Crockpot or quick n easy dinners?
 

I'm about to start classes again that will require me to go to work at 7 am, then straight to class after work where I won't get home til 5:30 or 6:30 four nights a week. I'm looking for crockpot or quick and easy recipes so I can resist the temptation to just grab something fast food on the way home. Thanks!

I just tried this last week and the family approved. I used 98% fat free soup and low-fat sour cream to make it healthier. This was easy.

SALSA CHICKEN
2 pounds frozen chicken breasts
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can corn, or 1 cup or so frozen corn
1/2 C. low-fat sour cream

Put chicken in crockpot. Combine salsa, soup, taco seasoning, beans and corn, pour over chicken.
Cook on low 8 hours.
Remove chicken, shred, and return to crock pot. Just before serving add the sour cream.
Serve over rice.
We used leftovers on flour tortillas with cheese & lettuce for an additional meal.

sounds yummy

My quick and easy meals include: hot dogs, frozen pizza, hamburger helper, chicken helper(can use chicken or shrimp), or when you do cook, make a lot, and freeze containers of it.

This is an easy and tasty meal that my family loves. If you like mexican food, you will love this.

Refried Bean Soup
1 can refried bean (I use fat free)
1 can chicken or vegetable broth (use low sodium)
1-3 cans of assorted beans (kidney, black bean, pinto...whatever you like/have on hand...drain and rinse
1 can corn (drained) or frozen corn
1 can rotel or diced tomatoes (don't drain)

Put refried beans in a pot. Heat, adding broth (this thins the fried beans). Add remaining items and heat. Serve with diced onion, sour cream, grated cheese, tortillas chips or whatever you like. Very flexible recipe...you can add more spice if you like. Great with cheese quesadillas. Very healthy soup which you can do vegetarian if you want. It's ready in 10 mins! Opening the cans is the hardest work. Great when it's cold outside. A huge family favorite!

1 pork or beef pot roast, 1 packet taco seasoning and 1 cup water .Cook 4-5 hours depending on size of roast. When done , shred with fork and make subway sandwiches or tacos with corn tortillas and shredded cabbage.

Yummy! Sounds really good!

When I was a working gal I always made enough for 6 people even if there were only 2 and froze the rest.Now that i am retired I still cook that way so there is more time for quilting.I cooked a 20 bd turkey and stuffing and gravy and am enjoying.I cooked meat balls for 8 and have them as needed i.Had husband grill 10 chicken thighs.I make always more and freeze that way I know what is for supper is healthy has no additives.I just go shopping in my freezer.

i tend to throw roasts in the crock pot.. 2 cups of water, lipton onion soup mix if i have it, half a small onion chunked, sea salt,bay leaves, big handful of raw carrots cut in big chunks and celery stalks.. cooked on high from 9-6 and it was perfectly cooked..

Put whole chicken in crock pot with lid. Turn it on low. At the end of the day you have baked chicken, and it is easy to fix a simple fruit or green salad to accompany it while you warm some store bought rolls. Feeds a family, or leftovers make good chicken salad the next day. Keep it simple.

I make this without the cream soup or sour cream since hubby has dairy sensitivity and it is delicious, if you want to use that option.

I love the recipes on this site. They are always so good and easy to make. Thanks to all of you for sharing.

You cook the same way I do ... I call it "Planned Overs"

It may be something that can go direct from freezer to oven or microwave or crockpot.

Or the Planned Overs may be something that I have plans on other things to do with it.
Eg. cook lots of rice and freeze in single portions OR remake into something different within the next day or two.


BeckyBoo ... another good help is to have a menu plan. A friend of mine makes hers ahead a week, based on what is in her freezer and does planned over cooking on the weekend. Also, the menu plan gives her a shopping list for what's missing. The night before, you can prep what needs to be done and get what's needed out of the freezer.

Hope this one helps. My family loves it and I serve it with a tossed salad and rolls.

Crock pot Cheese Chicken Tettrazini

1 lb. Velveeta, cubed
1 can of mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
12 1/2 oz. can of cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 lb. spaghetti noodles
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cu water
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk

-Combine chicken, mushrooms, soups, onion, cheese and water in crock pot.
-Cook spaghetti noodles as directed, then add to chicken mixture.
-Cook 2 -3 hours on low setting of crock pot. Stir occasionally. Add milk as needed to keep moist. Season as desired
and serve.

Enjoy!

Two Ingredient Crock Pot Meal Starter
1 pork roast, trimmed of fat
1 bottle of barbeque sauce

Put in crock pot on low, simmer 8 hours till it falls apart easily.
Serve on hamburger buns with quick lettuce and raw veggies salad.
Or if desired add canned corn, beans, etc.
For dessert ice cream or instant pudding, or fruit.

This sounds so yummy but hubby doesn't like black beans - what can i use in placed of them?

Just leave the beans out! It will still taste great.

