Crock pot tips and recipes

If you pre-cook your veggies and brown meats before putting them into some recipes then your recipes will have better flavor and everything won't always kind of taste the same. I know that defeats the purpose of crockpottery. I rarely do that but it does help.

I love my crockpot.

Chicken Spagetti--put 2 chicken breast in crockpot frozen or not, pour a jar or 2 of sauce (whichever brand of spagetti sauce you like) over the top, let cook on low 8-10 hours. Shred chicken when done.


Taco Junk--
1 lb ground turkey---cooked and drained
1 can whole kernel corn (rinsed and drained)
1 can great northern beans rinsed and drained
2 4 oz packages ranch salad dressing dry mix
1 10 oz can rotel tomatoes and green chilies
1 16 oz Jar salsa (hot, medium, or mild)

Brown meat, drain. Dump all ingredients into crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8. Serves 16 (1/2 cup servings)



Taco Soup
1/2 lb lean ground turkey cooked-drained
2 14.5 oz cans mexican stewed tomatoes
1 15 oz can pinto beans
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 can whole corn or 1 1/3 cups frozen whole corn thawed
1 package taco season mix
1 medium onion chopped
30 oz water
pepper to taste

brown meat and onion in skillet, drain, put all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours serves 12 (1 cup serving size)



Super Easy Chicken
4-5 Frozen skinless boneless chicken breast
1 package dry italian dressing mix
1 cup warm water or fat free chicken broth

place chicken in bottom of crockpot, sprinkle dressing mix over chicken then pour water or broth over chicken. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

---You can put whole chicken and turkey in frozen or thawed without precooking. But ground meat will not cook through in a crockpot you need to at least "grey" the meat, cook it thru.

My cousin fed this to us when we were up in Virginia visiting her. I've made it several times and my mom made it at our Christmas party and for my grandparents. I ran this through the recipe thing on here, and it comes out to 265 calories a serving if there are 6 servings (which is approx a bowlful). The only person who doesn't like it is my sister, and that's because she doesn't like black beans.

Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

2-4 chicken breasts (I usually use 3 fresh, but can also be frozen)
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel, undrained (I use Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles)
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package cream cheese

Lay chicken at the bottom of the crock pot. Drain and rinse black beans. Add black beans, corn, and Rotel on top. Add in spices and mix up. Lay cream cheese on top of it all and cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours. The cream cheese won't melt during the cooking process. When it's done, mix the cream cheese in and shred the chicken (which is super easy at this point).

This all fits in my super tiny crock pot very nicely. I like to eat it by scooping it with blue corn tortilla chips! I have been considering adding in cayenne pepper to make it a bit spicier. It is very much on the mild side of my scale.