Slow Cooker / Crock Pot recipes???
 

Please post your favorites, or links to recipes that you've tried and loved. We are desperately busy for the next 5 weeks and on the road, home late, and I am becoming distressed over not having time to cook. I'm getting tired of my old standbys.

Thanks in advance :).

I hope a lot of people post recipes I do not use my crock pot as much as I would like to! This chilli recipe I do like and I no longer just use the basic recipe I add veggies like carrots, cauliflower, squash and as many different beans as I can find in the cupboard and when my hubby makes it he adds leftover chicken or beef, but here is the basic recipe that I started with.:)

Veggie chilli,
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 hours
Total Time: 10 hours, 25 minutes
Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 large onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
10 oz. pkg. frozen corn
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup picante or taco sauce I use the hot picante from pace.

Preparation:
In a heavy skillet, saute onions in the olive oil until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add cumin and cayenne pepper, and whatever other spices you might like. Cook for two minutes longer.

Mix all ingredients into a 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low about 8-10 hours. If you have a newer, hotter cooking crockpot, cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Cassie! Good luck with these next busy weeks!!

Here's a really simple family recipe for a Hungarian goulash that I got from my grandmother :) It can be fancied up (or spiced up) if you like or just made as-is!

Prep Time: 5-20 minutes, depending
Cook time: 8-10 hours
Total Time: 8-10 1/2 hours
Yield: Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. lean stew meat
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 8 oz. can of tomatoes (I usually use a low-sodium canned tomato if I can find it, or roasted tomato with garlic already added in)
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
dash of thyme
1/4 cup of water
Optional: 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (If I use canned tomatoes with garlic already added I skip this step)

Cook's note: My grandmother doesn't saute her onions/garlic (if added) beforehand and just throws everything in the pot. My aunt sautes the onions before until lightly brown in olive oil, then adds garlic and sautes for 1-2 minutes longer before adding. I think both taste delicious. I tend to go the lazy route, but YMMV ;)

Directions

Combine all ingredients. Cook on low all day (8-10 hours depending on the heat of your pot. I have a newer pot and 8 hours is fine.).

Just before serving, turn on high and mix in 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of corn starch to goulash to thicken. Mix well and cook on high for another 5 minutes or so.

Usually served over noodles or rice. I find whole-wheat noodles taste great with it.

Freezes great for leftovers!!!!

I love allrecipes.com as they list number of portions and nutritional info on their recipes and they have a lot of slow cooker recipes.

I use my slow cooker a lot, but probably my favorite dish is some varient of turkey chili. I rarely make it the same way twice, but that keeps it interesting!

I like to cook the ground turkey and diced onions in a pan w/taco seasoning first, then toss into the slow cooker with:

Some combination of beans--usually pinto, chili, white and/or black.

I also like to add a can of chick peas sometime.

A can of Mexican style corn adds a nice flavor and texture.

I dump in a can or two of chopped or stewed tomatoes, though sometimes tomato soup is good as well.

A can of chopped green chilies adds some nice flavor w/o too much heat.

I usually add some garlic, cumin, and plenty of chili powder. If I am making it just for myself, I'd add white, red, and black pepper as well as a can of Jalapenos (my wife doesn't like it hot, however).

The great thing about chili is you can really get creative and it is a nice high protein/fiber meal and in moderation, not TOO high in cals.

Regards,
Michael

Thanks, folks. I'm going to try one tonight.

Darlene, I can suggest a couple...this I posted before, but one of my favorite things is to take chicken breasts (can be frozen, even) and dump a jar of salsa over them; cook on low 6-8 hours or high about 4 hours, then shred; you can use in tacos, burritos, taco salad, etc. I love to do the taco salad; it's a ton of protein and still pretty low calorie, like Michael's chili.

I also do chicken and dumplings; it's not a real calorie bomb, either;

1 potato, peeled and sliced (I usually leave this out bcs to me it's redundant with the dumplings, but YMMV)
3 carrots (I just throw in a bunch of baby carrots)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz chicken broth (I usually end up adding more)
1/4 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. dried thyme leaves
1/8 t. pepper
1.5 - 2 lbs chicken (I use breasts but can use anything)
9 oz. package frozen peas (I usually just throw in whatever leftover veggies I have)

In crock pot, combine chicken broth, flour, and seasonings; whisk until smooth. Add carrots, onion, and potato if using. Add chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or until chicken is done; pull chicken apart with forks into chunks of desired size. Sometimes I check it halfway through and if it seems a little thin, I dissolve a bit of cornstarch in some additional broth and stir it in. Toward the end of cooking, add other veggies; turn to high. Add dumplings (see below) and cook on high 20-30 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through and fluffy.

I use this recipe for dumplings, but I am still kind of poking around to see if there's one I like better: Dumplings Recipe - Allrecipes.com

(Yes, Michael, I love the allrecipes site, too ;)).

Terri, I'm just still so tickled about your cooking prowess :).

Cassie Yumm I will try the chicken and dumplings on monday it will be day one of working full time again so coming home to something as comforting as chicken and dumplings sounds amazing. I have missed you in the ladies forum you always remind me to focus on what I am doing right instead of dwelling on what is wrong with my diet(which is my tendency), hope to see you back their soon.:)

Micheal I didn't realize the allrecipes site lists nutritional info I will check it out further but that's very helpful thanks for the tip!:D

I use my slow cooker a lot, but probably my favorite dish is some varient of turkey chili. I rarely make it the same way twice, but that keeps it interesting!
http://www.demama.info/g.php

:o

Sometimes I still can't believe it, a year ago I was barely cooking at all. One thing I've been trying really hard at this year. Something that will stay with me forever is I can put a recipe together, even if mostly simple.

i've been cooking my chicken in the crock pot to make quesadillas and enchiladas. all i do is dice up one onion and add 1 sm can of diced green chiles to the bottom of the pot. then i add in the chicken, right out of the freezer. i cook it just like that for about 5.5-6 hours on high. then, i use a knife and fork to just pull the chicken apart like you would for pulled pork. i add 1 envelope of taco seasoning into the crock pot and stir it all up.

to make enchiladas i tear up whole grain tortillas and layer the bottom of the pan (oh...spray with pan spray first), add the chicken, cover with more torn tortillas. put cheese on top and then a can of red enchilada sauce on top. cook until heated through at about 400F for maybe 40 minutes. my family loves this! if you want you can top with green onion and/or sliced black olives or serve with f.f. sour cream. delish!

then, for quesadillas just spray a pan or griddle with pan spray, lay down whole grain tortillas, put chicken in and some cheese. put another tortilla on top. cook in pan or on griddle until it's a little golden and a bit crispy. flip and do the other side. for the other side i spray some pan spray right on top of the tortilla...it helps it crisp better.

the quesadillas take a little more time because you have to stand there and cook them, but they are VERY tasty and the chicken cooks while you're away for the day. the enchiladas are so tasty and easy, i hope you try it.