Renting townhouse, would like to make simple crockpot meals in the am+++

[Northernlites]

We will be buying all the food the first day of our 7 day trip at the grocery store. I would like to keep the purchases to the basics and not have to buy lots of spices and flavorings that will be thrown out at the end of the trip.

I thought I would make simple meals in the am or night before we head out and then we would have a ready meal when we come back for our afternoon rest.

 

[Blurrysmom]

Chicken breasts, salsa and drained black beans. Brown chicken, put everything in crock and cook on low all day. Throw some fresh cilantro on at the end if you want. Serve over rice, with tortilla chips, or in tortillas; you can garnish with grated cheese and sour cream, or not - it's very versatile and one of my husband's all-time favorites!

 

[Sossy]

No specific recipes for you, but there are a lot of options. Pulled pork w/BBQ sauce has few ingredients and a large batch uses a whole bottle of sauce. For other meals you plan before you leaving, you could measure out dry spices from home and take in ziploc bags. Some crockpot meals can be bland though, so make sure you at least have salt and pepper on hand.

 

[java]

Real Simple Magazine had a a bunch of easy crockpot recipes in this month's issue.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-reci...ow-cooker-recipes-00100000074444/page2.html#1

 

[scrapquitler]

We will be buying all the food the first day of our 7 day trip at the grocery store. I would like to keep the purchases to the basics and not have to buy lots of spices and flavorings that will be thrown out at the end of the trip.

I thought I would make simple meals in the am or night before we head out and then we would have a ready meal when we come back for our afternoon rest.

One of my family favorites is to make spaghetti sauce with italian sausage in the crockpot in the morning (I cut the sausages into thirds and toss them in the sauce raw), then just boil some pasta at night.

You can throw a pork or beef roast (or chicken pieces) in the crockpot with an envelope of taco seasoning and at the end of the day shred it and make tacos out of it. You can add corn, beans, salsa to the crockpot too if you wish, but you don't have to.

Like another PP suggested, plan ahead what you want to make and portion out the spices for each meal into a ziploc bag and label it. Then put all those bags into a bigger one. No wasted spices, no hassle of measuring things out in the morning.

 

[KBW]

I made these chicken quesadillas yesterday. So easy since you don't need to even thaw the chicken:

http://www.howdoesshedoit.com/2190.crockpot-chicken-quesadillas

It made 3 good sized quesadillas last night, and I'm using the other half of the chicken to make a taco soup tonight...I just sauteed 1 diced onion in a little bit of oil, then added, broth, can of diced tomatoes (undrained), can of black beans (drained), rice, and the chicken.

 

[auger]

Beef Stew is great in the crock.
Chili is another I like to do.
Just throw in all of your ingredients and turn it on for the day.
Ready when supper-time rolls around!
I actually start both of them the night before, but it isn't necessary.

BBQ pork/beef is good, as others have said.
Any kind of soup; then make sandwiches to go with. I make veg soup.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Units: US | Metric 453 calorie per serving

4 -5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen or thawed)
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans , drained
1 (15 ounce) can corn , drained
1 (15 ounce) jar salsa
4 ounces fat free cream cheese
4 ounces nonfat sour cream
Directions:

Place all ingredients except cream cheese and sour cream in crock pot.

Cook on low 6 hours or on high 4 hours.

Last 45 minutes add sour cream and cream cheese.
** I serve this over rice. and with tortilla chips

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

US
Metric Calculate

Original Recipe Yield 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound cubed beef stew meat
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
4 ounces cream cheese
Directions
1.In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water.
2.Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.
3. Serve over noodle. I use egg noodle and eyeball how much I cook.

 

[Cruise]

Units: US | Metric 453 calorie per serving

4 -5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen or thawed)
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans , drained
1 (15 ounce) can corn , drained
1 (15 ounce) jar salsa
4 ounces fat free cream cheese
4 ounces nonfat sour cream
Directions:

Place all ingredients except cream cheese and sour cream in crock pot.

Cook on low 6 hours or on high 4 hours.

Last 45 minutes add sour cream and cream cheese.
** I serve this over rice. and with tortilla chips

I make this but just add one 8oz brick of cream cheese in the last half hour rather than getting both cream cheese and sour cream. Also, I skip the rice and just serve it over tortilla chips... cuts down even more on cooking.

I make it by throwing the frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot - the chicken seems to stay moister starting from frozen.

Also, depending on how many people you're feeding, it's great to just get one of those 3 lb. bags of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You could use half the chicken to make this one night and then the other half with a bottle of BBQ sauce to make BBQ that can be shredded and served on buns another night. Two meals, one bag of chicken!

 

[ntink]

Another thought if you have recipes that you like that have a lot of spices is to pre-package your spices in a small baggie at home (1 baggie per recipe) and bring that along. It would hardly take up any space.

 

[Heluvsme]

This is such a good idea! I have thought that if we stay off site and rent a condo this summer I might try it, but I know me--- I will worry ALL DAY LONG about the crock pot being plugged in while we're gone, in a condo we don't own... I'm not sure my level of worry would be worth it in the long run, LOL!

But it is a great idea, I just wish I were braver, LOL!

