I'm definitely going to give that one a try! For those of us without a crock pot, a dutch oven in a 350 degree oven works just as well (but don't leave the house with your oven on!).

Here's one I love from Martha Stewart!
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=ec6d934be4b0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=beef%20stew&rsc=header_3

I made the following modifications: Decrease balsamic to 2 tablespoons and substitute beef broth for the water. Soooo yummy!

hey I have a crock pot. thanks for the reminder :) I just got news of high cholesterol so I really should be using it more.

thanks :)

how about the turkey boob w/garlic & rosemary. that's my fave! if you want some recipes, there's a whole series of crock-books called 'fix & forget it' or something like that. there's the original, one for entertaining, cooking light, etc. i've seen them quite often at target....

I, too, have discovered the genius that is the crockpot. And I make NOTHING that is in any way complicated. (I'm a dump-and-run kinda girl.)

I've done meatloaf (awesome), pot roast, beef stew and it's my new favorite way to cook pasta sauce with sausage (the meat pretty much melts, not hard and rubbery from cooking it too fast). Oh yeah, there's also been pork roast and corned beef a la crockpot.

Since you have a Rival, check and see if you still have the booklet that came with it. That's where I got most of my recipes from.

OK, you MUST try Alton Brown's Overnight Oatmeal recipe. Throw it all into the crock pot, turn it on, go to bed, and wake up to the BEST oatmeal EVER.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17138,00.html

I freely sub in different dried fruits depending on my mood and what I find at Trader Joe's that day.

I'm going to try this one today! I'm so very inspired!
Loved your book too!

I LOVE my crockpot. There are so many recipies I have made I could not tell you one single one I like the best. However, go out and get a cookbook. Mine is called Slow Cookery. It does not have an author but it's put out by JG Press. I like this one because it has recipies you would find in Betty Crocker plus ethnic recipies. I made lamb for new years and it was awesome!

The following recipie for potato soup - cause I know you love potatoes. My entire family loves. Even the picky eaters...

3 med potatoes (or a bunch of baby reds) 1 1/2 lbs. total
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 smoked ham hock (I used ham deli meat cubed)
1 tbsp dry dill weed
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp ground white pepper (yes, it exists)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth (you could use veggie)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup whipping cream (I use non fat milk)

Combine potatoes, onion, ham, dill weed, lemon peel, white pepper and broth. Cover and cook on low for 7 1/2 to 8 hours (if you are in a hurry high for 4 hours).
If you use ham hock lift out if you use diced deli ham leave in. Remove 1 cup of potatoes with a little broth (ham is OK too if you used diced deli ham), whirl in blender or food processor until pureed, return puree to cooker.
In small bowl mix cornstarch and cream or non fat milk (if that is what you substituted) blend in to potato mixture. If using ham hock remove fat and bone, tear meat in to bite sized pieces. Cover and cook for 20 more minutes stirring 2 to 3 times. Enjoy!

YUM!!!!!

We eat crockpot meals just about every night in the winter. I'd recommend "The 150 best slow cooker recipes" by Judith Finlayson. I'll admit I only bought it because it had an enchilada recipe in it and I wanted to see if you could do it (you can) but it is now my most used cook book. They mostly feed 6 or 8 but providing you leave off the cornbread/potato toppings they freeze well. Our current favorite is french country chicken with olives.

Oh, that looks yummy!! I think I'll have to try that--thank you!

I use my crock pot all of the time. I could not tell from the picture if yours has a keep warm function or not, but you can put a small pork roast in there with about 3/4 cup of water and some salt and pepper and it is really good. I mentioned the keep warm function because you don't really need to cook it all day even on low it will get overdone but on keep warm it works perfectly if you need to leave it for 8 or so hours. Also, toss a boston butt pork roast in there with a half of a chopped onion and some garlic powder and leave it on low for 8 hours. Open the lid and shred it with two forks and toss on some of your favorite BBQ sauce and you have pulled pork for sandwiches. Baked potatoes work great in there too, white or sweet just scrub and toss in and come home and eat. I could go on and on but there are some decent crockpot cookbooks out there now. Sandra Lee from food network has quite a few crockpot recipes too. http://search.foodnetwork.com/food/recipe/crockpot+meals/search.do?searchString=crockpot+meals&site=food&searchType=Recipe

Happy eating!

Crock pots/slow cookers, or cast iron enamel pots are a godsend.

When it's under 80 degrees outside, I spend my Sunday afternoon making some kind of stew, soup, chili, or pot roast variant in a big-ass pot. Chop, fling in pot, and promptly forget all about the cooking food until it starts to smell good. This scheme was developed because while I love to cook, I'm 1- horrible at cooking while hungry; and 2- I wander off and drink beer and get distracted by other things while food's on the stove or in the oven.

A helpful warning -- do not ever try to cook raw pork sausage in a crock pot. Unless, of course, you totally dig spending the next four hours curled up around your toilet, being afraid you're going to die... and then afraid that you won't die, and the agony will just last forever. Not that this is the voice of experience, or anything. ;)

Chili is also fabulously easy in a crock pot. I love to use shredded beef for mine - generally a few eye of round steaks or whatever looks lean work great. Cube them and cook the heck out of them and you get shredded beef. Pork, turkey or ground beef are also good. I like soaked or simmered dried beans, but canned will work in a pinch. Go nuts! Use black beans or whatever tickles your fancy! Add a variety of peppers, onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes and my secret - crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Season as desired. I like mine hot enough to set your lips on fire and then I top it with a little shredded cheese and chopped raw onion.

Another meal that is really good, and would probably work in a crock pot is half chicken broth, half cream of chicken soup mixed with cubed chicken breast, asparagus pieces, unpeeled red potato chunks, corn niblets, chopped onion and sliced carrots. Season with black pepper, rosemary, celery salt and thyme. I usually add a ton of the veggies so it's more of a stew than a soup.

Now I'm hungry darnit.

That looks like it turned out delicious! One of my favorite crock pot dishes is chicken and rice. I got the recipe from a friend at my local knit-in. Dump some chicken tenders in the bottom of the pan. Add about 1 cup of water. Cut up 1 brick of low-fat cream cheese and top the chicken with it. Then dump in about 1 cup of your favorite chunky salsa. (Yes...salsa) Then, about an hour before you are ready to eat, add 1 cup of rice. You may need to add more liquid for the rice to absorb. It's so yummy...and you can't beat 4 (FOUR!) ingredients.

I'm out of the house for 11 hours a day so I often cook from frozen and on low.

I love salsa chicken: place frozen chicken breasts on sliced onions. Pour a jar of salsa over all. Cook. When the chicken is done, remove it from the pot. Add 2T of cornstarch to the liquid, cook for 5 minutes. Add a glop of sour cream. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve over rice. Corn is a nice side dish.

Also, I love barbecue sauce over either pork shoulder or chicken. Put the meat on a bed of sliced onions (sense a theme?) and pour some barbecue sauce over all. Pull the meat with two forks. I like to serve this with cole slaw made with blue cheese dressing.

I recommend this website: http://crockpot.cdkitchen.com/

I love my Crock Pot too!!!

I use my crock pot a lot, here at Chez Cheap Mom with Hungry Teenagers...one of my favorites, although not organic, is Episcopal Chicken: Take cut up chicken, throw in crock pot. Dump in one or two cans cream of chicken soup, depending on how much chicken you put in, it needs to be juicy. Add a can or so of water. Put on the lid, turn the thing on, go to work. Come home, make rice, eat.

Why is it Episcopal? Well, I stole it from my best friend, who in college used to make it in the oven for her church group; put the chicken in a baking pan, dump the soup over it, bake while you are in church, eat afterward. Considering how easy it is made either way, it is DELICIOUS.

Ooooh, is this where we share crockpot recipes? Here's one of the easiest I know:

1.5 pounds sliced beef of some sort (I forget which cut, maybe flank steak?)
1 pound carrots

Put in crockpot (I throw in some garlic too, because I believe There's No Such Thing as Too Much Garlic). Pour a bottle of Thai peanut sauce over it. Cook on low for 10 hours.

Then take a can of unsweetened coconut milk (I like to throw in water chestnuts here too) and mix it in. Stir and serve. Goes well with jasmine rice.

Also, as much as I hate it when knitting and crochet books use this phrase, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker is an excellent cookbook.

OMG you guys are awesome. I can't believe I am saying this... but it makes me want to go home and cook something else. Yikes. LOL

YUM! Mr. Crocker is cooking my dinner for me even as we speak. We're having simple black bean soup. I soaked the beans last night. Drained 'em this morning and added some chicken stock (or you could use veggie broth, I happened to have homemade chicken stock on hand) and enough water to cover, a clove or two of garlic and a sprinkling cumin. It just leave that on low the whole time I'm at work. If I were home, I'd start on high for an hour or so before lowering the temp and I'd add some chopped onion and carrot and such about an hour (maybe two) before dinner. When I get home, I'll take out about 1/2 cup of the beans and smash them, then add them back to the pot. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of salsa.

And yes, I named my Crock Pot -- so did my sister. Hers is better - Davy Crockpot.

Start with one small bag of dry beans (I generally use Great Northerns, but if you can find some neat Aduki or Jacob's Cattle or whatever else, go for it - it's all good.) Add twice as much water as it would take to cover them, some "Better than Bullion" paste (I use the veggie), half a stick of butter (NOT margerine), a good tablespoon of minced garlic, about a tablespoon of pepper, a small chopped sweet onion, and half of a chopped sweet bell pepper. If you're the meat-eating type, add a pork hock or some chopped ham.

Cook on high for 3-5 hours or until the beans are soft enough to eat. Serve with corn bread & honey, if you have it, and a big glass of iced tea.

