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Crock pot recipes HERE!
Since everyone seems to be trying to maximize their crock pot cooking skills (and I need a distraction today), post your favorite tried and true crock pot recipe.
Mine is most obviously the mac and cheese.
1 box of Rotini pasta
2 cups cheddar jack, shredded
2 cups Monterey jack, shredded
Half of a large block of Velveeta
3 cups milk
Garlic salt
Butter ? ? stick (optional)
Bread crumbs, any flavor (optional but highly recommended)
1. Boil a pot of water for the pasta.
2. Cook ? time on box ? usually about 7 minutes.
3. Strain pasta.
4. Place pasta and all ingredients in the crock pot, mixing together.
5. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
6. If you put on low, make sure to check periodically, as it sometimes is done sooner.
7. Approximately 30-45 minutes before the macaroni and cheese is done, sprinkle breadcrumbs on top.
8. When breadcrumbs are crispy, it is ready.
Re: Crock pot recipes HERE!
This is one I actually think I got from a Nestie- maybe you Jess?- but I am actually about to put it on in a few minutes so here ya go (and sorry for stealing someone's recipe...but it is so easy and good!)
BBQ Chicken in the Crock Pot:
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 large can pineapple chunks with juice
1 bottle BBQ sauce- any kind except honey (I never tried it with honey but the person I got it from said that and I wrote it down too...I think it would make it too sweet)
1 green pepper, chopped
Throw it all in the crock pot (chicken on bottom, then dump in the sauce/pineapple/pepper) and heat on low for 8 hrs. Done!
*side note- I am trying without the pepper this time, mostly because I don't have one here and running to the store with 2 kids sounds like a nightmare at the moment. I'm thinking it wouldn't affect the recipe too much but we'll see...
I'm making this for a party this weekend. Sounds weird, but trust me. I measure nothing.
Bag of frozen mini meatballs
jar of grape jelly
jar of chili sauce
Cook through, stirring every once and a while make sure all meatballs are covered in sauce. The longer this cooks, the better. I usually take the lid off the crockpot once everything is cooked to thicken the sauce.
I haven't personally made this, but a friend made it for me when I first got home after having DD:
Tomato Basil Parm Soup
Makes about 2 quarts (about 8 servings)
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
? bay leaf
? cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
? cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed (or skim milk if you?re trying to cut some calories)
1 tsp salt
? tsp black pepper
1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
3. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don?t be afraid to always season to taste at the end).
4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.
Crockpot Jambalaya
This was really good, too. Just make sure you're ready to eat it as soon as it's done, otherwise the rice absorbs too much liquid and gets mushy.
Ingredients
directions
Combine chicken, sausage, onion, green pepper, celery, tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, spice mix, thyme and oregano in a large (5-quart) slow cooker. Cook on low for 5 hours. Add shrimp and rice; raise heat to high and cook for 30 minutes more. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, if desired.
This is DH's favorite.
Crockpot Italian Chicken:
Crockpot Italian Chicken: 4 chicken breasts, 1 packet Zesty Italian dressing seasoning, 1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened), 2 cans cream of chicken soup; Cook on low for 4 hours. If sauce is too thick, add a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.
I usually just dump everything in there.
Root Beer Pulled Pork - Crock Pot (Someone posted this on the philly choke on this blog) I love this recipe!
5 lb. bonless pork shoulder
2 liter bottle of root beer (I use diet to cut on sugar)
1 bottle of bbq sauce
salt, pepper, garlic powder
kaiser rolls, toasted
-Season pork with salt pepper and garlic powder generously.
-Place pork in crockpot, fatty side up
-Fill crockpot with root beer until it covers the meet
-Set crockpot on low. Mine will usually cook for about 10 hours before I get home, but would probably be ready to go in 8 hours.
-Remove pork from crockpot and shred with fork.
-Empty leftover liquid from crock pot.
-Put pulled pork into crockpot and add bbq sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray)
-Set crockpot on high for about 10 minutes to let pork cook with BBQ sauce
Plain old Salsa Chicken
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 jar salsa
1 cup water
Throw chicken in crock pot, cover with water and taco seasoning, then cover with salsa. Cook on low 8-10 hours.
Top with cheese and/or sour cream when serving.
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.I am beyond lazy. Here are my go tos:
Chicken thighs, one jar TJ's Masala Simmer Sauce, 1 can chick peas. Cook on low all day. Serve over TJ's Jasmine rice (microwaves in 3 mins)
Chicken thighs, one jar salsa, one can black beans. If I am feeling super fancy I will add fresh bell peppers and onions. Cook on low all day. Use as filling for tacos or enchiladas. You can just do it over rice too.
I've made this, but my recipe called for a block of cream cheese. Once it cooked, probably because I over-cooked it, because I am a crock pot failure, I made it into pulled chicken, mixed it all up and had fajitas. Still was very good.
So the pot roast recipe I tried yesterday was just ok, but I will post anyway, if anyone has a great one please share! I feel like it was missing flavor, and definitely needed some salt & pepper, I did add an onion too. And gravy was thin so you will have to thicken it up after if you prefer it that way. But veggies and meat were tender (I used a 3 lb rump roast) but it didn't fall apart or shred like the pictures
http://www.southernplate.com/2010/02/tender-roast-and-veggies-were-movin-on-up.html
Jonathan Dean 4.5.08
Anna Capri 5.4.11
I agree with Cutiepie. I use the ones for Beef Stew and Chili all the time and the meat comes out nice and tender and tasty. Although I am convinced when I made last night's beef stew that someone put some pepper in there when I wasn't looking lol. I have seen the pot roast one also but never tried it. McCormick's puts them out and you can find them in the canned gravy section.
http://www.mccormick.com/Products/Seasoning-Mixes/Slow-Cookers.aspx
So I am making this chicken cacciatore in the crock pot today. I did the prep instead of tossing it all in. It smelled amazing when I left for work this morning! Even just browning the meat and sauteeing the veggies did as well. I actually have high hopes for this one. I'll serve it over high fiber pasta.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/06/crock-pot-chicken-cacciatore.html
How the fluck do you have time in the morning to brown meat and sautee veggies?! I barely make it out of the house to get Hunter to school on time. I can't imagine cooking. Go you! I'm just not a morning person, though. Maybe that's it.
I had everything ready last night, including the pan on the stove. As in took the skin off the chicken, sliced the onion. Oh and I totally cheated and used frozen peppers so there was no work with tthat one. I cooked/browned while I was drinking my coffee at 6:30 this morning before either of my bros were up yet. Took 10 minutes!