Manic Monday – Crock Pot Recipes

It’s that time of year; when warm, hearty meals bring comfort and nostalgia. And where the thought of something hot to eat doesn’t make you want to hurt someone. 🙂

I use my crock pot year round, but it certainly sees more frequent use during the fall and winter months. So, I thought I’d share some of my favorite crock pot recipes! I wish I could take credit for them, but the fact is I got them all from other sources, which I will cite at each recipe. I hope you enjoy! Let me know how they turn out, how your family likes them, and any way you modify them to fit your family’s particular needs and likes. Also, feel free to share your own favorite crock pot recipes!

Taco Soup

(recipe from a friend years ago)
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can tomato sauce (can sub 1 Tbs tomato paste)
1 onion, diced
1 envelope taco seasoning
Grated cheese
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Brown beef and onions together in large skillet, drain off fat. (HINT: make a large batch of the meat/onion mixture and freeze in 1 lb batches for easy future use!). Add meat and remaining ingredients (except for cheese, sour cream and chips) to crock pot. Put the lid on and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 2-3 hours (the longer the better). Serve hot garnished with cheese, sour cream and chips. You can also add corn or canned green chiles or jalapeños!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings (From my dear friend, Cyndi)
4 raw, boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 onion chopped
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 Tbs butter or margarine
Water
1-2 cans refrigerated biscuits (or make your own. My family LOVES this biscuit recipe, and it’s super easy!!)

Place chicken into crock pot and cover with the soup, butter and onions. Add enough water to just cover the chicken. Place on lid and cook on low 6-8 hours, or until chicken is fully cooked. If using whole chicken breasts, stir a couple of times during cooking to help break up the chicken. 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, break up uncooked biscuit dough into pieces about the size of a doughnut hole and set ontop of the chicken mixture until the entire top is covered. Replace lid and cook until the dough is puffy and cooked in the middle. Serve hot and enjoy! You can also sneak in some veg by adding a bag of frozen mixed veg, or diced up fresh veg like carrots, peas and green beans before cooking! I also like to make a double batch of biscuits and put half on as dumplings and bake the rest up to have on the side.

BBQ Pulled Pork
We are new to the DIY pulled pork or BBQ arena. But good BBQ is hard to find in Ireland. Shocker, I know. We love this Pulled Pork Recipe, but we use a boneless pork round or pork shoulder instead and cook on high for several hours, drain the liquid, shred with forks. Then add the BBQ sauce of your choice (we prefer a good honey BBQ sauce) and cook on high for another half hour to an hour.

Pinto Beans

(this is my hubby’s secret recipe. Consider yourself lucky to get it!!)
1 lb dried pinto beans
1/4 lb chopped bacon, diced ham OR lardons
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
Tortillas

Soak dry beans in water over night. Drain and add bacon and onion. Add water enough to just barely cover the beans. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours until the beans are tender and bacon is cooked through. Serve hot with warmed tortillas. HINT: season to taste during cooking be creative! Some ideas: seasoned salt, garlic powder, nature’s seasoning, garlic pepper.

More Resources
There are some really great, wholesome crock pot meals (and one pot) meals on a budget at Eat For A Week. It is run by a single guy who buys all his ingredients for roughly $20 and makes enough to feed himself for a week! His recipes easily feed a family, and on a budget, too!

Erin over at The Humbled Homemaker has some great recipes! She is working at transitioning to a whole food diet for her family as well as having to learn to cook gluten and dairy free for her daughter! Here are some of her great crock pot recipes:
Crock Pot Applesauce,Crock Pot Pasta Sauce, and Crock Pot Paella

Photo Credit

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