NWR: Crock pot recipe help!

loro929

Hi ladies, so this weekend I purchased a crock pot. (yay!!)

It is something that I have been wanting to purchase for so long but just never seemed to get around to it (They don't sell them so readily in the department stores in Spain...). So, yesterday, I was having a lazy Sunday on the couch with the iPad and finally bit the bullet and bought one from amazon.

I bought a 3.5L one in red. SO. FRAKKIN. EXCITED.

.

Very exciting! However, as it is my "first" crock pot, I would love some ideas on any tried and true delicious recipes that I can experiment with when it finally arrives (I hope by Friday)!

So comes my Monday morning (work-procrastination ) question to you: Do you have a crockpot? If so, what is your go-to recipe??

aspoonfulofsugar

Yay, congrats!!  I LOVE mine (when I have time to get it prepped in the morning it's the most amazing thing ever).  Since my days are long and it's almost 10-11 hours before I'm home again, I have mine on one of those lamp timers- works like a charm.

We do everything in it.  Some of our favorites are:

 a ranch chicken http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/14616060/bacon-ranch-crockpot-chicken/

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/171098794/creamy-tomato-tortellini-soup/

Pizza Dip (great for parties!) http://www.realhousemoms.com/crock-pot-pizza-dip/

Vegetarian Taco Soup (this is my favorite- not sure why it's labeled as a soup because it's not really soup-ish....  You can totally add meat too) 

http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/post/55183036006

I could go on forever (I have one too many Mexican recipes) but I won't.  Enjoy your crockpot!

loro929

@kaitlinLs they all sound delicious!

I am in the same position as you, FI and I both have really long days, so I am hoping that this really helps to add a little spice to our dinner routine.

Usually, we are both so tired when we get home we just throw together a green salad and call it a night.

The creamy tomato tortellini sounds absolutely out of this world! Can't wait to start trying!

larrygaga

I like to make roasts the most in my crockpot. I rub salt, pepper and various other spices into a beef roast(or pork) and brown only the outside of it. I throw it in with red potatoes,carrots, onions, celery and garlic cloves. I put french onion soup and sometimes cranberries and let it cook on low for like 8 hours.

It's the perfect heavy food for winter, although if you are in Spain.....

themuffinman16

This is the BEST beef stew recipe I have ever made. It s absolutely delicious and I always get compliments.  I don't like shiitake mushrooms, so I just substitute white button mushrooms.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-beef-stew-with-shiitake-mushrooms/93154946-474e-4812-bd37-0f19d23c0c3d

I also got my sister Not Your mother's slow cooker recipe book for when she had her first child... she has yet to use it. Lol.

vk2204

I am just learning to use my crock pot more, but our easiest go-to recipe is just crock pot chicken. We do a can of cream of chicken on the bottom, put in frozen chicken breast, sprinkle pepper and salt, and then put a can of cheddar cheese soup on top. We will pair it with potatoes or rice usually, the chicken is great on it's own. Or we will use the chicken to make quesadillas or chicken wraps. It is not fancy by any means, but it is literally the easiest thing I know how to make.

http://www.realhousemoms.com/crock-pot-cheesy-chicken-bacon-tator-tot-bake/

I just made the recipe above for my H yesterday and he absolutely loved it. I used both waffle fries and tator tots.

loro929

Wow, all of these recipes are making my mouth water and making me even more excited to start using it!

I know that FI wants to try to make a bolognese sauce to test it out, so I will offer up a recipe depending on how it comes

FiancB

I love my crockpot! I got a new one too with a much more flexible timer and I love it so much. These are some of my favorite recipes, though these days I don't bother freezing ahead so much:

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html

I think the chicken alfredo is better with peas than broccoli, and it's also great with some Rotel in there. The maple dijon chicken was gross and way too salty for me but that may have been my mistake. The ribs are killer- I'm making them tonight. The taco soup is also great but I add twice as much sauce and it's still pretty darn thick. 

Get crockpot liners. They will change your life.

loro929

I just got the email that it has been shipped and is arriving on Thursday. yay!

@FiancB that blog looks great! It seems to have lots of fun and delicious recipes.

