Cooking Crock pot recipes, I just got a crock pot?

[CEC's Mom]

My favorite recipe to make in my crockpot is mac & cheese. It is so good!

8oz. elbow macaroni (cooked)
1/3 cup melted butter
3 cups shredded cheddar
1 can evap. milk
1 1/2 cups milk

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Add 1/2 the elbows, then half the cheese. Repeat with rest of elbows and cheese. Pour melted butter over top. Then add the milks (I have used all milk when I didn't have the evap. milk on hand. I also always use skim to make it lower in fat). Turn crockpot on low for about 4 hours. You can add onion or chopped up ham if you like, but I usually don't. My DD9 likes this better than the boxed stuff.

 

[Dashzap]

I just got a crock pot as well, but my problem is that so many recipes I find are huge servings. I'm single and live alone! Does anyone have recipes for a 3quart crock pot, 2-3 servings worth of food?

Lots of people like Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two: For the Small Slow Cooker by Beth Hensperger (ISBN-13: 978-1558323414)

I haven't tried any of the recipes in it.

Don't buy a huge cooker if you want small amounts. You need the crock at least 2/3rds full for it to work properly.

 

[erinbee]

Part of the problem is that I don't like to use a lot of prepared sauces and cream 'o whatnot soups. I even make my own salad dressings so the idea of pouring, say, a bottle of commercial Italian dressing into the crock doesn't really work with my kitchen style.

I completely agree with you. It annoys me greatly that so many crock pot recipes rely on Cream of whatever soups. To me, everything always ends up tasting the same.

I have done two things to try and combat that. I have found some all natural and/or organic varieties that I use without as much guilt as the normal cans of food science and preservatives. You can also make your own using a bechamel sauce, though that adds time. I've never tried freezing a bechamel so I can't say if you could but it might be worth a try.

 

[joha]

I completely agree with you. It annoys me greatly that so many crock pot recipes rely on Cream of whatever soups. To me, everything always ends up tasting the same.

I have done two things to try and combat that. I have found some all natural and/or organic varieties that I use without as much guilt as the normal cans of food science and preservatives. You can also make your own using a bechamel sauce, though that adds time. I've never tried freezing a bechamel so I can't say if you could but it might be worth a try.

Same here! I try avoiding those recipes that call for cream of whatever soup.

 

[TarzansKat]

Hey, guys! I got inspired by this thread, and took out the crockpot, which sadly...has never been used. I have a very, very newbie type question. I've thrown in all the ingredients and turned it on low. How can I tell that it's working? Does the outer part of the crockpot get hot? Will I see steam on the cover? Sorry for all the questions, it just doesn't look like anything's going on in there!

 

[rcraw45425]

Hey, guys! I got inspired by this thread, and took out the crockpot, which sadly...has never been used. I have a very, very newbie type question. I've thrown in all the ingredients and turned it on low. How can I tell that it's working? Does the outer part of the crockpot get hot? Will I see steam on the cover? Sorry for all the questions, it just doesn't look like anything's going on in there!

Yes, the outside should get hot within a fw minutes of turning it on. After a couple of hours you will begin to smell the cooking food. I started mine at 10AM today on high, just switched it over to low. Inside I have chicken thighs and breasts (boneless), diced onion, celery, zucchini, mushrooms, threw all of that into a large ziploc, added a package of the Italian Herb slow cooker seasoning and shook, along with some kisher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and celery salt. Dumped it into a large crockpot that was sprayed with Pam (stuff will stick in crockpots, I also use the crockpot lienrs in some cases). Realized that my crockpot was too small so I had to dump it into my larger one, lol. Added three cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes and started cooking. I plan to cook buttered egg noodles to go along with this stew (?)

 

[TarzansKat]

Yes, the outside should get hot within a fw minutes of turning it on. After a couple of hours you will begin to smell the cooking food. I started mine at 10AM today on high, just switched it over to low. Inside I have chicken thighs and breasts (boneless), diced onion, celery, zucchini, mushrooms, threw all of that into a large ziploc, added a package of the Italian Herb slow cooker seasoning and shook, along with some kisher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and celery salt. Dumped it into a large crockpot that was sprayed with Pam (stuff will stick in crockpots, I also use the crockpot lienrs in some cases). Realized that my crockpot was too small so I had to dump it into my larger one, lol. Added three cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes and started cooking. I plan to cook buttered egg noodles to go along with this stew (?)

