Slow Cooker Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 6 slices bacon
• 3 pounds red potatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Spread bacon in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until brown and crispy, about 12-14 minutes. Let cool before crumbling; set aside.
• Line a slow cooker with aluminum foil, leaving enough to overhang to wrap the potatoes on top, and coat with nonstick spray. Place a layer of potatoes evenly into the slow cooker. Top with cheese, Ranch Seasoning and bacon, repeating 2 more times and reserving 1/2 cup cheese.
• Cover potatoes with aluminum foil and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and cook until melted, about 1-2 minutes.
• Serve immediately, garnished with chives.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches for the Crockpot

4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts 
1 (17.5 oz) bottle buffalo wing sauce (I used Buffalo Wild Wing Sauce)
1 oz. pkg of dry ranch salad dressing mix
6 sandwich or hoagie rolls

Put the chicken in the crockpot. Pour 3/4 of the bottle of the hot sauce over the top of the chicken and then sprinkle the salad dressing mix over that. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked, shred it right in the crockpot and let it continue to cook for a few minutes to soak up the sauce.

Pile chicken onto rolls and splash with some of the remaining wing sauce if desired. Cover with provolone cheese and stick under the broiler until the cheese melts.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce (baby rays)
• 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
2. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
• 3 pounds boneless pork ribs
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce (baby rays)

Directions

1. Pour can of beef broth into slow cooker, and add boneless pork ribs. Cook on High heat for 4 hours, or until meat shreds easily. Remove meat, and shred with two forks. It will seem that it's not working right away, but it will.
2. After the meat is shredded mix with the barbeque sauce and
3. store in the fridge over night, the next day put back in the
4. crockpot and heat up for at least 4 hours on low, if the meat is 
5. dry add more sauce.
   

Pinto Beans

Pinto Bean Ingredients This recipe calls for: 2 Cups Dry Pinto Beans 8 Cups Water 1 Tablespoon Salt 3 Cloves Garlic 1 Small Jalapeno Pepper 2 Slices of Bacon
	First Step: Washing Pinto Beans First, place the 2 cups of dry Pinto Beans on the counter and pick out any of them that don't look appetizing. Then throw out the bad beans and put the good ones into a strainer and rinse them off thoroughly.
	Second Step: Boiling Pinto Beans Next, in a sauce pan bring the Pinto Beans to a boil for five minutes. Then remove them from the burner and let them sit for an hour.
	Third Step: Draining Pinto Beans Once they have sat for an hour, strain the water off of them. If the skins of the beans are flaking off, that is ok, they are supposed to do that.
	Fourth Step: Peppers and Garlic Now take your small Jalapeno pepper and remove the seeds by cutting down the side and scraping them out. Then take the 3 cloves of garlic and remove the husks from them. Do not chop up either of these ingredients.
	Fifth Step: Crock Pot Now put the following ingredients in a crock pot and set the dial on medium heat: 2 Cups Boiled Pinto Beans 8 Cups Hot Water 1 Tablespoon Salt 3 Cloves Garlic 1 Jalapeño Pepper 2 Slices of Bacon It should take approximately 8 hours on medium heat for the beans to cook through. The beans should come to a very low boil. If they begin to go into a rolling boil, turn them down. If your water starts boiling away, add more water. After the first time you cook pinto beans, you will be able to determine the correct setting on your crock pot to maintain a low boil.
	Pinto Beans 8 hours later, your beans will be done! We usually cook them over night.

Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 

Take 4 frozen, yes, frozen (or thawed), boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.  Keep in crock pot on low for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. Once it is cooked, take it out and shred it. Return shredded chicken to the crockpot.

Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. It may look at little strange at this point. Don't worry. Stir in the cream cheese. 

Serve over rice or in warm flour tortillas.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts or I use turkey sometimes

1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

Balsamic Roast (crockpot)

3-4 pound boneless chuck roast
1-2 T steak rub (I used Szeged Steak Rub.)
black pepper to taste
1-2 T olive oil (depends on your pan)
1/4 cup water to deglaze pan
2-3 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1 bag baby carrots1 cup beef stock, reduced to 1/2 cup (can use a can of beef broth, but be sure to reduce it)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I used Fini Balsamic Vinegar)
1/2 cup tomato sauce (You can substitute one can diced tomatoes, drained well. I might puree the tomatoes.)

Trim as much fat as you can from roast, and cut if necessary to fit into Crockpot. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides. This will take a few minutes; don't rush the browning step.

While roast browns put 1 cup beef stock in saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce. Peel onions and cut into thick slices. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture.

(You can stop at this point and refrigerate browned roast, cut onions and mixed sauce ingredients and then put them in the Crockpot when you go to work in the morning. Don't refrigerate them in the crockery liner. Having the meat start out cold will add several hours to the cooking time, which will be good if you're cooking it all day while you're away.)

Place onions and baby carrots in bottom of Crockpot. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set Crockpot to low and cook 6-8 hours, until beef is tender. The meat might be partly submerged in liquid after this much time. (If I am home, I might turn the meat once or twice.

Remove meat from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from Crockpot and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.