Enjoy!

I just got turned on to recipezaar.com. They have a section that has 5 ingredients or less for crockpots. They are delicious. Happy Cooking :-)

You can throw in some chicken breasts (frozen or fresh), a jar of fave pasta sauce, italian seasoning, onions, mushrooms, green peppers-basically anything you would like on a pasta dish. Cook on low 8 hours, high 4-5 hours until chicken is done. Serve with pasta and cheese if desired (parmesan or mozzarella). Quick and easy cacciatore type meal.

I just love using the crockpot and coming home after work to a fully cooked meal. I have used it for everything from hotdishes to soup. I love to make chicken noodle or pea soup in the crockpot. For pea soup you just put the peas and ham bone in the pot in the morning put it on low and when you get home you just add the rest of the veggies you want cook on high to get them done and you have great soup. There are a number of great books out there for the crockpot and some manufacturers are now providing everything you need for a crockpot meal in a bag. I have tried the stew and the chicken and dumplings both are great. Have fun. Terry

I LOVE crockpot cooking. I don't have a real crockpot, instead, I have a slow cooker. But it works.

Best meal I made recently in it: a small roast, a small bag of baby carrots, and 2 cans of Guinness. I put the carrots on the bottom, poked the roast with a fork and sprinkled salt and pepper on it, set it on top of the carrots, then poured about 1.75 cans of Guinness in it and then about a 1/2 a cup of water. Oh, and I put a splash of vinegar in it (vinegar will soften the meat). I think I might have tossed a spice or two in with it, but I don't remember. I cooked it on low for like 5-6 hours and it was WONDERFUL.

My dad is the king of the crockpot. So I grew up with a lot of yummy crockpot recipes but haven't learned them all yet.

Wow! That looks delicious! As a metalsmith, all I can think of to use my crockpot for is pickling acid in my studio. Probably a good idea for me to use a new one for cooking, eh?

I'm going to try this. My husband will be so impressed.

I second The Mad Crocheter - Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker is a great cookbook. I read a lot of reviews on amazon and took cookbooks out of the library and this one has been the best.
Here's one of the best things I've ever eaten: Chicken Paprikash
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/237284
be sure to read the reviews - there are good suggestions like if you don't want to brown chicken legs ahead of time, just throw in chicken breasts (altho personally it was the fat from the skin that cooked the onions that made it extra delish, so if you use breasts be sure to leave the skin on)

Oh man, I want to run home and cook something in my crock pot right now!

I've been eating quite a bit healthier lately (mainly organic, no fried stuff, etc.). I had to go to a birthday party this weekend at a place that doesn't serve anything that's not fried. I had a hamburger and onion rings and was so sick I couldn't eat anything until the next day. It's amazing how much a few veggies and fruit can change your body. I can't handle crappy food anymore. But something healthy in my crock pot sounds wonderful!

mmm, crock pots are the best! I love black bean soup, and it's super-easy! Soak a bag of dried black beans (less than $1, usually) in cold water overnight, then drain and dump into the crock pot with some fresh water or stock. Season to taste (I like salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce), then turn the pot on and cook on low all day. When you get home, it smells wonderful and the beans are just about perfect. Top with chopped onions, tomatoes, and cilantro (avocado, cheese, and sour cream are good if you're not watching the calories...) and it's a wonderful, cozy meal!

Enjoy!

This crock pot recipe is from my mom. She probably got it from the back of a box or something. It is really good though.

Ingredients:
-Carrots
-Celery
-potatoes
-whatever other hearty veggies you want
-Beef (can be a pot roast, rump roast, pre-cubed beef stew meat, tri-tip or whatever... )
-1 package Lipton onion soup mix
-1/2 cup water, red wine or broth
-salt and pepper

Salt and pepper the meat. If you want, you can brown the meat before you place it in the crockpot. I just heat a pan on high with a little olive oil and cook it on all sides until it is almost burnt and still really red in the middle. If you are afraid of this step though, you can just skip it. I've done it both ways and it still turns out great.

Chop up your veggies. I usually use baby carrots so I don't have to chop them. I quarter red potatoes and then chop the celery into bite-sized pieces. Place the veggies in the bottom of the crock pot. Then place your beef on top of that.

Whisk the onion soup mix with whatever liquid you choose to use and then pour over the meat and the veggies.

Put the lid on the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Enjoy.

I love my crockpot! Last summer I had to replace my well-loved old slow cooker, which was sort of falling apart, and I got a sporty red Rival Crock-Pot, and it is delightful. This recipe looks really good - it's going on my list for next week! :)

We make a delicious crock pot meal here much like yours... root veggies and potatoes, meat an liquid. But with Pork Loin and apple cider. Cloves are a nice spice element in this. Goes great with a side of sauted cabbage and apple slices!

Mmmmm... That sounds awesome. I've got a crockpot, and I love cooking in it, but I have the unfortunate tendency to not leave enough time the morning after to ladle stuff into Gladware and put it in the fridge, so I spend the whole week ladling cold glop out of the crockpot, which gets hastily shoved back into the fridge afterwards. Need to work on that.

One of my favorite crockpot things is lentils with kielbasa. Basically, stick a cup or two of lentils in a crockpot on low with chicken stock, cumin, chopped onions, garlic, half a bag of frozen spinach, and whatever other random stuff you want to add to it, then cut up a big rope of kielbasa into 1 inch-or-so segments and add to the top. Start it a couple of hours before bed, and check the broth level before you go to sleep. Too much broth is better than too little, else the lentils stay too firm.

One of my fave recipes when we were kids was:

ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef, whatever), corn, peas, green beans, chunked potatos, carrots and whatever other root veggie you want. Stir it all together with tomato paste, a bay leaf or two, garlic, and whatever other spices please you and let it cook.

Sounds and looks like a very delicious meal! I'm not much of a cook myself, but lately I've been making more of an effort to try out some new recipes. I actually got an Easy Weeknight Faovrites Southern Living cookbook out of the library and have made some tasty dishes, such as tortilla pie and sweet and savory sloppy joes. I have always loved baking (major sweet tooth) but never cooking...lately I've slowly been expanding my repertoire of meals that I can actually make well :)

BTW - I also picked up a copy of your book the other day and started reading. I am loving it - you have a great writing style!

snort. someone said turkey boob.

any recommendations for a good crock pot? experiences, anyone?

Oh yes! I've got my crock pot going at home even as I write - pot roast for tonight and tomorrow :) An easy and good meal is just the ticket.

You can make chicken and dumplings in a crockpot as well... Perhaps I should post about it in the future.

Beef Stew:

stew meat
all the veggies and potatoes you used in your turkey goodness
water or beef stock to cover
packet of beef stew mix

go to work, come home and eat

I have the Fix It and Forget It Cookbook. Great recipes!

My problem is that around hour 3 or so, it starts smelling soooo good, that I keep trying to eat veggies out of it and probably slow the cooking way down. I can't be home when it cooks anymore. Too impatient!

I am coming back in a couple hours and printing all the comments out, this will be a goldmine!

i know how you rock the meat & all, but check out:

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/crockpot/crockpot.shtml

I have one that's a bit of an amalgam that I bring to work pot-lucks and they always ask for the recipe. Here goes:

1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp new mexico red chile (or chile powder)
½ tsp coriander
1 can pumpkin
1 can diced tomatoes
2 4 oz cans diced green chiles
1 heaping cup corn, put under the broiler for 10 min or so
1 heaping cup salsa
1 cube Knorr vegetarian bouillon
1 to 2 cups water
1 can lite coconut milk
1 12 oz bag Quorn tenders (you could use a pound of chicken, but I don't know how, I'm a 20-year vegetarian)
1 can black beans, drained
1 tbsp brown sugar
juice of 1 lime
salt & pepper, to taste

You can either do this on the stove, in which case it just takes enough time to lightly brown the onions and garlic and then bring everything else up to a simmer. Or, put everything but the lime juice into a crock pot and cook overnight (for a lunch time potluck) or all day on low. Add the lime juice before serving.

comment from VT: "A helpful warning -- do not ever try to cook raw pork sausage in a crock pot. Unless, of course, you totally dig spending the next four hours curled up around your toilet, being afraid you're going to die... and then afraid that you won't die, and the agony will just last forever. Not that this is the voice of experience, or anything. ;) "

*snort* LOL!!!!!! I *so* needed a laugh today...this did it. thanks!

And, Laurie, this recipe looks so yummy. I'm going to make it this week! Thanks for sharing it!!! With pictures!!! :)

better an Ode to a Crockpot than to a Crackpot! (not that those didn't make me laugh too!!)

the main problem with the crock pot is that you actually have to plan ahead, which is my weakness. I never plan that far ahead.
Otherwise, the crock pot rules!!

I LOVE my "Magic Crockpot"!! Bar-b-que chicken cooking as we speak. I am gone about 12 hrs a day and there is nothing better than getting home and having a good hot meal on the table in 30 minutes or so! The fix it and forget it cookbooks are great!

One of my favorites is Beef and noodles using beef roast ( have even tried venison) and pkg of onion soup mix, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and a can of water. cook all day, just prior to serving add noodles. YUM! it can be served over potatotes or bread.

My family's favorite is pork barbecue. It isn't as healthy as yours but it's super simple and it tastes really good. I do use a lower fat cut of meat and trim all of the visible fat off. It's really good on a cold winter evening.

Pork BBQ:
Pork tenderloin (I use 2 for the family)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (I always use Kraft Original, just because I really like it)

Put pork in slow cooker. Pour bbq sauce over it. Cook at 250/275 for about 6 hours. Pull meat apart with two forks and serve with rolls, pita, or whatever you like. Enjoy. :-)

Not to change the subject, but what happened with your contest? The one on authorschannel.com where we get to come hang out with you....?

