Homestyle Pot Roast in the crockpot

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/10/old-fashioned-pot-roast-slow-cooker.html

4 pounds beef roast (chuck or rump)

2 tablespoons flour (I used a GF baking mix)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced in rings

2 large Russet potatoes, cut in 2-inch chunks

1 cup baby carrots (or peeled and cut regular carrots!)

1 cup sliced celery

3 tablespoons gluten free Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins made in the USA ONLY is GF. If you're Canadian or live elsewhere, have an American ship you some!)

1/2 cup beef broth (if you've got red wine open, you could use that. and save me some. I'm typing this Wed night 8pm, and I've been up since 2am... my shoulders are above my ears)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Okay, I browned this meat. I hate cooking before I cook, but my father-in-law brought over this GORGEOUS piece of meat and I felt the right thing to do was to pretend I knew what to do with a big gorgeous piece of meat so I browned it.

The browning provides a bit of texture and if you have a more sophisticated palate than I do, perhaps you notice a difference.

but it's up to you. 

This is what I did:

In a plastic zippered bag, shake a thawed beef roast with flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Remove roast from the bag and brown all sides in a large skillet with olive oil. While your meat is browning, place the sliced onion in the bottom of the cooker. Add meat, and toss in the potatoes, celery, and carrots. Pour worcestershire and beef broth (or wine) on top. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. If your meat isn't as moist as you'd like nearing serving time, take it out and cut it into a few pieces and return it to the pot to soak up more juice.

A dry roast isn't from over slowcooking, it's from under slowcooking!

Stuffed French Toast - in the crock pot!

Serves 4 to 6.

1 loaf of thick bread - I made a challah in my bread machine the night before
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cubed
1 can pie filling - your flavor choice - I used strawberry
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon
Syrup for topping
1/4 cup powdered sugar, optional

Spray the interior of the crockpot with a vegetable spray.
Mix milk, egg and cinnamon in a bowl.
Dunk several slices of bread into the mixture and layer in the bottom of crock pot.
Add half the cream cheese and half of the pie filling - spread to cover.
Pour half of egg mixture over bread, cream cheese and pie filling in crockpot.
Sprinkle with half of sugar.
Dunk remaining bread and make another layer of bread over the fruit and cream cheese.
cover with cream cheese and pie filling.
Pour over remaining milk mixture.
Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
Cook on High for 2 1/2 hours.
Remove promptly and cut into portions.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve with syrup.

Tortilla Soup

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/crockpot-tortilla-soup-recipe.html

 

The Ingredients:

--3 cups of chicken broth (homemade or packaged)

--1 1/2 cups cooked chicken (I had leftover chicken in the freezer)

--1/2 onion

--1 cup frozen roasted corn

--2 green onions

--28 oz can of tomatoes and juice

--1 cup chopped up vegetables that you have on hand (celery and carrots in my case, plus I had the end of the roasted vegetables I froze)

--4 cloves of garlic ( I am STILL out of fresh garlic)

--1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

--1/2 t cayenne pepper

--1 t cumin

--salt to taste (especially if using a no-salt broth like I was)

optional garnish:

--tortilla chips

--parmesan cheese

--sour cream

The Directions:

--dice all veggies into fine chunks

--dump everything into the crockpot

--it's okay if you have frozen stuff. My broth, vegetables and chicken were all frozen.

--totally okay to assemble the night before.


--cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 6 or so.



before serving, add whatever garnish you choose. We were out of tortilla chips, so I used a bit of parmesan and fat free sour cream.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/homemade-cream-of-mushroom-soup.html

This recipe is for a LARGE crockpot. Don't attempt these proportions in anything smaller than a 5qt.

--2 lbs mushrooms

--2 cups water

--2 cans (4 cups) vegetable broth

--1 qt of milk (to add later)

--juice of 1 lemon

--1/2 t salt

--1/2 t pepper

--1 T dried minced onion

--2 T Italian seasoning

The Directions.

Wash your mushrooms well and cut them into fourths. Put into your stoneware and add the spices and lemon juice. Pour in the vegetable broth and water.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

CAREFULLY use an immersible hand blender and blend until soupy. If you don't have an immersible hand blender, very, very carefully blend in batches in a regular blender.

