Tag Archive | slow cooker

50 Kickin’ Super Bowl Recipes!

Okay, it’s tough to admit this but, for me, the best part of a Super Bowl party is the food. There. I said it. I love the commercials and getting together with friends but a party with lots of yummy appetizers is what gets me cheering. So as I started planning my own party this year, I figured I’d put together my personal top 50 list to share. If only there were enough people and enough crockpots in my house so I could make all fifty! Enjoy!

1. Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders (From Hip2Save)

2. Artichoke & Spinach Dip Restaurant Style (From AllRecipes)

3. Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Bacon and Gruyere (From Spicy Southern Kitchen)

4. Cocktail Smokies (From Cupcake Diaries)

5. Easy Guacamole (From AllRecipes)

6. Easy Potato Skins (From iheartnaptime)

7. Seriously Smooth Roasted Garlic Parmesan Hummus (From Sally’s Baking Addiction)

8. Crab Rangoon Dip (From missbutterbean)

9. Philly Cheesesteak Sliders (From home made interest)

10. The Ultimate Bloody Mary (From Jo-Lynne Shane)

11. Cheesy Bacon Spinach Dip (From Damn Delicious)

12. Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Baked Chicken Wings (From Baker by Nature)

13. Cherry Cheesecake Dip (From I Heart Eating)

14. Sweet and Spicy Chicken Bacon Wraps (From 101 Cooking for Two)

15. Meatball Sub on a Stick (From Cookies & Cups)

16. Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe- Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Bites Copycat Recipe (From Midget Momma)

17. Bourbon Maple Glazed Chicken Wings (From Simply Recipes)

18. Turkey Bacon Ranch Sliders (From Wine & Glue)

19. Slow Cooker Brisket French Dip Sandwiches (From Neighbor Food)

20. Seven Layer Taco Dip (From AllRecipes)

21. Pepperoni Pizza Football Cheese Ball (From Mom on Timeout)

22. Ham & Cheese Pretzel Bites (From Pip & Ebby)

23. Easy Jalapeño and Red Pepper Cheese Ball (From Averie Cooks)

24. Hissy Fit Dip (From Plain Chicken)

25. Bacon Wrapped Tater Tot Bombs (From Damn Delicious)

26. Easy Vegetable Pizza (From Wannabite)

27. Homemade Mac And Cheese Bites (From chef in training)

28. Pepperoni Cheese Stick Roll Ups (From The Girl Who Ate Everything)

29. Ham & Swiss Sliders (From Cincy Shopper)

30. Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip (From Gimme Some Oven)

31. Baked Firecracker Chicken Tenders (From Creme de la Crumb)

32. Copycat Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli (From Frugal Coupon Living)

33. Buckeye Dip (From Stockpiling Moms)

34. Cream Cheese Ranch Roll-ups (From Stephie Cooks)

35. Chili’s Queso Dip (The Girl Who Ate Everything)

36. Crockpot Sesame Meatballs (From Little Broken)

37. Cheesy Party Burgers (From Kevin & Amanda)

38. Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Crisps (From Spend With Pennies)

39. Mexican Street Corn Salad (From Cooking Classy)

40. Jalapeno Popper Dip (Cook Crave Inspire)

41. Loaded Buffalo Chicken Nachos (From Host the Toast)

42. Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls (From Carlsbad Cravings)

43. Mini Corn Dogs (From missbutterbean)

44. Runzas (From Her View From Home)

45. Baked Bloomin’ Onion (From Gimme Some Oven)

46. Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread (From Recipe Tin Eats)

47. Cookies and Cream Dip (From Penney Lane)

48. Bacon-Wrapped Smokies with Brown Sugar and Butter (From Tasty Kitchen)

49. Thai Firecracker Shrimp (From Steamy Kitchen)

50. Tex Mex Hushpuppies (From Lemons for Lulu)

33 Crock Pot Recipes You Can’t Live Without

Dec13

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

chicken noodle

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/

Crock Pot Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup

Nov2

Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagioli

I love having lunch at Olive Garden with friends to enjoy their delicious soups and salad. Their Pasta e Fagioli soup (similar to minestrone) is one of my favorites so it was a fun challenge to recreate at home. I found some great copycat recipes online which I adapted a bit but the twist on the challenge was to recreate it for the crock pot. The result is truly phenomenal and is an exact flavor copy of Olive Garden’s version! I recently had a large group of friends over and served this recipe and they all agreed it was identical to Olive Garden’s soup. There also weren’t any leftovers…Boo!

