What are your go-to Crock Pot Meals?

[Missa]

I am a Crock Pot fan....  I am always looking for new meal ideas. Share with me!! Happy Eating

My favorite:  Chicken soup

3 lbs boneless chicken thighs (i think dark meat is tastier in soup)

1 Cup Each of:

Chopped Onion

Chopped Carrot

Chopped Celery

I like to chop things in bigger bite sized pieces to make a heartier soup

Cubed butternut squash

Can of Diced Tomatoes

Handful of dried mushrooms ( i like forest mushrooms, but buttons work too-- cut bite size)

4 cloves of garlic (i smash and toss in)

2 Bay leaves

3 sprigs of Tarragon

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 cups of low sodium chicken stock

Throw in the Crock and cook on 5 hrs high OR 8 hrs low..easy and delish...

[ponydoc]

Gimme Some Oven has a chicken enchilada soup that is amazing.  She has a chessy version too, but that is a lot higher in calories.  The regular one is about 340kcal per serving and is delicious.   I garnish mime with fresh cilantro and, if I need some extra calories, some diced avocado.

[minniemama]

put a few pats of butter on the bottom, add chicken boneless chicken breasts or tenders, sprinkle with a packet of itilian seasoning mix, then sprinkle with lemon juice.

I then save the leftovers for chicken salads for lunches.

[kelfran]

A friend of mine raises steer, so we get a half every year and one of my favorite cuts is the shins, just for this recipe. Sometimes I get extra since some people don't even request their shins - bonus for me!

Beef Osso Buco

beef shin bones with meat
28 oz. tin of diced tomatoes with seasoning
chopped onions, carrots
red or white wine

salt and pepper the shins liberally and brown well on all sides, put in crock pot, pour about a cup of wine into browning pan and reduce while scraping bits, then add to crock add carrots, onions and tomatoes (if you couldn't find tomatoes with seasoning, then add italian seasoning) if meat is not covered with liquid, the add water until just to top of meat, cook on high for 6 hours

I usually serve this over quick polenta with gremolata on top
gremolata: 1/3 minced parsley, 1/3 lemon zest, 1/3 finely minced garlic

NOTE: make sure you put the shin bones in so that the larger marrow opening is to the top, or else all that yummy marrow will slip out. If you've never had roasted/cooked marrow, it is like a rich, really savory pudding - delicious!

[SpiceChicken]

Slow cooker steel-cut oats!  Put oats and liquid in a glass bowl with whatever seasonings you like: I use shredded apple, cinnamon, and a little brown sugar.  Place the bowl in the crock and fill the crock with water up to the rim of the bowl.  Cook on low overnight.  Delicious creamy oats await you at breakfast time!

[HelenaFitbit]

I had never thought of cooking oats on a crockpot, do they come out thick and creamy, watery or dry? Won't the sugar caramelize?

[Rich_Laue]

They come out really good, you use 1 part steel cut oats to 4 parts liquid I use water
You can add you raisins nuts etc, at night.
My mother had an uncle who felt anything short of cooking oatmeal overnight was not worth eating. I promise you will like it.

[HelenaFitbit]

Thank you for the recipe @Rich_Laue ! 

[Dani_O]

I use this for chicken taco and lettuce wraps.  Super easy. 

Chicken Taco

4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breast

1 can Rotel

1 packet taco seasoning (fajita seasoning works too)

Place chicken in slow cooker (still frozen). 

Combine Rotel and seasoning.  Pour over chicken.

Cook on low for 8 -10 hours.  Shred when done.

[marbear]

Meatloaf...seriously.  It even gets brown.  I mix about 1.5-2 lbs of ground beef with an egg, seasoning, and instead of bread crumbs I use dehydrated onions. You can put it frozen in the crock pot for 6 hours on low.  If you need longer cook time due to work, maybe try a bigger meatloaf.  It stays so moist and believe it or not, it browns.

