Crockpot and Easy Meals "Index post 372"

[Echo queen]

I got this recipe from the Eat at Home website. (She's a Diser )

I had never really used a crockpot and have found several ideas on her website. This one involves wrapping fish in foil packets-- which I had no idea you could do in a crockpot.

Tilapia with Garlic Cheese Sauce
3-4 Tilapia fillets or other white fish (fresh or frozen-- no need to thaw)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, parmesan, etc)
the juice of two lemons (or 5 Tbs. of lemon juice)
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

(I have done 12 fillets in a large crockpot and adjusted the other ingredient amounts. I did not measure them.)

Mix all ingredients (except fish) in a bowl. Lay fish fillets on cut pieces of foil. Smear sauce on both sides. Wrap up foil packets. Cook in crockpot on Low 3-4 hours. (I think I've left them in longer-- maybe 5hrs-- and they were fine. Maybe you could make the packets in advance and cook them on high for a shorter period of time?)


I just cut up some broccoli and steam it in the microwave for a side dish (yummy with the cheesy sauce). My kids absolutely love this meal. I've even made it for my parents since my dad has celiac's and it's difficult for me to think of recipes he can eat.

Here's the link to her site with pictures: http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/02/tilapia-in-the-crockpot-with-garlic-cheese-sauce.html

I finally got around to making this, it was delicious. My family and I love it.

 

[swilshire]

Macaroni and cheese = HORRIBLE

I will have to cross that one off my list

I thought my mac & cheese had a little too much cheese and not enough milk. I was guesstimating using half the box of noodles, so may have put a few too many.

I mixed in more milk and topped with buttered bread crumbs and baked it for a bit. Much tastier.

Sheila

 

[pigget74]

Made the lasagna last night and is was very YUMMY!

 

[wdhinn89]

I thought my mac & cheese had a little too much cheese and not enough milk. I was guesstimating using half the box of noodles, so may have put a few too many.

I mixed in more milk and topped with buttered bread crumbs and baked it for a bit. Much tastier.

Sheila

Maybe my crock gets to hot but after 2 hours I added more milk because it was too thick.

3 hour mark, all the cheese coagulated and it looked like cottage cheese thrown on noodles. I tasted it hoping it tasted better than it looked and it was tasteless. No one would eat it and I threw it away. IDK what happened.

 

[minnie1012]

Not sure what happened, did 7 hours on low like the recipe said and it burnt all around the edges into the middle. I don't know if I did something wrong or if something is wrong with my crockpot (only 4 months old)

 

[kaytieeldr]

Burned all the way around the edges? Can I borrow your crockpot to make the mac & cheese for our next potluck at work? All I hear is "Eww! I like my macaroni & cheese baked, with a crust! Not in a - ugh - crock pot!"

 

[mousiemom]

i've made this twice and i making it again tonight. we love it! we've tried it w/the soft tacos and then just did it on tortilla chips! delicious!

 

[NC State]

The Mac n' Cheese I do is in an older pot so that maybe why. I have made it twice and it's was great.

The Sloppy Joes I did in my newer pot and I had to cut it off after four hours.

 

[jms25]

We liked it but it was dry. I'm going to try cooking it less next time

We too have tried the brown sugar chicken and liked it. Ours was not dry, but I always have to cook my recipes for less time then stated. We served ours over rice. I also added Green peppers and onions to mine.

Edited to add:
We were not fond of the Mac N Cheese either. The taste was okay, but cooking it in the crockpot we will not do again. I had to add extra Milk, we had issues with the noodles, and the overall appearance was not appetizing. I think I will stick with just baking it in the oven or making it on the stove.

 

[diswish]

This was a hit with my family. The original recipe used sherry instead of marsala wine, but I liked the substitution. Enjoy!

French Onion Soup (Crock Pot)
4 Large Yellow onions -- thinly sliced
1/4 Cup Butter
4 Cups Rich beef stock
1 Cup Dry white wine
1/4 Cup Marsala wine
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Clove Garlic -- minced
6 Slices French bread
1/2 Cup swiss cheese
Using a large frying pan, slowly saute the onions in butter until limp and glazed. Transfer to crock pot. Add beef stock, white wines, Worcestershire and garlic. Cover. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Place french bread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with cheese. Place under preheated broiler until cheese melts. To serve, ladle soup into bowl. Float a slice of french bread on top.

 

[minnie1012]

We too have tried the brown sugar chicken and liked it. Ours was not dry, but I always have to cook my recipes for less time then stated. We served ours over rice. I also added Green peppers and onions to mine.