 

[dizluvah]

pot roast recipe

roast, can of cream of mushroom soup, packet of lipton onion soup

that's it - so easy and delicious - I add veggies in with it under the roast - potatoes, carrots, celery etc....

super easy

 

[tinkmom2]

A lot of us on the Eat at Home thread have our own food blogs. I have some crockpot recipies on mine here: http://tinkmomfoodie-foodobsession.blogspot.com/2011/07/crock-pot-meatball-subs-tabbouleh-and.html
But this is a really good one also. This one has a years worth of crockpot ideas. :http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

 

[mrsklamc]

We have done grocery store food in the condo, but not crockpot. So here's my unsolicited non crockpot advice:

I've decided that our park time is more valuable than I was giving it credit for, and we're going to do one of the grocery delivery services, so I don't spend time at wal-mart when I should be on Splash Mountain.

Order Giordanos pizza. Yum.

On another thread someone mentioned that they had ordered sauce by the pint from Olive Garden, as well as breadsticks, & then just made the noodles at home.

 

[kpw77]

FYI, I work on the road and used these and loved them. However they are not my actual recipes. I pulled them from allrecipes . com under the slow cooker section.

BBQ Sandwhiches:
---
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
3 pounds boneless pork ribs
1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
---
1. Pour can of beef broth into slow cooker, and add boneless pork ribs. Cook on High heat for 4 hours, or until meat shreds easily. Remove meat, and shred with two forks. It will seem that it's not working right away, but it will.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Transfer the shredded pork to a Dutch oven or iron skillet, and stir in barbeque sauce.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.


Pot Roast
---
(You can simply by the pack that has everthing in it)

or

1 onion, sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (1.2 ounce) package dry beef gravy mix
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1/2 cup water, or as needed
5 whole peeled carrots (optional)
---
1Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread the onion slices out into the bottom of the cooker.
2. Spread the flour out onto a work surface. Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt and black pepper, and roll the roast in the flour to coat all sides. Using the edge of a small, sturdy plate, pound the flour into the meat. Place the floured roast into the cooker on top of the onions. Whisk together beef gravy mix, ranch dressing mix, and Italian dressing mix in a bowl, and whisk the mixes with water until smooth. Pour over the chuck roast. Distribute carrots around the meat.
3. Cover the cooker, set to Low, and cook until the roast is tender and the gravy has thickened, about 8 hours.

There are tons more if you are interested. (ENJOY!)

KpW

 

[3mickeymom]

We stay in a condo at Disney too. Last time we went, we traveled with five hungry teens/preteens and my husband and I. I also worry about leaving a crockpot on all day when I am not home and we were flying, so I didn't want to lug a crockpot along. We enjoyed some meals out, but to cut cost, we ate at the condo a lot. I just planned simple meals that were quick to prepare and used only a few ingredients. I planned my shopping list and things went really well. I found that everyone didn't really care about having a fancy meal, just that they had some enjoyable food and they weren't hungry. It made for a very relaxing vacation, even though I had to cook. We ate early if we were heading to the parks for the night and late if we decided to stay at the parks late and I didn't have to worry about the food getting overdone in the crockpot.
We had-
Rotisserie chicken/betty crocker mashed potatoes/jar of gravy/frozen green beans/rolls
Hot dogs/beans/5 minute fries
Taco meat/soft shells/Bag of lettuce/salsa/cheese/sour cream
Skirt steak-thin and quick to cook/Baked potatoes in micro/veggie/bag of salad
Ravioli/jar of sauce/bag of salad/frozen breadsticks
breakfast for dinner-scrambled eggs/sausage/bagels

Just some ideas.

I bought lots of fresh fruit and snack bars that we could grab and go. We shopped once. ordered pizza once and everyone was happy.

 

[HS3kids]

What a great idea! My favorite easy crockpot dinner :

Beef & Peppers

1.5 lb stew meat
2 cans tomato soup (undiluted)
1 packet onion soup mix
1 bag frozen pepper strips (green yellow and red is what i use but any will do)

Dump it all in the crockpot on low all day.. SUPER YUMMY.. dont let the tomato soup throw you, it does not taste like soup at all- take it from someone who is not a tomato soup fan normally

Cook up some 5 minute rice, spoon the beef & peppers over rice and you are good to go. Cheap too

 

[HS3kids]

What a great idea! My favorite easy crockpot dinner :

Beef & Peppers

1.5 lb stew meat
2 cans tomato soup (undiluted)
1 packet onion soup mix
1 bag frozen pepper strips (green yellow and red is what i use but any will do)

Dump it all in the crockpot on low all day.. SUPER YUMMY.. dont let the tomato soup throw you, it does not taste like soup at all- take it from someone who is not a tomato soup fan normally

Cook up some 5 minute rice, spoon the beef & peppers over rice and you are good to go. Cheap too

 

[scrapquitler]

This is such a good idea! I have thought that if we stay off site and rent a condo this summer I might try it, but I know me--- I will worry ALL DAY LONG about the crock pot being plugged in while we're gone, in a condo we don't own... I'm not sure my level of worry would be worth it in the long run, LOL!

But it is a great idea, I just wish I were braver, LOL!

It is perfectly safe. The crock pot is DESIGNED to be plugged in and operating all day long. Do you worry about the refrigerator being plugged in while you are not home? It's no different.