I used to like to stir fry. As soon as I brought out the wok my daughter would run out into the backyard. I finally caught on and asked her what she was doing. She said she hated the sound of the smoke alarm. I have gotten so good that I can trigger the smoke alarm with many different kinds of dishes.

I really like crock pot cooking. I make a big pot of homemade soup and live on it for days. Your recipe looks yummy. I also think potato salad is a complete meal in itself.

I honestly could not exist without my crockpot. Put the stuff in and turn it on before I leave for work and Voila! Dinner is ready by the time I get home.

I've cooked beans, chili, soup, and don't forget, there are scads and scads of crockpot recipes out there on the internets for free. Enjoy!!!!!

so.hungry.now. I don't have a crockpot, so I'm going to zip over to the Target website and order one today. I do get an organic veggie box every week, but I was having trouble figuring out what to do with all the winter root veggies. Thanks!

must go stand by printer now while all the recipe comments print out...

I would love some crockpot recommmendations, too - and is it better than a slow cooker or Dutch oven, do you think?

Ok, here's a recipe that my 21-year-old brother-in-law taught me. Normally, you would "outcook" him.

Put chicken breasts in crockpot.
Dump in salsa to cover.
Cook until chicken is done.

Pick up one of those microwave bags of mexican rice to go with.

Those of you gone for 11+ hours a day....how do you use your crockpot without seriously over-cooking? Once I actually burned potatoes...they were hard as rocks and inedible (much sadness). This was on the low setting, but because I was gone from 8am until 8pm there was no way to turn it off. I've started cooking overnight instead of while I'm gone during the day.

My favorite easy one is chile verde. I like it best with pork but it's also great with chicken, turkey, or beef.
- 2 lbs lean pork (or other meat) chopped into 1" cubes.
- 2 jars of the mild green salsa they sell at TJ's (or other mild green salsa, just make sure it's pretty mild because you're using a lot)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 can MILD green chiles (optional)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin (optional)

Put in the onions and garlic and spices, then the pork on top, and then everything else on top of that. Cook it for at least 6 hours until the meat is cooked and falling apart.
This makes awesome burritos, tacos, etc. I like to garnish it with fresh cilantro and a little sour cream.

I think I might have to make that, like tomorrow. Yum!

Almost anything you make in the crockpot will benefit from some pre-browning of the meat. With your turkey breast, I'd either pop it under the broiler for a bit, or sear it, skin down in a big old skillet. Not only does this help with flavor, but it helps reduce the amount of fat that is going into your crockpot: too much fat in the liquid will raise the temperature and cook the meat too fast, according to the Rick Rogers slow cooker cookbook. Unfortunately, my crockpots are now being used for dyeing yarn, so I don't do much slow cooking these days!

Kelly, use a light timer.

I use one on my little crockpot and have it go on at 4 am and off at 6 am so my son & I can have steelcut oats for breakfast before work/school.

Yum! Although your description of your "usual" dinner makes me almost pine to be single again.

For steel cut oats at night we just heat the water in a pan on the stove to boiling, turn the stove off and throw in the oats and stir, and they are perfect in the morning. No slow cooker needed.

Another alternative for those last minute un-planners like me is using a pressure cooker. It's like the slow cooker's opposite, and cooks super-fast.

Nothing against slow cookers, we just don't have room for another appliance in our house!

I didn't read all the previous comments, so I'm probably going to repeat information someone has already provided. Here are three cookbooks I absolutely adore (yummy, yummy, yumminess!):

1) Fresh From The Vegetarian Slow Cooker, Robin Robertson

2) Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, Feasting with your Slow Cooker, Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good

3) Biggest Book Of Slow Cooker Recipes, Better Homes and Gardens

_____ I love my crock pot! _____

Hi---I LOVE your blog, just discovered it recently! You alwasy make me laugh and smile, and today you reminded me of one of my favorite recipes for the crock pot, a thai-style pork stew:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=354826

Really good, esp. if you love thai food (which I certainly do---anything with peanut sauce or butter, and I'm there). I have substituted beef for it, and it's just as yummy. Enjoy, and thanks for such a wonderful blog!

Another vote for Fix-it and Forget it Cookbook. There is an extra chuckle that comes with that book: The authors are Dawn Ranck and Phyllis Good. You know how they usually put the authors last name on the spine in alphabetical order... this time they didn't because... oh never mind. just my crazy sense of humour. Makes me laugh every time I use the book though.

Okay - you need a copy of "not your mother's slow cooker cookbook". The Turkey Thigh/Hominy chilli is worth the cost of the book! (and everything else I've tried is pretty tasty, too)

This is the yummiest easiest Impress-a-date/friend/hubby recipe ever:

4 beef shanks
one bottle chilli sauce
1 package frozen chopped multi-colored peppers (trader joes sells em')
1 onion

mashed potatoes with lots of butter

Brown the beef, cut up the onion.
Put veggies in crockpot, put meat on top, dump chili sauce over all of it. Cook for 8 hours or until beef is falling apart. The connective tissue in the shanks gives a rich taste with little fat, and it's HEAVEN served on top of buttery potatoes with a green salad on the side.
Note: if it's a little watery when done, prop the lid up a bit and let some steam out for a while - YUMMY!

I was flew to the South to visit my boyfriend while he was working at a refinery, and tried to impress him with a really good crock pot roast. So I went to the local Walmart (the only grocery store) and bought the best roast I could find - a rib eye roast for $50. I had no idea what kind of roast it was really, my culinary skills were not so good just 2 years ago. Anyway, at first he thought I was an idiot, but it ended up being really bloody good. He said that he was going to tell everyone at work the next day about the $50 pot roast I made him. The roast actually had too much fat, if I had know what the hell I was doing I would have trimmed that first.

Thank you for giving us a great crock pot recipe and inspiring your readers to comment with so many other good ones! I have tried to "freestyle" crock in the past with poor to mixed results...maybe following an actual recipe will be the ticket.

Easy crockpot meal for you...

Chicken Taco Meat

Throw in as many boneless skinnless chicken breasts as you have/want/can fit. These can still be frozen, it really doesn't matter. These can also be other chicken bits like thighs if you so choose.

Cover with chicken broth/tomato sauce/water/whatever liquid looks good or is in your cupboard. Note: The more tomato based stuff, the more flavor you will have. I usually throw in a few cans of tomato sauce and make up the difference with broth. Salsa might be good too!

Dump in a few packets of taco seasoning. You won't overdo it since this is just for the simmering!

Cook on low all day until you get home. The longer it cooks, the more tender it gets!

Fish out the chicken and shred with forks. It should be perfectly flavored (even with such an imprecise recipe) but if you like more seasoning, just add a little to taste.

Eat some, freeze the rest. I usually do a bunch at once then freeze small portions. That way I can quickly defrost and throw in a tortillia or on a taco salad. Yum!

Here's my super-easy crockpot recipe for vegetable beef stew:

http://www.osage.net/~themillers92/SCFBlog/2008/01/how-to-cook-vegetable-beef-stew.html

Enjoy!

Thanks for the recipe! I'm having trouble connecting with my crock pot, mostly because generally I have no idea what the hell I'm making for dinner until it's about an hour before everyone wants to eat--not really prime-crockpot cooking hours. Which is why I have a much better relationship with my pressure cooker.

Yum! Everyone's suggestions look so good! I keep meaning to try chili verde, but haven't gotten around to it yet - I may have to try Sarie's recipe above.

I haven't used my crockpot all winter (except for the work potluck, where I just used it to heat Trader Joe's butternut-apple soup - I cheated!). Now I'm going to have to get it out again and go to town.

I didn't read everybody's ideas, but I love me some crockpot lasagna.

bottled sauce--dress it with spices if you like, but don't use a bowl!!

cook meat or buy veggie crumbles--even less cooking.

no-cook noodles--they seem scary, but work out just fine.

cheese/ricotta/egg/spinach/whatever--gotta use a bowl for that one; sorry.

Layer with sauce on bottom (oooh, spray first) and plain shred cheese on top and go wild in the middle. Cook until done (how's that for an instruction?).

Yay--lasagna without hours of work and soggy fallapart noodles!!

(What show was it that had fallapart rabbit? He fell apart (literally--he was a cartoon) every time he screwed something up--which was often....)

I use my crock pot all the time. My favorite cookbook is 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recepies by Judith Finlayson. They really are the best!
She has a whole relationship to Indian food that I don't understand, and there is a bit of food preperation in the directions you can ignore (or can anyone tell my WHY I would saute the onion and celery before cooking it in the crock pot for 8 hours?), but the food is delicious and simple (once you omit unnecessary food prepping). This cookbook saved me after my daughter was born. And the ingredients aren't too hard to find, even here in the midwest.

Breaking my comment silence to post my fave crockpot recipe. Crockpots (slowcookers, etc.) are completely awesome.

This Beef Chili has no beans - I like beans but not everyone does. It's nice to have options, and this stuff is TASTY. I halve the recipe that I was given, because apparently it was designed for a Crockpot of Enormousness, and I only have a modest little slowcooker. So here's what I do (and I actually made this yesterday!).

2 - 2.5 lbs stew meat
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup beer (I usually do a bit more than that)
1 can chopped chili peppers (hot, mild, whatev)
3 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

Brown the meat (This step is skippable, but the texture is better if you brown), put in crockpot. Saute onions and bell peppers, put in crockpot. Dump all other ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Makes 6-8 servings.

Eat, and sigh with happiness over how tasty it is.