I made this for dinner tonight and hubby loved it! he is a very very picky eater and as Mexican food goes he only likes Taco bell ( lol ) but i made it and he ate two helpings. I used mild salasa and pinto beans (hubby doesn't like black beans!) Next time will use hotter salsa. Also just as a side note hubby thought it would be good over mashed potatoes! i had to laugh!

being I am a single person, I like the slow crock pot recipes I find online, I pick & choose them and use whichever one I chose.

Thanks for the recipes. I love to use the crockpot and make enough for weeks of different meals to take to work. I am always looking for tasty satisfying meals. I am going to try the salsa chicken this week.
Lynda

One of my favorites-
Pork Loin with apricot glaze
Place peeled, fresh sweet potatoes in bottom of Crockpot
Lay pork loin on top of potatoes.
Cover with a small jar of Apricot preserves.
Cook on low all day.

Just made the "Salsa Chicken" recipe from a few posts ago - yum! Thanks!

Alison

All of your ideas look better than my crock pot cookbooks! I've printed them all out and am going to try them over the next few weeks, Thanks!

In crock pot add two large lamb shanks. Cover with your favorite spaghetti sauce add some rosemary if have any. Cook all day on low. Take shanks out and remove meat from the bone and serve the meat on top of your favorite pasta using some of the sauce from the crock pot. I make this often and it's very tasty.

I love my slow cooker, what we in the UK call your crock pots, here is a link to a mass of recipes. http://www.slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/

Here is my family's favorite:

TACO SOUP

2# GROUND BEEF
1 LG. ONION, DICED
1 LG. CAN DICED TOMATOES (32 OZ. SIZE)
1 CAN REFRIED BEANS
1 CAN KIDNEY BEANS
1 CAN PINTO BEANS
1 CAN CHILI WITHOUT BEANS
1 PKG. FROZEN CORN
1 PKG. LIPTON ONION SOUP MIX
4 CLOVES GARLIC, MINCED
2 TBLSP. CHILI POWDER
1 TBLSP. GROUND CUMIN
1 PKG. HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH DRY DRESSING MIX
2 PKG. TACO SEASONING MIX
1 CAN ROTEL TOMATOES (ONES WITH GREEN CHILIS IN THEM)
6 CUPS WATER
1 -15 OZ. CAN TOMATO SAUCE

CHEDDAR OR JACK CHEESE
SOUR CREAM

BROWN GROUND BEEF, DRAIN EXCESS FAT, ADD DICED ONION AND GARLIC, SAUTE ABOUT 3 MIN. ADD ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS AND BRING TO BOIL IN LARGE SOUP POT. WHEN IT COMES TO A BOIL, TURN DOWN TO SIMMER AND COOK 45 MIN. SERVE IN BOWLS TOPPED WITH CHEESE AND A DOLLOP OF SOUR CREAM. SERVE WITH EITHER CORNBREAD OR TACO CHIPS. SERVES 8.

On Saturday my hairdresser gave me one of her favorite recipes and I tried it last night. We all liked it. I have the Hamilton Beach crock pot. It has 3 sizes of crocks, each one fits into the base so that you can choose which size to use. They're labeled 2, 4, and 6. I used the #2 (smallest) and cooked on high for 9 hours.

Place approx. 2 1/2 lbs. pork loin tenderloin in crock. Dump in 1 can of black bean soup or black beans (undrained) and one jar of salsa (medium spiciness). That's it, how much easier could it get? I served plain along with green beans but we thought it would have been nice served over rice, too.

1 pot roast - any size
1/4 cup bottled BBQ sauce
1 onion - quartered

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour; turn down to low and let it cook for the rest of the day (5-6 hours at least). It falls apart, is very tender and tasty

Round Steak, cut into strips.........1 can mushroom soup........low temp for all day........this will get beef and gravy to serve with rice or mashed potatoes and the steak will be tender

Lasagna in the pot............brown the hamburger........put the following in layers in the crock pot......start with uncooked lasagna noodles, then a covering of spagetti sauce from the jar, then a covering of cottege cheese, then the meat.......and repeat these layers until you have used everything, I like to end with a meat layer and some cheese on top, when you are ready to serve it.

Chili in the pot
Brown the hamburger (about a pound) and 1 /2 pd of sausage.........put it in the crock pot.......add a variety of cans of beans (black,pinto, chili, great norhtern, etc)..just pour the cans in.........add a packet of chili seasoning mix...some dry onion if you have it......a dab of Tabasco or other brand of hot sauce........give it a stir.........cook all day........serve with grated cheese and chips.........if you like spicey, use hot sausage..........

Fayeberry, do you put any liquid in the pot with the chicken?

I make chicken that way all the time. Debone it right away and freeze what I don't plan to use immediately. Yesterday, I used it in a crock pot chicken enchilada casserole and it was wonderful. Here's a link to the recipe. The only modification I did to it was to add a can of black beans.
http://playingwithmydinner.com/2011/...ada-casserole/

And I'll be freezing the leftover enchiladas for another day. :D