$10 or less crock pot meals

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I love slow cooking in the fall and winter. A few of my favorite recipes are a little expensive, like coq au vin. Do you have any budget recipes to share?

 

[barkley]

very timely-dd has been experimenting w/us using her new crockpot which inspired me to replace our REALY old one with one of the newer digital models so we've tried a few things in the past month or so that were very budget friendly-

Caribbean chicken-using a packet of Weber "Just Add Juice" Marinade (Caribbean Jerk) I used one packet w/one 5 pound whole chicken. Followed the instructions to marinade but did the marinade inside a crockpot liner bag. when the marinade is done (about 30 minutes) I put the entire bag (w/chicken and marinade) into the crockpot and cooked for the standard amount of time my crockpot takes to roast a chicken. when it was done I took some of the liquid from the bag and put it into a plastic container which I later put in the fridge. we ate part of the chicken the first night w/Zataran's Caribbean rice and a small salad (so chicken was less than $5, Weber's about $1, oj for marinade about 25 cents, Zataran's mix $1.50, salad stuff brought it up to less than $10).

next day I deboned the remaining chicken and diced it, put it into a sauté pan w/some sliced mushrooms and onions-and that liquid from the marinade (which by morning in the fridge allowed me to skim all the fat off the top). boiled some penne and topped w/the chicken mixture to have w/a salad. dinner the second night-maybe $5.


there's some great inexpensive crockpot meals on the web site yummly-the stuffed bell pepper soup is great, makes a large batch and costs well under $10 even w/the addition of a loaf of crusty bread.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I love using our crockpot. I also recently upgraded to a digital model, which is so much better because I can input exactly how long something needs to cook by 30 minute increments up to 24 hours then once it's done it automatically goes into warming mode. I also love the crockpot liners from reynolds so I don't have to scrub the pot like I used to, just hand wash it in warm water and done.

We love Indian food. My mom got me a great book a few years ago, The Indian Slow Cooker. It's got so many great recipes that are really inexpensive to make, including lots of delicious vegetarian dishes. My favorite is the curried chickpeas which is like chana masala.

 

[Happyjen27]

This potato leek soup is amazing. Just made it on Monday with bread from my breadmaker.

http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2012/02/perfect-potato-leek-soup.html

 

[luckyman_apd]

My Chili is always a hit. I start with 2lbs of HOT sausage.....uncased. My family likes ground sausage instead of ground beef....and it gives it a different taste than normal chili. If you buy links, you have to cut the casing off first. Brown the sausage in a pan first......then add to slow cooker. I go with about 2-3 cans of diced tomatoes PER LB OF MEAT. I get plain diced tomatoes or Rotel with the green chilies. If you have an onion dicer you can go with fresh tomatoes....but that is more work. I also get 2 of the 6oz cans of diced green chilies. Next is the beans. Typically 3 cans of beans PER LB OF MEAT......Drained. With the beans I tend to use 2 cans of red kidney beans and 1 can of white cannelli beans. Sometimes with a 2lb batch i do 4 cans of red kidney, 1 white and 1 black beans. I do 1-2 medium yellow onions diced depending of your like or dislike of onions. Then I add 1 TBSP of Chili powder and 1 TSP of Ground Cumin. Stir it all in and cook 6-8 hours on low.

I use the HOT sausage for the heat instead of any peppers. I've made it with sweet sausage before and added 4-5 chopped Jalepeno peppers or 2-3 Serano peppers. If you like really hot and spicy chili.....add a few chopped Seranos in there.

 

[HeatherC]

We live on crockpot meals during the winter months. A couple favorites are..

Buffalo Chicken Wraps...Boneless Chicken Breast, 1tpbsp of butter, 1 envelope ranch seasoning packet and one small bottle Franks Red Hot Sauce....cook all day, shred and put back in crockpot for 30 min to absorb juices. Serve with lettuce, cheese, etc, on flour tortillas.

Pulled Pork...I use the McCormick Seasoning packets...very easy and yummy and can use any kind of pork.

Cranberry Pork...one roast...I use center cut, one jar cranberry sauce, one small jar french dressing and one envelope onion soup mix. Mix all those together and dump over meat. Slice when its done and put back in to absorb the gravy.

Hamburger / Veggie Soup....I brown and season 1lb of ground beef. I then dump 2 large cans crushed tomatoes, one jar spaghetti sauce, one carton beef or chicken broth, some veggies and either 3/4 cup rice or small pasta. Season with italian seasoning and let cook all day. Can't really mess it up.