I also never miss an opportunity to make chicken stock whenever I have a carcass or enough wing tips.  Cover your chicken bones with water (add salt, spices, carrots, onion, etc) and cook 12 hours or so.  It is amazing and becomes a good soup base or cookig liquid.  If you want low fat, just refridgerate and skim off the fat.  

[Caity]

I have a mini two person crock pot so you may need to adjust the amounts but I have two recipes I'm currently obsessed with. The first is a great veggie taco filling that I love for tacos and taco salad. The second I don't actually eat as I am a vegetarian but my fiance loves it and I've made it for friends who also swear it's great so i figure it's worth sharing.

Lentil Quinoa Taco Filling

1/2 cup lentils, 1/4 cup quinoa, 2 cups water and your favorite taco seasoning and any other spices you like (I always add extra garlic and chili powder) cook on high 3 1/2 to 4 hours or on low 7 to 9 hours. (I usually cook it on high)

Shredded Beer Chicken

3 chicken breasts, 1 cup salsa verde, enough beer to cover the chicken, and a bit of cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook on high 3 to 4 hours or low 6 to 8 hours. Once your time is up shred the chicken with two forks, I like to then let the shredded chicken soak in the rest of the liquid while I finish up any other dinner prep with the cooker on warm.

[HelenaFitbit]

I must try the beer chicken @Caity! Do you serve it with veggies, grains? 

[Caity]

I usually serve it over rice with whatever veggies I have on hand so it might be fajita style peppers and onions or steamed broccoli in a bowl with the rice and the chicken or I might do a rice and chicken bowl with a side salad just depends on what I have around and what goes well with my vegetarian option of the night. The chicken itself is very versitile so I imagine most veggies would go well with it. The leftovers are also great for sandwiches my fiance loves it on a toasted bagel with a fried egg for breakfast the next morning.

[CaliSeaBreeze]

I love hot bone broth.  I put meaty bones into the crock pot (beef knuckles, shin, ox-tails) and a few veggies (onion, garlic, carrot chunks) and cover with water.  Cook on low for a few days.  After 24 hours you can start sipping on the broth and eating some veggies.  Keep topping with water to keep the bones covered, each day.  After about 3-4 days I put the broth into containers and freeze. I don't add salt or pepper but if you need it, add it.

Nothing like a cup of bone broth to fill you up, it's gelatinous, rich, bursting with flavor, really good mouth-feel.  It's also good for your body.

[ph-62]

Chicken and dumplins or noodles, rice, or potatos large can of cream of chicken soup and can of water, 1tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. cook chcken 4 or 8 hours, remove chicken put in frozen dumplings one at a time, turn on high until all the dumplins are cooking really good, takes 45 minutes. i usually do the dumplins on top of stove, so the heat will be faster, and then turn down on low. cover with lid. then i put the cream of chicken soup back in crock and add chicken. taste like real southern chicken and dumplins from Granny's house. make salad, cook rolls.  easy pie, lemon 1 can of condensed milk, stir in 1/2 lemon juice, put in ready made graham crust, sit in fridge for about 1 or 2 hours. my best meal, and very easy to do.

[Lefthandedthing]

Spiced up Greek Gigante beans – Slow Cooker

1 (400g) tin butter beans

(drain and rinse, should be 250 g of butter beans)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped

3 or 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 (400g) tin of tomatoes

2 tbsp dried mixed herbs

1 tsp of cumin seeds

1 tsp cumin powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp garam masala

¼ tsp chilli powder

1 fresh chilli, chopped (optional)

Handful of fresh coriander (optional - roughly chopped coriander to garnish when served).

When cooked serve the beans on cooked pasta or toasted bread.

Quick method

Drain the butter beans from the can and rinse well. Put the butter beans in the slow cooker bowl and add the remaining ingredients, except the coriander (the chopped coriander is to garnish the dish once cooked). Stir everything to mix well. Cook in the slow cooker on the low setting for up to 12 hours.

When serving, take the fresh coriander, chop it roughly and sprinkle on top of the bean mixture.

Flavour-boost method.

