Crockpot Lasagna

Crockpot Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 10-12 oz. lasagna noodles, broken and cooked
• 1 lb. hamburger
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 oz. shredded Mozzarella
• 1/4 cup parmesan
• 1-1/2 c. cottage cheese
• 1 28 oz. jar pasta sauce (Ragu Tomato, Garlic & Onion is good)
• 1 1/2 T parsley
• 1 t. basil
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Break lasagna noodles into pieces, cook according to package directions, and drain.
2. Brown hamburger, onion and garlic; drain excess fat.
3. Put hamburger, noodles, and remaining ingredients into crockpot and mix well.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

I thought I had copied this recipe from the old blog I set up way back when we first got Earthlink, but realized tonight - when I went looking for it - that I never had. I haven't made it in ages, so no pictures, but basically, it just looks like messy lasagna. It definitely tastes just like lasagna - without nearly as much work. Can't complain about that!

Now to figure out how to use this - and combine it with my friend Kristi's recipe - to feed about 100 people at Camp...

White Bean Chicken Chili

It's time for another edition of Fantastical Food Fight, where every month a theme or ingredient is chosen, and we all choose a recipe - from a cookbook, blog, or our imaginations - and then share on the same day. 

This month's theme is Slow Cooker Soup, and what could be better during the cold month of January? I love being able to throw some ingredients into the slow cooker first thing in the morning and have a yummy soup by dinner time. Talk about easy! I could probably eat nothing but soup all winter.

I've made this particular soup twice so far, and we really enjoy it. It's very simple and the flavors are fantastic.

White Bean Chicken Chili
from Burnt Apple

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (15 oz each) white beans (Great Northern or Cannellini), undrained
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

Directions:

1. Place one can of the Great Northern beans into the slow cooker and smash with a potato masher or back of a fork. Add the second can of beans and all other ingredients to the slow cooker, stirring to combine.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, shred, then return to the slow cooker and stir until combined.
3. Serve topped with sour cream, grated cheese, and tortilla chips if desired.

The first time I made this soup, I used a can of Great Northern beans and a can of Cannellini beans because that's what I had. I also used a can of diced chipotle tomatoes, which gave the soup a really nice flavor. The second time I used home cooked Great Northern beans - 1-1/2 cups of beans and 3/4 cup liquid = 1 can of beans. And I used the tomatoes with green chilies. Both soups were yummy, and of course that's the beauty of soup - ingredients can be adjusted according to your tastes and/or what you have on hand.

Also, though the theme of this Fantastical Food Fight is Slow Cooker Soups, this soup is just as good when made on the stove; it just needs more attention than when throwing everything into the slow cooker. (and sometimes I just don't get everything together early enough in the day to use the slow cooker) For a little extra flavor when cooking on the stove, cook the onions in a bit of olive oil until translucent then add the spices and cook until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or so, until chicken is cooked.

An InLinkz Link-up

Slow Cooker Pepperoncini Beef

I'm in the middle of planning dinner menus and shopping lists - and trying to figure out how it's all going to get done - for a week-long camp that is coming up very very soon.  Thankfully I do have help, and it will get done - and we are going to feed a lot of hungry people!

Somewhere in the search, I came across this recipe.  The person who mentioned it said these sandwiches were fantastic and 'could not be easier' and they sounded like exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.  But, of course, I needed to try them first, right?  Right.  So we had these sandwiches for dinner tonight, and they really are fantastic.  Of course, I didn't exactly follow the recipe because what would be the fun in that? (I'm guessing that the original recipe is really good; I just thought I'd add a couple things)

Slow Cooker Pepperoncini Beef
adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb. Chuck roast
• 1 T onion soup mix
• 1 cup pepperoncini juice
• 1 cup beef broth
• 10-12 pepperoncini peppers 
• sliced Provolone cheese
• crusty bread, rolls or buns

Directions:

1. Place roast in the bottom of crock pot
2. Sprinkle with onion soup mix; pour pepperoncini juice and broth into crock pot and add pepperoncinis.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Shred beef with two forks and stir.  Serve on bread, rolls, or buns with a slice of cheese.

The original recipe called for just pouring a 16-oz. jar of pepperoncini over the roast - that's it, just a roast and a jar of pepperoncini.  So I complicated it a bit by adding the onion soup mix and beef broth, but this recipe is still super simple.  Also, I'm not sure how many peppers and how much juice is in a 16-oz. jar, because I buy them by the gallon ($6.99 at GFS!).  So I just guessed.

This ended up quite juicy, but that's OK because you want some of that oh-so-tasty broth along with your beef because it soaks into the bread and comes pretty close to absolute perfection.  Messy perfection, but perfection nonetheless.  Just be sure to have some napkins handy, and hold over your plate.

