in crock pot for about 30 minutes (lets the flavor soak into the chicken)
Serve over rice or in a tortilla wrap with shredded cheese.
We also serve it over salad and corn chips for a nice salad dinner.
This recipe is our all-time favorite crock-pot meal. We have it a few times a month in the winter. We also get so hungry for it that I end up making it a few times during the summer. This feeds my family of 6 ( kids’ ages 14,13,12,11), but there a no leftovers. We serve it with a big pan of homemade corn bread.
Yum Yum. Just typing about it is making me hungry! My kids have never really liked beans, but this is flavored so well that now they don’t mind eating them.
Autumn Beans and Sausage
1 pound fully cooded kelbasa or polish sausage, halved lenghthwise and thinly sliced.
1 onion, chopped
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons mustard
3 – 15 1/2 ounce cans great northern beans rinsed and drained. ( or 1 large glass jar)
(This is what my original recipe says to do, but I just dump everything in the crock-pot together and cook away.)
1. In a saucepan, cook sausage and onion in boiling water for 2 minutes; drain.
2. In a bowl, combine the ketchup, sugars, vinegar, molasses, and mustard. Stir in the beans and sausage mixture.
3. Transfer to a greased slow cooker. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low. ( you may also cook this in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours if preferred)
Happy Eating!
Tammy Gibbs
AWESOME AWESOME topic!!!!! first i wanted to share a link to a blog, where this lady has been making something different in the crockpot every day this year!!!! its a GREAT resource http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Secondly, here’s a couple of my commonly used recipes for crockpotting.. forgive the inexactness, i usually just dump all the stuff in there and don’t measure
Easy crockpot chili
3 cans of beans, any kind
2 15 oz cans tomatoes, diced, stewed squashed, whatever, or rotel would be even better.
a can or two of corn
a bag of frozen beef (i cook ground beef and then freeze in appx. 2 cut imcrements. )
any other veggies you want to throw in, peppers, onions, zuchinis etc.
taco seasoning to taste, cumin to tase
just throw it all in and cook! thin with chicken/veggie broth if its too thick 🙂
BBQ chicken and veggies
chicken parts, any kind any amount. I prefer boneless.
1 bottle of bbq sauce. Chopped carrots, potatoes onions. (i used baby carrots whole if i have them)
Toss it all together cook till its done, literally, that’s IT!
Just as an addendum to my last post, this inspired me to find something to make for dinner tonight and i decided on this crockpot recipe…. it only took stuff i already had, and took about 5 minutes to throw together, including running out to the shed to my upright freezer, LOL!!!
Crockpot salsa chicken
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/06/crockpot-salsa-chicken-recipe.html
One of my favorite things to cook in my crockpot is beans. When I was a kid, my mom would cook up a pot of pinto beans, “smash” them, and serve them with homemade tortillas. I’ve updated how I make the beans from time to time, and that is what I am sharing.
1 lb. dried pinto beans
1/2 to 1 lb. beef (roast of any kind, steak of any kind)
1 to 2 pkgs. taco seasoning (I buy the big container at my local warehouse store)
Wash and pick over your beans. Place them in the crockpot, cover with water, and allow to soak overnight. In the morning, drain and rise the beans. Return the beans to the crockpot. Add the beef and taco seasoning to your taste (I usually use the equivalent of two packages). Cover with water. Cook on low all day. When you are ready to serve, shread the beef and stir into the beans. Serve with corn chips, tortillas, rice, cornbread, etc.
A few things we do in the crock pot:
**Spaghetti meat sauce the easy way 🙂
Brown a 3 pound or so chunk of ground beef or 2 pounds and 1 pound of ground turkey. We add a bit of seasoned salt if you are using the turkey, otherwise we don’t like it. Put it into the crockpot.
2 jars spaghetti sauce from Aldi or wherever it’s cheap – put them in the crock pot. unless your meat really cooked down, in which case only 1 jar. Stir between jars to see how much you have. If you only need a bit more moisture, then only add some tomato sauce or soup or ketchup. It all kind of blends together and you can’t pick out individual tastes!! You can add some garlic, onions, soy sauce or worcestershire sauce if your family likes them.
Cook all afternoon and all you have to do for supper is boil up some pasta!!
This is a good one to throw in some finely ground carrots because no one will ever suspect they’re getting an extra boost of veggies!!
