Cooking in a Crock Pot!

One of our moms, who is very accomplished with the crock pot, gave us some wonderful tips and recipes to use on those really busy nights. I can't wait to try them out!


My Favorite Sources of Recipes

Slow Cooker Recipe Collection (3Cookbooks in 1), Publications International, Ltd
Slow Cooker Recipes, Publications International, Ltd.
This one was put together by the Crock-Pot and Campbell's companies
Pinterest
Experimenting – Don't be afraid to get creative

Benefits

Easy!!!!!!!
Fast!!!!!!
Has helped me to start to meal plan and help my family save money
You can be cooking while you're out of the house!
You can make main dishes, soups, side dishes, fondues, hot drinks and even desserts in a slow cooker

Some of my Favorite Recipes

Frito Pie

About 1 lb of hamburger browned and drained
2 cans of pinto beans drained
1 jar of salsa

*Add all ingredients in the slow cooker and mix well.  I generally leave this one on low for about 6 to 7 hours, stirring it occasionally.

Calico Beans (more of a side dish, but is perfect for pot-lucks or holidays)

About 1 lb of bacon diced, fried, and drained
1 onion chopped
½ t dry mustard
½ C vinegar
1 C brown sugar
1 large can baked beans
1 normal can green lima beans drained
1 normal can butter beans drained

*Simmer the bacon, onion, mustard, vinegar, and brown sugar together for about 20 min in a sauce pan.  Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and mix well.  Again, this one can go for about 6 or 7 hours on low.

Spaghetti Sauce (my mom is famous for this one)

1 Large can tomato sauce
1 onion chopped
2 packs fresh mushrooms remove the stems
About 1 lb Italian sausage browned and drained
About 1 lb hamburger browned and drained
1 or 2 cans of diced or stewed tomatoes (depending on how much you like in your sauce)
1 T sugar
Garlic to taste
Basil to taste
Oregano to taste

*Add all ingredients to slow cooker and mix well.  This one I let go for about 6 to 7 hours on low as well.

White Chile

1 lb dried (or 3 or 4 cans) white (northern) beans drained
3 T olive oil
1 large onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
8 oz chopped green chile
1 t Cumin
1 t oregano
1 t cinnamon
3 large cans (8 – 10 C) chicken broth
4 C cooked chicken or turkey (I sometimes use canned chicken)
¾ lb Monterrey jack cheese

*Mix all ingredients (except the cheese) together in the slow cooker and simmer for at least an hour.  Stir in the cheese before serving.

Crock Pot Pizza Casserole (from Momswithcrockpots.com – I got it from pinterest)

1 box spiral pasta (uncooked but rinsed)
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 C sliced pepperoni (I put more in because we love pepperoni)
1 small can tomato paste
1 C water
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Spray large crockpot with non-stick spray
Over medium-high heat, brown the beef with the onion, gralic,a nd bell pepper.  Drain fat.
Place pasta in the crock-pot and mix with beef mixture.  Add tomato paste, pepperoni, and water over noodle mix.  Stir
Top with cheese
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours

Black Bean and Turkey Stew (from the Crock-Pot and Cambell's cook book mentioned above – this is one my family's favorites)

3 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ C chopped onions
1 ½ C chicken broth
1 C sliced celery
1 C chopped red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ t dried oregano leaves
¾ t ground coriander
½ t ground cumin
¼ t ground red pepper
6 oz cooked turkey sausage, thinly sliced

Combine all ingredients except sausage in crock-pot.  Cover, cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
Transfer about 1 ½ C bean mixture from crock-pot to blender; puree bean mixture.  Return to crock-pot.  Stir in sausage.  Cover; cook on low an additional 10 to 15 min.
(I tend to put the sausage in with all the ingredients and I normally skip the blender part and it seems to turn out fine)

No Fail Turkey Soup!

Ever wonder how to use the whole turkey leftovers to go from this:

To this:

I am here to show you! We had a wonderful turkey for Christmas....and after all the meat had been picked off, and sandwiches made, the carcass remained in the frig. I wanted to use it to make an amazing turkey soup....and that can be a daunting and scary task!

BUT, do not be afraid! This is the most WONDERFUL turkey soup you will ever eat and you will use the whole remaining turkey to make it!

This is the soup that my mom taught me to make....and after every major holiday we ate it. Now I will share the wealth!

