hit me again... with crockpot recipes!

[mamamindy]

I appreciated the breakfast ideas so much, I would love some dinner ideas using the crockpot.  I have a few that I love - but not enough!  I need to utilize my crockpot so that I can feed my family dinner and not have to spend the afternoons in the kitchen!  Thank you, thank you!!

[Annie]

I really like this crockpot blog:

 

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

 

If you look at the table of contents section on the left side, the recipes are split up by type/protein/vegetarian. Some favorites have been the spinach and pesto lasagna, apricot chicken, salsa chicken, cranberry pork roast, carñitas...

[MyThreeSons]

My biggest use of the crockpot is to get the meat cooked. Once I've done that, I find that adding a side dish, salad, bread, etc. is easy.

 

I love to get one of those big packages of boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Sam's Club. They are $1.88 a pound, and it's all usable meat -- no waste. I throw the whole bunch (usually around 6-7 pounds) into the crockpot, along with enough liquid to cover. I like vegetable or chicken broth. Depending on what I'm going to do with the chicken, I may also use cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup, and/or a package or two of dry onion soup mix. I let it cook all day (or overnight) on low. One package of chicken is enough to last us for several meals.

 

Now,once I have the chicken cooked, I either chunk or shred it. Here are some possibilities after that:

 

flavor with taco seasoning -- make chicken tacos or burritos, chicken quessadillas, chicken enchiladas or enchilada casserole

 

flavor with barbecue sauce to make barbecued chicken sandwiches

 

flavor with Asian seasoning and use to make fried rice, or sweet and sour, or sesame, or orange chicken

 

in the Winter, I like to return the shredded chicken to the crockpot, make a thick broth/gravy with assorted veggies, and top with biscuit dough for Chicken and Dumplings

 

use the chunks of chicken to make chicken and rice casserole or chicken tetrazzini

 

You can also do many of the above with a big chunk of pork -- Boston Butt roast can be as cheap as 99 cents a pound.

 

When Corned Beef is on sale, I throw a brisket in with water and let it cook all day. In the evening, I transfer the water to my stock pot, add chunks of potatoes, carrots, and cabbage and boil until tender.

 

Beef stew meat, along with potatoes, carrots, onions, makes a great beef stew. You can also use a cheap cut of roast, such as a chuck roast.

 

Sorry these aren't really recipes -- I rarely use recipes at all. It's more of a "how to".