**Slow Meat Sandwiches
Cut up whatever piece of meat (preferably lean meat) is cheapest, and cut off all the fat that is reasonable. Throw the meat (no bones, gristle, skin, etc.) into the crock pot. Throw in a packet or 2 of onion soup mix. You can also throw in cream of whatever soup or a packet of gravy mix if you like. Throw in some water and cook a long time. All day is great. Overnight isn’t because you are going to smell it and be hungry all night (ask me how I know!!). Minimum you want to cook is 4 hours on high. The longer you cook it the better. Every hour or so, go in and stir it around and see if you can pull the meat apart and if it falls apart. Falling apart is what you are going for. If you see a bunch of grease on the top, spoon it out. To serve, break up the meat with forks or by stirring vigorously (you even get exercise with this recipe). Serve on buns.
I put chopped potatoes (skin on), sweet potatoes (skin on), about 4-5 potatoes and 3-4 sweet potatoes, and 1 onion in the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle w/ coarse salt (or regular table salt works fine too) and drizzle w/ olive oil. Put a whole chicken or cut fryer on top of the chopped veggies. Sprinkle w/ salt and spices of your choice (basil or oregano are good choices!). This fits well in a 5-6 qt crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Heather Harbaugh
I’m another crockpot lover . . . it always feels good to know that supper is all ready (except for the cooking) before I start school with the kids! 🙂
Here is one of my honey’s favorites . . . it’s his mother’s recipe for Beef Stroganoff. She made it for Christmas dinner every year when he was young.
2 1/2 lb. beef cubes
pepper and garlic powder to taste
2 cans beef consumme
2 (12 oz.) cans tomato paste
1 1/2 c. water
Season meat with pepper and garlic powder; brown meat. Place in crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on high for 8 hours.
* Can be frozen at this point.
Just before serving, add 1 pint of sour cream. Serve over rice (we like brown rice here) or pasta.
Oh….I couldn’r resist sharing one more…..this is a recipe for Crockpot Ratatouille. I’m making it right now for dinner tonight, and then of course we have to have a family night and watch the movie! I got this recipe from http://www.menus4moms.com which has some fabulous FREE weekly menus and shopping lists which absolutely save my sanity!
Ratatouille
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes* (about 3 medium) or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 large red bell pepper or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch squares
3 medium zucchini, sliced
3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs dried basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed through a press
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste
1 (5 ounces) can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped coarsely
3 Tbs chopped fresh basil
Salt to taste
Combine all ingredients except tomato paste, olives, and basil in slow cooker. Mix well and cook on high for 3 hours. Add tomato paste, olives, and basil, mixing well. May be served hot, cold, or room temperature. If you are going to be gone from home, you could have the vegetables cut up and refrigerated with instructions for an older child to put them in the slow cooker and turn it on in the afternoon.
Today I threw together Chicken Parmesean in my crockpot.
I took a jar of homemade spaghetti sauce, put it in the crockpot. Added minced onion, some oregano and basil and minced garlic. Then I put 3 chicken breasts in there with it. I cooked it on high, then low, until lunch time. I served it with whole wheat spaghetti noodles, green beans and breadsticks. It was yummy!
Tomorrow I am cooking a beef roast in there. I will put the roast in, with onions, worcheshire sauce, bay leaves, celery salt and garlic powder with a little water and let it cook till lunch.
BTW – I have a slow cooker, not a crockpot, so I think that it heats higher. My stuff seems to get done quicker than everyone elses. So while I cook in the morning for lunch, it might take your crockpot till supper.
Blessings,
Carie
This is my Guatemalan Black Bean Soup Recipe.
I learned how to make black beans while living in Guatemala from my husband’s grandmother. Black beans down there are a staple of everyone’s diet. Most folks in Guatemala have a large “sit down with the whole family, relax and really enjoy yourself” kind of meal at lunch time. With a smaller meal being eaten in the evenings, usually black beans, and corn tortillas served with any one or more of the following: rice, eggs, plantains, (large cooking bananas), avocados, pickled chili peppers, cream, and or cheese. My babies (all 3 of them) actually had black bean soup as their very first solid food. They were weaned on black beans, avocados, and bananas! (I figured since those are what I ate the most of while nursing… they were probably already used to it :0) )
I have a large Crockpot and like having leftovers as they keep well in the fridge for several days! So this makes a lot of beans! I’ll include several of our favorite variations at the end!