For those worried that this might be a bit spicy, it really isn't.  There's a nice tang to it, but it's really not spicy.  Of course those who like a little spice will want one (or two) of the warm pepperoncinis on their sandwiches.  (it doesn't really add much heat, but the flavor is great)  I would recommend removing the peppers before shredding the beef - which I did not do.  Otherwise you will end up shredding some of the peppers too, and then it's really hard to serve up a sandwich without some pieces of pepperoncini in it.  Also, you'll end up with random stems floating around that nobody wants to eat.

We had a nice garden salad to go along with our sandwiches.  Did I mention that I'm getting lettuce, lettuce, and more lettuce out of my garden?  My husband skipped the salad and just had another sandwich.  I had more salad - but then I couldn't help snitching a few pieces of this beef as I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner.  So good!  I'd definitely recommend this recipe.  So much flavor with so little work - I think we have a winner. 

Crockpot Tapioca Pudding

I've always liked tapioca pudding, but for some reason I haven't been able to make a tapioca pudding that I've been happy with.  I've tried the recipes on the packages (a couple times), and I tried making it in the crockpot one other time.  It just didn't turn out the way I thought it should. So, obviously, I haven't tried all that many times...

This time, I was going to make my husband his favorite chocolate pudding - there are only the two of us, and we don't go through a gallon of milk quite as quickly as we used to when the kids were living at home, so there was milk that needed to be used - but I really did not have time to stand over the stove and stir that pudding.   That's when I remembered the tapioca pudding my friend Brian made last month, and his turned out quite good, so I thought it was worth another try.  I definitely had time to throw the ingredients in the crockpot and stir it once in a while, in between all the other things I was trying to get done.

It turned out great!  This is the recipe - good flavor, good consistency, and so easy.

Crockpot Tapioca Pudding
adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt 
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 6 cups milk
• 3/4 cup small pearl tapioca

Directions:

1. In 5-6 quart crockpot, beat eggs.  Add sugar, salt, and vanilla and mix well.  Mix in milk and tapioca.
2. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours (or Low for 6 hours), stirring occasionally.  (Every 1/2 hour for the first 1-1/2 hours and then every 15 minutes for the last)

I'm not sure what recipe I used the last time; this is just one I found when I searched online for one.  I took the recipe and incorporated some of the suggestions from the reviews - adding a bit of salt and some vanilla.  And that was it.  Super simple.  Oh, and the recipe is basically 1-1/2 times the original because I needed to use the milk, and it was a better amount for the size of my crockpot.

For me, I think the key to a good tapioca pudding is stirring it enough that the tapioca doesn't clump up in big clumps, while not stirring it so much that the tapioca breaks down completely.  So, start out stirring every half hour, but as soon as you notice the tapioca starting to clump, make sure you stir it more often - and even get a bit aggressive with it to break those clumps up.  Not too much because you still want those fun little clear balls that make tapioca pudding special.  Did that make sense?  I used a silicone scraper which seemed to work really well.

Also, this got quite thick.  I may cook it a little less next time to see if I can get it to be just a bit creamier.  I don't know that will work, but I think one of the reviewers on the original recipe mentioned it.  Stirring a bit more often toward the end will help with keeping an eye on it and knowing when it's at the right consistency.

Crockpot Chicken with Apricot Mustard Sauce

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month is Life on Food, an amazing blog written by Emily.  Emily is new to Group A this month, so I'm excited to get this first chance to check out her blog.  She lives in Connecticut with her husband and their little one, and her blog features food that they eat on a regular basis.  But just because we're talking about everyday food that is simple to prepare, do not think that has to mean boring.  There are so many amazing-looking recipes on Emily's blog!

The very first recipe that caught my eye was Emily's latest for these wonderful looking Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies.  I was seriously tempted to stop looking right then and head to the kitchen.  But then I scrolled down and found this recipe for Easter Rice Pie which really intrigues me.  Is it a dessert or is it a side dish?  And who knew you could use rice in a pie?  I definitely must try this.

Then I found the perfect recipe - Cinnamon Sugar Almonds.  I have been meaning to try something like this for ages.  However, since the recipe is a previous SRC post, I will have to save the it for later.  And these super fudgy brownies.

And then I found this recipe for Apricot Mustard Chicken which really had my mouth watering.  All those flavors just sounded so amazing!  There's also a recipe for Crock Pot Applesauce Chicken and Crock Pot Coconut Curry Chicken and Crock Pot Pad Thai Chicken.  They just all sound so good. But I decided to stick with the apricot chicken.

Crockpot Chicken with Apricot Mustard Sauce
from Life on Food

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp Apricot preserves
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/8 tsp cardamom
• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces
• Toasted coconut

Directions:

1. In bottom of crockpot, mix together preserves, mustard, and spices. Mix in chicken, cranberries, and apricots.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. (Stir a couple of times if you're around)
3. Serve with rice or couscous.  Garnish with toasted coconut.

