Whether it’s pot roast, spicy meatballs, chili, or even chocolate pudding, the crock pot does just about everything. I use it at least once a week and will be forever grateful to my Mother for giving me my first crock pot when I graduated from college. Granted, there have been a few failures–usually due to forgetting I had something in the crock pot and arriving a few hours later than planned to a pot of mush–but there have been so many more delicious successes. So today’s post is a fun tribute to the crock pot and all of the yummy things you can do with it. Before I get started, I get this question a lot so I’ll go ahead and answer it now: What crock pot do I personally use and why? I have the Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker. I’ve owned a couple over the years but this is my favorite for a couple of reasons. 1) It has little clamps so I can seal down the lid and not worry about sloshing if I’m transporting food in my car. Been there, done that, and it’s no fun cleaning chili out of the floor of your car in the freezing cold. 2) It’s programmable so for recipes that call for 8 hours of cooking time it means I don’t have to rush home because the timer setting just switches to WARM when it’s done. 3) It has a meat thermometer/probe so you can set the crock pot to switch to warm as soon as it reaches a certain internal temp. I actually first gave this crock pot to my Mom as a present but was so impressed by it that I scooped one up for myself.

Onward we go to 33 amazing recipes!

Soups:

Copycat Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

Recipe: https://missbutterbean.com/copy-cat-panera-bread-crock-pot-broccoli-cheddar-soup/

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-noodle-soup-198707

Classic Crockpot Chili

Recipe: http://busycooks.about.com/od/hotsouprecipes/r/crockpotchili.htm

White Bean Chicken Chili

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/white-bean-chicken-chili

Chicken & Dumplings

Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-and-Dumplings/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Main Dishes:

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Pulled-Pork/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=slow%20cooker&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Carnitas/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=slow%20cooker&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/kathleen-daelemans/slow-cooker-lemon-garlic-chicken-recipe/index.html

4 Ingredient Balsamic Pot Roast

Recipe: https://missbutterbean.com/4-ingredient-crock-pot-balsamic-pot-roast/

Slow-Cooker Pepper Steak

Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Pepper-Steak/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/10/19/chicken-tikka-masala-crockpot/#.UqigJcRDuM0

Crock Pot Copycat P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef

Easy French Dip

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Slow-Cooker-French-Dip/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Recipe: http://laurassweetspot.com/2013/06/12/crockpot-brown-sugar-balsamic-glazed-pork-tenderloin/

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

Recipe: http://www.southernplate.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-turkey-breast-my-little-thanksgiving.html

Crock Pot Fettuccine Alfredo

Recipe: http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/crock-pot-chicken-fettuccine-alfredo-recipe/

Au Gratin Garlic Potatoes

Recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/au-gratin-garlic-potatoes

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken

Recipe: http://wannabite.com/crockpot-buffalo-chicken-recipe/

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Recipe: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagna/23546794-7262-47be-9ca4-e12c900399a1

Slow Cooker Italian Beef for Sandwiches

Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Italian-Beef-for-Sandwiches/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

Recipe: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-sweet-and-sour-chicken/c91a2eff-3da0-4dec-842e-92a672b67075

Sides & Appetizers: 

Crock Pot Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Recipe: http://thestir.cafemom.com/food_party/149688/the_ultimate_crock_pot_mac

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Recipe: http://www.garnishwithlemon.com/2013/10/28/crock-pot-baked-potatoes/

Slow Cooker Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes

Recipe: http://therecipecritic.com/2013/09/slow-cooker-cheesy-bacon-ranch-potatoes/

Bourbon Lit’l Smokies

Recipe: http://www.tammileetips.com/2013/10/crock-pot-bourbon-lil-smokies-hillshire-farms-litl-smokies/

Crockpot Green Bean Casserole

Recipe: http://www.tammileetips.com/2013/11/crock-pot-green-bean-casserole/

Crock Pot Sweet & Sour Meatballs

http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2013/07/17/sweet-sour-crockpot-meatballs-recipe/

Crock Pot Au Gratin Garlic Potatoes

Recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/au-gratin-garlic-potatoes

Desserts: 

Crock Pot Apple Betty with Almond Cream

Recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/apple-betty-with-almond-cream

Slow Cooker Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Recipe: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-pineapple-upside-down-cake/f4a52245-95d2-403d-9d8b-320d6b9f485e

Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake

Recipe: http://eclecticrecipes.com/slow-cooker-chocolate-lava-cake

Slow Cooker Turtle Upside-Down Cake

Recipe: http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/slow-cooker-turtle-upside-down-cake/44f373e8-7467-4bbd-9e2c-eb74eb37cd4e

Crock Pot Hot Chocolate

Recipe: http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2010/12/creamy-crockpot-hot-cocoa-best-ever/