• 2lbs dry black beans
• 3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped into a few pieces
• 1 med. onion chopped
• 2 TBS. chicken bullion
• Water to fill up the Crockpot!
• Salt to taste (sorry I have never measured it, I just do it by pinching the “right” amount in my fingertips and adding it to the pot!)
Rinse the beans then add everything to the Crockpot and cover! Turn it on high and cook for at least 6 hours or low and all day depending on how much time you have! About ten minutes before dinner time you can chop up an extra onion and fry/sauté it in a small amount of olive oil until it is almost crisp and add it to the beans (this ads great flavor!)
We also like our beans a bit creamier so I scoop out a blender full and totally puree them then add them back to the pot. (You can also puree it all and it is yummy and very soothing like that! Some little kids that don’t like “lumps” in their soup might like it like that) Now is also the time to taste and see if more salt is needed.
We often have scrambled eggs and serve a bit in everyone’s bowl as garnish and extra protein. Fresh avocados are also wonderful chopped and added to the bowls, as is a tiny amount of fresh finely chopped onion. I often take the leftover beans puree them all and throw them back into the Crockpot to cook down further into refried black beans (for a different meal) without all of the fat of refrying them and it’s so much easier! A dollop of sour cream in each bowl and a bit of crumbled cheese is wonderful! (I use “Queso Fresco” you can find it in the dairy section at most grocery stores, if not with the regular cheese then look for it near the “Mexican” food section! Queso Fresco means Fresh Cheese! It is very mild and yummy flavored! Usually inexpensive too!)
One of our very favorite garnishes are “Platanos Fritos” which means fried plantains. Look for those huge funny looking cooking bananas and let them get really, really ripe (almost black is great!) The riper they are the sweeter they are! Peel them (with a knife…trust me it is easier!) and slice them about a quarter of an inch thick. Fry the slices in shallow oil until they look crispy around the edges (no other ingredients just the plantains in oil!) Remove from the hot oil and drain on paper towels. Serve with the beans or even as desert! They are sooooo yummy!
Oh and I almost forgot we always have hot fresh corn tortillas with the soup!
I hope you enjoy!
Rachel Flores
I just remembered another favorite:
(Double this if you have a large crock pot)
Spray the liner with no-stick spray.
Pour in a can of your favorite pie filling
Mix up 1 cake mix in a complementary flavor (some possible combinations are cherry pie filling with either white or chocolate cake, apple or peach pie filling with spice cake)
Pour the batter over the pie filling.
Put the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 2-4 hours (keep an eye on it after 2 hours. When the top looks done, check with a toothpick, just try to not let condensation from the lid drop onto the cake. A layer of paper towels under the lid helps with this.
When done, serve by scooping and turning servings upside down in bowls (so fruit is on top). Top with ice cream or whipped cream. Yum!!!!
Also, one of my mom’s favorites was sloppy joes in the crock pot.
Brown off your favorite ground meat (I have a large family and a large crock pot, so I use 4 pounds of ground turkey) Drain and dump into crock.
Add chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.
Add a couple of bay leaves.
Pour in 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar, 1 small can tomato paste, and 1 can beef broth.
Cook overnight on low. If it isn’t thick enough for you, stir in a few mashed potatoe flakes. Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving.
Hello All! I’ve never tried cooking in a crock pot because I don’t have one! LOL! But Cindy is making me interested in this. But I did meet someone here who is a vegetarian and cooks the best vegan lasagna in her crockpot. She was generous enough to share her recipe with me which I’m also sharing here. Thanks Denise!
Here is a simple recipe for lasagna. You can skip the parsely and spinach if not available at the superm. I substitute sometimes with a layer of thinly sliced eggplant and carrot. For the tofu.. I crumble one block like below. the other one I blend with water to make a cream and use it in between the layers of tomato sauce. You can also add cheese as the last layer if your not vegan
Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
* 3 tablespoons minced garlic
* 4 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
* 1/3 cup tomato paste
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
* 1/2 cup chopped parsley
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*
* 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
*
* 2 pounds firm tofu
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
* 1/4 cup chopped parsley
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* ground black pepper to taste
* 3 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
DIRECTIONS
1. Make the sauce: In a large, heavy saucepan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Place the onions in the saucepan and saute them until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 5 minutes more.
2. Place the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and parsley in the saucepan. Stir well, turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer covered for 1 hour. Add the salt and pepper.
