Crock pot refried beans

I don't know what has taken me so long to give these a try, but homemade refried beans are out of this world. No more canned ones for me. I'd like to give a huge shout out to http://lovelylittlekitchen.com/healthy-crockpot-refried-beans/ for an amazing recipe. This was found on Pinterest, but scoot on over to her blog and leave some awesome feedback.

Here is her recipe....just know, I do not measure, so have exact measurements to give you is a treat. I dislike all the unnecessary dishes.

2 cups pinto beans, washed and sorted ( or 1 16oz bag)
1/4 t. garlic powder (1 clove of garlic works too)
1/2 a large onion
1 1/2t. seasoned salt ( I added about a tsp. more when I gave them a taste)
1 t. cumin
pinch of cayenne
6 cups of water

Spray your cooker. Throw all ingredients in pot and turn on high for 8 hours. At the end of 8 hours, removed onion and any excess water. I then ran my immersion blender through the beans to make them smooth. Serve.

**note**

My family added a nice dose of hot sauce and cheese on top. I could just eat them plain.

Enjoy~

Sloppy Tamale Pie

Serves 6-8

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 carrot shredded

1 zucchini shredded

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

2 cup corn

1 can sliced olives, drained

1 pkg taco seasoning or 2 tbsp if using homemade

2 (15oz) cans of tomato sauce

Brown beef and onion. Cool. Place in crockpot or freezer bag. Add remaining ingredients. If freezing, lay flat and freeze. To serve, thaw and place in crockpot 4-6 hours. If frozen, cut off bag and cook 6-8 hours.

NOTES

I don't shred my veggies, I chop them in bite sized pieces. I also double this recipe so I have at least 2 separate meals.

Serve with cornbread.

Posted with Blogsy

NC BBQ Sauce for Pork or Chicken

Serves 4-6

1/2 t salt

1/2 t. celery seed

1/8 t cinnamon

1/8 t cider vinegar

1/4 cup catsup

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t sugar

sprinkle of red pepper flakes

2 lbs pork loin (chopped into bite sized pieces) OR

4 boneless chicken breasts (chopped into bite sized pieces

Place all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag and lay flat to freeze. To cook: thaw and place in crockpot for 4-6 hours. Or, you can place in crockpot frozen, but cook 6-8 hours.

Serve with slaw on buns.

Posted with Blogsy

Chicken Taco Soup

Serves 5-6

1 onion, chopped

1 can chili beans (do not drain)

1 can black beans (rinse and drain)

1 can corn (drained)

1- 8oz tomato sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes (with chilies or any other flavor ok)

1 can of chilies

2 Tbsp. taco seasoning (or 1 packet) **

3 boneless chicken breasts ( I chop these in bite sized pieces)

Combine in freezer bag. Lay flat to freeze.

To cook: thaw meal and place in crockpot. Cook on low 4-6 hrs. You can put this in the crock frozen. Just cut away the freezer bag. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips or any other favorite topping. I like to make 2 batches of this at a time.

Posted with Blogsy

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

Serves 4-6
This is one of my favorite freezer meals. I have included some of my personal notes to make this an easy meal.
4 boneless chicken breasts (I like to cut these in half or in chunks so they shred faster)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 can pineapple chunks (save juice)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 red pepper and green bell pepper, sliced thin (optional)
Add all ingredients together in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Chicken should shred nicely.
NOTES
I double the ingredients to make my crockpot freezer meals for 2 months. I use gallon freezer bags and lay these flat to freeze. They take up less room in my freezer. I will sometimes cook my pasta or rice and drain and place in a quart bag and freeze. Since the pasts is already cooked, I will add it about an hour before I'm ready to serve this meal.

Posted with Blogsy

Crock Pot Candy

This recipe was handed down to me through 2 friends. It is amazing and makes a lot. When I made it, I thought it said it made around 90 pieces of candy. My daughter reread the recipe and saw that it made 200 pieces. Well, we ended up with 187. Some of Katie's were larger than mine.