Wow, that sounds fantastic! I can't remember who posted it, but one of the previous posts in this thread was for a meatball soup. I had most of the ingredients on hand, so I thought, why not?

I love to cook for my family, but I work part time, and those days sometimes, I'm just too tired! So I'm very excited about the possibility of having something slow cooking while I'm at work. I just need to get my timing down.

I took a peek, and now I see some condensation on the lid. I guess I was just being impatient.

Thanks to the OP for starting such a great, helpful thread!

 

[Nie0214]

Lots of people like Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two: For the Small Slow Cooker by Beth Hensperger (ISBN-13: 978-1558323414)

I haven't tried any of the recipes in it.

Don't buy a huge cooker if you want small amounts. You need the crock at least 2/3rds full for it to work properly.

Thank you! My widowed grandmother actually has this book at her house and is giving it to me.

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

You can make anything in a crock pot! My husband loves the following recipe. Check out www.recipezaar.com for some other recipes.

1 beef chuck roast (big as you want, it will shrink some)
5-6 potatoes peeled and quartered
5-6 whole carrots peeled and halved or 1 bag baby carrots
1 large yellow onion (cut up or not if you don't plan to eat it)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Salt and pepper beef and toss into crock. Add veggies and onion and cover with cans of soup. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 3.5-4. You can test if it's ready by pulling the meat with a fork. If it comes apart easy, it's ready. You can make the soup into a gravy by adding a little flour water and salt and pepper. Otherwise, serve with brown gravy and don't forget the applesauce!

 

[ckoncurat]

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

She used her crockpot daily last year and blogged about it. Some great recipes and pretty funny to read, too.

Another vote for this site- my new favorite!

 

[reginaastralis]

Thank you! My widowed grandmother actually has this book at her house and is giving it to me.

I don't know if this would help you, or if you like to eat leftovers, but I do the big recipes, and freeze what's left. It's just my daughter and I, and she eats like a bird, if I'm lucky.

I end up having enough leftovers for lunch and dinner, I just make sure to rotate the leftovers and my meal plans so nothing gets yucky in the freezer and I don't get tired of eating the same old stinkin thing all the time.

I don't know if it actually helps, but it makes me seem like I am getting more bang for my buck in our grocery bill.

 

[magik]

I've made some really tasty soups and chili with recipes from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. For those of you who don't like using canned or processed ingredients, this book is great for that. The only thing I've found with it is that I think even on low, my slow cooker must be hotter than whoever designed these recipes because I always have to cook my stuff less time than the recipe says.

I also really liked the slow cooker lasagna recipe that was on the back of a Lipton vegetable soup box I found once. I think this is pretty much the same recipe.

I wish my slow cooker had a start timer because then I know I'd use it more often. Since my slow cooker always seems to take less time than the recipes call for, even 8-10 hour recipes I can't leave going while I'm at work without risking all the liquid steaming out.

One thing I really like to do, and it's free, is go to the library and check out cookbooks related to whatever style of cooking I feel like. So I'd recommend taking advantage of your local library and seeing if they have any slow cooker cookbooks in their collection for inspiration.

 

[iggbees]

You can make anything in a crock pot! My husband loves the following recipe. Check out www.recipezaar.com for some other recipes.

1 beef chuck roast (big as you want, it will shrink some)
5-6 potatoes peeled and quartered
5-6 whole carrots peeled and halved or 1 bag baby carrots
1 large yellow onion (cut up or not if you don't plan to eat it)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Salt and pepper beef and toss into crock. Add veggies and onion and cover with cans of soup. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 3.5-4. You can test if it's ready by pulling the meat with a fork. If it comes apart easy, it's ready. You can make the soup into a gravy by adding a little flour water and salt and pepper. Otherwise, serve with brown gravy and don't forget the applesauce!

i do this exact recipe except i use beef broth instead of mushroom soup. my boyfriend loves it. we just made it last night and it's so tender and delicious. i've found that i like vidalia onions cut up in large pieces, baby carrots cut in half, and the brown idaho potatoes cut in larger pieces. yum!

my boyfriend also makes some kind of pulled taco chicken which is fantastic. i think he made the recipe up himself, so i'll have to ask him what he puts in it, because it was literally amazing. i bought more chicken just so we could have it again soon. haha. i'll post when i get the recipe!

