Summer Crockpot Recipes

[Mickey2903]

Another good tip (and budget related) for the pulled pork - it freezes VERY well - I have a large crock pot & can fit up to 4 boneless pork loin roasts in at a time - and I often do....then shred it all (takes awhile using 4 roasts!) and freeze it for later use when we need something super quick. I always keep a pack of hamburger rolls in the freezer too, to go along with this. In the summer I make this from the freezer along with cut up fresh veggies & dip. Very quick & easy.

This is my go-to recipe when I need to cook for a large group. Everyone loves it and it's sooooo easy. I'm the Queen of Pulled Pork in my family! Our grocery store often has the boneless pork loin end roasts BOGO free, so I pay about $6 a roast. I get 4-6 at a time on sale & freeze them.

This is a great idea. What is your exact recipe? Do you put bbq sauce/seasoning on it while you cook it in the crockpot or do you cook the pork plain and then add your seasonings or sauce after you get it out of the freezer? I really want to try this since my son's baseball schedule is consuming most of our spare time and we really need to find some quick and easy meals. Thanks.

 

[TaraPA]

I put some water in the bottom, then the roast(s), then dry BBQ seasoning or onion powder or Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion (if I have it, if not no worries), then BBQ sauce. The portion I serve immediately I add more BBQ sauce to after shredding, the portion I'm freezing I don't. I add more BBQ sauce to that when I defrost it.

It's always a hit!

 

[Mickey2903]

I put some water in the bottom, then the roast(s), then dry BBQ seasoning or onion powder or Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion (if I have it, if not no worries), then BBQ sauce. The portion I serve immediately I add more BBQ sauce to after shredding, the portion I'm freezing I don't. I add more BBQ sauce to that when I defrost it.

It's always a hit!

Thank you very much. I can't wait to try it.

 

[Debbie]

I do that every week too. It is one of the few things DS will actually eat. I do it the same way.

Thanks for all the links on this thread. My slow cooker has chicken fajita stuff it in right now because of the this thread!

I am so making that peanut butter cup cake this week!

Thanks. DD has just come home for the summer from her freshman university year. This is one thing she has asked for. We haven't done it, yet, but this week for sure. (Just need the pork roast!)

 

[acename]

I do the BBQ pork thing too.

I also make chicken taco meat in the crockpot. Just put some boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken broth and taco seasonings. Cook on low for about 6 to 8 hours. Then just shred it up when it's finished. You can put in frozen chicken too, which is good for me because I always forget to take things out of the freezer to thaw.

 

[TaraPA]

I just saw in a quote above something about a peanut butter chocolate cake....PLEASE SHARE THAT RECIPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ilovepooh]

Check out this lady's blog, as she decided a few years back to use her slow cooker for 365 days in a row. She has some great recipes and even reviews of the one's that didn't work. I did our Easter Ham in the slow cooker, and this weekend I'm making a Peanut Butter Cup Cake in the crock pot, so you can see the diversity in her recipes. Great site, and my DW has gotten hooked on it as well.

We're in the same boat as well with summer sports, and can always find something good and seasonal to cook on those busy days. Good luck with it!

Thanks for the blog! The recipes on her site sound great!!

 

[TiffanyK]

Here are some favorites that would be good in the summer:

Baked Chicken with Summer Veggies

Chicken Tacos

Salsa Verde Steak

Chicken Fiesta with Black Beans

Sweet and Sour Chicken Cantonese

Chicken Teriyaki

Tamale Pork Sandwiches on Cornbread

Complete BBQ Chicken Dinner in the Slow Cooker

I've got a lot more on my site. I really love my slow cooker

 

[Muffy]

I've made this in my crock pot and it comes out great everytime. Just serve with a side of mashed potatoes and you're set!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large zucchini, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, smashed to a paste with coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 cup panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the zucchini, peppers, garlic paste, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until almost soft, 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl. Add the meat, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, and the cooled vegetables and mix until just combined.

Form into round loaf in crockpot and cook on high 3 hours or low 6 hours.