3. While the sauce is cooking bring a large kettle of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles for 9 minutes, then drain and rinse well.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5. Place the tofu blocks in a large bowl. Add the garlic, basil and parsley. Add the salt
and pepper, and mash all the ingredients together by squeezing pieces of tofu through your fingers. Mix well.
6. Assemble the lasagna: Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch casserole pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles, sprinkle one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles. Distribute the spinach evenly over the tofu. Next ladle 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce over the tofu, and top it with another layer of the noodles. Then sprinkle another 1/3 of the tofu mixture over the noodles, top the tofu with 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, and place a final layer of noodles over the tomato sauce. Finally, top the noodles with the final 1/3 of the tofu, and spread the remaining tomato sauce over everything.
7. Cover the pan with foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. Serve hot
Here’s a very simple recipe that we like for Sunday dinner:
Frozen Grassfed Beef Crockpot Roast
Place a 3 lb frozen grassfed boneless beef roast roast into the crockpot. Add filtered water so it comes about halfway up the sides of the roast. Sprinkle the top of the roast with Celtic sea salt. At this point, the cover may be added and the roast cooked on low for 10-12 hours. The other options are to add 1 -2 large diced organic onions, 3 – 4 peeled organic carrots, and/or 1-2 very large diced rutabagas (add more if you wish). It is very important to dice the rutabagas into small pieces no larger than 1/2″ cubes for them to cook well by the time the roast is finished. Rutabagas have a much lower glycemic value than potatoes but can be mashed and prepared like potatoes.
After the roast completes cooking, remove the meat and any vegetables. Heat grassfed organic butter with a 1-2 cloves of smashed organic garlic in it for about 10 minutes in a countertop oven. (If the butter is not salted, you may wish to add some salt.) Adjust the amount of butter, garlic, and salt to your tastes. Smash the rutabagas like mashed potatoes or leave diced. Add the melted garlic butter and stir. This can be served as a side dish or you can thicken the meat juices with some tapioca starch and have roast beef and faux mashed potatoes and gravy sandwiches over your choice of bread. We used Kamut bread or homemade Kamut biscuits.
Becky Delvaux
Well my favorite crock pot recipe is Cindy’s for BBQ. I make it about every other week.
2lb of a cheap cut of organic beef (it does not have to be organic hehehe)
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (your fav)
put in crock pot on low for 6 hours
YUMMY…serve on buns or not with slaw and my fav hot sauce…so good!!!!!!!!!
(I have also used chicken and I am sure you could use pork as well)
Chicken quesadillas
4 boneless chicken breast (frozen or not)
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can chicken broth
Place all in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours
Then just pull it with a fork and shread meat.
Place in tortillas with your fav cheese and peppers and onions and brown in skillet. Yummy! I serve with lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and green onions.
Although you could chnge it up any how you like.
I have to share a link with you all…there is a lady who made a New Year’s Resolution to use her crock pot everyday in 2008. She post the recipes daily. She has been on a couple day time shows and in magazines. She is day 269…crazy huh?? Well here is her site: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Be blessed,
Chasity Brannon
My family loves Cola Ham. All it is, is a ham with a can of soft drink poured over it not diet. I cook it for about 4 hours on high. This is perfect for my days that if the meal doesn’t make it to the crock pot then there is no real meal, just sandwiches. 🙂
Samantha
We have Sunday dinner from the crockpot whenever we aren’t traveling to visit my father-in-law. Our church is far from home, so it is nice to come in & just dip up our dinner(it is usually around 2pm and we’re HUNGRY) This is what I’ve made most recently:
Chicken Tetrazinni
–2 C (or so) chopped/bite size pieces of chicken (I usually cook a whole chicken in the crockpot overnight the night before and use all but the breast–I use that for something else)
–1 box(12 or 16oz) spaghetti
–1 bag frozen peas
–2 C shredded cheese-cheddar or a blend like colby/jack
–1 small can mushroom slices or stems/pieces
–2 C total milk &/or broth (I use whatever I have on hand, all milk or all broth or some of each)
–cornstarch or flour to make sauce with above liquid
–salt, pepper, other seasonings as desired (ground mustard & tarragon) or italian seasoning just be sure to use more than if you were baking in the oven–slow cooking really zaps the flavor.
