Salsa Chicken

Here's another super easy crockpot meal, it's perfect for a busy day, and seriously delicious!

Place some chicken breasts in crockpot, and pour one jar of salsa on top. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred chicken, then put in one bar of cream cheese (regular or reduced fat, but not fat-free) and mix until the cream cheese is melted. Serve on taco shells or tortillas.

Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

Wow, I think I almost forgot how to sign in to blogger, it's been awhile! :) I've been trying lots of new recipes lately, especially crockpot recipes, since I teach piano lessons a couple of evenings a week, and it's supper time as soon as my last student leaves. This is a super easy, and very tasty new favorite of ours.

1 30 ounce bag of frozen, shredded hash browns

3 14 ounce cans of chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup (I use the 98% fat free kind)

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese ( don't use fat free, it won't melt, I do use the 1/3 less fat cream cheese, though)

Combine everything in crockpot, except for the cream cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat. About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese, and keep heated until thoroughly melted. Serve with your choice of sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, green onion, etc. I just sprinkle some real bacon bits on top.

Beer Braised Beef Roast

1 whole Chuck Roast, 2 and a half to 5 pounds
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Onions, peeled and sliced thick
5 cloves garlic, chopped (I didn't use that much garlic)
2 cans beer
1 tsp ground Thyme
1/2 tsp. Rosemary leaves

Heat oil in frying pan over high heat. Season meat generously with salt and pepper. Sear meat on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove meat from pan. Put onions and garlic in crockpot, pour in beer, and add thyme, rosemary, and salt to taste (about 1 tsp.). Add meat to crockpot and cook on low all day. I had it in for about 8 hours. Shred meat with forks and spoon juice and onions over top. Serve with very crusty bread to sop up the juice if desired.

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe that I modified a bit for the crockpot.

Crockpot Roasted Herbed Chicken

1 whole chicken (2-3 pounds)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
2 Tblsp. fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp. dried rosemary)
Garlic (to your liking)
1/4 cup white wine
1 small pat margarine, melted
small, red potatoes, cubed
fresh green beans
salt and pepper to taste

Clean the chicken and pat dry. Add chicken to crockpot. Drizzle the chicken with margarine and then rub with garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. Add more garlic, wine, and red potatoes. Add the green beans on top of the potatoes and sprinkle rosemary on top of chicken and green beans. Garnish the top of the chicken with lemon wedges. Cook on low for 8 hours.

I usually make this with the whole chicken, but today I'm going with what I have on hand, which happens to be chicken breasts. I also leave out the potatoes and green beans occasionally.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

This is a great meal for a cool fall day! It takes a little prep work but comes out beautifully. You can also doctor it up any way you want. For example, I omitted the onions and added corn. You can also add some red wine for richer flavor.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut
into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black
pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth or chicken (I used chicken and it was just as yummy)
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2.
Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

French Dip Sandwiches

1 beef roast (3 lb) (I just use whatever cut I have on hand)
2 cups water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
pepper to taste

Directions: Place all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until tender. Remove meat and shred with fork. Skim off fat. Pour broth in small cups for dipping. Serve on rolls.

My thoughts: If you like a salty dip then add more soy sauce and some salt. Serve this with Angela's Spinach Penne Toss--Wonderful!

Cola Roast

1 beef roast (I just use whatever is closest to the top in the freezer, today it's an arm roast)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cans cola

Place roast in crockpot. Sprinkle with soup mix. Pour soda over all.
Cover, and cook on low 7 to 8 hours.

This is so easy, I love crockpot meals! The pop makes this very tender. And for leftovers, I shred the beef and mix it with barbecue sauce to make some yummy sandwiches.

Sweet and Sassy Ribs

2 pounds pork loin back ribs
1 cup carbonated cola drink
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 cans (16 ounces each) baked beans, undrained
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
sliced green onions, if desired

Directions:
1. Spray inside of 3 to 4 quart crockpot with cooking spray or use a crock pot liner. Cut ribs to fit in crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients except for water, cornstarch, and onions in medium bowl; pour over ribs.

2. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.

3. Remove ribs and beans from crockpot; keep warm. Mix water and cornstarch; stir into mixture in crockpot. Increase heat setting to high. Cover and cook about 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve sauce over ribs and beans. Garnish with onions, if desired.

My notes:
I use whatever ribs and cola I happen to have on hand. Usually, we have the ribs and I have to buy the cola so get something you like! For the beans I usually buy the bigger, more economical can. Use whatever flavor of beans is your favorite. We love Busch's Baked Beans with bacon and brown sugar but you can use any flavor you want. Cook on low. Do not try to rush the ribs by cooking on high. I did that once and never again--in my opinion they were pretty tough but Dave and my parents thought that they were good. I still think that they were just being kind. I have never used the sliced green onions and I think these ribs taste great. But if you don't like beans then this is not the recipe for you. These ribs are great served with salad, bread, and baked potato (and a bunch of other options). Benjamin would say you need to have canned peaches--lately he can't get enough of them!