Emily left her chicken breasts whole, but I figured I'd just cut them up in the end, so why not before?  I also added the dried cranberries and apricots to the mix.

It didn't turn out as pretty as Emily's, but the flavors were just as amazing together as I thought they'd be.  We both really liked it, and I will definitely make this again.  I am thinking that next time I want to try using boneless thighs instead of the breasts, just to see how that works out.

An InLinkz Link-up

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

I made this a couple weekends ago.  It was very simple and tasty.  Because there are only two of us, I only made a half recipe, but it would be just a easy to make the whole recipe, and it would be great if you have a house full of people to feed.  You put everything into the crock pot the night before, and you have a fresh hot breakfast ready and waiting the next morning.

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
adapted from Everyday Dishes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. sausage
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• sliced mushrooms
• fresh spinach
• 12 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. ground mustard
• 30 oz. bag frozen hash browns
• 2 cups shredded cheddar

Directions: 

1. Brown sausage with onion and garlic; add mushrooms and brown.  Add spinach and cook until wilted.  Set aside.
2. Beat eggs in bowl.  Add milk and seasonings.
3. Grease 4 or 5 qt crock pot.   Pour hash browns into crock pot and then add eggs and sausage mixture.  Stir together and then add 1-1/2 cups cheese.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
4. Cover and cook on low overnight.

The original recipe was to be mixed up and refrigerated overnight and then baked in the morning.  I wasn't sure how it would work in the crock pot exactly so I doubled the milk.  I think that was just about right.  I also added a bit more cheese, because it seemed like the right thing to do.

I'll definitely make this again.

Crock Pot Chicken w/ Potatoes and Green Beans

I've seen pictures of this recipe (or a similar one) going around on Facebook or Pinterest (I'm not sure exactly which), and it looked easy and tasty.  I had never actually looked at the recipe until I went searching on Pinterest today.  Why not, right? 

There are quite a few variations of this recipe out there, some of them are baked in the oven and some are for the crock pot.  The yard really needed mowed this afternoon because it has been raining so much and the grass has been growing and growing - and today was the only day all week that didn't call for more rain.  The grass probably would have been knee high by the next time I could have gotten to it.   So I needed something I could throw into the crock pot in the morning and be able to have dinner tonight.

I really liked that this recipe uses a fresh homemade sauce to cook the chicken and vegetables.  But don't let that scare you away, because it's really simple - olive oil, lemon juice, and some seasonings.  Yum!  Put the chicken and vegetables into the crock pot, pour the sauce over the top, and come back at dinner time for a delicious meal.

Crock Pot Chicken w/ Potatoes and Green Beans
adapted from The Magical Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups diced red potatoes
• 8 oz. green beans (fresh or frozen)

Directions:

1. In 1 cup glass measuring cup (or small bowl), mix olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic with whisk.
2. Put sliced onion on bottom of 5 to 6 quart crock pot.  Put chicken in the middle with potatoes and green beans on either side.  Pour seasoning mixture evenly over the top.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours (or High for 4 hours).  
4. Shortly before serving, slice chicken breasts and allow to sit in the broth for a few minutes.  Enjoy.

I didn't really change a lot from the original recipe.  I threw some sliced onion in the bottom of the crock pot, and I used frozen green beans because I didn't have any fresh ones.  The chicken breasts were also still pretty much frozen when I put them into the crock pot.

I used a bit more lemon juice than the recipe called for.  The juice from one lemon wasn't quite enough, so I squeezed another one and that was too much.  I really should have checked after squeezing the first half of that second lemon.  But I didn't think about that until after I'd squeezed the second half.  It turned out really good, extra lemon juice or not.  Just be sure to use fresh lemon juice and not the stuff that comes from a bottle.

Fun fact: if you measure the olive oil into the measuring cup and then squeeze the lemon juice on top, the lemon juice will go to the bottom, allowing you to measure it, too.  Did that make sense?  I really should have taken a picture, but I didn't think about it.  Maybe next time.

I really love how simple and flavorful this is.  It's definitely my kind of recipe.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Making Memories with your kids.  If that sounds familiar, it's because I had Erin's blog for last week's themed reveal, too.  What a bonus - I got to make two different recipes from her blog and share them with you!  Since last week's post was about sweets and Holiday Treats, I wanted something completely different this week, though I'm definitely going to make this Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake soon.

Erin is a big fan of comfort food, and that sounded like just the thing - something easy after all the prep and cooking for Thanksgiving.  Erin is a single mom of two kids, and she also works as a middle school counselor. It should come as no surprise that her blog is full of easy and kid-friendly recipes.  I am going to have to try her Crock Pot Corn Chowder, Taco Soup, and Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Cupcakes very soon, but for this week I chose this yummy Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings.  I'm especially going to try the meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  It's definitely a kid-friendly meal, and even if I don't make the cupcakes, I am seriously going to try Erin's trick for mashed potatoes - use ranch dressing instead of milk!  Sounds good, huh?