Break lengths of spaghetti into thirds or fourths. Cook pasta according to box, drain & put in large bowl. Prepare sauce with liquid and flour or corn starch. I usually add the salt,pepper & spices to this also. To the spaghetti in bowl add chicken, peas, mushrooms & cheese. Mix well. Add the sauce. Stir to combine. Pour into crock pot. Cook on low 6-10 hours. I sometimes put bread crumbs on top if I have them. This is a very adaptable recipe depending upon what you have on hand (leftover ham or turkey, mixed veggies, etc.) and your family’s preferences.
I can’t wait to try some of the great recipes posted here. We definitely use our crock pot more as the days shorten and get busier.
Blessings!
Hillary in Indiana
This recipe is really in my crock pot right now, well, what’s left of it anyway. It’s my version of pepper steak. I’m not sure what real pepper steak is and if this is close, but we like it.
I don’t have real measurements, just use the amounts your family would eat. I’ll include approximate amounts that I used for a family of three real food eating people and one baby.
boneless beef that you would use for stew (I used about a LB.)
green pepper
red pepper
yellow squash
zucchini
onion
one beef bouillon cube
fresh ground pepper
This particular time I had really large peppers so I used half of each for this recipe. I used one zucchini and two small yellow squash and one medium onion.
Just throw all that in the pot and top it with a can of tomatoes. You can add garlic if you like but I found out by forgetting it that it tastes fine without it.
I put this on low at about 10:00 this morning and it was very tender and ready when we came home from dance class at 7p.m.
And to make matters even more exciting, I now have another meal just like it in the freezer ready to be cooked. It doesn’t take any more time to chop double veggies then you’ve got another whole dinner waiting for you.
Last but not least, we had this over baked potatoes.
I can’t wait to try some of these recipes you ladies have posted, thanks for the assignment Cindy!
Blessings and peace
Beth
After 14 years of use my bread-maker finally bit the dust this week!! 🙁 Glad I still have the crock pot!
Ok – I have this spicy pumpkin soup recipe which I love to make. It freezes well and all I have to do is pop it into the crock pot frozen in the morning, put it on low and it’s done for dinner. I will give you the recipe as it is first…so you could double or triple it and freeze it. Then I will give you a quick easy way to make it if you don’t freezer cook.
Ingredients
4 Cups Pumpkin – Cooked & Mashed
2 Rashers of Bacon – Chopped small
1 Onion – Chopped small
4 Cloves Garlic – minced
1 Tspn Olive Oil
1 Tab Thai Red Curry Paste (to taste)
4 Cups Chicken Stock (try stock cubes with water from cooking the pumpkin)
1 Cup of Cream
Salt & Pepper
Cream & Fresh Chives – garnish.
Method
Cook bacon, onion and garlic in olive oil with salt and pepper. Add red curry paste & gently heat till warm. Add pumpkin and stock & bring to boil. Simmer till for 15 mins. Add 1 cup of cream and gently bring back to hot. Serve with crusty fresh bread, a dollop of cream and fresh chives snipped over the top.
Or freeze in portions suitable for you family.
Now the quick method. Or what I call my Bits from the Pantry Method. 🙂
3 tins mashed pumpkin
3 tabs real bacon bits
2 tabs onion flakes
1 tspn dried Garlic (powder or ganulated)
1 Tab Thai Red Curry Paste (to taste)
4 Cups Chicken Stock (if you like your soup thicker add less)
1 Cup of Cream
Salt & Pepper
Cream & Fresh Chives – garnish.
Dump it all in the crock pot in the morning, give it a stir and cook on low/med till ready to eat. We usually have left over so you could freeze that, or perhaps double to recipe and freeze it so you have an easy meal for another day. Or just enjoy the leftovers. A hot mug of spicy pumpkin soup on a cold afternoon is perfect. 🙂
Wow! I am getting excited about pulling out my crock pot.
My family loves this meat that makes it’s own gravy. I use any cheap tenderized cut of beef for this recipe. It just cooks up so tender and good.
Grease your crock pot. Then put in a layer of meat sprinkle with a heaping tablespoon of flour and some salt and pepper. I sprinkle onion powder on top of this, if your family likes onion you can put onion slices on instead. Follow that with a layer of meat, flour, etc. Continue until you have used all of the meat (2 pounds or so for a 3 qt. crock pot up to 5 lbs or so in my 6 qt.) Then pour a few cans of cream of soup (we use mushroom, but you could use celery or combine kinds) over the top. Add 1/2 cup of water, some kitchen bouquet, and worcestershire sauce. Cook all day on low until you can stir it and the meat is falling apart. We serve this over mashed potatoes.