Quick note: If you want to make a true copycat you’ll need to use the ditali pasta. However, it can be a little harder to find and is also more expensive so I usually swap it out for fusilli or another small pasta.

Crock Pot Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Serves 6-8

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, julienned or shredded
4 stalks of celery, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans
1 (15 oz.) can great Northern beans
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (12 oz.) can V8 juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons parsley
1/2 teaspoon pepper

At the end:

1/2 pound ditali pasta (you can also substitute with fusilli, macaroni, or any small pasta you like)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown the meat. Drain off the fat and transfer the cooked hamburger to the bottom of the crock pot.

2. Pour the remaining items, except for the pasta and Parmesan cheese, over the hamburger.

Stir everything together.

Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

3. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the dry pasta to the crock pot and stir to incorporate. Stir every ten minutes or so to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick and that it can absorb enough liquid.

4. Pour soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve along garlic bread. Enjoy!

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

Oct24

If you’ve ever eaten at P.F. Chang’s, you know you’re always in for a treat. Everything on their menu is so stinking good. Unfortunately, the closest P.F. Chang’s we have is about 45 minutes away so it’s rare that we get to enjoy eating there. I love, love, love their Mongolian Beef so it was a happy day when I came across the recipe in one of Todd Wlbur’s copycat books. While it was pretty close to spot on I have made some changes which I think make it taste more like the original and also make the recipe crockpot-friendly. The result is to die for! The beef is tender and tangy and the sauce it cooks in thickens up nicely to pour over rice or noodles. It’s an easy crock pot recipe to put together in the morning and the smells you come home to are heavenly. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as my family does! And if you like a little heat, try adding some Sriracha to the sauce. 🙂

Crock Pot Copycat P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef
Serves 4

1 pound flank steak or london broil
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 large green onions, sliced into 1 inch chunks
1 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Hoison sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Green Onions, finely sliced for garnish

Directions:

1. Turn your crock pot on low while you start preparing the ingredients. Spray the interior of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Cut the steak into thick stir-fry size pieces, making sure to cut against the grain of the meat.

Dredge the pieces of steak into the cornstarch, making sure both sides are well coated.

Place the coated steak in the bottom of the crock pot and discard any leftover cornstarch.

3. Layer sliced green onions over the steak.

4. In a small mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk until well blended.

Pour sauce over the steak. Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or on LOW for 4-5 hours.

Serve over rice or noodles and garnish with green onions. Enjoy!

4 Ingredient Crock Pot Balsamic Pot Roast

Aug16

I’ve made many a pot roast and this is the easiest and tastiest recipe. I came across this winning recipe in a magazine and after making it a few times thought I’d mix it up a bit by adding in balsamic vinegar. The result was even better than the already awesome pot roast recipe! The balsamic both tenderizes and flavors the meat while giving it a nice tangy zip. The best part is that I can throw everything in the crock pot before work, without having to sear the meat like most recipes require, and dash out the door. No joke, it takes less than 5 minutes to prep or a few minutes more if you decide to add veggies to the pot. Can a recipe be any simpler or any more rewarding?

Crock Pot Balsamic Pot Roast
~Serves 4. If you’re cooking for more then you’ll definitely want to double the recipe.

2 pound boneless chuck roast
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
Your favorite pot roast veggies (optional)

1. Place chuck roast in the bottom of your crock pot.

If you like, add optional veggies such as carrots, potatoes, parsnips, etc. Any softer veggies like celery, peas, etc. should be added two hours or so before serving so they don’t turn to mush on you.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the mushroom soup, onion soup mix, water and vinegar.

Pour over the pot roast.

Cook on Low for 8-9 hours or on High for 3-4 hours. If you go the shorter method and decide to add veggies, be sure to check the veggies to make sure they’re cooked through.

Remove roast to a cutting board and allow to cool a bit before slicing. Be sure to slice against the grain! If you slice with the grain it’s almost guaranteed it’ll be chewy.

Helpful Tip: This recipe makes a wonderful gravy which I often pour over egg noodles or mashed potatoes. The men in my family love that combination!