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
adapted from Making Memories with your kids

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 to 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 a green pepper, diced
• 4 T butter
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1-1/2 cups peas
• 1 (8-10.5 ounce) tube biscuit dough
• Cornmeal

Directions:

1. Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder together and use it to season chicken breasts. Place chicken in crock pot. Top with chopped onions, garlic, peppers, celery, and carrots.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, chicken broth, milk, and salt & pepper. Pour into crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. 1-2 hours prior to serving, shred chicken and return to pot. Add peas (run them under water to thaw first)
4. Cut biscuits into 4 to 6 pieces. Roll in cornmeal and then add to crock pot. Continue cooking until biscuits are firm.

Erin's recipe calls for a bag of mixed vegetables which you add at the end, where I added the peas.  it wasn't until after I'd decided on this recipe and gotten the chicken and broth out of the freezer that I realized I didn't have a bag of mixed vegetables.  So I had to improvise by adding celery and carrots, and the green pepper.  Since they were fresh and needed cooked longer than the frozen vegetables needed, I added them at the beginning with the chicken.  They turned out great.
 

I had never thought of using canned biscuits for dumplings.  Luckily I had a can in my fridge.  It was a 5 biscuit can of Grands! (10.5 oz.) so I cut them into 6 pieces because they are a bit bigger than the regular biscuits.  I also think this recipe would work great with any dumpling recipe, if you have a favorite one.  The biscuits (and the frozen vegetables) just make this recipe really simple and perfect for busy moms and anyone who wants a warm and comforting meal without too much trouble.  For best results I would suggest adding the biscuits 2 hours before you want to serve, so they have plenty of time to cook.  If you can't, just stir in the frozen veggies (thawed), add the biscuits to the top, and turn your crock pot on high for the final hour of cooking.

If you're looking for comfort food, definitely give this recipe a try.  It smelled amazing from the moment I put everything into the crock pot, and it tasted just as good as it smelled.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

An InLinkz Link-up

Crock Pot Applesauce

This applesauce is so much better than anything you can buy in the store, and it's really simple to make.  Definitely a win-win.

Crock Pot Applesauce
adapted from a recipe on food.com

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. tart apples (about 12 cups), cored, peeled, and sliced
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup apple juice or water
• juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix apples with cinnamon and sugar in 5-quart crock pot.
2. Pour juice or water, lemon juice, and vanilla over apples. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or overnight) or high for 3-4 hours.  
3. Optional: stir occasionally (if cooking on high), and crack the lid slightly to allow some of the liquid to cook off in the last hour.

I incorporated a few of the suggestions some of the reviewers mentioned - using apple juice instead of the water, and adding some vanilla.  I thought it turned out really good.  Another reviewer suggested adding more cinnamon, but I stuck with the original 1/2 tsp. because I used another recipe for crock pot applesauce several years ago, and it was really cinnamony.  I figured I'd rather have the flavor of the apples shine through.

The recipe calls for about 12 cups of sliced apples.  I ended up adding another cup or two because my crock pot was so close to being full I figured I might as well fill it the rest of the way. 

I cooked mine on high, and stirred it occasionally, about once every hour.  I also cooked it probably 4 hours and then let it cook another hour with the lid slightly cracked to let some of the liquid cook off.  Cooking times can vary depending on the type of apples you use.  I'm not sure what kind of apples I used because I got them off my neighbors' tree.  All I know is that they're fairly tart and they hold together pretty well when cooked.  That's great for apple pie, but it does take a bit more cooking (and stirring) for applesauce.  The good part about cooking the apples in the crock pot is that it doesn't really matter.  You can cook them as long as you want, and you don't need to keep a close eye on the pot.

We're really enjoying this.  It's great when it's fresh and warm straight out of the crock pot, and it's good cold, too.  Definitely give it a try.

Southwest Barley and Black Beans (Slow Cooker)

I've made this a couple times so far, and it is really good.  I love all the flavors, and I especially love how easy it is.  Slow cookers are the best!  I usually mix all the ingredients in the slow cooker and refrigerate overnight - or longer - and then start it cooking the next day or whenever needed.  It's great for potlucks or taking food to share.  It would also make a great weeknight meal.

Southwest Barley and Black Beans(Slow Cooker)
adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked chicken (or turkey), chopped
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup pearl barley (NOT quick)
• 1 cup frozen corn, rinsed
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (red is prettiest)
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 2 cups chicken (or turkey) broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• salt & pepper
• juice of a lime
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cook 4 hours on High, OR 6-8 hours on Low, until barley is cooked and tender.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste if needed.
3. Serve with desired toppings: cheese, sour cream, additional salsa, cilantro, avocado, and/or tortilla chips.

