Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Slow Cooker Thieves' Pork Roast

This is a recipe I actually made up on the fly this morning!  Yesterday I made a large batch of Thieves' Oil Concentrate, and it smelled so very delicious, that today I used the basic ingredients as the foundation of this recipe...  and it was every bit as delicious as it smelled!



Friday, March 15, 2013

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

This was amazingly tasty, and had me drooling in anticipation all afternoon — it smells divine while cooking!  It's also quite filling; we were each happy with a 1/2 chicken breast portion, served with lemon-butter dressed steamed broccoli.




Friday, March 8, 2013

Slow Cooker Bacon Ranch Chicken

This was incredibly delicious!  It was a bit on the salty side, though.  I found a recipe for making your own ranch dressing mix, and I am planning to make my own, with much less salt.  In the meantime, I just added more sour cream and that improved the overly saltiness.




Thursday, March 7, 2013

Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Pork Chops with Potatoes

Second only to the Slow Cooker Honey-Butter Chicken Bake, I think this is my favorite of the freezer-to-crockpot recipes I've tried so far.  There was a lot of liquid, though; next time I may try reducing the soup and ranch mix to one each, at least for 4 pork chops.



Slow Cooker Tangy Barbecue Ribs

The first few bites I took of these ribs did not really impress me, as they have a very tangy, slightly bitter taste, but as I ate them, the taste really grew on me, and I decided I really enjoyed them by the end.

I served them with spaghetti squash with tomato sauce.




Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce

This is a simple, tasty, and extremely healthy side dish that goes well with almost anything.





Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef

As usual with the spicier/Southwestern recipes, I was not a huge fan, but Jess adored it.

I served it over rice, with baked veggies – rough cut zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and thinly sliced mini red and orange sweet peppers, tossed with olive oil and thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil and dill and baked at 350 F for about half an hour.  I think it might have been better as the original recipe's alternate suggestion: with cheese as quesadillas. 




Saturday, March 2, 2013

Slow Cooker Honey-Butter Chicken Bake

This is probably my favorite of the slow cooker meals we've done so far.  The seasoning is amazing – I was afraid I wouldn't like it because of the honey, but it isn't overpowering at all.

For a freezer-to-crockpot version, I would probably use small new potatoes whole (potatoes can go icky in the freezer if cut and not covered with sauce), and would package the chicken and veggies separately, since they are seasoned differently.




Friday, March 1, 2013

Slow Cooker Italian Pork Roast

I found this recipe to be much too strong on tomato for my tastes (possibly because I just used the whole small can of tomato paste), but Jess loved it, so here it is!  Based on a similar recipe for beef roast.

I served it with steamed brussel sprouts with butter and garlic, and bread stuffing.




Thursday, February 28, 2013

Slow Cooker Onion Gravy Pork Chops

This is the recipe I had meant to make when I did the Slow Cooker Creamy Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Potatoes.  It is quite tasty, though quite heavy on the saltiness.  If you don't like things pretty salty, you might want to do this with 6 or even 8 pork chops and increase the chicken broth appropriately.

I served it with Bacon-Braised Turnip Greens and Cauliflower with White Sauce and Cheese.



Slow Cooker Creamy Beef Stroganoff

In seeking out crockpot recipes, I found several that claimed to be "beef stroganoff".  This is based on the only one that actually sounded like beef stroganoff to me.

As usual, of course, I adjusted the recipe to fit our tastes, and that is what I am sharing with you!




Monday, February 11, 2013

Slow Cooker Creamy Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Potatoes

This was yet another success for the crockpot.  Delightfully tangy, yet creamy, and the pork chops were falling apart – literally.  It actually wasn't in the plan for this week, but when I went to put it together, I opened up to the wrong recipe, and didn't realize it till I went to put it here!  Luckily it was a huge hit, and will definitely be staying in the repertoire.

I served it with brussel sprouts covered in butter and garlic powder.  It was an amazingly good combination.



Monday, February 4, 2013

Slow Cooker Caribbean Jerk Pork Curry

The original recipe this delectable crockpot meal was based on, called it Jamaican Jerk Pork.  It's just...  not.  The flavor has much more in common with Indian style curry than Jamaican jerk.  However, it is absolutely delicious!  And the flavor is very strong, so a little goes a long way.

I served it over rice, and it went quite well, though you could also serve it on noodles or potatoes, or go in a very different direction and put it on bread as a sort of curry barbecue.



Sunday, February 3, 2013

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Zuchini

As seems to be somewhat the theme of these freezer-to-crockpot meals, this one was a bit bland as I found it; I had to work with it to make it my own and suited to our tastes.  However, it's delightfully simple yet healthy, hearty, and delicious.  It would be easy to add in any additional vegetables that your family prefers or which are in season.




Saturday, February 2, 2013

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

This was the first of my freezer-to-crockpot experiments.  With some adjustments to make it my own, I was satisfied, if not absolutely wild about it.  I don't think it will become a staple at our house, but it's quite tasty all the same.

I served it over basmati rice, the only kind I like; and alongside lightly stir-fried broccoli, carrot slices and snow peas in a little sesame oil, oyster sauce and soy sauce.



Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Soup

I have discovered a new passion in the kitchen - freezer to crockpot meals.  In coming weeks, expect to see a lot of posts with recipes for such foods; I have been discovering and modifying dozens and dozens of recipes to suit my tastes.

This, however, is a long-time favorite of mine.  I learned how to make the base recipe from an ex-boyfriend's boss, of all things, and then of course made it my own.  I absolutely adore it in the wintertime, and even often in the summer.  It's so easy – just throw it all in the slow cooker in the morning, and it's ready for dinner.  The secret ingredient that really sets it apart from similar recipes, I think, is the mustard.

All spice measurements (everything after the cloves of garlic) are rough estimates, don't worry about exact measuring.  It is designed for my large, 8 quart crockpot; it should be easy to cut in half for a smaller, standard-sized (4-5 qt.) slow cooker.



Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

When I first found the base for this recipe, I was rather skeptical, as it frankly sounded too simple to really be much good.  But, I gave it a shot.  The smells as it was cooking were amazing.  As I scooped it out, I got skeptical again - it certainly didn't look appetizing.  However...  the taste absolutely won me over!  This is definitely getting added to the regular household menu, especially how easy it is to keep 'on hand'.