It's crock pot time!

darkheart · October 2010

My boyfriend's awesome mom got us a crock pot after she found out that I wanted one! I can't wait to use it. I often do not have time to cook during the work week and love the idea of throwing a bunch of ingredients together before leaving for work and having a full meal ready by the time I get home.

Anyone have any tasty and healthy crock pot recipes? I am a fan of Trader Joe's mango chicken sausage and after doing some extensive searching, I found one that I am probably going to try tomorrow! I am going to substitute some of the ingredients for things I already have in my cupboards. The recipe calls for any sausage, but I will be substituting the TJ's mango chicken sausage, dried cranberries instead of raisins, and instead of rice, I will be using toasted millet. I am also going to use low sodium, low fat, all natural chicken broth too.

Feel free to post recipes of your own

Slow Cooker Autumn Sausage Casserole

Ingredients:

Servings:4-6

* 1 lb sausage, any flavor
* 1 large apple, chopped, no need to peel
* 1 yellow onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped carrot
* 3 cups already cooked long-grain rice
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/3 cup chicken broth or 1/3 cup water

Directions:

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 7 1/2 hrs

1. 1 The Directions.
2. 2 The amount of ingredients fit nicely in a 4 quart crockpot. I'd say this comfortably feeds a family of 4-5 with a bit of leftovers. If you have a large family or teenagers, add more rice and sausage. It's a pretty easy recipe to adapt to your needs.
3. 3 If you are going to use uncooked pork sausage, I'd recommend browning on the stove top, and draining before adding to the crockpot.
4. 4 Otherwise, dump all the ingredients into the crock, and stir well.
5. 5 Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4. You're really only heating through, and allowing the vegetables to soften.
6. 6 This will not stick together like a gloppy casserole; it has the consistency of fried rice. Use bowls to serve rather than plates.

iknowicaniknowican · October 2010

Salsa chicken... Put 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in your crock . They should be frozen. Pour 1 large jar salsa over chicken. Add some red and green peppers and some taco seasoning and cook on low all day. Shred the chicken . This is super yummy on it's own and in a whole wheat tortilla.

Mollie007 · October 2010

That salsa chicken sounds good! I'll make that tomorrow.

theemstress · October 2010

Yum, I think I'll try this one this weekend. Thanx for posting!

cuppycake22 · October 2010

Yummy!! Thanks for posting!

melbhall · October 2010

Thanks for both of those recipes! I love using my crock pot, but honestly I've been buying pre-packaged meals and throwing them in...not the healthiest. I look forward to trying both!

CharityD · October 2010

Bump

mommylucy · October 2010

Here's a different take on the Salsa Chicken: put three boneless/ skinless breasts (frozen) with bbq sauce in there for 6 hours on low. Shred the chicken and serve on whole wheat buns or Sandwich Thins (orowheat). With this, my kids have Trader Joe's oven fries, but I will have a small mini-salad with 1 medium tomato (bite-size chopped), half a red bell pepper chopped same size and shredded carrots. Top that with 1-2 TB of low-fat ranch and lots of cracked black pepper. Y.U.M.!

darkheart · October 2010

That salsa chicken sounds so good! I can't believe how easy it is to make, too. I think my crock pot will be getting a lot of use

shuber · October 2010

bump

meagalayne · October 2010

This is what I have going right now....

2 large chicken breasts
1/2 jar extra hot salsa
1 large onion, sliced
1 large bell pepper, sliced
On high for 3 hours, low for 3 hours

After 6 hours, will shred chicken and add
1 cup black beans
12oz whole kernel corn

May add some taco seasoning if it's not very flavourful on it own. Then top with 1/2 cup cilantro at the end. Serving over a bed of spinach for me and tortillas for the rest of the family.
Hope it turns out because the calories are great - Sodium is a bit high from the jarred salsa, though

sayseal75 · October 2010

I also like to add some black beans to my Salsa Chicken!

darcibean · October 2010

I've added a couple recipes in this recipe forum for the crockpot, and there are quite a few recipes if you go back a few pages as well.

You will love the crockpot though, I LOVE it!

ka_42 · October 2010

I love making salsa chicken! It's SO easy! This is what I have going now-- Tortilla soup!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/crockpot-tortilla-soup-recipe.html

This blog is wonderful by the way... lots of great choices!

darkheart · October 2010

Thanks a lot, ladies! Keep them coming. I have this thread bookmarked, so that way I know I'll have plenty of great crock pot recipes on hand. I never even thought to add salsa and chicken together, and there seem to be so many variations. They seem great for people who are on a low(er) carb diet.

deathbycanon · October 2010

I'm making this one tonight. Added some potatoes and baby carrots to the pot so it's a one dish meal.

Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast

Nutritional Information
Tangy Slow Cooker Pork Roast
Servings Per Recipe: 8

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 210

Total Fat: 7.7g
Cholesterol: 66mg
Sodium: 483mg
Total Carbs: 9.4g
Dietary Fiber: 0.3g
Protein: 24.6g

Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
1 cup hot water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 dash hot pepper sauce, or to taste
Directions
1.Arrange onion slices evenly over the bottom of the slow cooker, and then place the roast on top of the onion. In a bowl, mix together water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and hot sauce; pour over roast.
2.Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or on High for 3 to 4 hours.

etarre · October 2010

Lately, I've been incredibly busy, and have been trying to use the crockpot more...this site is awesome, and has just about every crockpot recipe you'll need, all nicely indexed, with comments on how to make them correctly.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

barbosa22 · October 2010

bump

darkheart · October 2010

Thanks! Someone previously posted a recipe from that blog. I will definitely have to check that out!

escalante · October 2010

Wow the Salsa chicken sounds amazing i'm going to try it tomorrow.

meagalayne · October 2010

Wow the Salsa chicken sounds amazing i'm going to try it tomorrow.

My recipe turned out AMAZING. I added crispy chicken taco seasoning with the beans and corn - SO tasty. Served over a bed of spinach with a little sour cream. Mmmm... Highly recommended!

egbkid · October 2010

i made chili in mine today, it was a bit high on sodium, but not bad in other aspects.
It was kind of a 'throw all the leftovers in the pot' so I used:
About 3/4 Lb lean ground beef (browned)
1/2 cup dried kidney beans (soaked overnight in 1+1/2 cups water, then boiled for an hour)
1/4 of a green pepper
1/4 of a red onion
1 can tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste (about 4 inches high)
About 1 Tbsp Sun-dried tomato & oregano dressing.
About 3 Tbsp beer & chipotle BBQ sauce
cayenne pepper, garlic powder, Mrs dash (between 1/2 and 1 tsp of each)

i mixed it all up in the crock pot and cooked it on High for about an hour, then low for about 5 hours.

Mmmm yummy! and enough for 4 servings!

Check out my blog (below) for pictures !