Sorry, I used to have a recipe for it with exact amounts, but I haven’t actually used the recipe in years and don’t know where it is.
My family loves spaghetti made in the crock pot. And it is super easy to make homemade spaghetti sauce. This is a really cheap meal for my family and a really easy way to stretch a small amount of ground beef.
1/4-1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked and crumbled
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 cans of tomato paste
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
parsley, oregano, etc. to taste
Put it all in the crock pot and cook on low all day. The ingredients don’t have to be exact to work. If you have a few more or less cans of any one thing it will still come out good. I fill up my crock pot and have planned leftovers off of this for several meals. I will make spaghetti the first day. Then I will make a lasagna and home made pizza with it.
We have been blessed the last 2 yrs with someone giving us a deer. YUM! So what is most often in my crock is: a dear roast, as many quartered potatoes,& onions as will fit. About a half cup apple cider vinager, and plenty of pepper, & garlic powder sprinkled over it. Cooked on slow for 6 to 8 hrs. YUM!
We also like vegie soup, but I don’t really have a recipie for it. I just throw what ever we have in it and season till it tastes right.
My cooking is as eclectic & as “fly by the seat of my pants” as our schooling!
Alisha Hauser>
I am definitely printing all the responses out this week.
Here are two things I like to make.
The first is good for pitch-ins. We tend to have ours directly after church so having something in the crockpot is the best. That way, it cooks during church and is ready whenever church lets out. (Our church service doesn’t have a scheduled endtime.)
Crockpot Meatballs
1 1/2 c of ketshup
1/2 c of BBQ sauce
1 c brown sugar
2 lbs of frozen meatballs (I do not like generic at all for this ingredient-use name brand)
Dash of Worcheshire sauce
Put meatballs into crockpot. Sprinkle Worcheshire sauce on top. Mix other 3 ingredients and pour over top. Cook 4 hours on low. Stir before serving.
This was my son’s favorite soup for a while.
Caleb’s Crockpot Corn Chowder
5 peeled and cubed potatoes
2 chopped onions
2 stalks of chopped celery
2 cans of corn with liquid
2 T butter
1 can chicken broth
1 cup milk
Put everything except for milk in crockpot. Cook for 8 hours on low. Add the milk and cook 30 more minutes. Good with grilled cheese sandwiches.
Julia Schlenker
I’ve been getting the daily emails from the lady who is blogging about her year of crockpotting. Today I tried her peanut candy that’s similar to peanut brittle but very soft and chewy. My husband loved it! It’s a bit addicting too. 🙂
3 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
4 cups of your favorite nuts – I used the dry roasted kind
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda.
Put 4 tablespoons of butter into crockpot. Add the sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Mix all that up. Cover and turn on high for 1 hour. After an hour stir everything to mix up good and add the baking soda.
Cover again and cook on high for 30 more minutes. Check and stir and can cook for another 15-30 minutes or til the sugar mixture is brown and looks like the color of peanut brittle. Stir in nuts. Pour onto cookie sheets that have parchment paper on them and let cool. They are very chewy and very good!
Katie Anderson
What’s in the Crock Pot – Sheryl H
I want to start by saying that crock-potting is one thing I love to do. If I can get help washing & chopping the veggies (& meats if necessary – though these usually take care of themselves while cooking), then I can manage to get a few wholesome meals taken care of for the family, and I can feel satisfied that *I* am still able to take care of my family at least some of the time. Because I can’t get regular help, I tried those bag meals from the grocery store. NOT the same thing! I have to pick out what my family won’t eat. They are bland and there is hardly anything for the money. To help with the picky eaters not getting the seeds and leaves from seasonings, place them in a micro-fine tea ball strainer or a strong tea bag (the kind for home-made tea). This way you can season your crock pot meals without complaint. You can’t beat doing a corned beef brisket with potatoes and carrots in a crock pot – Tasty. 1-2 corned beef briskets. Use red or yellow potatoes though because Idaho potatoes (regular dinner potatoes) leech flavor and you won’t have that great Irish taste you want when it’s done. Cut them into quarters. Carrots just chop into 2” chunks. Depending on your family’s preference you can add cabbage an hour before serving for a green veggie. If you use the store bought brisket (which I do) you can make this with or without the enclosed seasonings. Either way tastes good.