I second The Mad Crocheter - Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker is a great cookbook. I read a lot of reviews on amazon and took cookbooks out of the library and this one has been the best.
Here's one of the best things I've ever eaten: Chicken Paprikash
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/237284
be sure to read the reviews - there are good suggestions like if you don't want to brown chicken legs ahead of time, just throw in chicken breasts (altho personally it was the fat from the skin that cooked the onions that made it extra delish, so if you use breasts be sure to leave the skin on)

Um ... I can't believe no one has asked this, so maybe I'm mis-reading the photo, but ... did you wash your potatoes in the dishwasher?

That just CANNOT be a good idea, given the bleach in dishwasher detergent.

So ... did you?

You make me want to run out and buy a crockpot!

I found the book "Fix It and Forget It Lightly" one day at a bookstore and it really changed my life - there are a TON of slow cooker recipes in there, for ANY meal. You'll want to get at least half a dozen more Crock Pots so that you can cook them all and not have to clean up between dinner and dessert. ;)

All I have is a teeny 1.5-quart crock pot designed for dips, but I can make a hearty meal for two that I'm sure you can expand. (And it's not so much "organic and fresh" as "hey I have all this in my freezer already," but I'm sure it can be adapted.)

2 chicken breasts, cut up
1 pack of Ramen noodles and seasoning in flavor of your choice
1 can of cream of whatever-you-like
1 can of cheddar cheese soup
couple of pats of butter
top off with frozen veggies, I like corn and carrot
whatever seasonings fit your fancy, onion and garlic would work well

The recipe I got that from said to crock it for 4 hours or so and then add the noodles for another hour or two, but I usually put the noodles in at the beginning and it's fine.

I empathize completely with this post! I live alone, too, and it's such a pain to cook for one person. So much easier to either "pick something up" or do the microwaved potato thing. But I can also tell a difference between when I've actually made the effort to eat decently and when I've just eaten junk. I just FEEL different, it's weird. Thanks for the reminder!

Now, where did I put my crockpot?....

I haven't read all the comments yet, I'm way too hungry to read all those recipes but I thought I would add my favorite crock pot recipe. We call it the World's Greatest Soup:

vegetable broth
can (or two) of creamed corn
chopped potatoes
chopped onions
shredded carrots

Cook for 5 to 6 hours on high, 7 - 8 on low. Shred cheddar cheese over the top of each serving and you're in soup heaven! We're not big soup eaters, but this one is hearty, warm, healthy and fabulous. Minus the cheddar cheese and it's vegan (a plus in my house, but I would cry without the cheddar cheese).

Oh, yeah, the crock pot rocks in our house. In fact as I type this I'm reheating Chicken Delicious for my lunch that I made the other night in the crock pot. If you don't have it, buy the book Fix It and Forget It. I write notes on the recipes I've tried and whether we like it or not. There's about 400 million recipes in there and most of them use some sort of canned soup or envelope seasoning, not exactly gourmet, but better than junk food. We have liked most of them so far, with Chicken Delicious the hands down favorite.

You can make food in a crockpot??? Well, I'll be...I just use mine to dye yarn!

Maybe I should get a second one and try cooking in it. :)

I love crockpot cooking. So much goodness for so little work. I received two copies of "Fix It and Forget It Lightly" this Christmas. If you want, I'll give you one of the copies.

Try the recipes on allrecipes.com. I found a wonderful crock pot mac and cheese recipe there! It's making me hungry for it right now just thinking about it.

How about taco soup?

1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pack taco seasoning
1 pack ranch dressing mix
1 lb ground beef/ turkey

Stick it all together and cook all day on Med. This is great as a soup, over lettuce for a fantastic taco salad, or over tortillas for a not so unhealthy junk food.

Split pea soup. My favorite crock-pot meal, especially when it's all cold and nasty out. It makes about six servings (five if they're large servings).

1 leftover ham bone (with a bit of meat on it)
1 or 2 large sweet potatos, peeled & chopped
1 large potato (any variety), peeled & chopped
3 carrots, peeled & chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups dried split peas, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram
2 bay leaves
pepper to taste (optional)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours. Remove ham bone. Strip meat from bone and shred. Add shredded meat back to soup and stir well. Cook on low for 1 more hour. Remove bay leaves and serve!

Serve with bread and a bit of sour cream if you feel fancy.

And yes, you can make it vegetarian without the ham bone and using vegetable broth rather than chicken. It's just as tasty.

Suzie: You brown onions & celery to bring out the flavor before putting them into the crockpot, resulting in a much more flavorful dish than if you skip that step.

Here's my crockpot/slow cooker pot roast recipe:

Take a 2-3 lb. piece of chuck or bottom round, coat it with some flour mixed with pepper, and brown it on all sides in olive oil. Transfer to a plate while you brown 2 or 3 chopped onions in the same pan, adding a bit more oil if you need it. Put the onions into your cooker, place meat on top, add 1 envelope of onion soup mix, pour 1 cup filtered water over, and cook on LOW for eight hours or more.

What I do is brown the meat and onions the night before, put them into the crock part, stick it in the fridge, and then place it in the cooker part in the morning when I get up. This makes a fall-apart tender pot roast in a wonderful onion sauce that is great on potatoes. Enjoy!

I love to make Minestrone in a crock pot. (my dad helps me, thank goodness!)

We just get cans of beans... Ci ci beans (also known as garbanzos...most important bean in minestrone), red beans, white beans, basically we clean out the cupboard of canned beans.

oh yeah, dont forget to strain all the beans before you dump them into the crockpot, or you'll have way too much liquid.

Then we add some green beans, potatoes...chopped into little pieces, or just big chunks of potato (it shrinks when it cooks) depends on our mood.

We get shredded cabbage from the grocery store, comes in a bag, or it's in a container in the produce section. Throw some of that into it (I'm not big on measuring things)

I think the base that we use for the soup has been chicken stock. We mix everything together, sometimes we'll toss in other veggies if we have them. (I want to try asparagus in it sometime)

I dont know what heat setting we use when we make this, but I think it's pretty much ready in four to six hours. If you know your way around a crockpot, you can probably figure out what temperature to set it for.

I like to serve it with grated parmesean or romano cheese (or both) and fresh baked french bread.

If you like noodles, I think you can throw the noodles into the soup sometime before you're ready to serve (taste to make sure the noodles are al dente before you serve) or you can make some noodles separate from the minestrone and just dump some noodles into your soup bowl and pour the soup over it.

Minestrone is my favorite soup in the world. It's comfort food for me.

I think I'll go to the store and get some beans and cabbage, and maybe some asparagus and then try out the brand new little crockpot we bought just before christmas that we havent used yet.

We usually make too much of the minestrone, last time we ate what we could and tossed out the leftovers after a few days. I might try freezing it next time we make it and thawing it out if I get the urge for minestrone again.

Flylady's partner-in-crime, Leanne Ely, has her own website www.savingdinner.com - which has all sorts of sections, including a whole section on crock pot cooking.

I love my crock pot... Particularly in winter, particularly on my work day. There's nothing better than working all day and coming home to find your whole house smelling WONDERFUL and dinner almost ready to put straight on the table (particularly at 6pm with two little kids who need their dinner NOOOOOOW!)

If you get yourself some good storage containers, you can make enough in your crockpot to last several meals, freeze what you don't eat that night, make a different dish the next night, rinse and repeat until you have a vast variety of beautiful home-cooked meals in your freezer that you just need to pull out and reheat.

hi.
i *love* my crock so much!
chicken in the pot.

1 chicken whole
potatoes
onions
carrots
garlic
any other root veggie you like
white wine
salt, pepper and other spices you like

(no exacts on the veggies b/c it depends on the size of the crockpot & chickeni just keep going until its full)

chunk up veggies (chunk up is a culinary term)
put about half of the veggies on the bottom
add salt and pepper and spices to veggies
add chicken (pre spice rubbed)
add rest of veggies
add about a cup-ish of wine

set to cook for 4-5 hour on high then to warm for about another 4

if you don't want wine you can replace wine with a small can of crushed tomatoes. (or you can do both)
eat deliciousness.

The recipe I use most is this easy chicken dish. I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

2 - 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 l5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 15 oz can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup cooking sherry (or water)
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Lemon Juice
Paprika

Clean chicken breast and pat dry. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with paprika. Place in Crock Pot. Mix soups and sherry (or water if you prefer) pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Serve with noodles or rice. Soooo easy!!

Here's a microwave breakfast that I do:

I love to cook, but I almost always have something better to do, so I have developed a few easy (okay, lazy) meal plans. Breakfast is the crucial one for me, as I am loath to spend more than minute or two on food and I'm trying not to load up on sugars too early in the day. So here's what I've been doing:

- Scramble one egg with a little water in a microwaveable plastic bowl. Microwave it for thirty seconds.

- Add whatever vegetables are around. I keep a tub full of chopped whatever veggies in the fridge and cook with different selsctions of them for most meals. Today it was zucchini, yellow squash, mushroom, celery, and some of that spinach from a bag. Tomorrow, who knows? Also? Vegetables are HELLA CHEAP.

- Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and (for me) garlic. Microwave for another 30-45 seconds and eat your yummy healthy food.

No meat, oil, or sugar, and it's cheap and simple. Lets me get right back to trawling the Innernets.

Um yah, I've burned stuff in my crockpot. Maybe it's defective.

There have been a couple versions of this one already. Here is mine:

beef roast, the cheaper the better (cheap = tough = more flavor, perfect for slow cooker)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope Liptons onion or onion/mushroom soup mix
1 cup red wine (or 1 12-oz. can/bottle beer; this makes a more subtle flavor)

Cook on high for an hour, low for 6 to 8 hours; or on low for 10-12 hours. This makes the best gravy ever; take out the meat, pour the liquid into a pan, and thicken slightly with flour-water slurry or roux.

