Crockpot- Simple Meals

There is a great crock pot cook book-5 ingedients or less is the name of it. I used thawed chicken. An easy one is thawed chicken, a jar of salsa, let it cook all day and serve over rice

I LOVE using the crockpot! In fact, I have 2, but at one time I had 4! (Wedding gifts, etc.) Anyway, you can go to the website www.crockpot.com and find a lot of recipes and tips on using them. You can use frozen meat in the crockpot, but it will affect the cooking time. My experience is that if it is frozen, it's best to cook it on low. Often the meat won't brown in the crockpot, so some recipes have you brown the meat first.

Really, the best thing to do is just start experiementing. You can use a cheaper cut roast and it will come out more tender than in the oven. Don't over use liquid since you don't need a lot and try not to peek! Keeping the lid on helps it cook faster.

Now, my favorite main dish is to add a bottle of Italian dresssing to a whole chicken, roast, or pork tenderloin. It has a lot of nice subtle seasonings and it's quick in the morning to fix. Try this with several kinds of meat and see what your family likes best!

Feel free to PM me or email me for more recipes! Enjoy!!
K.
____@____.com

This is probably my all time favorite crockpot dish!
Chicken & Stuffing (serves 4)
4 Boneless Skinless chicken breasts (thawed if frozen)
Salt and pepper
4 slices swiss cheese
1 can (14oz) chicken broth
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each)condensed cream of chicken soup(or mushroom or celery)
3 cups packaged stuffing mix (I like Pepperidge Farm)
1/2 cup butter, melted

Put the chicken on the bottom of the crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Top each breast with a slice of Swiss cheese. Pour broth over chicken. Spoon soup over chicken. Dump in stuffing, drizzle with melted butter.
Cook on low 6 to 8 hours or high 3 to 4 hours.

This is an AWESOME dinner. Hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as my family does!

I joined www.cafemom.com, and am a member of the "Crock Pot Moms" group. I love it!!!!!! I love coming home to a fully cooked dinner and a house that smells soooo good!

Another site I've found, but haven't used yet, is http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm

Here's one of my favorites. This one came from a friend that e-mailed me probably every crock pot recipe ever written!!!!!

America's Favorite Pot Roast

3 1/2 Pounds sirloin tip roast, trimmed
1/4 Cup flour
2 Teaspoons salt
1/8 Teaspoon pepper
3 Carrot -- , Peeled and sliced
3 potatoes -- peeled and quartered
2 Small onions – sliced
1 Stalk celery -- cut in 2" pieces
1 2 Oz Jar mushrooms – drained or 1/4 Cup mushroom gravy
3 Tablespoons flour
1/4 Cup water

Trim all excess fat from roast; brown and drain if using chuck or another highly marbled cut. Combine 1/4 cup flour, the salt and pepper. Coat meat with the flour mixture. Place all vegetables except mushrooms in Crock-Pot and top with roast (cut roast in half, if necessary, to fit easily). Spread mushrooms evenly over top of roast. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours. If desired, turn to High during last hour to soften vegetables and make a gravy. To thicken gravy, make a smooth paste of the 3 tablespoons flour and the water and stir into Crock-Pot. Season to taste before serving. Serves 4 to 6

No Time to Cook Chicken

Prep time: approx. 10 minutes
Cook time: approx. 8 hours
Makes 4 servings

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - rinsed and trimmed
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp pepper

Place chicken breasts in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and seasonings together until smooth; pour mixture over chicken, making sure it is well coated.

Cook on low heat for 7 to 8 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Stir in sour cream about 1/2 hour before serving.

(Serve over egg noodles.)

I always use raw (thawed) chicken, but that is just because I haven't tried to use frozen yet.

Hi S...

When using chicken in the crock pot, you use all three - depending on the recipe. I have a cookbook called "Fix It and Forget It". I bought it at Sam's Club, but there are probably thousands of crock pot cookbooks. I also use www.allrecipes.com and search main dishes for crock pot or slow cooker. I have one recipe that is great because it uses frozen chicken - so if you don't have anything thawed in the AM - you can still make it.
3-4 chicken breasts
1 packet Italian Dressing (dry packet)
1 can chicken broth
8-10 hours on low

Dear S.,

I love making soups. Chicken soup or creamy chicken with rice soup. For my family we use small amounts because there are only 3 of us.

Chicken Soup

2 frozen chicken breast
2 cans of chicken broth
and a bag of baby carrots

put in crock pot on low for 8 hours
about 1/2 an hour before eating add noodles.

Creamy chicken rice soup
2 frozen chicken breast
can of cream of chicken soup

cook on low for 8 hours 1/2 hour before cooking add rice depending on your crock pot and how much rice you may have to put the rice in longer.

I even put pork chops in the crock pot and cook. I love to use the low setting so that I can leave it in all day. I almost always use frozen foods, because I never know until that day what I am going to make.

For parties and stuff, I put the mini hot dogs in with some sauce and cook. I also put meat balls. When we go to family gatherings during the winter I take the crock pot and put hot dogs in it. Another thing is put roast beef and auju in for a easy french dip sandwhich.
Enjoy using your crock pot.

4 Frozen chicken thighs or breasts
1 Can chicken broth
1 Can Cream of chicken soup
1 Cup water
3 Cups frozen veggies (I use california blend, carrots, cauliflour and broccolli)
Season to taste (we like a bit of cajun or ground red pepper).

Cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8 hours
About 30 min Prior to serving prepare 3 Cups rice
Mix rice and Chicken

I use frozen chicken and have never had any problem with it cooking through, but you can use fresh
My 14 year old daughter and 16 year old son love this!!!

www.savingdinner.com

OMG!!! This one is SOOOOOOOOOOO good!!! I just got it from my cousin and it's the easiest one you'll find!
Ready?

Put a frozen pork roast or loin in the pot (yes, you can start it frozen!!!).
Pour one can of apple pie filling over and around the pork.
Pour one bottle of BBQ sauce in,
Stir a bit.
Cook until pork is done (use a meat thermometer to gauge).

Yum:)

you might try the website www.savingdinner.com they have a variety of different recipes and some of them include crockpot recipes...I believe that you can download a sample recipe (not sure how many ingredients they use)...then if you want more recipes it is a minimal fee.

I love my crockpot and use it alot. For chicken, you can put it in there frozen or thawed. And one thing I love to make in there is a roast. Put a roast in there, add about a half cup, to a cup of water, cut up potatoes, carrots, onions, etc in there, season it once before you leave and then when you come home, your house will smell heavenly. When I use to work, I use to use it so much more, but I still do, especially if we have alot going on, or I want to scrapbook that day or do other things and I dont want to watch something cook ya know? It is great and you get all the mean in one pot. Then you can make some biscuits to complete the meal if you want. I love it. I use my toaster over too, alot more then my normal one for things. I love that thing. I was not using it that much and my MIL told me about using hers all the time for almost everything and now I do too and love it.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

An easy recipe I've done is: 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, four chicken breasts and a package of dry french onion soup mix. I've used frozen chicken when I've had all day to let it cook, but if you need the meal in less than four hours I would use thawed or precooked chicken. I also picked up a cookbook a couple of years ago (Fix it and forget it) that is all crockpot recipes from appetizers through desserts. Good luck!!

Google for crock-pot recipes and you'll find a bunch! THere are also some great crock-pot cookbooks out there. I typically end up doing frozen because I forget to defrost before... and it still turns out nicely. Just need to cook for a longer period of time.

Some of my favorites...
1. Get some round roast (or beef of liking). Put in cup of beef broth. Can of stewed tomatoes. Some onions. Green peppers. Really - whatever you like. Throw some seasonings -basil leaf, cumin, s&p.

2. Get a whole chicken (but bones can be an issue) or turkey roast or some chicken breasts. Put in some celery, chicken broth and wild rice.

3. Pork roast or even beef roast. Throw it in with a bottle of lawry's marinades and a little more water.

good luck! crocks are the best! I think I'll do a crock for dinner tonight!

I use my crockpot 4-5 days a week! The most basic and easy meal is this: Put chunk of meat into crockpot. Pour 1 cup of sauce over it. Cook on low all day. It's super-tender by the end of the day and perfect with a quick sidedish/veggies. The 'chunk of meat' can be anything... pork roast, whole chicken, roast, etc. The sauce can be anything liquid... BBQ, any salad dressing (Italian is great), terriyaki, soy, etc.

As for chicken thawed or frozen... if it's a whole chicken (which I do most because it's cheapest) it's best to have it thawed if you want it done by dinnertime. I do the whole chicken because it literally falls off the bone at the end of the day. A whole bird give 3-4 cups of meat so I save it and freeze for other recipes. I seem to have alot of recipes that call for "1 cup cooked chicken". If I'm doing smaller pieces like chicken tenders, I just throw them in frozen. If I'm doing chicken breasts, I usually thaw them first in the microwave, but if they are frozen or partially frozen it doesn't really matter. It just adds an hour or so to the cooking time.

I love to use the crockpot and do so two times a week. Some ideas: if you like brats - get a pack or two, throw it in the morning, put on low, cover with water, add salt and pepper. When you get home you can saute green onions, peppers, whatever you like to go on them.

Beef chuck roast/pork roast/pork tenderloin/turkey tenderloin: get two packs of Zesty Italian (dry mix) and add to 2 cups of water. Pour over the roast. You can also season with just salt/pepper, some garlic, Marjoram, etc. - whatever you like. You can add potatoes and whatever other veggie you like. If you are going to be gone all day I would just make mashed potatoes when you get home. The veggies will be soggy when you get home so that won't be a good idea. If you have an hour before you eat go ahead and cut up the veggies to cook them for a bit. Mini carrots are nice but take a bit longer to cook.

Chicken's are nice and I think you could do frozen especially all day. They will be very tender and fall apart very easily by the end of the day.

Hope some of these help!!

There are a ton of recipes out there, but here are a few of my favs!

I do a whole chicken (thawed) and put it in the crockpot with a bag of frozen green beans (or whatever veggie you like). Season the chicken inside and out with salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic, onion.