1. First you take a HUGE soup pot and fill it about half-way with water. Then you STUFF the turkey, whatever remains of it, bones and all, into the pot. It might require some special pushing, shoving and perhaps even some cutting. Just get it in there. Then fill up the rest of the pot with water. Put the burner on high and then walk away....for a LONG time. Let the water boil over the turkey for HOURS. Your house will soon be smelling like roasted turkey. It is lovely! I would say it takes at least 4 hours, but you just let that thing go!

2. Every hour or so, just check on the turkey and make sure there is still enough water in the pot. It will begin to boil down. If the turkey bones are not covered with water, feel free to add more. There are not many measurements to this recipe!

3. When you check on the turkey and the remaining meat simply falls off the bone, you are ready for the next step! Take the soup off the burner for a few moments as you work with this next step, so it is not boiling. With some kitchen tongs, remove the turkey bones and put them all on a cookie sheet or large tray. Remove all the large bones. Allow these bones to cool for about 20 minutes so you can handle them without burning your hands.

4. While waiting on the bones to cool, add about a teaspoon or 2 of chicken broth granules. This just gives it another layer of flavor. Likely salt will not be needed, but taste the broth and see if it needs some salt and pepper. Now chop some fresh veggies....whatever you have on hand, and add it to the soup. I add carrots, celery, potatoes and parsley if I have that on hand. Also add about 1/2 cup of rice or barley.

5. Now that the bones are cooled off enough to handle, use your hands to pick the remaining meat off the bones and add to the soup pot. This is the hardest part but it is worth it!

6. Bring the soup to boil and at this point you will want to cook it for about 15-20 minutes until the veggies are tender and the rice cooked. If you choose to do noodles instead of rice, make those separately. If you cook them in the soup itself they can become very soggy.

I hope you enjoy this turkey soup. It is the best I have ever eaten....and so healthy! It uses every part of the turkey so you get your money's worth out of it. Enjoy! I certainly have!

Amazing Spinach Artichoke Dip

This goes on record as my FAVORITE hot dip I think I may have ever eaten....and looks so easy! 

Ingredients:

16 oz. Sour cream

16 oz. Mayo (can use light of each)

4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

4 c. shredded parmesan cheese

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 can chopped spinach, drained

1 can artichoke hearts, loosely chopped

Directions:

Mix all together and bake for 30 minutes at 400.

ENJOY!

Home made Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls

1 package of dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 t salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour

Filling

1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 T cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted

Icing

stick of butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t salt

Directions

1) In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk
2) Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour, mix well
3) Knead dough into a large ball
4) Cover and let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in size
5) Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until approximately 21x16 inches and 1/4 inch thick
6) To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl
7) Spread the melted butter over the surface of the dough then sprinkle sugar mix evenly over the surface
8) Carefully roll the dough from the long edge
9) Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices and place on a lightly greased baking pan
10) Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned
11) Combine icing ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer until fluffy
12) When rolls are done, spread generously with icing

Personal Notes

- I only make half of the filling and think it is plenty.
- I use 4 ounces of cream cheese in the icing instead of 2. 
- I start with 2 c whole wheat flour and 2 c all purpose flour.  I end up adding quite a bit of additional white flour as I'm kneading to make a soft but non-sticky dough.  Quite a bit as in probably 1/2 cup-ish??  Just guessing, I don't measure.  :)
- I recommend kneading for 6-8 minutes.  

ENJOY!

Hashbrown Casserole

This yummy, cheesy hash-brown casserole was DELISH at our last meeting.....and looks easy which is a BONUS!

2 lb of hashbrowns (I use the square ones because they're easier to mix)

4 C of cheese (I mix two different kinds of cheeses to make it more fun)

1 can cream of mushroom
1 pint sour cream (I use the one with chives added)
1/2 C butter
Onion flakes to taste

Mix all together and bake for 45 min at 350

Fiesta Chile Salsa

This wonderful salsa was entered in our state fair! Such a GREAT way to use up all those green chiles that are in season right now! YUMMY!

Chile Fiesta Salsa

Makes about 2 cups
Start to Finish: 25 minutes

2 New Mexico Hatch green chiles (Big Jim), roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 pound peaches (2 to 3), peeled, pitted, and chopped coarse
1 pineapple slice, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup of whole sweet kernel corn
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (3 to 4 limes)
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup of red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Salt and pepper


Mix all of the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes. Let drain in a mesh strainer before serving.

Speedy Sausage Squares

Here is a twist on a casserole....and we all love the word "speedy!"

Speedy Sausage Squares

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb bulk pork sausage
1/4 c chopped onion
6 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 c milk
2 T chopped green pepper (I use a lot more :))
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t garlic salt
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese (I also use more :))

Unroll crescent dough into a greased 9x13 baking dish; seal seams and perforations.  Bake at 375 degrees for 6 minutes or until golden brown.  Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, green pepper, oregano, pepper, and garlic salt; pour over crust.  Sprinkle with sausage mixture.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.    