Serve over potatoes, mashed or baked; or noodles. Mmmmm.

I'll come back to this post and scarf up everyone else's recipes when I'm back at my own computer. Thanks to everyone!

Yummm....parsnips and beets and leeks....yummmmm!!!!

You eat parsnips...I love you even more now. I love them roasted with a little evoo and pepper....Yummo (even though I am not a Rachel Raye fan, yummo just seems to fit).

At our home, we refer to BBQ food as two distinct groups: "burnt offerings" or "bloody sacrifices". (You can thank Rob's Aunt Priscilla for that one!)

BTW, photo of the raw turkey? Not so yummy ... *gag* (I hate 'dealing' with raw meat of any kind).

Anyway, I've been thinking about buying a crock pot so maybe we'll go shopping for one this weekend. Enjoy!

You and I are twin sisters from different mothers, lately, what with the bangs and the crock-pottin'.

Here's my all-time favorite crock pot recipe:

CROCK POT PEA SOUP (the time-intensive, veggie-choppin' version):

1-2 lbs. ham bone or ham hocks or cubed ham
1 bag dried split peas (about 2 cups)
1-2 cups cubed carrots
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, cubed
4 stalks celery, cubed
1 baking potato, cubed
1-4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tblsp cumin (optional)
1 pkg. onion soup mix (optional)
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms
1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
2 cups water
2 (14 oz.) cans lower-sodium chicken broth (Swanson)

Add all ingredients to crock pot.
Cook on low 8-12 hours, stirring occasionally.
Remove ham bone, cut off meat from bone, return meat to soup.
Continue cooking on low until ready to serve.

(Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving).

Alternatives:

For thicker soup: remove lid towards end to allow soup to reduce and thicken; if too thick, add more chicken stock and/or water

For creamier soup: remove ½ of soup when done and puree, then stir back into rest of soup.

Garnishes: croutons, french fried onions, parmesian cheese, popcorn, or mustard

----------------------

CROCK POT PEA SOUP (the lazy woman's short version):

- 1 bag split peas
- 1 ham bone
- 1 carton chicken broth
- spices to taste

Spices most recently are garlic paste, cumin, onion powder and a couple bay leaves. I'm out of pepper, so I added a little bit of hot spices for kick, not enough to even really tell....

Sooooo, you can make a delicious pea soup without a lot of extra work or ingredients. Amazingly complex flavor for being so simple and with so few ingredients.

I usually let it cool down and then ladle it into individual servings which I can freeze. My most recent batch (last week) is still in the fridge, and I spoon out the paste (what it turns into when it cools), add some water, reheat, and eat. I think I'll have that for dinner tonight! Thanks for the reminder!

P.S. Thank you for this blog post -- I get to glean a bunch of other great recipes from my fellow commenters....

celery has a flavor? guess I burned out those particular taste buds somewhere along the way...

I use my crockpot on Sundays quite a bit during the winter months. I even used it to do a roast on Christmas Day. It turned out sooo yummy - even had gravy that you make along with it. With some mashed potatoes on the side - delicious!

Linda in VA

That looks (beautiful photos) and sounds delish!

So, can we look forward to the Crazy Aunt Purl Crockpot Cookbook? ;-)

To Mary B-- um, no. I don't have a dishwasher. Why would you wash vegetables in the dishwasher? That's so weird!

What you see in the picture is a vegetable drainer that fits over the sink.

Holy cow! I was gonna post a recipe, but instead I'm just gonna print out all these other good ones!

There are also recipes on the back of onion soup mix or the mushroom-onion soup mix. My fav is the one for pulled pork sammies (onion soup mix). I've switched the pork for beef and used it with noodles because it tastes like my moms homemade goulash.

Can't wait to try some of these...

I have a tiny crockpot, which sometimes makes things a challenge (modifying a recipe from a 6 quart down to 1.5 can be quite exciting). I love it, but I'm still trying to find a special plug that I can put the plug into so I can set it to not go off for an hour or two.

Really good chicken soup:

Fry 3 slices of bacon (I use nitrate free). Chop into small pieces. Throw into crock pot.

Also add:
one bag frozen edamame
one bag frozen corn
One chopped onion
chicken (I usually use the leftovers from a roasted chicken complete with some bones and skin)
chicken broth
chopped potatoes

Set on low. Go to sleep. When you wake up the next morning, you will have yummy soup.

I love my crock pot.

This makes a

I gotta delish reci-pee-pee for Italian Beefs!
Some sort of Beef roast that will fit in your Pot(can't remember specific cut, sorry help please!)
can or 2 of beef broth, onion soup (can or dry mix depending on liquid capacity of crock) small can of pepperocini peppers( you can add entire jar or just juice and a few peppers, up to you). When beef is falling apart, serve on a nice crusty
roll with some Italian blend shredded cheese on top. Dunk in juice as desired....Goes great with booze of your choice.........
Also YARN DYERS!!! GREAT IDEA!!!Thanks for the tip!!Looks like I just found a new use for the old one.

It looks very healthy and yummy. I could eat all those veggies no prob. My hubby, on the other hand, well. That is a problem.

Love your blog!

Dozens of fantastic recipe ideas- but have you discovered the Reynolds Crock Pot liners yet??? They're like shower-cap-shaped-won't-melt-plastic-liners for the crock pot, so no more soaking & scrubbing! Magic- I tell you!

That looks AMAZING!!

Crockpots are one of the world's best home culinary inventions!

What we had for dinner last night:

Cinnamon Honey Chicken
1 onion
1 pound carrots
3 pound chicken drumsticks (and/or thighs)
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup chicken broth (or water if you are out)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (my favorite- Vietnamese Cinnamon from Penzey's Spice)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup honey

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Put in veggies and chicken. Mix other ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Cooking on low for 6-8 hours. Yum!

I've a recipe for slow cooked roast that gets rave reviews. And demands. I usually make it with a chunk of wild game, moose usually [yes I'm from waaaaaaaaaaay up north] but it's wonderful with beef and pork as well.
Chuck your roast [any cut, fresh or frozen] into your pot.
Season with salt n pepper.
Cover [and I do mean COVER] the roast in mustard. Sounds weird but you'll thank me in the end. I'm talkin' squeezin half the bottle out on her.
Slice up a huge onion and separate into rings. Toss 'em in the pot on top of [and around] the mustardy meat.
Chop up some garlic and throw it in there too.
Sprinkle some more pepper. And some garlic powder if you were too lazy to chop some up in the last step. [meh, it happens]
Pour in a bit of beef broth.
Cover her up and set her to cook on low for the day.

When you cut the strings on this baby she'll fall right apart into the most tasty juice you ever had. Enjoy!

Crockpots are THE best thing ever! I have two!
I work until 7pm, and there's nothing like dragging my tired ass home from work and having the smell of something tasty from the crockpot hit my nose when I open the door.

wow, these all look so delicious! here is my recipe for chicken & couscous. i looked all over for one on the inter-webs, but they all had about 100 ingredients, so i made one up and hoped for the best.

1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
2 zucchinis, sliced
1 tomato, chopped (or you could use a handful of grape tomatoes cut in half)
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 can chicken broth (just enough to cover all of your ingredients, really)
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

dump everything into crockpot. make sure there is enough liquid to cover ingredients. cook on high 4-5 hours. alternatively, in a pot bring to a boil and simmer for one hour. serve over couscous or rice. if the liquid is too thin for your taste, add some cornstarch or flour. i usually mix it in a cup and then add the liquid so i don't get lumps. i actually made this yesterday, but on the stove, not the crockpot.

A couple of people asked about crockpot reccomendations. I have taught crockpot cooking classes and here is some info:

Really there is very little difference in the brands- the things to look for are features that will help them work best for you. I have the basic models (one of them is the same as Laurie's white Rival- the feature on that one is a warm setting). Some models have a timer feature that will cook for 6 to 10 hours then will switch to warm.

The one I want now is has clamp-things that make it easy to take places without the lid slipping.

Some crockpot facts:
Low is about 200 degrees, High about 300 degrees.
You can exchange settings in most recipes: 1 hour on High equals 1 hour on Low.
Here is some handy conversion info:
If conventional time is 15 to 30 minutes, then cooking time on low should be 4 to 6 hours.
If conventional time is 35 to 45 minutes, cooking time on low should be 6 to 8 hours.
If convenentional time is 50 minutes to 3 hours, cooking time on low should be 8 to 16 hours.

Hope this helps!

An Edit to the previous post:
You can exchange setting in most recipes 1 hour on High equals 2 hours on Low.

(edited cause 1 hour on High equals 1 hour on Low makes no sense)

I use my crack-pot to make good old CORN PUDDING. It's great. You can get the recipe on "All Recipes."

I havent read through all the commments, but are you aware that you can cut down on your crock pot clean up by using a disposable liner? They are made by Glad (I think...or maybe Reynolds Wrap?) and can be found where the tin foil and wax paper in the grocery. It is like a baggie for your crock pot so you don't have to scrub the crock pot.

I'll be back with some recipes.

Our favorite is a roast, we usually lamb, or venison if we have it, but it is also good with beef. Start with about 3 lb. of roast, add as manny sliced mushrooms (we have used various kinds, depending on what is available)as will fit in the crock pot, add about a cup or so of broth, and about a cup of red wine. Cook until the roast is done, and serve with rice.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, so as a disclaimer, I did not make this up. I found it a magazine or something of the sort. Love, love, LOVE this BBQ beef recipe, hope you do too. Not hard at all

Chuck roast BBQ
-1 two lb boneless chuck roast
2 med onions, coarsely chopped
3/4 c. coke (NOT diet!)
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced (yes I use the jar kind!)
1 tsp beef bouillon granules (or I crush the cubes up!)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 c. ketchup
2 tsp butter

-roast and onion in crockpot
-combine soda and next 7 ingredients, pour all but 1/2 c. over roast
-cook for 6 hrs (until tender)
-drain, shred and keep warm
-combine remaining 1/2 c. liquid w/ketchup and butter in saucepan until heated
-pour sauce over beef

Yes, looks like work, but really is SUPER easy! enjoy

My crock pot cracked the first time I used it :-( Must get a new crockpot and do some of these recipes - yum!
(Plus my crockpot Back 'Ome had an accident - I used it for dyeing wool out in the garage and left it on for a WEEK! Eeek! No wonder the safety switch in the garage kept tripping! Destroyed the ceramic insert...)