Stir in an entire quart of milk. I used fat free cow's milk. You can use any percentage you'd like; even cream.

let cool on the counter for quite a few hours, then pour into freezer bags to store or plastic containers. I used 2 cups per bag--which is 16 fluid ounces. A can of cream-of-soup is 10 ounces.

The Verdict.

I am excited to cook with this soup. I haven't tested it out yet. It isn't as thick as the canned soups, but is very flavorful. and it's brown.

Crockpot Hickory Smoked Brisket

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-hickory-smoked-brisket.html

3-4 pounds beef brisket, or chuck roast
1/2 cup hickory liquid smoke (or not this much. Maybe 1T or 2T? read comments...)
1/4 cup A-1 steak sauce
1 T celery salt (see note below, I'd stick with a 1/2T)
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 t pepper

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart crockpot. I used a 6---if you only have a big guy, put a layer of foil down on top of the meat to create a smaller steaming space so your meat doesn't dry out.

Put the meat in your crockpot, add spices to all sides of it. Add A-1 and liquid smoke.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6. Slow and low is better, the meat will shred nicely when cooked for a long period of time. I cooked ours on low for 10 hours, then it was on warm for another 3. I got up WAY too early yesterday...

Seve over mashed potatoes or polenta.

Crockpot 3 Packet Pot Roast

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-3-packet-pot-roast-recipe.html

-packet of ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix
--packet of Italian salad dressing mix
--McCormick Grill Mates Peppercorn & Garlic (the original recipe called for a packet of beef gravy or au jus, but all of the gravies and jus packets contain wheat starch. Please read labels carefully a few times if you are avoiding gluten.)

--3 lb chuck roast
--1 to 3 cups of water

The Directions.

I used my 6 quart Smart Set crockpot for this dinner.

I opted to not throw any vegetables into the crock because we had leftovers I needed to use. Feel free to throw in some chopped potatoes, an onion, carrots, and celery.

Trim the roast of any visible fat and place it into the crockpot. In a small bowl, combine the contents of the 3 packets. Pour on top of the meat. Flip the meat over a few times to get it covered with seasoning on all sides.

Add 1 cup of water.

Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-5. The meat will be more tender if you cook it low and slow.

20-30 minutes before eating, add 2 more cups of warm water to the crockpot, and flip to high.

The meat only needs 1 cup of water on it to cook properly, but the spices are too concentrated to only have 1 cup of water in the pot when it's time to eat. Waiting to add the water until the end will help the meat retain it's shape, and the added water will make a nice juicy gravy.

Crockpot Orange Chicken

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/09/slow-cooker-orange-chicken-recipe.html

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour (I used Pamela's Baking Mix)
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

updated 9/20/09: I've heard from a few readers that 1 tablespoon of salt is too much. If you are using iodized or table salt, this will be the case. Kosher salt doesn't taste as "salty" as regular salt, and since the granules are larger, you don't get as much in the tablespoon as you would with regular salt. Adjust accordingly. xoxo steph

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

Crockpot Pizza Soup

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-pizza-soup-recipe.html

--1 jar (14 oz) of pizza sauce
--3 empty jars full of water
--1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
--1/2 red onion, chopped
--1 cup sliced mushrooms
--1 cup baby tomatoes, cut in quarters (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
--2 already-cooked Italian sausage (I used chicken Italian sausage)
--1 cup sliced pepperoni, sliced in quarters (Hormel turkey pepperoni is labeled gluten free)
--8 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1/2 T dried)
--1 T dried oregano
--1/2 to 1/3 cup of dried pasta (if your pasta is tiny, use 1/3 cup. if it's big, do 1/2. I used 1/2 cup Trader Joe's brown rice penne)
--shredded mozzarella cheese (to add later)

The Directions.

Use a 5 or 6 quart crockpot for this recipe. Serves 4 hungry adults, or 2 hungry adults and 2 kids with enough leftovers to feed them all again.

Wash and prepare veggies. Dump them into the crockpot. Cut up the sausage into small pieces--I sliced, then cut the pieces in fourths. Add to crockpot. Cut up the pepperoni, add it, too. Add basil and oregano. Pour in the pizza sauce, and follow with three empty jars of water.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. Everything in this is already cooked, so you are really only heating through and allowing the flavors to meld.