@GlitterWitch22 the combination of those ingredients is right up my alley, just counting down the days now...

HisGirlFriday13

I swear by this book (<-- clicky). I love it.

It not only has recipes, which are awesome, it has tips for adjusting your cooking time if your meat is frozen.

Also, this conversion chart is SUPER helpful: 

I freaking LOVE my slow-cooker. DH jokes that pretty much everything I cook is a slow-cooker recipe. I'm like, 'Yeah, and I'm still doing 99 percent of the cooking, so what's your point?'

emmaaa

Crockpots ae the best invention ever. So great for cooking a good meal when you're busy. Wake up in the morning, throw everything in it, go to work, come home, done. So easy. I have a few receipes that I have made up or been given:

1. Awesome Chicken (this stuff is literally awesome)

(4) Boneless Chicken Breasts

(2) Cans of "Cream of" anything (I usually do 1 cream of mushroom, 1 cream of chicken)

(1) Block of Cream Cheese)

Garlic, salt, pepper, seasoning to taste (I use a lot of garlic and pepper, little salt and crushed red pepper)

Put chicken, cans of cream of whatever, and seasoning in crock pot on low for 6 to 8 hours (on high for 4 hour) About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, cut up the cream cheese into little blocks and put in crock pot. Let it cook until the cream cheese is slightly melted. Stir and serve (I usally pull the chicken apart to shred it with a fork)! Serve over rice or egg noodles or mashed potatoes. This is a very rich tasting meal!

2. Mexican Chicken Soup

(1) Can of corn

(1) Can of diced tomatoes and peppers, I use Rotel hot and spicy

(1) Can of black-eyed peas or black beans

(1) Sauteed Onion

Season with garlic and crushed red pepper to taste

(4) Chicken Breasts

(1) Pound Shredded Cheese

Put all of the vegatables and seasoning in crockpot. (Cook on low for 6-8 hours if doing it in the morning and also go ahead and add chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours if doing it closer to meal time without chicken). If you do not add chicken in the morning you can boil it on the stove until cooked, then shred it and put it in the crockpot. If you added chicken in the morning, shred it up good and stir. Once the chicken is added and shredded, let cook for another 30  minutes. Then serve in a bowl and top with shredded cheese. I like to eat mine like a dip with tortilla chips.

3. Pulled Pork

(1) Pork Butt or pork loin (Pork Butt will have more fat = more flavor)

Favorite BBQ sauce (you can do a vinegar and hot sauce based or sweet and thick BBQ sauce, I do both)

Rub Pork Butt with garlic, crushed red pepper, Seasoning Salt (I use Lawry's), and pepper. Place whole Pork Butt in crock pot. Then add about 1/2 cup of water, 2 drops liquid smoke (this is not entirely necessary), worchestire sause, a few drops of hot sauce. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours (sorry but this one can't be sped up). Go ahead and make your sauce to taste or have it ready. Once it is cooked, removed Pork Butt from crok pot and shred the pork into fine pieces. Drain all liquid from crock pot and put shredded pork back in. Add sauce over pork. You can add asmuch or as little as you want. This is great on a sandwhich or by itself.

4. Roast Beef

(1) Roast

(2) Cans Cream of Mushroom

(1/2) Cup Beef Stock (if desired, I usualy skip this step)

Seasoning to taste (I use garlic, crushed red pepper, pepper, hot sauce, and lots of worchestire)

Put everything in the crock pot and stir. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. The longer and slower you cook beef in the crock pot, the more tender it will  be. Once it has cooked, stir well and serve. Goes great with mashed potatoes or rice and carrots.

***Sorry this is so long but most of my recipes have been given to me by family or something I have modified. Also, these are all heavy meals which is what I generally use my crock pot for! Being born and living in the South has done that to me!***

ETF: spelling

 

 

wandajune6

I swear by this book (<-- clicky). I love it.

It not only has recipes, which are awesome, it has tips for adjusting your cooking time if your meat is frozen.

I have the same book and love it.

I use our crockpot all the time. I do mostly soups and stews but I've really used it for everything. I don't tend to use recipes though.

loro929

Thanks for the tips @HisGirlFriday13, the conversion table will definitely come in handy and I just bought that book. One-click shopping on Amazon is really dangerous! 