I love my crockpot, but my new baby is a combo pressure cooker/slow cooker I got from QVC. I can make really good pot roast in under an hour.

So glad you clarified about the bananas :)

I LOVE my crockpot, especially now that I am (a) a full time student and (b) renovating the kitchen (I haven't had an oven since October 2). However, today I am sad because I neglected to set something up in the trusty Pot and I have come home from a three hour statistics class (which was preceded by 4-1/2 hours of assorted flavours of Psych - Tuesday is my Hell Day) to realize that there is no food. Frozen burritos it is....

this isn't exactly a crock pot dish, but its super easy. I make turkey chili that people actually request for parties and all it requires is a pound of ground turkey breast, a can of tomatoes, a can of kidney beans and the mckormic chili seasoning packet. "brown" the turkey (if you use the 99% fat free it turns white not brown) then dump the other stuff on top, stir and if you turn the heat down you can pretty much leave it alone. When the moisture level reaches one you are happy with eat it :)

ZOMG too weird... I spent all afternoon looking for recipes for my new crockpot. O.O We must be tuned into the same wavelength or something today. LOL

Hahahaha! Crockpot! I got mine waaaay back in 1974...first marriage. It still works! Yes, it's the same brand as yours..Rival.
One of the 70's dishes we used to make which is decidedly UNhealthy is this: Take a huge chunk o' Velveeta and a jar of hot salsa. Throw both into crockpot. Melt, stir. Use for dip with extra large Dip Fritos! Hmmmmmm...perfect with cerveza!

Two easy recipes (healthy, and you could do them in your sleep):

Chicken Enchiladas

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed (optional)

Put the chicken, black beans, pinto beans, and corn in the crockpot. Pour the salsa over the ingredients. Cook on high 3-4 hrs. or on low 6-8 hours until chicken is falling apart.
Shred chicken with a fork.
Serve with tortillas (warm in a ziploc with a damp paper towel for 30 sec.), shredded cheese, and condiments of your choice. I like fresh cilantro, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream.

Green Chili Pork

4 thick boneless pork chops, cut into 1" cubes
1 jar of salsa verde
1 can of green chili enchilada sauce
2 corn tortillas
1 tblesp. oil
1 sliced onion (optional)

Heat the oil in a med. frying pan. Add the pork cubes and onions and stir until nicely browned (this does not take long, and you can do this part the night before if you want).
Put the browned pork/onions into the crockpot. Pour the jar of salsa verde and the green chile sauce over the top.
Tear up the corn tortillas, and put them in the crockpot (they thicken the sauce).
Cook 3-4 hrs. on high or 6-8 hours on low until pork is tender.
Serve with rice or in tortillas. If you are using corn tortillas, just heat them briefly in a dry frying pan until the start to bubble, then flip them over and do the same to the other side.

Laurie, I agree with your crock pot sentiments. As a new wife who is as lazy as they come (who also works full time btw), I have to cook. Not because I'm expected to as a woman, but because my husband boils hamburgers. Yes. The horror. Anyway, my favorite crock pot recipe is very similar to yours. I use those pre-marinated pork loin roasts. They're all tasty, but the honey mustard is my favorite at this point. Take a bunch of potatoes, any kind you like, and chop them into fourths. Snap some carrots in half and add them. You want to make a layer at the bottom of the pot to set the meat on. Then add some broth of any kind, lay the meat on top, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. It's delish! And the potatoes and carrots almost fall apart. There is enough liquidy goodness at the bottom that I use it to make a quick gravy for mashed taters (another staple of our diet). Anyway, you can eat the pork with the potatoes and carrots, and I usually serve it with a side of that Uncle Ben's 90 Minute You Can't Screw This Up rice. I throw everything in the pot before I go to work, and when I get home it's dinna taim.

My favorite "It's a crock" recipe is simple: Baseball game style hotdogs and buns. This is so easy, a 5-year old (or me!) can make them. First, use the best 'dogs you can find. I like the Hebrew National brand. Put them in the pot on low, but don't add any water. Let them simmer in their own hotdog goodness. They can cook all day, 8 hours is no problem (But you may want to add a small bit of water if cooking this long, or put them in frozen) 20 minutes before mealtime, turn the heat to medium, open the buns, put them on top of the hotdogs and put the lid back on. Dodger-dogs!

Yum, it sure does.

Yum, potatoes. Love 'em. Can't eat 'em. Stupid diet. (The diet, as you may recall, has nothing to do with weight and everything to do with plumbing. Sadly, it seems to be working.)

Marinate 2 lbs beef cubes overnight in red wine. Toss in a plastic bag with flour to which you've added a little thyme and pepper (salt optional -- I never salt anything). Brown the beef in a little olive oil with a clove of garlic added.

In the same pan saute an onion or two until softened.

Place in crockpot:
- the wine marinade
- one can cream of mushroom soup
- the onion and whatever other veggies you like (I have used beets; they come out tasting like beets)
- the browned beef
Cook on low heat all day while you're at work. Serve over noodles or rice.

Oh, and the store-bought chicken? BRILLIANT.

OMG!!! Bell's seasoning!!! In my family it's considered a crime to make stuffing for the turkey without Bell's, one Thanksgiving it almost came to blows.

You can't buy it in the Midwest (at least not that any of us can find) so we have been buying it from the company through the mail for the past 27ish years.

Hmmm... Perhaps I should USE my crockpot...

My favorite is to toss in some chopped carrots, onions, garlic, dried black beans (they don't need pre-soaked), brown rice, corn, canned tomatoes, broth, chicken breasts, salsa, and taco seasoning mix plus a little extra cumin. Cover and cook all day on low. Stir and break up the chicken, then depending on how thick or thin it comes out and what you feel like, either a.) eat in a bowl (stew/soup) with toppings (grated cheese, sour cream, etc.) b.) plop a scoop of the stuff on tortilla chips and top with cheese, c.) roll up in a tortilla, or d.) throw on top of lettuce to make a salad. I use frozen chicken breasts because I am usually gone about 12 hours.

The other thing I like to do (because I'm from a VERY SMALL town in the middle of nowhere & was raised to use EVERYTHING) is get a yummy whole cooked chicken, like those from Costco, and pull the meat off to eat however, then throw all the bones and remains in the crockpot, cover with water, and cook on low all night. Makes the BEST stock. Just pick out the bones/strain and use right away or freeze for later. Yum.

CALL BARBARA about your BOOK READING on Saturday. She has some vital information for you and needs to connect with you ASAP! In California... call or e-mail... fax, telegraph, or even owl mail would work. If nothing else, turn on the bat signal...

I love root veggies in the crock pot! I just bought some parsnips to roast. You should check out the soups in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It's veggie but even for meat eaters, it's one of the best cookbooks EVER.

Ditto to what Amy and Jamie W. said about the crockpot liners. Best invention since sliced bread. Or waffle cones. For Thanksgiving and Christmas my mom cooked the turkey in her new 18-quart slow cooker. She used a plastic roaster bag from Reynolds Wrap (big enough for the turkey), added one tablespoon flour to the bag, sealed the bag and into the slow cooker it went. It cooked at 350 for 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size of turkey you buy. No liquid added. That was the best turkey we have EVER had. Fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth delish! Next time we're using turkey breast since everyone likes that part of the turkey more. Happy eats!

I have the most awesome recipe for pulled pork in the crock pot.
1 pork roast
1 can of beef broth
1 1/2 cups of strong brewed coffee.
barbeque sauce

Season the pork roast.(I use Tone's Canadian Steak seasoning from Sam's Club). Place pork in crock pot. Pour broth and coffee over it. I put it on low for 8 to 10 hours. Drain liquid and save. Shred the pork. Mix barbeque sauce and enough of the cooking liquid so it is the consistancy desired. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.

Try Reynolds Slow Cooker liners. They are wonderful.

Aileen--I, too, have tried to freestyle, with terrible results! I can see what I wasn't doing right--not half enough spices per things to be spiced, and probably not the right protein source. ( I used tempeh, which is usually my favorite faux meat, but I think it needs to be fried rather than slowly boiled.)

Anyway, all these wonderful recipes have encouraged me to try again! Especially since LT (the Boy) now lives near me and is expecting dinner every night, and hell yes that bothers little ol' feminist me, and hell yes my instincts are overpowering my feminist training. I WANT to cook dinner for him every night, dammit. At least using my slow-cooker will cut down the work involved, possibly lessening the internal struggle!

OK, now you did it. I came here to enjoy - and maybe giggle over - your blog and you went and cooked!

I was stunned out of my stupor and into my kitchen. And what did I do but drag my crock pot out of the small appliance graveyard and into service.

I am with you, it smelled delicious. It was delightful to come home from a late exercise class to dinner already cooked.

But really. I don't usually expect my comuter to be an interactive activity! ;)

The cookbook recommendations will make it easier to buy Dad's Christmas present next year, I think; he does like his crock-pot. Have you every checked out the recipes on Confessions of a Pioneer Woman? Definitely not low-fat but they look delicious and commenters have give rave reviews to them. I bet several of them would lend themselves to slow cooking.