 

[mom of 3G's]

I put a beef roast in the crock pot, add a package of Italian salad dressing and 1/2 a can of beer. It makes super sandwiches!!

 

[Lorix2]

i just throw a pork loin in.... add a jar of any BBQ sauce... a little water ... and cook till the meat falls apart... and shred....

thank you very much!

 

[webprinter]

My once a week stand by is a pork butt roast, 1 cup of BBQ sauce and 1 cup of diet Coke or diet Dr Pepper. (You can also use regular soda of any kind). We either eat this with potatoes or shred it and add more BBQ sauce.

 

[tyluvsdis]

One of our favorites is Sweet pork-
1 shoulder pork roast
3 cans of El Pato mexican tomato sauce
3 can tomato sauce
1 cup brown sugar

Cook the roast the previous day with a can of cola and shred. Put in crockpot and add ingredients and serve with warm tortillas, sour cream, lettuce or any other yummy side. Enjoy!

 

[Heidict]

These recipes sound great. Can't wait to make some.

 

[gomomgo]

This one has been around a long time with a few variations but we still LOVE it. Empty a jar of salsa into the crock and add boneless chicken breasts. We also add corn, beans or whatever we have around. Cook until the chicken shreads. Before serving add sour cream and shredded lettuce and serve with tortilla chips or in wraps. It's messy but yummy and we always have the few ingredients it calls for in.

This is always a favorite and I swear it's even tasty cold! We most often add it to salad the next day.

Another added bonus is that it's fairly low-fat, depending on the sour cream and wraps you use. Just watch the sodium in the salsa!

 

[Suz D]

I love to use my crockpot and it will be a moneysaver during this busy season of baseball games. The only problem is that my dh thinks that the type of meal cooked in the crockpot is for winter- like stew or chili. So, does anyone have any easy crockpot recipes for the summertime? Or any type of meal that can be made ahead or made quickly. I don't want to resort to picking up dinner.

I posted this exact same question more than a month ago on the cooking board because I figured it would get moved from the budget board. I got almost no responses. I should have known that our budget board friends would come through for us! Thanks for posting the question. I'm going to go through the posts now and add my recipes if they aren't already there.

 

[2bearsmom]

I just made yogurt in the crockpot, I'll find out in the morning how it turned out! I took a half gallon of raw milk (from what I've read you can use store bought whole, organic even but NOT ultra-pastuerized in the cartons) added it to the crockpot, put the lid on and turned it on low. After 2 1/2hrs unplug and leave alone for 3hrs. Take out 1-2C of the milk and add in 1/2 C plain yogurt with active cultures (I used Stonyfield because it had I think 6 cultures listed...I used Fage two days ago and it did not turn out, didn't culture properly because I finally read Fage only has one or two active cultures) and mix well, then add back to crockpot and whisk well. Put lid on and wrap in thick towels. Leave sit 8-12hrs. Put into glass jars and leave in the fridge to "set up" about 8hrs or so. The yogurt will be more runny than store bought but you can always strain it so it's more like greek yogurt, that is what I plan on doing with some of it, if it's real runny I'll throw it into the smoothies.

I've never really used my crockpot in the spring/summer so I'll have to keep checking out some of these recipes.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Great ideas, I have to check into that Teriyaki chicken one....sounds delicious!

 

[2bearsmom]

I wanted to add that my yogurt turned out perfect this morning....and that I used a 4QT crockpot or you could use a 2QT. I tried this before using my regular 6QT and it didn't work because it was too big. I think what also helped this time was throwing the towels in the dryer for a few minutes before wrapping up the crockpot to sit overnight. It is a thick consistancy and may not need the 8hrs to set up in the fridge. I'm hoping by draining it to make it even thicker and then blending in thawed frozen cherries my boys will eat it.

 

[ceecee]

I put in chicken breasts with a jar or two of salsa depending on how much chicken making extra. After it's cooked I shredd it with a fork, we have burrito bowls one night, quesadias another night and then chicken on salad a third night. All of these meals are super quick and inexpensive and good! If we're "chickened out" I freeze some for later. We don't eat much red meat so we're used to a lot of chicken and fish.