@eg72 I think that no matter where you are from Sunday dinner isn't Sunday dinner unless its nice and heavy

I have an extra recipe card box at home that I didn't know what to do with, I am thinking of copying these recipes onto them to have them ready for use! 

AprilH81

I don't have recipes to offer, but I highly recommend the crock pot liners.  They make clean up a snap!

arrippa

You guys are motivating me to buy a new programmable one. I barely use the one I have since I am usually gone too long during the day for most recipes, even on low.

HisGirlFriday13

wandajune6 said:

I swear by this book (<-- clicky). I love it.

It not only has recipes, which are awesome, it has tips for adjusting your cooking time if your meat is frozen.

I have the same book and love it.

I use our crockpot all the time. I do mostly soups and stews but I've really used it for everything. I don't tend to use recipes though.

I use what I call 'guess-ipes.' As in, I take the basic beginnings of a recipe (like, 'Oh, it involves chicken! I have chicken!') and then I add and subtract to it based on what I have handy. Cream of chicken soup? Don't have that, but I have cream of mushroom; that'll work. Pinto beans? Nah, but I have black beans, good enough.

And so on. Poor DH says we never eat the same meal twice because I can never remember how I've altered a recipe.

He's not wrong.

mbross3

I got a crock-pot for Christmas and it's my favorite thing in the kitchen! Maybe even in the house!

BF doesn't eat meat, but does eat seafood and eggs, dairy, etc. so I've never made meat in our crock-pot. However I usually just adjust recipes I read to include seafood/veggies instead of meat. 

My fave so far is a veggie pot-pie!

4-5 cups of vegetable stock (or chicken if you eat it)

As many veggies as you want (we use a cup of onion, a cup of green pepper, a half cup of peas, half cup of mushrooms, and a half cup of carrot and sometimes celery)

1/2 cup of flour

Garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Leave in the crock pot on low for the day and then when you get home put biscuits on top and let cook for additional 30 mins on high or 1 hour on low. (we also usually add shrimp at this point bc sea food shouldn't be left in the crock-pot all day since it gets too soft). For biscuits we either use bisquik and put about 10-15 "spoon-drop" dumplings on the top of the broth and veggies, or if you have canned biscuits you can just break them up a bit and drop them on top- works either way!

OliveOilsMom

If you have Facebook, 'like" Crock Pot Moms.  They have tons of great recipes!

I usually will use what I have on hand.  I will buy marinades, zesty italian dressing, powedered ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, cream of whatever soup - really anything that I think is tasty.  Toss in the meat and cover in the sauce.  I always have veggie and chicken stocks on hand too to add in, as needed.

Peaseblossom55

I have a crock post I use it mostly for myself.  I'm a vegan for the most part and FI is a meat eater.  He is also picky and doesn't eat leftovers.  I also feel like a lot of crock pot recipes have you add creamy ingredients, FI doesn't like that kind of stuff. 

From my own blog my favorite crock pot recipe, it's vegetarian and it's my lunch today I made it last week.

http://njvegetariangirl.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/vegetarian-pot-pie-with-biscuit-crust/

phira

We're registered for a crockpot SO EXCITED.

HisGirlFriday13

phira said:

We're registered for a crockpot SO EXCITED.

Not gonna lie, the crock-pot my mom bought me for my shower was probably my favourite gift. It wasn't the one we'd registered for -- it was a higher-end model with more fancy-pants options -- but she found it on clearance and bought it, knowing I wouldn't care that it wasn't on our registry.

I FREAKING LOVE IT. It actually lives on our counter. It doesn't even get put away.

phira

HisGirlFriday13 said:

phira said:

We're registered for a crockpot SO EXCITED.

Not gonna lie, the crock-pot my mom bought me for my shower was probably my favourite gift. It wasn't the one we'd registered for -- it was a higher-end model with more fancy-pants options -- but she found it on clearance and bought it, knowing I wouldn't care that it wasn't on our registry.

I FREAKING LOVE IT. It actually lives on our counter. It doesn't even get put away.

Do you mind sharing the brand/model? I think we're registered for a Hamilton Beach "set and forget" or something. I did so much research.