It's almost midnight and I felt compelled to pull out my Slow Cooker and throw onions, chicken thighs, salsa, black beans and spices into it. Tomorrow we'll have some spicy chicken with roasted peppers for dinner.

Thanks Laurie, and you're right about how we feel better when we eat real food.

Okay, I admit I didn't read all 141 comments so far, but my recommendation is this:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Slow-Cooker-Cookbook-Ever/dp/0060172665/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200477189&sr=8-1

With a title like The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever, who could resist? It really is my favorite.

Thanks for the post... now I know what to do with the little box of Bells I have in the pantry! At Thanksgiving, everyone in TN was buying a box, so I didn't want to be left out. I just didn't know what to do with it!

You really need to look for 'Potjie Pot' recipes (pronounced Poy-kee Pot). My dad got one in Africa, it's basically a small cauldron - but it works on the same principle as the crock pot. Put everything in, cook it over an open flame (or on the hob... whichever), then eat :) It's amazing. You can even use it on the barbecue!

Bossy doesn't own a Crock pot. She thinks it's the name...

This one is SO good - try with couscous or with pasta or noodles (note WINE on list of ingredients):

Herbed Artichoke Chicken (Crock Pot)

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I cut each in half)
1 can (14 oz) tomatoes, drained and diced
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained
1 small onion, chopped
½ cup sliced olives (recipe calls for kalamata, but I replaced with black)
1 cup fat-free chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Combine chicken, tomatoes, artichokes, onion, olives, broth, wine, tapioca, curry powder, parsley, basil, thyme, salt and pepper in the Crock-Pot slow cooker. Mix thoroughly.
2. Cover; cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 ½ to 4 hours or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Makes 6 servings

TIP: For a 5-, 6 or 7- quart cooker, double all ingredients, except for the chicken broth and white wine. Increase the chicken broth and white wine by one half.

My uber-easy crockpot chicken recipe:

* Wrestle a roasting chicken out of that ridiculous industrial strength plastic they use.
* Remove bag o' innards.
* Stuff cavity with herbs (I grab what ever happens to be growing in my garden)
* put a couple sprigs of herbs under the skin.
* Plunk it in the crock pot.
* Douse with an entire box of organic Chicken broth.
* Cook for like 5-6 hours on high.

The broth becomes super charged chicken broth, and the chicken falls apart it is so tender.

Chicken Cacciatore/Catch-all-atore

5-6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 bag frozen green beans
1 can artichoke hearts (drained)
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1 small can tomato paste
Several dashes (1 tsp-ish) red wine vinegar
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp parsley flakes
Dash garlic powder

I put the beans in the bottom, the chicken on top, dumped the artichoke hearts over, then whisked the paste and broth together with the red pepper and poured that over everything. A little parsley and garlic powder on top, then I put a few dashes of red wine vinegar around the sides for extra savoury-ness. (Left in the fridge overnight and set to cook this morning.)

Cooked on low for 8 hours, it came out delicious!!! I served it plain with a salad, but it would be even better on some fettuccine or rice to soak up the sauce, I bet. Also, next time I think I'll add some onion, bell peppers and maybe mushrooms (didn't have 'em in the house this time).

It was a complete happy accident, all things I had in the freezer and cupboard, but it made the house smell like Grandma's did when she made chicken cacciatore and tasted so good I have 'orders' to make it again.

Oh Girl! I have a NC pulled BBQ recipe for you!

1 pork loin
1/2 cup Jack Daniels
1.5 cups favorite bbq sauce (bottle or make your own)

crock pot away. Shred the pork when it comes out and serve with more bbq sauce on the side. I make my own bbq sauce which is simple and a little healthier:
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
tobasco sauce to taste
(if you're making this sauce for something else, just heat everything together BUT if you're making the BBQ, just put all of the ingredients right in the pot)

I'm ALL about my crockpot!!

Here's my favorite easiest recipe ever.
1 bag frozen chicken breasts
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8.
Yummmmmm

I'm ALL about my crockpot!!

Here's my favorite easiest recipe ever.
1 bag frozen chicken breasts
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8.
Yummmmmm

So good I posted it twice.
Sorry bout that!!

I actually have some crockpot chili cooking as we speak!

It's super easy, and I don't use a recipe per-se, so you can add/subtract what you want. It's really good for you, high in fiber, and can be completely vegan or not, depending on your desires. I use:

One large can tomato puree, low sodium
Three-Four smaller cans diced tomatoes (with green peppers in or "chili style" if you like)
One cup each of various beans: I have black, white, and pinto in there (dried, you soak them over night in a bunch of water)
Chili powder to taste
About a cup of chopped onion
Some hot sauce
Meat: I either brown ground turkey and toss it in, or I use the crumbled fake meat you can get in the freezer section; that, I just dump right in.

That's about it. I cook it on low all day, so I'll set it up before work, and when I come home the house smells great and we have a wonderful, hearty meal. It's very nice for we midwesterners in winter. You can add veggies as you like, and it seems to always taste good!

I've been cutting and pasting, cutting and pasting. Love my crockpots (I have 2!) Can't wait to try some of these recipes.

I made a note to myself to keep in the clean crockpot "Remember butter spray" - so it's easy to clean each time. Maybe I should try those bags instead.

Does anyone know the details on keeping pots of warm food safe? I read something about 2" of food and a certain temp. as a requirement. In other words, if it is kept warm but not hot for too long (even in the fridge, if it's DEEP it can take a long time to cool) - the bugs can gather? I'm not usually skeered about these things, but I'm learning maybe I should be more careful. On the other hand, I've had no problems so far, so - nevermind.

How about the "Crazy Aunt Purl Cookbook" and include all of your loyal fans recipes as well.

An interactive culinary experience, cat hair optional.

I'm going to be moving into a place by myself in the next couple of months, and it had never occurred to me that a crockpot would be a useful addition to my small kitchen. Gonna go find one of these - the recipes look too good to miss :)

There is a great crockpot cookbook called Fix it and Forget it! I got it for Christmas and love it :) I haven't cooked anything out of it yet, but it has some awesome recipes in it that sound so good, and look REALLY easy for someone like me, who's favorite thing is definitely NOT cooking :)

I heartily endorse the crock pot liners by Reynolds. Pull the whole mess out and toss it! Sometimes I have to wipe the inside of the crock with a wet paper towel but that's it! So easy.

Thanks for the inspiration, I am definitely using some of these recipes to expand my culinary expertise and impress the husband!

A great, quick meal for us is to take a few chicken breasts or thighs, chuck em in the pot, pour a jar of Patak's indian sauce (any kind) over it, and cook on low from the time I leave for work until I get home (about 9-10 hours). You end up with chicken that falls apart into a fragrant, yummy sauce that goes great over basmati rice.

YUM-O! Must. Get. Ingredients. For. Crock. Pot. Meal. This. Week.
You're right... they are one of the best inventions ever!

I have a great recipe. Take a few big onions and slice them up. Layer them in the bottom of your crock pot. Put a nice piece of beef brisket on top of it, then layer more onions until the crock pot is full.

Now, pour in a jar of chili sauce (it's by the ketchup in the market)and a can of beer.

Turn it on and let it cook until the meat is super tender. It's delish!

Oh, oh!! What wonderful readers you have to post all their recipe goodness! I've been doing like the poster above, just cutting and pasting away, heh.

I rarely use my crock pot but this has inspired me to try a bunch of recipes. Yum!!

I LOVE cooking in the crock pot, in fact, if I could get away with it, I'd do it every day, but I'm not that skilled. I recently posted a Chickn' N' Dumplin's recipe on my blog that is very yummy too....both the recipe and the blog ;)

Try Allrecipies.com they have good recipes.

I am a lazy cook so I recently found slow cooker liners. Put this bag in your crock pot, fill it with food, cook, eat, pack up the leftovers, throw out the bag, put crockpot back in cupboard. It's AWESOME!!

I recently went back to work after 6 months of being a Lady of Leisure. (I know, *wah, wha*) so I don’t have time to really make dinner anymore unless we eat at 7pm (and we’re usually starving by 5, which means we say screw it and go to happy hour). But the other day I hauled out my Crock Pot and made chili. Here’s what I did:
The night before I sautéed chopped onion with some chipotle powder, cumin, coriander and chili powder (I don’t measure, it’s against my nature, I just throw stuff in). I put the onions in a bowl in the fridge. Took a little bit more of all those spices and threw them in the bottom of the pot (don’t turn it on yet!) and set out all the cans I’d need for morning: Great Northern (white) beans, kidney beans, 14 oz can of tomatoes for chili, 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes and the can opener.
In the morning, I just opened all the cans and threw the contents (no draining the beans) on top, threw in the pre-sautéed onions flipped it onto low and went to work.
When I got home, I threw in a package of soy crumbles, I can’t remember the name, Smart Something and within 20 minutes or so had yummy dinner. And it was about 6 servings so I had it for lunch for a few days then froze the rest. I am so glad you posted this today because I am planning to do something else for tomorrow, I just hadn’t decided what yet. Mmmm…

I LOVE cooking in the crock pot, in fact, if I could get away with it, I'd do it every day, but I'm not that skilled. I recently posted a Chickn' N' Dumplin's recipe on my blog that is very yummy too....both the recipe and the blog ;)

I third-or-fourth or whatever it is now nominate

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

I love it. Gonna give one to Mama, actually, for her birthday, inscribed "Well, actually, now this IS my mother's slow cooker cookbook! HA HA!"

Because while my mother has many, many virtues, none of them are in cooking. =)

Crock pot liners can be bought at the grocery store by the tin foil, etc. Makes cleaning up really quick and easy!