The chicken literally falls off the bone. Its so tender and tastey. This will give you about 2 cups of brother, so you can make soup for another meal.

The other one I LOVE is throw 3 or 4 breasts (I put in frozen boneless skinless breasts) with a cup of water, jar of salsa and a can of black beans. Let that sit all day and then about 15 minutes before you are ready to eat shred the chicken with a spoon and then put a cup of minute rice in there. You can either put this mixture into tortillas or eat it by itself. I usually do a side of refried beans with some chips.

Chili: brown a pound of ground turkey or ground beef then put it in the crockpot along with 3 or 4 cans of diced tomatoes (there are some great spicey ones), 1 can of whole kernel corn, 1 can of black beans, 1 can of garbanzos, and 1/2 jar of salsa, 1 squash, 1 zuccini (both sliced). Season that the way you like it.

Yum, Yum! I love my crockpot!
B.

Just google "crock pot recipes." There are a TON of them! You can make pretty much anything in them. I love ours too! I don't use it as much as I would like though.

I know what you mean with the crockpot thing! I used to make a crockpot meal once a week (usually the weekend so I didn't have to be around) and now decided I want to do it more often since it saves so much time (besides for the cleaning up part since we don't use plastic liners) but I found a fabulous magazine at Sam's Club this week from Taste of Home with awesome stews and all sorts of meals to make in the crockpot. They all sound fabulous and I do NOT always say that about crockpot meals. So if you have a membership you may want to stop in and pick up a copy. It was $6 I think but it is chunky with lots of recipes. Really worth it, I think. I have been looking forever for a bunch of really good hearty recipes so I was excited when I found this. Good luck with the cooking and hope it works out. By the way, I dump in meat frozen. Its not worth the hassle and does not make any difference. Be well!

One of my favorites is

cut up some beef into small stew type pieces
mix a can of cream of mushroom soup and a package of liption onion soup. Wrap in tenfoil and place in the crockput.

I have always thrown chicken in frozen & let it do it's thing. It's always been really good for me. I have never had it undercooked or anything like that. I don't let it have more than the regular workday either. I sometimes go by recipes from the fix it & forget it cookbook but, I usually just throw things in & it turns out pretty good. Whatever sounds good.

Hi S.! Tell me about it...easy is good! I sell Homemade Gourmet and we have hundreds of slow cooker recipes. We do make and take classes and have a 4 meals and 4 minutes demo that we do at our homeshows that give the hostess 4 meals in her freezer at the end of the show.

You can put your chicken in frozen or thawed, frozen just takes longer to cook and adds extra water to the meal so depending on what it is thats ok!!!

Here is a favorite:
Thaw a boneless pork roast. Rinse off and brown in a pan over medium heat. Place in crock pot. Put a generous amount of BBQ sauce over roast (we prefer Sweet Baby Ray). Add about 1 1/2 cups of water. Turn crock pot on low setting and let cook all day (about 8 hours). If you need it done faster, put it on high for at least 4 hours. Delicious!

You, can use both the thawed chicken, as well, as the frozen!!

I'm in a yahoo group called Pantry Challenge, lots of great crockpot recipes in the files, and always new ones coming across!

Stews and pot roast are easy. For stew, dice meat, brown in olive oil, set aside. Saute onions in the pan. Add carrots to bottom of crock pot, then diced potatoes, then onions. I like to add diced turnips too for a little spice. Add 1 can of beef broth and diced tomatoes to pan, saute lightly. Add beef to crock pot, top with broth/tomatoes, cook for 4-8 hours on low.

Same thing with a pot roast, just put the pot roast in first, after browning. I like potatoes in this too.

Slow Cooking for Dummies is a great book, very easy to follow.

The crockpot rocks. I love allrecipes.com for ideas, but here is a simple one from my aunt:

Beef Stew

1 lb. beef stew meat
3 russet potatoes, cubed (I leave the skins on)
1/2 package baby carrots
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 can Campbells condensed golden mushroom soup
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

You can add a can of water if you like it saucier but I like it thick. Cook on low for 8 hours. Enjoy!

S., here is a good one. Use cut up chuck (stew beef) or round steak. Put it in the crock pot with a package of onion soup dry mix, and 1 can of Cream of Mushroom or Celery soup thinned a little with water or vegetable broth. Cook on Low all day and serve with noodles or rice or potatoes and a vegetable on the side.
Use fresh or thawed chicken...frozen would never cook through.
"Taste of Home" has a cookbook/"magazine" out right now with just crockpot recipes. I bought one recently (can't remember where, sorry) and in reading through it the recipes look great! Also, I have found some good crockpot cookbooks at garage sales.

Place RAW chicken breasts (use 3-4) in slow cooker. Add one jar of salsa (any flavor you like) and then 1 cup water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Shred meat after cooking and use for taco meat!

I put most meat in frozen. Roasts are wonderful. cook meat on low all day and is perfect by supper time. The only time I put in cooked meat is ground beef if you are making chili, spaghetti, etc. Try meatloaf in the crock, it is quite tasty.