The original recipe called for less liquid and none of the veggies.  I just had to add some corn because it goes so well with chicken and black beans.  And then I had a pepper I needed to use and some onions and cilantro, and I just had to add those too.  And cilantro goes with all of it!  It looks really pretty too.  This is before I added the broth and salsa:

If you want to keep it really simple (not that this isn't simple) you can skip any or all of the added veggies and just use the chicken, barley, black beans, broth, salsa and seasonings.  Either way it will be good.  The seasonings are great.  I will definitely be making this again - in one way or another. (It depends on what I have in the house, but don't all recipes?)

Crock Pot Thai Chicken

One of my friends gave me this recipe ages ago.  She made it for a potluck, and it was really tasty and super easy, so of course I had to have the recipe.  I'm not sure where she got the recipe, but I did a quick search, and it's very similar to this one.

Crock Pot Thai Chicken

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 2 T peanut butter
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 2 T dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
• 2 T chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Put chicken in bottom of crock pot.  Mix remaining ingredients, except chopped peanuts and cilantro, and pour over chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Use two forks to shred the chicken and stir chicken and sauce together.  Give it several minutes to combine.
3. Serve with cooked rice and garnish with the chopped peanuts and cilantro.

If you like your food spicy, which I do, and I think Thai food is supposed to be spicy, you can add some hot chiles.  This recipe as it stands is not spicy.  I was very tempted to add a few chiles last time I made this, but my husband doesn't like his food too spicy, so I resisted.  This chicken really has a great flavor even without the extra spice.

Definitely make sure you use the boneless skinless thighs for this recipe. I wasn't paying close enough attention the first time I made this and used bone-in thighs.  The flavor was still really good, but there were some pieces of bone or cartilage or something that had to be picked out of the sauce - not fun.  The chicken was definitely cooked, though!  I also tried this with boneless breasts once, but the chicken turned out really dry.  It doesn't seem like that would be possible, with the slow cooking and the sauce, but it just wasn't right.

While searching, I found another Slow Cooker Thai Chicken recipe that looks interesting.  I may try it next time, or at least incorporate the red pepper and onion into this recipe.

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

If you're thinking that it can't possibly be time for  Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) reveal already, you're right.  I usually post with Group A, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the Group B blogger assigned to Jane's Adventures in Dinner could not do it - so I got to step in!  Lucky me - I am enjoying Jane's blog very much.

Jane is a Canadian wife and mummy who loves to cook and even trained as a chef at one time.  Then she discovered her love of teaching and became a teacher - a teacher who still loves to cook and feed everyone. Now she's got a small daughter and this blog full of amazing recipes and pictures to chronicle the adventures of it all. 

Once again I had a hard time choosing just one recipe.  There are so many to choose from, all with mouth-watering photos.  Here are some that made the short list, and that I will most likely be making soon:

• PB & J Muffins
• Cranberry Granola
• Cranberry Honey Oat Muffins
• Hot Chocolate Bread
• T'kill Ya Beef - (we tend to call call tequila T’ kill ya too, though not for the same reasons)

Don't those all sound yummy?  I finally decided on this Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese because I just had to see how it turned out.

Mix the cheese and seasonings together, mix it together with the macaroni in your slow cooker, pour some broth and milk on top, and let it cook.  Can it really be that easy?  Yes, yes it is! 

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese 
from Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded cheese (a mix of mozzarella and sharp cheddar)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 T ground mustard
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 4 cups uncooked pasta
• 1 L milk
• 1/2 L chicken stock

Topping:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs (or cracker crumbs)

Instructions

1. Mix shredded cheese, cornstarch, ground mustard and paprika together. Place pasta in greased 5-quart slow cooker and mix in cheese and seasonings. Pour milk and stock over the top.
2. Cook on HIGH for four hours (at 3-1/2 hours, dot with butter and cover with bread crumbs).  OR Cook on LOW for six hours (at 5-1/2 hours, dot with butter, cover with bread crumbs, and turn heat to HIGH for remaining 1/2 hour).

Makes A LOT

This was perfect for dinner on a snowy winter's night.  Comfort food at its best!  I haven't had mac & cheese in ages - not since my kids were little, and then it was just the kind that comes in the blue box.  This is better!  And pretty much as easy.  Jane says the key is coating the shredded cheese with the cornstarch and seasonings.  So I did what she said.

At the end I had Mac & Cheese!  I ate way too much, and I still couldn't stop nibbling on the crunchy edges - though those might have been because I ended up cooking it for the full four hours before I added the topping, because I was out shoveling the driveway and didn't get back into the house.  Nope, just checked the picture, and there were already some crispy edges.  I really like those crispy edges.

Before the topping

Warning - this recipe makes a lot.  There will be plenty of leftovers, unless you're feeding a crowd.  This would actually be a great recipe to take for a potluck, especially if you have a few hours to cook it once you get there.  Mix your cheeses, spices, and macaroni in the slow cooker and take your broth and milk in a separate container.  Pour them in when you get there and turn on the slow cooker.  How easy is that?   It would probably also be perfectly yummy without the topping if you didn't even want to mess with that.  Though the topping does make it pretty -

If you're not feeding a crowd, be sure to visit Jane's blog to see what she did with her leftovers.  Me, I've been eating Mac & Cheese for lunch.  I also had to try it with ketchup.  I had never heard of such a thing, but Jane mentioned that she likes hers with sriracha but her daughter opts to dip hers into ketchup.  Sadly, I have no sriracha, a problem that I must remedy soon, but ketchup is really good with Mac & Cheese.  Who knew?  Did you know?

An InLinkz Link-up

Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and so far I've made it twice.  In the last couple of weeks.  It's that good!

Not only is it good, but it's so easy to make.  All you do is mix spices together - chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, etc. - and rub them on a flank steak.  Place the steak in the bottom of your crock pot, put chopped onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno on top, and cook it for 8 hours.  After 8 hours, you take the steak out, shred it with two forks, and return it to the crockpot.  You can either serve it then or keep it warm in the crock pot until you're ready to eat.  Serve with corn tortillas, salsa, avocado, cilantro and lime. 

Crock Pot Beef Carnitas
from eat, live, run

Ingredients

• 2 lbs flank steak
• spice rub: 
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
  
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

Directions:

1. Mix together all spices in a small bowl.  Place steak in the bottom of your crock pot and rub the spices all over your flank steak.
2. Cover the steak with the chopped onions, bell peppers and jalapeno pepper. Turn heat on LOW and cook for 8 hours.
3. After 8 hours, remove meat from crock pot, shred with two forks, and return to crock pot. You can either serve as is or keep the shredded meat warm in the crock pot until you're ready to eat.
4. To serve, heat your corn tortillas in a skillet on the stove. Spoon some carnitas on a tortilla then top with salsa, avocado, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

You can prepare this the day before - rub the spices on the steak, chop the onion and peppers, and throw everything into the crock pot.  Then it's easy to just pull it out of the fridge the next morning and start it cooking.  Another option is to prepare everything, let it cook overnight, and then it's ready to shred when you get up in the morning.  Also, your house will smell amazing when you get up.

The meat is seasoned so nicely and is even good cold, but the leftovers also heat up nicely.  I put enough meat for two tacos into one half of a large skillet and two corn tortillas in the other side and heat on medium heat until the meat is warmed through and the tortillas are warm.

The first time I made this, I followed the recipe, using 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, and 1 jalapeno.  The second time I just pulled some diced green peppers out of the fridge and didn't worry about the red one.  I don't even know how many peppers I had diced - just put the onion, frozen green peppers, several pieces of frozen hot peppers, and a clove of garlic into my food processor and chopped them up good.  It turned out really good. 

Crock Pot Tex-Mex Chicken and Dumplings

I'm excited to be joining the Secret Recipe Club (Secret Recipe Club) this month!  My assignment was to choose a recipe from Jenna's Cooking Journey, and I had a really hard time choosing because she had so many great looking recipes to choose from.  Jenna didn't start cooking until college, but she's certainly been busy since then and become quite a good cook if all the recipes and pictures on her blog are any indication.  She lives in Wyoming with her husband, who helps her eat all those delicious creations.

Cranberry Vanilla Coffee Cake and Reuben Burgers were two of the recipes that caught my eye, but I finally decided to make Crock Pot Tex-Mex Chicken and Dumplings. 

I made a few changes, mainly because I didn't have the exact ingredients, but I think the overall taste was pretty much the same.  I am definitely planning to make this again, because it was so good!

Crock Pot Tex-Mex Chicken and Dumplings
adapted from Jenna's Cooking Journey

Ingredients:
Stew

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tub Knorr® Homestyle Stock - Chicken, dissolved in 3-1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup carrots (about 2 small carrots), peeled and shredded
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 can diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• juice from one lime
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup water

Dumplings

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 heaping T. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 2 T. cilantro

Directions

1. Cook chicken breasts for 2-4 hours on low.
2. Pull chicken breasts out of crockpot and shred chicken.  
3. Place all other ingredients for the stew portion of the recipe in the crockpot, and then put the chicken back in and mix well.  Cook on high for 2-4 hours.
4. Mix all the ingredients together for the dumplings until the ingredients form a batter.
5. Drop tablespoons of batter into the stew mixture and cook for approximately an hour on high until dumpling dough is cooked. 
6. To serve, spoon into bowls and garnish with cilantro and/or sliced green onions, if desired.

Jenna's recipe called for a carton of chicken broth, which I did not have and wasn't sure exactly how much chicken broth is in one of those cartons, but I substituted what I had - a tub of the Knorr® Homestyle Stock, and that worked just fine.  Ordinarily I would have pulled some chicken broth out of the freezer, but I'm out right now.  I substituted Red Gold petite diced tomatoes with lime and cilantro for the Rotel in the original recipe and frozen corn kernels for the Mexicorn.

Because my husband doesn't like things too spicy, I just used one jalapeno in the whole recipe - 1/2 in the stew and 1/2 in the dumplings.  It was still very nice and flavorful, even for me, and I love spicy!  I loved the veggies in this, and the carrots added just the right touch of color.  I probably had more carrots than I was supposed to because I didn't measure, just peeled and grated two carrots and threw them in.

onions, garlic, celery, carrots, cilantro, chopped and ready

The only thing I wasn't too sure about was the dumplings.  The batter was much thinner than any dumpling batter I'd every used, not that I've really made dumplings that much in my life...  Also, there seemed to be more batter than I could use.  I covered the top of the stew with spoonfuls of batter, and I still had quite a bit left. Was it my fault for using milk instead of fat free half-and-half - what is that, anyway?  Maybe should have done some research first.

Now that I look closer at the picture on Jenna's recipe, I'm thinking that I should have just gone ahead and used all the batter and let it go down into the stew more and thicken it.  But I didn't.  It thickened up quite a bit when I reheated the leftovers, and it was wonderful.  So next time I'm just using all the batter,

or maybe trying a different recipe for the dumplings, perhaps something from this page of Corn Meal Dumplings recipes, with a thicker batter that uses more corn meal, adding the jalapeno and cilantro, of course.  I especially loved the little bits of jalapeno in the dumplings.  So good!

Crockpot Chicken and Salsa

Copying this from my old recipe blog (it's about time).  I wanted something easy for potluck tomorrow and went looking to find where I'd posted the recipe.

Recipes are kind of like the Pirate Code - more like suggestions than actual rules. Here's the original recipe:

Crockpot chicken with salsa and cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cans (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 cup bottled thick and chunky salsa, your favorite
• 5 or 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 lbs)
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a 3-1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix together the black beans, corn, and 1/2 cup of the salsa. Top with the chicken breasts, then pour the remaining 1/2 cup salsa over the chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and white throughout; do not overcook or the chicken will be dry.

Sprinkle cheese on top; cover and cook until the cheese melts, about 5 to 15 minutes.

Here's how I actually made it, and it turned out very good:
Saute one sliced onion and one clove of garlic in olive oil.  Add 2 chicken breasts, cut up; cook until almost cooked and add 2T taco seasoning.  Add beans, corn, salsa - cook on low for several hours then add cheese.

Serve over rice and with tortilla chips.  Cilantro is very good with this, and sour cream.

Because I wanted this for tomorrow's potluck, I went pretty much with the original recipe, except I used 2 cups frozen corn and added some taco seasoning to the chicken breasts.  Oh, and I tossed some chicken broth on top because I was cooking other stuff and had some extra. So it'll probably be kinda soupy - but I bet it will be good.

My friend Peggy makes something very similar to this all the time.  We call it Crockpot Chicken Ole.  I suppose I could call this the same thing?

Related articles

• Slow Cooker: Southwestern Chicken & Beans

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it looked so good and so easy that I just had to try it.  Plus I had a couple red peppers and a green pepper that needed used...  I added some garlic and used fresh lime juice, but otherwise followed the recipe.  Here's mine with those slight changes:

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 sweet peppers, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1lb. boneless chicken breast or thighs
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
• Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Combine sliced onion, peppers and garlic in the bottom of a crockpot. Lay chicken on top of veggies. Pour chicken broth over top. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder. Squirt the lime juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. 
2. When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve on tortillas with your choice of fixings.

Fixings:

• shredded cheese
• salsa
• sour cream
• cilantro
• sliced green onions
• other (whatever you like on your fajitas or tacos)

Seasonings on top

Let me just say that these are amazing!  A-MAZING!  They are so easy, and they taste so good.  I'm not completely sure I'd call them fajitas, but they do have the sliced onions and peppers that are traditionally in fajitas, so we'll just go with it - and that's what the original recipe was called.  I served them with some Cilantro Lime Rice - stir chopped cilantro, lime juice, and a drizzle of olive oil into cooked rice - and they were perfect!
 

After the chicken has been shredded

Then I stirred the leftover chicken mixture into the leftover rice, and we had that a couple days later - again wrapped up in tortillas with all the fixings.  Oh, and I stirred some black beans in - perfection!!

I will definitely be making these again.  YUM!!

Italian Style Chicken

I found this recipe in the Food section of my newspaper. It's a keeper!

Italian Style Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 large thinly sliced onion
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 T quick-cooking tapioca
• 2 cans (15 oz.) rinsed cannellini beans Great Northern beans
  
• 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed
• 1/2 cup fresh basil torn into small pieces

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Scatter onion over chicken.
2. Stir together tomatoes, broth and tapioca; pour over onions.  
3. Cover and cook on high 4-1/2 hours or on low 6-1/2 hours.
4. Stir in beans and spinach; cook 30 minutes more on low.  Stir in basil and serve.

