More Favorite Crockpot Recipes

I love it when friends ask me to blog about something. This way, I don't have to come up with something to write about by myself. I always feel like I am sharing useless information, and that when people read my blog, they just think 'Duh!'.

This time, I actually know that someone wants to read what I have to say. So there!

I'm going to share some more of my favorite crock pot recipes. I mentioned a few in this post back in February. (Just click the link, open, and print. Then add it to your recipe book. You know you'll love 'em, if you try 'em!).

I love cooking in a crock pot because I can make the meal right after Jader goes down for her nap, and the food is ready for us when Austin gets home from work. I don't know about you, but in our house, between 4 and 5 pm, I can't get much done. It seems like Jader is always ornery during that time (especially if she doesn't sleep long enough during her nap), dragging on my leg and getting on my nerves. If I am trying to get dinner started and finished during this time, it just makes me and Jader both frustrated. That is why I am such a HUGE believer in slow cooking. It has saved me a lot of frustration during my household's 'witching hour'.

One tip I would like to mention is for recipes that call for hamburger. Most of the time, when cooking in a crockpot, you'll cook your food on low for about 5-6 hours. This means you'll put everything in the crock around noon so you can have dinner between 5:00 and 6:00. Most recipes ask you to brown the meat before adding it to the crock. You can still do it this way, but I hate browning meat on the stovetop. It makes too big of a mess. I hate it when oil splatters everywhere..on the stove, microwave, on me (ouch!), etc....So, I will take a frozen package of meat (I have mine packaged in 1 1b. portions, whether I am buying from a local meat shop, or if I buy a lot of meat at once from the store. If I buy, say 5+ lbs, I will section the meat into 1 lb. portions, the bag them and freeze them. In fact, I'll do 1/2 lb. portions, too, because I usually put in half the amount of meat than a recipe calls for. Did you know that if you practice this in your cooking you will never know a difference, and it is better for you? Okay, that was a really long tangent; back to the tip.) out of the freezer and place it directly into the crockpot turned on to the low setting. I will do this in the morning, around 9:00-ish. I leave the meat in the crock for an hour or more, and when I have noticed that it is thawed, I will take my spoon and break it into bite-sized pieces. I will check on it one more time to give it a quick stir, and by the time I need to add the extra ingredients, it is cooked and ready to go. If the meat isn't lean, I'll drain and rinse, then add the rest of the ingredients. I have been cooking my beef like this for many a crock recipes, i.e., the Calico Bean recipe on the other post, my spaghetti sauce, Manti Soup, etc.. I have never gotten sick, and I think it is so much easier than on a stove top.

In fact, I don't even cook bacon on the stove top anymore. I use the oven and I place the bacon on a rack, then in a pan and cook for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. The bacon cooks evenly, and it doesn't curl up. The house always smells really good, instead of like burnt bacon. There is no mess to clean (splatter mess) and it's always yummy crispy.

Okay, on to my recipes. Just click the link, either save or open the PDF, then print.

Manti Soup

Stuffed Chicken Rolls

Chicken How-So

Bird in a Crockpot

Chicken Chili with Hominy


Give these recipes a try. If you love them, come back and tell me. If you have some favorites to share, link back and let me know about them. Happy Crocking!