I wonder if that is the problem. I have a fairly new crock pot and alot of the chicken recipes come out dry and I burnt the sloppy joes. How much do you adjust by? I'm also afraid to have underdone food so I never how much to adjust by hours, half hours?

Thanks

 

[scoobndolliesmom]

Wednesday's meal!

4lbs corned beef brisket
3 big carrots or 1/2 bag mini carrots
2 med onions quartered
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cabbage head cut into wedges

put all ingredients in and add all but the cabbage.Put wedges around corned beef for the last 30 mins. Cook on low 8-10 hours .When you place cabbage in you can take the garlic out and crush it and add it to the pot.

 

[scoobndolliesmom]

Wednesday's meal!

4lbs corned beef brisket
3 big carrots or 1/2 bag mini carrots
2 med onions quartered
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cabbage head cut into wedges

put all ingredients in and add all but the cabbage.Put wedges around corned beef for the last 30 mins. Cook on low 8-10 hours .When you place cabbage in you can take the garlic out and crush it and add it to the pot.

This meal turned out great! It was the first time I tried it like this. I actually took 1 1/2 cups of broth from the crockpot and boiled red potatoes and cabbage and made this on the side.

 

[damren]

great thread...subbing

 

[minnie1012]

Now that its getting warmer, does anyone have any crockpot recipes that they recommend for the wamer months? I don't really like to eat heavy stews and soups in the warmer months.

Thanks!

 

[Bribrittmom]

Both pork chops and chicken dumplings were very good.I used a pork roast in place of the pork chops.

 

[britfish]

Wow - made a really yummy 'stew' tonight. Saw the recipe on the Today show last week and had the ingredients to give it a try. I didn't have exact measurements/quantities, so I just guessed and threw it in the crockpot. Turned out great!

Short ribs (I used a combo of short ribs and stew meat that I had frozen)
chopped onion, celery, carrots
can of diced tomatoes (didn't have these so I used a can of hunt's spaghetti sauce - worked fine)
~1 1/2 cups (? give or take) red wine or a can of guinness
salt/pepper to taste

They seared the meat on TV, I didn't. Just put it in the crockpot, top with salt/pepper, toss the celery/onion/carrots on top, dump tomatoes/sauce over top, pour in the wine/beer. I let it simmer on low for about 5+ hours, until the meat was really tender. The wine gave everything a wonderful taste - it was really so good! And so easy.

I am going to try this one tomorrow since I have everything on hand!

 

[Leash]

Last night I tried a new recipe based on the Buffalo chicken:

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 bottle buffalo wing or hot sauce ( I use either Red Hot or Steve and Edy's)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing mix

Place chicken breast in crock pot, sprinkle dressing mix over chicken and pour wing sauce on top.
Cook 6 - 8 hours for frozen chicken breasts or 4-6 hours for fresh chicken breasts.
Shred chicken with two forks when finished and serve on rolls.

I made shredded chicken tacos.
I used an envelope of taco seasoning instead of the ranch and I used a can of enchillada sauce instead of wing sauce (could also use taco sauce but I couldn't find any without onions and I can't eat onions).
It was awesome! We put it on small soft flour tortillas with tomatoes, cheese and sour cream and it tased so good and was so easy.

I used frozen chicken breasts and set the crockpot for 8 hours (low) and about 3 hours in I put it down to 10 hours (lowest setting) and it was still done in about only 4 hours instead of the the 6-8 the recipe said, but I think that is just my crockpot (it seems to cook everything fast).


Neeekend I am going to try the chicken I use to make quesadillas. Normally I just use this as a marinade but I'm going to try it in the crockpot so I can shred the chicken.

Lemon juice
Lime juice
Fresh crushed garlic
Hot sauce
Fresh cilantro

I don't usually measue so I will just put it in there and see how it looks, might add some water just to add liquid without extra citrus. If anyone has a tip let me know otherwise if anyone is interested I will post how it turns out.

 

[jms25]

I go with the low end of a time range (4-5 hrs on high, I would do 4) or subtract at least an hour from a specific time, sometimes two. I always check on stuff though, usually with about 2hrs left on the suggested time, but then I don't usually leave a crockpot going while I am gone for hours and hours. I just can't do it!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Ranch Pork Chops with Gravy

6 bone-in or boneless pork chops fat removed (I recommend boneless)
1 package dry ranch mix
2 tbsps dry brown gravy mix
1 small onion chopped
1 can cream of celery soup

Put pork chops in, cover with onion - ranch mix - gravy mix. Top with soup mix. Cook on high 4-5 hours, low 6-8 hours.

It will make a great gravy (thick) for mashed potatoes, rice, noodles. I thin mine with a bit of milk before serving. Very tender and flavorful.