I clicked comments to tell you about a recipe that someone else already shared. if this many folks read my blog, I'd really have to write something :) I got some cool recipes though - so thanks!

If you are feeding four or more, we've done the following with great results. Trim one pork shoulder, bone in or not, your choice. Put in the pot with one large can of green enchilada sauce. Roughly chop up an onion or two and throw that in, too. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Let cook on low while at work, for me that is about 9 hours. Remove shoulder and shred the meat with a fork. Serve in warm tortillas, with lime and salsa. Sometimes we eat just that, or we have rice and refried beans on the side. So good, and if you don't shred all the pork, can use it in something else later in the week!

Because I know you're trying to eat more healthfully, buy organic produce, etc., I couldn't help but cast a vote against the slow cooker liners. Plastics can leach all kinds of chemicals, including pthalates (which have been shown to disrupt normal endocrine activities), when heated. Flexible plastics, like saran wrap and those liners, have more chemicals added to keep them flexible. I'm pretty nervous about microwaving/cooking/crockpotting anything in plastic (I'm a scientist studying metabolism, not a crazy hippie, promise!). Plus, why throw away more plastic?

plastic is forever!

I wished I had spent the extra $10 and bought the Removable Ceramic liner to the crock pot. You can throw the actual crock (ceramic part only) into the dishwasher now!!!!!!

not the heating element....
My recipe for beef stew, that my mom requests I make each time and it changes each time:

Beef stew meat

Chopped into pieces:
Potatoes
Carrots
celery
(any root veggies you want)

Seasonings:
1-2 splashs of worchestshire sauce
chili powder ( not a burn-your mouth spice) 1-2 Tablespoons
Nature's seasoning (or whatever seasoning mix you want to use) 2 shakes
garlic- 1 tsp more if you like it strong

root veggeis go in first, then the meat then the spices

If you want it thicker: throw in some Watkin's mushroon sauce and thickener, or cornstrach.

Smokey Joe: awhile back Cooksillustrated.com (I do love to cook and, hence the name, bake!) did a study (these folks over-research everything, so of course I love them)...they recommended the AllClad Slow Cooker (aka crockpot...I too hate the name); but, 1) it's $149!! and 2) I never used the one I had when I was married and 3) every time I go to my sister-in-law-to-be's house she's got something wasting away in the c.p. with a smell that could gag a maggot....so, perhaps slow cooking is not for me.

However, it might be an improvement on tonite's dinner: Carr's pepper wafers dipped in bottled caeser salad dressing, accompanied by a little bubbly...well, it was pretty darn good.

Also, I agree with Virginia, cooking in plastic is just bad for you. Cheers, K.

Don't know if you're reading this far down, but here are a few really easy crockpot recipes:

Catalina Chicken:
Put a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot. Pour a bottle of catalina dressing over. Put on low for ~8-10 hrs.

BBQ Beef:
Put a small pot roast in the crockpot. Pour a bottle of barbecue sauce over. Low for 8-10 hrs. (Do you see a theme here?) Remove with a slotted spoon or by draining into a colander. You can also use a pork roast or ribs, but if you want to be able to pick up the ribs instead of having them slide apart, cut the cooking time a few hours and finish them on the grill.

ES

I have one question--Laurie, when will you publish a cookbook?? You have such wonderful recipes yourself (I made Oma's chocolate cake, mmmmmmmmm), and then with all the wonderful people posting recipes too, well, I'm spending too much time on here getting distracted and imagining how wonderful it would all taste when I should just be cooking, HELP!

I live and die by my "Crockpot Liners" - making even the cleanup afterwards as easy as just tossing away the bag and giving the crockpot a quick swipe with a soapy rag and rinsing. If you can't find them - use Oven Bags - same material.

One of my favorite delicious and versitile recipes:

Late-Summer Minestrone with Fresh Herbs
about 4 servings

1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cups summer vegetables (such as green beans, zucchini, or summer squash, peeled if necessary and diced smaller than ½ inch), or dark, leafy greens (such as kale or collards), roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups any stock (we like Pacific Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth), or water
1 cup cored, seeded, and chopped fresh tomatoes (Canned are fine, too.)
½ cup each chopped fresh parsley and basil leaves
Freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

1. Throw everything in the pot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for about 3 and a half.

Change It Up: Winter Minestrone
Use hard, root vegetables, such as potatoes, parsnips, turnips, or more carrots, peeled if necessary and cut into small cubes; cooking time will be a longer. Fresh herbs are optional.

Pasta é Fagioli (Pasta and Bean Soup)
Use whatever vegetables you like - about half as much as above - and add 2 cups canned beans (kidney, white, chickpeas, or a mixture)and add ½ cup of small pasta, like tubetti, mini shells or spaghetti broken into bits. About half an hour before serving, stir in a teaspoon of minced garlic. Top with the grated parmesan. If you're going for the "Olive Garden" version of this one, brown off a 1/2 to 3/4 lb. of ground chuck, drain and add to the crockpot with the vegetables. (This option is my personal favorite)

Not a crock pot meal (tho it probably could be)but fast and easy. Got it from the back of a Pace Picante Sauce jar years ago and it is a 30min meal staple in our house.
-place 3 boneless/ skinless chicken breasts (or turkey brst cutlets) in a baking dish
-Mix together 3/4 c Pace or other chunky salsa (fresh or bottled), 3Tbsp brown sugar and 3tsp Dijon mustard (yes, I know it is the same as 1Tbsp but the tsp fits in the jar and I like the "3 of everything" symmetry) and pour it over the chicken. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min (set a really loud timer or put it in at the beginning of a sitcom and check it at the end). Serve with rice to soak up the sauce (or couscous which is faster and harder to burn!). I like it with brown rice and the husband and kids like Jasmine white. I keep meaning to get a rice cooker- perfect rice every time. Anywhoha- the chicken reheats well and is also good sliced and layered with salady or burritoey stuff and cheese in a tortilla or sliced cold on top of a salad. Multi meals! Yay!

i also have dinner in le pot au crock right now, again, an easy luxury no mess dinner:

1 slab baby back ribs
1-2 onions sliced
1 bottle fave bbq sauce--k.c. masterpiece in my house

broil ribs for 10 min or so to brown and cook off a little fat, cut into serving pieces.
spray crock pot w/ pam, layer onions and pork, cover with bbq sauce. cook on high 4-5 hours, low 6-8 hours. awesome fall off the bones ribs!
serve with bob evans mashed potatoes (in the deli case.)

OOOOH! I LOVE my slow cooker/crock pot. Love it with a love that is both weird AND holy. Top that. Up here in the Canada, we have a line of cookbooks called Companys Coming by Jean Pare. There must be 20 in the collection but there are 2..thats right TWO slow cooker books. I have the second one and its so good I need the first one too. http://www.companyscoming.com/
Seriously, you NEED these two books and you will have that crock pot going at least once a week forever! The website offers some free recipes and you can order the books online. These are real winner cookbooks. Every recipe has the bejebus tested out of it and I have yet to have a "never again" experience.
Plus, your friends will think you a culinary freaking genius!! How excellent is THAT?
I am hugely lazy and buy frozen stew vegetable mix for soups and stews in the cooker. I just can't be bothered to chop. LOL
Also, love celery flavor? Grow some lovage in the back yard. Its awesome.
Ok...thats all I have.

PS: if you do try the Chicken and Beer recipe in the Company's Coming book, add celery. It really takes it up a notch. I made it and we all liked it but we just can't abide blandness. I found it lacking slightly but still a keeper if I added just a bit more, like celery.
Ok...that is all, I swear.

I don't have a crock pot, but I do have a pressure cooker. I got it last November, and it's awesome, especially for cooking dry beans, since I'm vegetarian. It cooks dry black eyed peas in nine minutes, without soaking them first! Lentil soup can be had in seven minutes. It also really cuts down the cooking time for whole grains. I hear it's good for cooking meat also, but I don't have experience with that.

Cooking away in my crock pot this very moment.....
1 lb. lean beef stew meat--browned in frying pan and dumped into the crockpot.
1 large jar salsa (Walmart brand black bean and white corn)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained.

That's it!
I'm planning on cornbread to go with it--and salad

Diet for a small planet: Beans, rice, grain. And the marvelous array of seasonal veggies. I'm not a vegetarian. I was raised in a meat and potato farm community. But there were times when there was no meat, except for the salt-cured and smoked. So . . We relied on the root vegetables which lasted through the winter in the cellar. Yeah, I know - the cellar has been replaced by the refrigerator, and who has a cellar/basement? And I am aware of the nutritional needs of the body. Also . . the mouth needs a hunka meat to chaw on. So . . I compromise. I love soup. I can do soup in a slow cooker or on the back burner. I just combine the foods you mentioned in your photo display,add the herbs I've learned to enhance. You can make a soup from just about anything. Have you ever hear the story of the Gypsy Stone Soup? (hint - it's a communal soup)

And all

i just made this a few days ago:

boneless pork ribs - about three pounds
1 can of beef broth
your favorite bbq sauce
place the pork and beef broth in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. when it's done, heat the oven to 350, take the pork out of the crock pot and shred. put the meat in a baking dish and add your favorite bbq sauce (i use sonny's bbq sauce) stir well. bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. we just had the leftovers again tonight! it's sooo good:o)

Haha, the crock pot really is awesome. So awesome in fact that I once wrote a poem dedicated to my crock pot on my blog. How funny that I'm not the only one who feels that way :)-

i use my crockpot, at the very least, once a week! although, mine is a giant 7qt! (the things having 4 kids does to your normalcy!) there is a new "magazine" cookbook out right now - i picked it up at my walmart last week - Taste of Home - Slow cooker classics. so far, it's been delicious!!