Thirty minutes before serving, add the dry pasta, and turn to high. My pasta only took 20 minutes to soften quite nicely.

Garnish/top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Crockpot Cheesecake

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-cheesecake-recipe.html

Crust

- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used Mi-Del gluten free Arrowroot Cookies)
- 2 T brown sugar
- 3 T melted butter

Filling

- 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature (I nuked mine for 30 seconds to get it soft)
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (I put the eggs in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (mmm. cream.)
- 1 t good vanilla
- 1 T flour (I used Pamela's. It didn't make it into the picture)

Directions.

Find a heat-resistant dish that will fit into your crockpot for the cheesecake. You are going to create a bain marie, or water bath. I used a 1.5 qt Corning Ware dish and it fit nicely into 6qt oval. I tried a round cake pan in a 4 qt round, and that fit too. But I opted for my 6qt, because I'm more comfortable with how it heats.

In a plastic zipper bag, beat the animal crackers into crumbs with a rolling pin. Put a cup of the crumbs into a medium bowl, and add melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until it's wet and crumby. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the dish you are going to use.

In a separate bowl, cream the cheese, sugar, eggs, flour, cream, and vanilla with a hand-mixer. Unless you have one of those fancy Kitchen Aids. Then use that. Pour the cheese mixture on top of the crust. Lick the bowl.

Add 1/2 to 1 cup of water to the bottom of your crockpot. Lower the dish inside, being careful to not slosh water into your cheesecake.

Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours. Check after 1 hour, just in case. The cheesecake is done when the edges are no longer shiny and have set. Touch lightly to see that you don't get a bunch of stuff on your finger---then you know it's done. My cheesecake wasn't perfectly set in the middle, but I unplugged the crock anyhow.

I cooked it for exactly 2 hours. Let the cheesecake sit in the cooling crockpot for an hour, before removing and transferring to the refrigerator. Chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Crockpot Rorisserie Chicken

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/crockpot-rotisserie-style-chicken.html

--1 whole chicken, skinned (4-5 pounds)
--2 tsp kosher salt (if you'd like it as salty as the ones in the store, add another 1 tsp.)
--1 tsp paprika
--1 tsp onion powder
--1/2 tsp dried thyme
--1 tsp Italian seasoning
--1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--pinch of chili pepper (probably not necessary)

--4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
--1 yellow onion, quartered (optional)

The Directions.

I used a 6 quart crockpot for a 5 pound bird. It fit nicely.

Skin the chicken and get rid of the neck and other stuff from the cavity. This takes a while, and is gross. Keep small children away so you don't freak out about salmonella. I skin whole chickens because I hate the idea of the chicken fat simmering all day in the crock---it also looks disgusting when the chicken is cooked because it's all slimy and icky.

I get it that I'm weird. If chicken skin makes you happy, then by all means, ignore me.

In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Plop the bird breast-side down into the crockpot.

If desired, shove 4 whole garlic cloves and a quartered onion inside the bird.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8. The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.

Crockpot Puffy Pizza Casserole

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/05/slow-cooker-puffy-pizza-casserole.html


1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1.5) ounce packet of spaghetti mix (like McCormick or you can make your own using the recipe below)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water

For puffy topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
20 pepperoni slices
1/2 cup sliced olives, optional

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Mix
yields 1 packet
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons green pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

The Directions.
Use a 4 quart slow cooker (if you only have a 6, that's okay, it will just cook faster. Check it after 3 hours on high.)

In a very large skillet, brown beef, onion, and garlic on the stove top. Drain fat, and add spaghetti sauce mix, oregano, tomato sauce, and water. Stir over low heat until tiny bubbles appear. Remove from heat and scoop into the slow cooker (you might want to spray it with cooking spray).

In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for your puffy topping: flour, milk, eggs, and cheese. Pour evenly over the top. Place pepperoni slices and olives on top of the topping.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or until the topping has turned golden brown, puffed up, and pulled away from the sides.