SNICKERS- apple salad!

Now THIS will satisfy your sweet tooth! This recipe was brought to MOPS by one of our moms on Thursday and I did not get a chance to try it....but reading the ingredients, I wish that I had. Looks so delicious and I heard some rave reviews. This is one even the kiddos will be sure to love!

Snicker-Apple Salad

8 oz cream cheese
8 oz Cool Whip
5-6 Granny Smith apples
1 bag Snicker miniature candy bars

Mix cream cheese and Cool Whip.  Cut apples in bite size pieces, leave peel on, and add to cream cheese mixture.  Cut Snickers in half and add to mixture.

Green Chile Cheese Quiche!

Looking for a new way to use up some green chilies that have been sitting in your frig? This is an amazing recipe brought to our steering team meeting (see, don't YOU want to be a part of steering??) :)

This could be easily adapted to be gluten free or can be done without the green chile for a different twist!

Green Chile Cheese Quiche

4 Large Eggs

3/4 cup milk

coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1 9-inch frozen deep dish pie crust

1 4 ounce can diced green chile (I used 2 whole fresh roasted green chiles)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bake Pie crust according to package instructions, usually 10-12 minutes. Then turn oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with milk and salt and pepper. Spread Monterey Jack cheese over bottom of pie crust. Spread green chile over the cheese then pour egg mixture over chile. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool. You can freeze the entire quiche and reheat or freeze portions for easy breakfast to warm up!

Egg Sausage Casserole

This one was brought for our first MOPS meeting.....so DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

1 box cheddar cheese croutons
4 eggs beaten
3 cups milk
2 pkgs. pork sausage patties (*could be any kind of sausage to change it up a bit!)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Grease 9x13 pan. Sprinkle croutons into pan. Mix eggs, 2 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 can soup and 1/2 tsp. dry mustard. Pour over croutons. Fry and drain sausage then place on top of egg mixture. Sprinkle cheese over sausage and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour 1.2 can soup mixed with 1.2 c. milk on casserole. Bake uncovered 1 1/2 hours and serve warm.

Topped Raspberry Bars

As brought to our MOPS meeting on Thursday. I can't wait to make these!

Topped Raspberry Bars

2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. butter, softened

1 egg

1 c. raspberry preserves

Garnish: powdered sugar

Combine flour, sugar, pecans, butter and egg in a large bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes.  Set aside 2 cups of mixture for topping.  Press remaining mixture into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 baking pan.  Spread preserves over top; sprinkle with reserved pecan mixture.  Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until golden.  Cool completely; cut into bars and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Makes 2 dozen.

My notes:  You can use any kind of preserves you have on hand.  I used some home made apricot jam and sprinkled some fresh picked raspberries over the top before the pecan topping along with a little more sugar.  IMPORTANT both my mom and I have made this and they never need more than 30 min in our ovens or they burn.  When I did it I put them in and set the timer for 20 min and then kept checking until they were nice and golden brown.

Zucchini Bread

2 wonderful ladies brought some of this amazing zucchini bread to our first steering team meeting of the year. It was so moist and wonderful. I am glad they passed the recipe along!

Here is the LINK to the site where it is originally found, but I will go ahead and copy it here. This would be a great bread to bring to MOPS!

Zucchini Bread Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, a third at a time. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix. Fold in the nuts and dried cranberries or raisins if using.

2 Divide the batter equally between 2 buttered 5 by 9 inch loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour (check for doneness at 50 minutes) or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool thoroughly.

Makes 2 loaves.

Healthy Apple Raisin Muffins

Adapted from the "How To Book of Healthy Cooking"

*I previewed this recipe and my entire family loves it! It is a great, easy breakfast item that would be great not only for your family, but also for a MOPS meeting if you sign up for "sweets" or "breads" :) 

Makes: 12 muffins
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3 Tbs. rolled oats
4 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 c. plain nonfat yogurt
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large apple peeled, cored and diced
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. raisins

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease muffin tin with cooking spray (I used leftover cupcake papers!).

2. In a large bowl, mix the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, 2 Tbs. rolled oats, 2 Tbs. brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a small bowl, beat together the yogurt, egg whites and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat quickly until just mixed. In a small bowl, mix 1 Tbs. brown sugar with the apple, cinnamon and raisins, then quickly fold into the batter.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the remaining oats and brown sugar.

5. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and dry.