Depending on the size of your crock pot and your family you may have left-overs. Mash everything together, get the corned beef separated. Use a little fat you have saved from other dishes you’ve made (bacon?) into a frying pan and press the mashed concoction evenly into the pan. When browned on that side, turn and brown on the other side. Serve and enjoy a great second meal. Some people might like to caramelize onions in with the fat before adding the mash. Sometimes we eat this with sour cream. Obviously this is a family variation/combination on two traditional Irish recipes. I think you’ll enjoy my version.
I wanted to add a second recipe. I guess Cindy will take it out if I’m not allowed.
Beef roast does exceptionally well in the crock pot. Almost any cut is fine, so if you are on a budget, you can get cheaper cuts and they should tenderize a bit in the pot. Buy whatever size fits your pot. Get Lipton beefy onion soup mix (I’ve looked and can’t find generic on this yet) 1 for small 2 for large pots. Mix with 2-3 cups hot water in the bottom of the pot. You can use regular potatoes for this recipe, but then use extra beef bouillon or 2nd beefy soup mix so the flavor stays. Cut potatoes into quarts if red or yellow, or eights if regular. Chop carrots into two inch sections. There should be enough to cover the bottom of the pot thoroughly, coming up a bit if you have a large family or need to stretch this for extra meals. Some families add green beans or lentils. One layer across of any is usually sufficient. Place your beef roast on this. If desired, add extra beef bouillon right on top of the beef. Add water until fully covered. Cook 4-6 hours until potatoes are tender and brown. Tip- if the potatoes aren’t brown, there wasn’t enough beef bouillon. You can add more beefy soup mix or just bouillon until they are. OR some people like it less flavored and you can go less bouillon more water.
Sheryl
I am so glad this was the topic for the week. It got me to use the crcok pot twice. Once to make a roast and once to try making yogurt (it didn’t work as it got too hot). Here are a few more recipies that are good. I realy like the first one!
Hot Buttered Cranberry Cider
1/3 cup butter softened
1/3 cup mild honey
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 48 oz bottle cranberry juice cocktail
1 quart apple cider
cinnamon sticks optional
Blend butter honey and spices. This may be done ahead of time. When ready to serve, combine cranberry cocktail and cider. Bring to a boil or heat to desired temp. Have butter mixture beside the pot. To serve, put a small amount of honey-butter in each cup. Fill with hot cranberry cider. Stir with a cinnamon stick. Serves 10 from The Twelve Teas of Celebration by Emilie Barnes
This one was served at my baby shower. I found the recipie on the internet somewhere.
Cranberry Tea
3 qt. water
1 lb. cranberries
Boil 10 min. Drain through a strainer.
Add:
2 cups sugar
2/3 cups orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
WOW! i really hope these are all compiled into e-book form!!!! My favourite recipe is the BBQ sauce and chicken already mentioned but another that is really yummy is:
a big piece of alfoil, sprinkle base with French Onion Soup Mix, place 2 lamb chops on top, sprinkle more French Onion, more chops etc until you have the desired amount of chops, finishing with French Onion… DIVINE. Slow cook on low all day. Meat just falls off the bone. SOOOOO yummy.
Thanks for the fantastic idea Cindy. Will have to try some of these ones out!
I’m late seeing this one but I’ve enjoyed the recipes so much I had to add 2 that I want to share 🙂 We use the crock pot every Wednesday and these are my husbands favorites. We usually have rice or potatoes on the side (leftovers) and I thaw a veggie depending on what we want so it’s not a completely crockpot meal.
SAVORY SWISS STEAK
1-1/2 lbs. round steak, approx. 1 inch thick
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. brown sugar or SUCANAT
Cut round steak into 6 or more serving- size pieces. Coat with a
mixture of flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Using a large frying
pan, brown the meat in 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. oil. Transfer to a
crock pot. Heat remaining butter and oil in frying pan. Saute
onion, carrots, and celery until glazed. Add tomatoes,
Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Heat, scraping up drippings.
Pour over meat. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours, or until tender.
Serve meat with vegetable sauce spooned over. Sprinkle with
freshly chopped parsley for garnish, if desired.
Serving suggestion: Add garlic mashed potatoes and a green
salad for a complete meal.
Serves 5-6
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Steak
Makes 4 servings
2 pounds beef flank steaks
1 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons garlic, crushed
1. Cut steak into 1/8-inch thick slices.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in bowl.
3. Place meat in crock-pot, pour sauce over meat and stir. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours.