A reader named Tony emailed me recently requesting a Call for Recipes. I LOVE Call for Recipes posts. They make me happy, seeing all your favorite recipes. I especially love it when the theme of these posts comes from one of you, which they often do!
Tony recently found a slow cooker cookbook that was inspiring, including a recipe for cake. Tony’s reaction was, “Slow cookers can bake a cake?!?!” So, Tony hit the keyboard and sent me a great email, including this: Almost everyone has a slow cooker from their wedding, but many hardly use them, so it was inspiring to learn that breakfast foods, cakes and other non-traditional foods were possible in a slow cooker. With the holidays coming up, having easy to prep and serve food is a necessity, but great/creative recipes for the slow cooker have been few and far between.
Thus today’s Call for Recipes was born! Tony and I want you to share your favorite traditional and non-traditional slow cooker (a.k.a. crock pot) recipes. Tony thought it would be cool to see what ideas are out there, and I agree! Can’t wait to see your creative and fun slow cooker recipes!
I’ll admit, my slow cooking experiences have not been very out-of-the-box. I love to make pulled pork, teriyaki chicken and pot roast with my slow cooker. These are all great recipes, but that’s about all I’ve got up my slow cooking sleeve. My slow cooker is hoping you will have something fun for it to try!
Please note, if you have a slow cooker recipe that isn’t necessarily fun and creative but still wonderful and delicious, please feel free to share it!
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
Butternut Jalapeno Soup
2 large sweet potatoes
1 large onion
7-10 fresh garlic cloves
1large jalapeno pitted
1 large butternut squash
1/2 bag baby carrots
Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions: Cut all the vegetables (baby carrots excluded) cover +2 cups water.Salt and Pepper to taste. This is not a spicy soup,just very flavorful!
Oops..place it all in the slow cooker on High for 5-6 hrs. Use an immersion blended to blend the soup.
Okay, so this isn’t exactly gourmet, but it’s good, it makes a ton and it’s got to be better than the boxed stuff, right? Oh, and I would definitely use a crockpot liner for this – otherwise cleanup can be a bit of a chore!
Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
16 oz. Elbow macaroni, cooked
1 stick Butter, melted
12 oz. Evaporated milk
2 Eggs, beaten
10.75 oz. Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1 cup Milk
2 cups Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups Shredded mild cheddar cheese
â…› tsp. Paprika
Directions:
Place macaroni in a 5-quart slow cooker, add melted margarine and stir.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, evaporated milk, soup, milk and 3 cups of the shredded cheese.
Pour the egg mixture over macaroni.
Stir to combine, cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Cook 15 min longer or until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.
http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/8582
These Korean Beef Tacos with Cucumber slaw are so yummy! It makes a ton though, so you could either freeze half or cut the recipe by half. I made it the other night for 5 adults and two kids (who eat at least one taco each) and there was still tons left over.
i love my crockpot! i made minestrone soup in it today, actually. but i also love making applesauce in it–this is a cran-apple sauce recipe i made last year that was incredible! http://thepajamachef.com/2012/01/04/crock-pot-cran-apple-sauce/
jamaican jerk chicken is also incredible! http://thepajamachef.com/2012/07/19/jamaican-jerk-chicken-pineapple-black-bean-rice/
i really want to make a cake in it. 🙂
Baked potatoes
Scrub and dry 4 russet potatoes
Pierce several times with a fork.
Place each potatoes on a square of aluminum foil and sprinkle with a decent amount of salt
Wrap foil around the potato
Repeat with all the potatoes
Put all of them in a dry slow cooker
Cook on low for 7 hours
That’s it. We then put out toppings cheddar cheese, steamed broccoli, bacon or pulled pork. Everyone gets the loaded baked potato they want with minimal effort. The skins on these potatoes are soooo much better than in a microwave. It’s like they were perfectly baked in the oven.
I have a recipe link for Pineapple Upside Down Cake in the crickpot…there are tons of variations and from scratch ways to bake one. However, if you are trying for an easy, yummy cake …without the stress and in a crockpot; then this will fit the bill. This site also has a ton of other crockpot recipes. Also, I own a crockpot cook book called ” Fix it and Forget It” also the “light” version, I find they have alot of variety.
Any who…here’s my recipe find.
http://crockingirls.com/recipes/pineapple-upside-down-cake-2/
This isn’t a recipe but a helpful bit – Whenever I have a large meal to get ready and mashed potatoes are on the menu, I make them first and keep them warm in the crockpot. I’ve kept them in there on warm/low for 2 hours and they’re hot & delicious when everything else is ready.
I love making this soup and this website is a great source for recipes. This recipe is easy to change-up, as well and make it your own:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/08/end-of-summer-harvest-soup-slow-cooker.html
Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken
Slow cooked shredded chicken with corn, tomatoes and black beans. Prep this the night before and turn your crock pot on in the morning for an easy weeknight meal.
Serve over rice or in a bowl with nachos on the side, and don’t forget the toppings. Chopped scallions, fresh cilantro, fat free yogurt or sour cream and reduced fat cheddar are my favorites.
Crock Pot Sante Fe Chicken came in first place (yay!) for Ziplist’s most saved recipe in 2012 (they have over 800K recipes). I’m thrilled, and I see why you would choose this one! It’s delicious, easy, requires no pre-cooking, and everyone loves an easy slow cooker recipe. It’s also kid-friendly, freezer friendly and gluten-free. In it’s honor I decided to revive it from the archives and give it some love.
My favorite from Gina’s skinny tastes
Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 8 servings Ӣ Size: 1 cup Ӣ Old Points: 3 pts Ӣ Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 190 Ӣ Fat: 1.5 g Ӣ Fiber: 5.6 g Ӣ Carbs: 23.1 g Ӣ Protein: 21 g
Ingredients:
24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste
Directions:
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top.
Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning to taste. Serve over rice or tortillas and your favorite toppings.
I love my slow cooker, too!!! What a lifesaver! These family favorites have a regular place on my menu:
– Baked potatoes (I use Meredith’s method)
– Italian Beef
– Chili, of course
– Dry Rub Ribs
– Applesauce
– Cooking dried beans
– Bone-in chicken legs/thighs with the skin on (with an herbed compound butter between the skin and meat)
Chipotle-Orange Pork Tacos
2.5# pork shoulder, cut into leg chunks
S&P, to taste
1 T cumin
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T onion powder
2 t dried oregano
3 T olive oil
2 oranges
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3 chipotles
1/4 C adobo sauce
Mix together seasonings & rub pork with this season blend. Sear pork over med-hi in oil. Cur oranges in half & juice into bottom of crock pot. Put pork in crock pot & top with garlic, chipotles, & adobo sauce. Cook on low for 8 hrs. Shred for tacos.
Chicken Enchilada Soup (from allrecipes.com – I did a few things differently and they’re mentioned below the recipe)
Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
15 ounce can of whole kernel corn, drained
14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, with juice
14.5 ounce can of chicken broth
10 ounce can of enchilada sauce
4 ounce can of diced green chiles
1 medium white onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 bay leaves
3 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add in the corn, tomatoes, chicken broth, enchilada sauce, green chiles, onion, cilantro, bay leaves, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, and black pepper.
Cook everything on low for 6 hours.
After it’s done cooking, take the chicken breasts out of the soup and put them on a large plate. Shred the meat and then return it to the slow cooker.
Continue to cook the soup for about 30-45 minutes more.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top and some corn chips!
I used the BIG 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes. These really are the best tinned tomatoes.
I used the 28 oz size of Juanita’s red enchilada sauce.
I used the 29 oz Juanita’s Mexican style hominy instead of corn. I am not a fan of canned corn. It never tastes good so why use it? And Latina friend told me to only buy this brand of hominy for my posole. It’s very tender. That’s also why I buy the Juanita brand of sauce. 🙂
I got the Ortega fire roasted diced green chiles. They have more flavor with the fire roasting.
Also, I did not use cilantro because I don’t like it. But, if you like cilantro, I’m sure it would add a wonderful depth to the soup.
Lastly, I topped ours with chopped avocado, cherry tomatoes, Frito’s and sour cream. The fresh tomatoes and avocado give a great bright flavor to the smokey soup. Enjoy!
I love my crockpot, but must admit that I lack ideas for creative recipes (I suppose my standard for crockpot recipes is that it has to be easier than cooking the dish the traditional way).
I got so much out of your post AND the comments – thanks to your other readers 🙂