Crock Pot

INGREDIENTS For the chicken: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Tablespoons butter For the sauce: 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 3 Tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup heavy cream 4 cloves garlic minced 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/3 cup chopped sundried tomatoes drained 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 10 fresh basil leaves chopped INSTRUCTIONS Season the chicken on both sides with the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and melt the butter. Sear the chicken breasts until golden brown, take the pan off the heat, and set aside. Whisk together the chicken broth and cornstarch in a bowl until there are no lumps. Add the chicken broth mixture to the bottom of an 8-quart slow cooker. Whisk in the heavy cream, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Place the seared chicken breasts into the slow cooker and pour the olive oil and butter from the pan on top. Top each piece of chicken with the chopped-up sundried tomatoes. Place on low for 6-7 hours. Take the chicken breasts out and whisk in the parmesan cheese to the sauce. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker, cover with sauce and add the basil, serve immediately. Notes Don’t cook this on high, there would be a good chance of the sauce scorching at a higher heat. It is great served over pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, or anything that can soak up that amazing sauce. You can skip the sear part but I think that adds flavor to the finished dish. If you do skip it, then I would add 4 Tablespoons of melted butter to the sauce. The sauce needs the butter/olive oil we pour over the chicken after searing. Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, freeze for up to 3 months.

INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts boneless and skinless (about 3 breasts) 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano Cheese divided 2 cups Zesty Italian Dressing 1 package 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature 1 box 16 oz rotini pasta INSTRUCTIONS Unpack your chicken breasts and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker and with a fork, poke each breast 3 to 4 times. Sprinkle pepper, garlic powder, and half of the shredded cheese. Gently pour the Olive Garden dressing over the chicken Sprinkle the remaining of the shredded cheese and add the cream cheese on top. Cover and cook on High for 4 ½ hours to 5 hours. Cook your pasta. Drain. Set aside. You may want to add a little bit of olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) or butter, so it does not stick too much together. Once cooked, take the chicken out on a plate and shred the chicken using 2 forks. Place the chicken back into the slow cooker and mix well with the sauce. Mix until the chicken is all coated with the sauce. Add the cooked pasta and mix well until pasta and chicken are well coated. Keep warm until ready to serve Notes Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days You can cook the chicken on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours and LOW for 6 to 8 hours You can freeze the chicken once shredded in safe freezer bags for up to 3 months You don’t need to add the pasta to the chicken. You can serve the chicken over rice, over pasta, you can also use it in a baked casserole, and it is excellent in a sandwich as leftovers.

INGREDIENTS 1 1/3 pound pork shoulder 1/2 cup root beer 1/3 cup barbecue sauce INSTRUCTIONS Add the pork butt to a 4 quart or larger Crock Pot. Then pour the root beer over top of the roast. Drizzle the barbecue sauce on top of the meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time. Once the cook time is up, remove the meat from the crock pot and shred using two forks. Discard any fatty pieces. Return the shredded meat back into the crock pot and mix it with the sauce. Serve warm. Notes Do not cook on HIGH temperature as the meat needs time to tenderize. Use your favorite root beer and barbecue sauce in this recipe

INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 pound ground turkey 2 (10.75 ounce) cans low sodium tomato soup 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained 1/2 medium onion, chopped 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin 1 pinch ground black pepper 1 pinch ground allspice Salt to taste INSTRUCTIONS Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place turkey in the skillet, and cook until evenly brown; drain. Coat the inside of a Crock Pot with cooking spray, and mix in turkey, tomato soup, kidney beans, black beans and onion. Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, allspice and salt. Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High.

INGREDIENTS 8 cups 1% low-fat milk 1 cup uncooked jasmine or basmati rice 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise Cooking spray 3 peaches, sliced 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon INSTRUCTIONS Combine milk, rice, 3/4 cup sugar, and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla bean) in a 6-quart electric Crock Pot coated with cooking spray; stir well. Cover and cook LOW for 7 1/2 hours. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean. Discard vanilla bean shell and cinnamon stick. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Serve with peach slices, and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. ACTIVE TIME 10 minutes ...

INGREDIENTS 3 lb chuck roast Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packet McCormick Au Jus Mix 5 Pepperoncini Peppers (and some juice) 1 Stick of butter INSTRUCTIONS Put the chuck roast in the crock pot. Sprinkle the Au Jus mix and the hidden valley ranch mix on top of the roast. Put the stick of butter on top of the roast. Then put the pepperoncinis on top plus some of the juice but do not add water. Cook on low for 8 hours, shred the meat and serve. (It’s good with lime/cilantro rice).

INGREDIENTS 1 leek, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced cross wise 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 lb dried red kidney beans 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced crosswise 1 tsp thyme 4 slices bacon INSTRUCTIONS In a 5-quart Crock Pot, combine beans, bacon, leek, celery, thyme, and 10 cups water. Cover; cook on high setting until beans are tender, about 4 hours. Do not uncover while cooking. Stir in bell pepper, season with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cover; continue cooking until bell pepper is tender, about 20 minutes more. To serve, discard bacon slices, if desired (but you would be crazy to); stir in 2 cups cooked white rice.

INGREDIENTS 1 pound dried red beans 1 1/2 pounds smoked sausage cut into chunks 1 ham hock or ham bone 1 cup chopped onion 1 clove garlic minced 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon sage 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper salt to taste freshly cooked white rice INSTRUCTIONS Soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain and put the beans in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add fresh water to cover, along with the sausage and ham, onion, garlic, thyme, pepper, sage, and cayenne. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until beans are tender, adding more water if necessary to keep them from drying out. This will take 2 to 3 hours. Add salt to taste. Discard ham bones. Remove about 1/4 cup of beans from mixture and mash; return to Dutch oven and stir. Simmer 15 more minutes. Serve over hot rice. Serves 6 ...

INGREDIENTS 4 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded) 2 to 14.5 oz cans chicken broth 2 to 15 oz. cans mild green enchilada sauce 2 to 4 oz. cans diced green chiles 2/3 cup water 1 1/2 TB cumin 1 TB chili powder 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. garlic powder 2/3 cup corn (if frozen, thaw out) 2/3 cup instant rice 1 to 8 oz. bar cream cheese (cubed) salt and pepper Monterrey Jack Cheese INSTRUCTIONS Place chicken broth, enchilada sauce, green chiles, water, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and shredded chicken in crock pot on HIGH. Cook for 3.5 hours. After cooking for 3.5 hours add corn, rice and cubed cream cheese. Stir and cook for half hour. Add salt and pepper to taste and top with Monterrey Jack Cheese. Serves 4-6.

INGREDIENTS 2 pounds lean ground beef 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 1 (1 ounce) packet dry au jus mix 3/4 cup water INSTRUCTIONS In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion soup mix, bread crumbs, and milk using your hands. Shape into 8 patties. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the patties in flour just to coat, and quickly brown on both sides in the hot skillet. Place browned patties into the Crock Pot stacking alternately like a pyramid. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup, au jus mix, and water. Pour over the meat. Cook on the Low setting for 4 or 5 hours, until ground beef is well done.