The flavors in this were so good together!  It turned out soupier than I was expecting, but I think that was because I used pearl tapioca instead of instant - it's what I had - and I think I messed it up by soaking it in hot water instead of cold.  Looking back on it, I could have just mixed the tapioca with the cold broth and tomatoes and let it soak in that overnight - since I mixed this up the day before and then cooked it in the morning.  Either way, I'll try it again, whether with instant tapioca or the same kind - to see if there's a difference.  It didn't really matter, because it tasted great.  I just cooked up some fettuccine and served it with that and some sliced sourdough bread.

The original recipe called for bone-in chicken thighs, but I read it wrong and got the boneless thighs out of the freezer.  I don't really like boned chicken in crockpot recipes because it ends up falling apart, and you always have to be on the lookout for bones.  So, I stuck with the boneless.  It was great, because it did fall apart, and there were pieces of chicken all through.  I cooked it on high most of the time, and probably got closer to the 6-1/2 hours than the 4-1/2.

I used Great Northern beans, which I cooked in my crockpot, instead of the cannellini beans - because that's what I had.  The original recipe called for 1/2 cup sliced black olives instead of the spinach, but at least one of the people who would be eating this doesn't like olives, so I left them out.  And the spinach?  The original recipe didn't call for it, but it just seemed like it should have spinach - so I added it.  I didn't actually measure, but a 10-oz. package ought to be about right.  You can add olives instead of the spinach or along with the spinach.

Update (1/29/16) -  This recipe was Lori's September 2015 SRC pick over on lori's culinary creations.  She added a handful of orzo to the crockpot along with the beans and spinach.  I just finally got around to making this again, and followed her suggestion and added 1/2 cup orzo.  I could have added a bit more, but it was really good.  I am going to have to do that from now on.

Also, I used chicken breasts, because that's what I had.  They aren't as good as the thighs, so I will definitely use thighs from  now on.  And, Great Northern beans are better than cannellini.  I will use those from now on, no matter what the recipe says.

Crockpot Granola

Granola in the crockpot?  Did you know that was even possible?  The idea never even occurred to me until I saw this recipe for crockpot granola on Pinterest.  And then, I had to try it!  Here's what I did:

Crockpot Granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups wheat flakes
• 1 T flax seeds, ground
• 2 T raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup coconut (plus a bit more)
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (can use other dried fruits like raisins or dried apples or a combination)

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients in 5 qt. crockpot.
2. Add melted butter and honey and mix well.
3. Cover, but vent with a chopstick. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring every so often - every half hour or whenever you smell the granola cooking.  Cook until granola is browned nicely the way you like it.
4. Scoop out onto a cookie sheet to cool.  Stirring occasionally while it cools.
5. Store in air-tight container.
6. Enjoy!

I have a couple other granola recipes, both are supposed to be baked in the over, but I think I will be trying them in the crockpot.  I think any combination of ingredients you like in your granola will work in the crockpot.  The granola really does cook and brown nicely!  But you don't have to worry about burning it. 

If you like clumps in your granola, you'll need to add more honey or butter or both - or maybe peanut butter like some of the commenters suggested on the other recipe.  I might try the peanut butter next time, but this is very good! 

Another change I'll probably make next time is to either add the dried fruit halfway through the cooking time or even at the end.  The cranberries are still good, but they dried out a bit more than I'd like.

Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Posted on facebook this morning, and I'm thinking I must try this.

Chocolate Fudge Sauce
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook Revised and Updated, pg. 252

Makes 1½-2 cups sauce
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1½ hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.

Ingredients:

• 5 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut in pieces
• 5.3-oz. can evaporated milk
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on High 30 minutes. Stir.
3. Cover and cook up to another hour, or until chocolate and butter are melted and sauce is smooth.
4. Store in refrigerator.

Cover via Amazon
Serving suggestions: Serve over ice cream and cake! Or use it as a fondue for fruit!

Variation: Add ½ cup smooth or chunky peanut butter to Step 1.

Looks yummy, huh?
 

Crockpot Conversions

I just saw this on Fix-It and Forget-It on facebook - some really handy information.

Many stove-top and oven recipes can be adapted for a slow cooker. If you want to experiment, use these conversion factors (remember, some slow-cookers are hotter than others):

• Low (in a slow cooker) = 200º in an oven, approximately
• High (in a slow cooker) = 300º in an oven, approximately
• In a slow cooker, 2 hours on Low = 1 Hour, approximately, on High.

I love cooking with my slow cooker or crockpot, and I've tried some regular oven or stove-top recipes, but mostly I just guessed on the timing.  This at least gives some basic guidelines to start with.