Crock Pot Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Crock Pot Peanut Butter Cup Cake

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search/label/dessert

1 cup all-purpose flour (Use Pamela's Baking Mix for gluten free variety)
1 cup sugar (divided. this is important, don't just start dumping, read on!)
1 teaspoon baking powder (even if using Pamela's use this amount)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (unless you're a rebel. then use chunky)
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water

The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker coated well with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt.

In the microwave, melt peanut butter for about 30 seconds, and then add to the mix along with milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir really well to combine.

Spread this mixture into the bottom of your slow cooker.
In a separate bowl, mix together cocoa powder, the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 cup boiling water (be careful!) Pour this evenly over the peanut butter batter in your cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours, or until the top has set and an inserted toothpick (into the cake--underneath the cake is molten chocolate) comes out clean. Let the cake sit uncovered in an unplugged crockpot for about 20 minutes, then serve warm in dessert bowls.

Crock Pot Enchiladas - no filling and rolling!

care of Harmony Hill Baptist Church (Lufkin, TX) 85th Anniversary Cookbook adapted

1 pound ground beef
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 jar taco sauce
1 jar enchilada sauce
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup water (for rinsing)
1 small can green chilies
6 large flour tortillas
6 oz grated cheddar cheese
6 oz grated mozzarella cheese
Brown meat and onions. Slice tortillas into pie wedges or strips. Pour sauces into your crock pot; top with meat, onion, cheese and tortillas. Use water to swish the leftovers out of your cans/jars and pour into crock pot. Stir. Simmer on low for 2 hours.
I stir mine at 1 hour. The tortillas we getting a bit stuck on the sides; mixed right in.

Creamy Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

From Crock Pot Magazine

1 1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese (divided!)
1 c ricotta cheese
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 container Alfredo pasta sauce (10 oz)
1/3 c water
4 no boil lasagna noodles
1 packages frozen chopped spinach (thaw and squeeze dry)
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c cooked chopped chicken
red pepper flakes to garnish

Combine 1 cup mozzarella, ricotta, oregano, and pepper flakes in a small bowl.
Blend Alfredo sauce and water in another bowl.
Coat slow cooker with non-stick spray.
Make one layer of noodle in crock pot.
Spread half of ricotta mixture over noodles.
Top with half of spinach.
Arrange half of chicken on spinach.
Pour half of Alfredo over chicken.
Repeat with Ricotta, spinach, chicken and Alfredo.

Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over the top. Cover and let stand for 5 additional minutes. Garnish with pepper if desired and serve in squares or wedges.

Cheesy Veggie and Ham Chowder

2 c water
2 chopped potatoes
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped stalk celery
1/2 chopped onion

1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
2 c milk

10 oz shredded cheddar
15 oz can cream style corn
2 c cubed cooked ham

Simmer 1st 5 ingredients covered for 10-15 minutes. Melt butter; add milk and flour. Stir until thickened. Add cheese and melt. Combine everything & heat.

This cooks very easily on medium in a crock pot while you are at work. It also makes a VERY smooth comfort soup if you toss it in the blender when you're finished.

Not Like Grandma's Chicken N Dumplings

Adapted from Crock Pot Magazine using Deceptively Delicious ideas.
4-6 servings

2 c chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
2 cans water
4 t flour
2 t chicken bullion
1/2 t pepper
1 c pureed carrots
1/2 c pureed celery
1 can chopped mushrooms
4-8 refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Mix all ingredients together in slow cooker (4 1/2 quart) except biscuits.
Cut biscuits into 8ths and gently top the mixture.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

There is lots of room for adaptation to this recipe. We added the carrots, celery, and mushrooms to increase the veggie count. More or less chicken makes it a heartier meal or a better budget meal. You can also make your own dumplings or biscuits for the top.

Jennifer O's Taco Soup

2 lbs hamburger
1 pk taco seasoning
1 pk ranch
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can water
1 can Rotel original
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
1 can corn (Jennifer likes to use frozen)

Mix all together and simmer 30 min. Serve with corn bread. Can also be dumped into the crock pot for at least 2 hours on medium.
 
Very flexible recipe - for spicier dish use warmer Rotels, for milder use mild or regular. For soupier dish keep canned juices but drain for a thicker soup.