Crock Pot Candy

Ingredients

1	16 oz. jar roasted, unsalted peanuts
1	16 oz. jar roasted, salted peanuts
1	12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1	bar (4 ozs.) german chocolate, broken into pieces
3	lbs. (two 24 oz. pkgs.) white almond bark, broken into piece

Direction

 Put ingredients into a 4 or 5-quart crockpot in EXACT order as listed. Cover and cook on low 3 hours. DO NOT remove lid! Turn off and allow to cool slightly. Mixture will not be melted but will be soft. Mix thoroughly and drop by teaspoon size cookie dropper or a teaspoon onto wax paper. Let cool thoroughly. Makes approximately 150 - 170 pieces.

NOTE: This candy is made best by following the recipe to the letter. Make other variations and changes at your own risk, as this is the voice of experience speaking. Please take into consideration that it may alter the quality of the finished product. Thank you and LOL!

**NOTE: There seems to be discrepencies in the terms crockpot and slow cooker. This recipe is for a crockpot which, when on low, will only melt the ingredients. A slow cooker will get hotter and start to cook the ingredients, thus resulting in an inferior product. Please be aware of what kind of appliance you have. It seems the older "crockpot" works best. There have been some who have burned their ingredients because their appliance is too hot. The makers and manufacturers of these appliances seem to interchange the description of their appliances calling slow cookers crockpots. It seems that Rival owns the name crockpot, therefore, others can't use the name crockpot, they are slow cookers. It's very confusing, but slow cookers, indeed, cook hotter, which could result in burning of this recipe. 

Crock Pot Carnitas Tacos

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless country- style pork ribs or pork shoulder (Boston Butt), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/2 large onion, cut into 4 pieces
1 large avocado, halved, pitted & sliced
fresh cilantro & sliced red bell peppers
tortillas (corn or flour)
green chile salsa

Directions:

1. Toss pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, pepper, and oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 6 hours.

2. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to cutting board. Discard onion pieces. Using fingers, shred pork; transfer carnitas to platter. Place avocado slices, cilantro sprigs, and sliced red bell peppers, if desired, alongside. Wrap corn or flour tortillas in damp kitchen towel; microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Serve carnitas with warm tortillas and green salsa.

Tips:

*If you need to prepare this recipe as GLUTEN FREE, just be sure to use a GF corn tortilla instead of flour.
*If you need to leave the slow cooker for longer than 6 hours, the pork will be just fine. We left ours in the slow cooker for 10 hours and it was tender as can be.

Crock Pot Fiesta Chicken

• 2-4 Chicken breasts (whatever you have on hand and however much meat you want to use)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (can use fat free)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 2 cups cooked rice
• cheese or other desired toppings

Place chicken breasts in bottom of slow cooker. Top with cream soup. On top of that add corn, black beans, salsa, and taco seasoning. Stir lightly. Cover with lid and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. When ready to serve, stir in your cooked rice. Serve with favorite toppings and enjoy! This heats up really well.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Slow cooker time: 6–8 hours
Makes: 4–6 servings
1/4 cup olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, halved and thinly sliced
2 lb boneless chuck or blade steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 large onion, diced
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock
1 cup red wine
1 14 oz (398 mL) can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
pinch ground cloves
chopped fresh parsley, to taste
Place the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-low to medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until lightly golden and aromatic, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Lift the garlic out of the skillet with a slotted spoon and set it in your slow cooker.
Return the skillet to the stovetop and increase heat to medium-high. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then sear in batches, setting the browned pieces in your slow cooker as you go.
Add the carrot and onion to the skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes more. Slowly, while stirring, mix in the stock. Mix in the wine, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme and cloves and bring to a simmer. Pour this mixture over the beef and stir to combine. Cover and cook on the low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or until the beef is very tender. Sprinkle servings with chopped parsley.

Butter Chicken With Spinach

Butter Chicken (or Turkey) with Spinach
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 28 oz (796 mL) can diced tomatoes
2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2-3 tsp. curry paste or powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2-3 cups roughly chopped or shredded leftover roast chicken or turkey
4 cups fresh spinach
1 cup plain full-fat yogurt, half & half, whipping cream or any combination of these (or more or less to taste)
chopped peanuts or cashews, for sprinkling on top (optional)
Put everything but the spinach and yogurt in the Crock Pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours (if you want to start with raw chicken – use skinless thighs – cook for 6-8 hours on low). When you’re ready to eat, tear in the spinach, stir until it wilts, and stir in the yogurt or cream. Serve immediately over rice. Serves 4-6.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients
2-3 lb boneless Boston Butt
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups liquid (I used non alcoholic white wine)
1 – 18 oz bottle barbecue sauce
Method
1. Mix paprika, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a little bowl. Then use spices as a rub for the meat. Add pork to crockpot and pour in liquid. Add garlic and onions. Turn crockpot on low for 8-10 hours.
2. The pork should be completely falling apart after cooking. Pour off liquid, reserving about 1/4 cup. Shred the pork with a fork and add barbecue sauce. Mix well. Turn crockpot to high for about 30 minutes, or until heated th