To boost the flavour you can sauté the onions and garlic with the herbs and spices before making the bean mixture and cooking in the slow cooker.

Heat oil in a large saucepan (large enough to accommodate all ingredients). Add the cumin seeds and cook on high for a minute, then turn the heat down to a medium heat and add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes until soft and golden (not black or charred). Turn to a low heat and add turmeric powder, chilli powder and cumin powder (and if you like also add the fresh chilli) stir well and cook for a minute or two. Now add the garam masala, tinned tomatoes and the drained and rinsed butter beans. Stir to mix well and turn up the heat to warm through a little, add this mixture to the slow cooker bowl.

Cook in the slow cooker on the low setting for 8 to 12 hours.

Serve the beans and rich sauce on top of a dish of cooked pasta or toasted bread, sprinkle with the chopped coriander to garnish. The beans will be in a rich tomato sauce and will have absorbed all the flavours.

[Annie-NH]

crockpot cordon bleu

thin sliced chicken breasts

peppered ham slices from deli

asiago sliced cheese

can of cream of celery soup

1 can milk

 4 T breadcrumbs, 

lay out a chicken breast add the ham and cheese, roll up and place seam side down in crockpot, repeat, mix the soup with the milk and pour over chicken breasts,  sprinkle breadcrumbs over chicken, cook 6-8 hours on low,  double the soup and milk if you like lots of it in your meal.

[Stinkyfish97]

Ribs with optional BBQ sauce:

2 racks of ribs cut so they fit into slow cooker (usually ends up being 4 nice big racks 5-6 ribs per rack)

1/2 White or yellow onion

1/3 cup chicken or beef broth

 *optional* season meat to taste before putting into the slow cooker

(onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and if you want a little kick 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp red crushed pepper, 1/4 tsp cayene pepper)

Instructions:
Cook 8 hours on low settting or 4 hours on high setting. Meat should be fall off the bone. Pre-heat oven to 425 F. Line baking sheet with tin foil, spray with canola oil. Carefully take meat out of slow cooker and place onto baking sheet. Liberally coat ribs with BBQ sauce of your choosing. Bake in oven at 425 F for 15-20 minutes or until sauce on ribs becomes sticky/carmalized onto ribs. 

On a side note you can also do this with chicken, follow the exact same recipe to have fall of the bone chicken. Legs, Wings and Thighs are the best, they have more fat content in them, the more fat the more tender the meat will be when you cook it in the slow cooker. Breasts are ok in a soup in the slow cooker but because they do not have very much fat content, they can dry out or become a bit tough unless they are put in a liquid when using the slow cooker. I generally do not reccomend breasts, steak cuts, or lean cuts.  

We absolutley love our slow cooker. We are going to pick up another one. We have done ribs, pulled chicken/pork, jerk chicken/pork, soups, lamb, stews. You can pretty much cook anything in the slow cooker. We have found that usually meats that have a higher fat content work the best. The more tough the meat the better it will probably be in the slow cooker. The slow cooker breaks down the collogen, fat and tendons to make the meat very tender and juicy. Lean meats like Breasts, most Steak cuts, and most pork cuts generally just dry out in the slow cooker and are better baked, pan cooked, or grilled. What we find the best meats cooks seem to be pork Shoulder/Butt, Chicken Thighs, Legs, Wings, anything with higher fat content or collogen. If you every have a tough piece of meat it likely is because it either had a higher fat content, more collogen or tendons in it. Using a slow cooker to cook those cuts breaks those not so tasty and enjoyable things down and turns a so called bad cut of meat into a very tasty cut. 

What is nice about the slow cooker is we buy our food weekly so that we can always have fresh veggies and fruit weekly. Fresh food is perishable and at the end of the week if we have a bunch of fresh food like extra carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, whatever veggies we have remaining we can just dump them all in the slow cooker and make a stew. That way we are not wasting a bunch of food every week and we always can have extra fresh veggies around without worrying that they will go bad, because we will just end up using them at the end of the week in a stew, soup or dinner that can be either frozen, eaten or taken for lunches the next week.