HisGirlFriday13

phira said:

HisGirlFriday13 said:

phira said:

We're registered for a crockpot SO EXCITED.

Not gonna lie, the crock-pot my mom bought me for my shower was probably my favourite gift. It wasn't the one we'd registered for -- it was a higher-end model with more fancy-pants options -- but she found it on clearance and bought it, knowing I wouldn't care that it wasn't on our registry.

I FREAKING LOVE IT. It actually lives on our counter. It doesn't even get put away.

Do you mind sharing the brand/model? I think we're registered for a Hamilton Beach "set and forget" or something. I did so much research.

That's the one we got! Hamilton Beach, Set 'N Forget, Programmable Slow-Cooker. Ours came with this cute little dip slow-cooker. It holds like, six cups, maybe, and has two settings, but it's awesome for making a dip and taking it to a party.

DH didn't think we needed the programmable one. Mama HisGirl knew how much I wanted the programmable one and bought it for us anyway.

phira

@HisGirlFriday13 Yesssss so glad we're registered for the same one (if no one buys it, we're buying it with the completion discount, so basically, we're getting it no matter what).

HisGirlFriday13

@phira -- also keep an eye on Kohls, Macy's and Bon-Ton -- all of those stores sell them, and they frequently have awesome sales on them. (Mama HisGirl got ours at Kohls, on mad discount.)

It's an awesome crockpot. 

KeptInStitches

I got a 1.5 L crock pot for Christmas from BF's grandmother. It's become my new favorite appliance - it's perfect for appetizer dips for parties.

afox007

Super easy pot roast is what I make for FI on nights I know I won't be home (poor guy has yet to figure out how to feed himself) all you do is put in a pot roast and a large jar of salsa and cook on low for 8-10 hours. It comes out so juicy and tender.

I also love making blueberry french toast casserole. It's better as breakfast for dinner or a late brunch if you have time since it only cooks on low for 4 hours. http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooked-blueberry-french-toast it isn't as convenient as most slowcooker recipes but totally worth it!

ETA: I am guilty of setting an alarm for 3 am so I can start the slowcooker half asleep so I can wake up to yummy yummy breakfast smells.

princessleia22

I have a crock pot I rarely use and hadn't used in several years.  A couple months ago I decided to try a BBQ chicken recipe I found online.  FI was very nervous when he saw I was using it because he's convinced that nothing good comes from crock pots... he is a very picky eater though. Recipe said to cook on low for 4-6 hours.  One word of advice, 6 hours is too long to cook chicken in BBQ sauce in slow cooker.  It actually had the texture and consistency of chalk. It literally dissolved into a dust like substance in your mouth. FI is more convinced than ever that crock pot is evil. I know there can be some awesome meals cooked in them though and they can be super convenient.  I was wanted to warn you to not over cook chicken.

Aray82

I love my crock pot! This week we're trying out a super-easy recipe I saw on Pintrest for crock pot chicken tacos, so we'll see: 6 chicken breasts with a packet of taco seasoning and a jar of salsa. 

My all-time favorite, especially if there's a football or basketball game to watch during lunch or dinner, is the chili sin carne recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance:http://www.peacelovelunges.com/blog/eat-real-food/chili-sin-carne-al-mole/  Only we add ground beef instead of seitan. We often forget the molasses and vegetable broth, but we just add some water for consistency and it still tastes great--the cocoa powder is what makes the difference! 

FiancB

Aray82 said:

I love my crock pot! This week we're trying out a super-easy recipe I saw on Pintrest for crock pot chicken tacos, so we'll see: 6 chicken breasts with a packet of taco seasoning and a jar of salsa. 

I've done that one! It's pretty decent. FI likes it a little more than I do but then he has a weird thing for tacos. I add a can of Rotel too. Rotel all the things. 

APDSS22

I love my Hamilton Beach Set n' Forget slow cooker!  We registered for it because I wore out our old crock pot (got it at Target and worked it until the ceramic cracked all the way through.)  The fact that this one switches over to warm after it's done cooking makes me so happy.  I usually go with my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and modify the recipes from that.  I also have that Fix it and Forget it cookbook.  Love it.