 

[iggbees]

my boyfriend's recipe for taco chicken he said he got it somewhere online, but changed it a bit.

- 3 (frozen) chicken breasts
- a jar of salsa
- a can of hunts plain tomato sauce
- a half packet of regular taco seasoning
- a half packet of hot taco seasoning
- half an onion

put chicken breasts in crockpot, pour in all ingredients and let cook on high for an hour then change to low for 4-5 hours (he says he can't remember exact time of this). it will shred apart easily when it is done. he also added more taco seasoning to taste when the chicken was finished. we served it on tortillas with taco cheese and shredded lettuce.

 

[sunnyday123]

my boyfriend's recipe for taco chicken he said he got it somewhere online, but changed it a bit.

- 3 (frozen) chicken breasts
- a jar of salsa
- a can of hunts plain tomato sauce
- a half packet of regular taco seasoning
- a half packet of hot taco seasoning
- half an onion

put chicken breasts in crockpot, pour in all ingredients and let cook on high for an hour then change to low for 4-5 hours (he says he can't remember exact time of this). it will shred apart easily when it is done. he also added more taco seasoning to taste when the chicken was finished. we served it on tortillas with taco cheese and shredded lettuce.

ok, this sounds yummy!!

I am making Tortilla Soup in my crock pot right now:
5 chicken breasts
3 packets of Taco Seasoning
2 28oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 28 oz can of tomato sauce
1 big can of chicken broth ( I didn't have one so I used 4 reg. cans )
2 cans or 1 bag of frozen corn
1 tblspn of soy sauce
1 tspn of minced garlic ( DD put way more in stay away from us this weekend)
fresh cilantro,chopped
throw it all in and cook on high about 8 hours. Shred the chicken, and top the soup with sour cream and shredded cheese.

I never use the tortilla chips on top, but you can. I should start calling it something else.

 

[sunnyday123]

We eat this all the time too. Every once in a while my Dad will call and ask if I've made it lately, and tell me how good it is..... I'm meat illiterate, so I just throw a big london broil in.

5 tablespoons dark brown sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (1-pound) flank steaks
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 (2 1/2-ounce) submarine rolls, halved
Red onion slices (optional)
Dill pickle slices (optional)
Preparation

Combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar and pepper; rub over both sides of steaks. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, onion, and next 9 ingredients (onion through salt) in an electric slow cooker. Add steaks; turn to coat. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting for 1 hour. Reduce heat setting to low; cook for 7 hours. Remove steaks; reserve sauce. Shred steaks with 2 forks. Return shredded steak to cooker; stir into sauce. Spoon 1/2 cup steak mixture onto bottom half of each roll; top with onion and pickles, if desired. Cover with tops of rolls.


Nutritional Information
Calories:435 (22% from fat)
Fat:10.4g (sat 4.2g,mono 4.2g,poly 1.2g)
Protein:26g
Carbohydrate:57.2g
Fiber:3.1g
Cholesterol:47mg
Iron:4.9mg
Sodium:668mg
Calcium:77mg
Jim Thorton, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 1998

 

[mncherokee]

Do you put it in frozen or thawed?

I have put chicken in frozen for years, but I just read in the Pillsbury Slowcooker cookbook that is currently in the grocery store that you are not supposed to because the crockpot doesn't get up to a safe temperture fast enough.

 

[ah1126]

Quote:Originally Posted by ah1126
I love to do a turkey breast in the crockpot. Put the turkey breast in, add water and season. The turkey comes out so moist!

Quoteo you put it in frozen or thawed?


I have done both. I think at Thanksgiving I put it in the fridge 1 to 1 1/2 days a head of time so it was mostly thawed. My mom puts it in frozen all the time. Good luck!

 

[toledo13]

When I know it's going to be a long day, I make a very EASY chicken in the Crock Pot:

Pour a little bit of chicken broth in the bottom
Put a layer of frozen chicken breasts or tenders, so that they're not stacked on top of each other
Pour a little more chicken broth on top- enough to just cover the meat
Add any spices I want--

If we're going to have tacos, I put chili powder, garlic powder, dried onions, and cumin

If we're going to have rice, I put curry, garlic powder, and dried mustard

If we're going to have the chicken on a salad, I put Mrs. Dash

Then, just cook on low all day and it'll be ready for when you get home!

 

[S. C.]

Love the recipes and sites. Keep them coming.