 

[HeatherC]

Forgot to mention...I also love a kind of ratatouille. Chop up a bunch of fresh veggies....eggplant, onions, carrots, asparagus, squash, etc. Season with Italian Season and one jar of spaghetti sauce. Just cook all day. It is delicious warm over pasta, served on crusty french bread with some grated parmesan and warmed under the broiler, or even as toppings for homemade pizza.

Sausage and Peppers are great too.

 

[Momfoaj]

I love crock pot cooking my favorites is spaghetti and chicken nachos.

chicken nachos - chicken breast, taco seasoning, bell peppers, onion, rotel. Serve with taco chips andd cheese and sour cream.

I made apple cinnamon pork loin this week, it was delicous and very fall like. http://paleoleap.com/apple-cinnamon-pork-loin/

 

[hdrolfe]

I like to make "lazy" type meals in the crockpot. Lazy cabbage rolls - ground meat (beef or pork or a combo), can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, package of coleslaw mix & some rice (add water for the rice but not as much as you would to just cook rice, if that makes sense!). Add some salt, pepper and I usually just use Mrs Dash

Lazy lasagna, ground meat, tomato sauce, lasagna noodles broken up, add some cheese on top about 10 minutes before you serve it. You can add in cottage cheese, frozen spinach, if you like. I use the no need to cook first noodles. You could use another type of pasta if you want.

Chili of course, I tend to add more beans than meat just because they are cheaper. I also do one with chicken, white beans, chili spices & chicken broth instead of the usual tomato chili.

 

[tiggerluver12]

Pulled Pork - I use a bone-in pork butt and rub it down with a spice rub made from spices my family likes already in my cabinet. Cut up a large onion into chunks and place at bottom of crock-pot, then add the pork butt, then add 1 can of Dr. Pepper, Coke or Root Beer. Cover and cook about 8 hours. Most tender, flavorful meat ever! My kids love it. Pull the pork apart and add Stubbs BBQ sauce. Delicious!!

 

[JaxDad]

Beef stew--I just use stew beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, beef broth, and a low sodium McCormicks seasoning pack. I just toss it all in the pot in the morning and let it cook while I am at work. Serve with a heated baguette.

 

[sherry7]

This is one of our favorites. We usually eat it over rice. Leftovers are good as taco/burrito filling.

Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can corn, undrained
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained
• 1 package ranch dressing mix (I only use 1/2 a package)
  
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 8 oz package light cream cheese
• 2 chicken breasts

Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of pot, then pour out whole can of corn (undrained), rotel, and black beans. Top with seasonings and ranch mix. Stir together. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir cream cheese into chili. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and serve.

 

[bcwife76]

This potato leek soup is amazing. Just made it on Monday with bread from my breadmaker.

http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2012/02/perfect-potato-leek-soup.html

This looks so good! I pinned it to my soup board on pinterest

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

One of my favorite soups for the crockpot (recipe gives directions for stovetop, but works either way):

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple, and Red Lentil Soup

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/186378...ch result&referringContentType=search results

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Beef stew--I just use stew beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, beef broth, and a low sodium McCormicks seasoning pack. I just toss it all in the pot in the morning and let it cook while I am at work. Serve with a heated baguette.

How long would you cook this for? On high or low? Thanks!

 

[pezheadmeg]

Tropical pulled chicken. Family pack of whatever boneless chicken is on sale, large can of crushed pineapple, half a bag of frozen bell peppers, and 16 ounces of generic barbeque sauce. 5 hours low, shred the chicken after 4 so it absorbs the sauce. Usually eat in tortillas or over baked potatoes.

Potato Soup. A 32 oz bag of frozen diced hash browns, a half of diced red onion, 4 cups of chicken broth, a can plus one of water cream of cheddar soup, a block of cream cheese. Cook on low for 8 hours, top with bacon and shredded cheese. It's a meal in itself.

Tried mac and cheese this week--that one needs tweaking

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

You guys, thank a million! I am going to try all of these. Pretty cool if you can have 7 dinners for 70 bucks or less. That's a big savings! Also, have you noticed that the crock pot is like magic? There are always leftovers, haha!

 

[JaxDad]

How long would you cook this for? On high or low? Thanks!

I cook it for 9-10 hours on low. It probably does not need to cook that long, but that's generally the time I'm out of the house at work.

 

[mrsheppo]

Autumn Cube Steaks
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
Minced garlic, to taste
1 can of water
1 onion chopped
4 cube steaks

Whisk together cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, garlic and water in crockpot. Add chopped onion and cube steaks, Cook on low -9 hours. Serve over noodles or rice.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I made the chicken chili, very good with tortilla chips. Thanks!