You can experiment with the type of chocolate. Milk chocolate is just as good as the semi-sweet. Enjoy!

16 oz jar unsalted dry roasted peanuts

16 oz jar salted dry roasted peanuts

1 bar of German Chocolate (green box)

1/2 bag of peanut butter chips

12 oz bag Semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 packages vanilla bark (white chocolate almond bark)

Layer ingredients in crock pot in order listed. I broke the big pieces of chocolate up to fit better. Cook on LOW for 2 hours. Mine took 2 1/2 hours. Do NOT lift lid. Stir well. Spoon onto wax paper. Size is up to you. I used teaspoons. I sit my wax paper on t-towels so the wax doesn't melt onto my table or counter.

Enjoy

 

Posted with Blogsy

Crock pot roasted chicken..Pinterest Thumbs up

I was a little hesitant to try roasting a whole chicken in the crock pot. I was worried that it wouldn't be cooked through and through. Thank goodness I decided to try this recipe. It was amazing. This smelled amazing all day too. The only comment I received, was to add more of the spices. I agree. Next time, I will double the amount of spices. I would also suggest, do not add any water. Not unless the crock pot is bone dry. Our chicken had enough juices that I didn't need to add any water.

Posted with Blogsy

Pinterest Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

This was amazing. Absolutely, to die for, amazing! I messed up adapted the recipe to fit our schedule. In short, I didn't plan my menu well for that day.

Instead of making this a casserole, I knew I would be short on time. I changed the lasagna noodles to penne pasta and only used half of the spinach. If I put "too much" green "stuff" in the food, the kids get a little cagey about eating it. I needed this to be a slow cooker meal. I cooked and drained the pasta, then layered the remaining ingredients and put the cooker on low for 5 hours. Delish! Next time, I will try the original recipe, as it is written.

Posted with Blogsy

Crockpot Chicken and stuffing

This is a favorite of Kevin's. Great comfort food~

1 pack of boneless chicken breast (1lb.)

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup (undiluted)

1 cup of chicken broth. Or 1 bouillon cube and 1 cup of water

1 box of stove top stuffing. We like the cornbread stuffing

Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your crockpot. Pour chicken soup and broth over chicken. Sprinkle dry stuffing on top of soup mixture. Cook on low 6-7 hours. Serve.

**you can also add some Swiss cheese to the top of the stuffing**

Posted with Blogsy

Slow cooker Lone Star Pot Roast

• 1 boneless chuck roast (3-3 1/2 lbs)
• 2 Tbsp oil, olive oil is fine
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can 4 oz chopped green chilies
• 2 Tbsp taco seasoning (see my blog for homemade)
• 2 tsp. beef bouillon
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water

In a Dutch oven, brown roast in oil. **see note** place in a crockpot or slow cooker. Top with remaining ingredients. Mix nicely. Cook for 7-8 hours in cooker. Roast should shred easily. Remove roast from slow cooker and keep warm. For a gravy, add some flour to cold water and stir into cooker slowly. Cook on high for 3 minutes, or until thickened. Serve over beef.



**I like to cut up my roast and dredge it in flour, salt and pepper before I brown it.

Also, if you don't want to use a slow cooker, keep it in the Dutch oven and cook on slow boil for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender.

Posted with Blogsy

Using canned Chipotle

I love spicy food, however, I do not like sweating through a meal. I've found that adding canned Chipotle's to food is wonderful, but you can over-do it. Here's a solution for you.  Place the entire can of Chipotle's in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Seeds, juice and all. Pour contents into a freezer container. Freeze!  Whenever I need Chipotle, I break off about 1 Tbsp. and add it to my recipe. That seems to be just enough heat for us. 1 can goes a long way~
Uses for Chipotle.

Mix with sour cream for a dipping sauce
Add to a pot roast with a little red wine and bake until roast shreds
Add to chicken in the slow cooker until chicken shreds

Enjoy~

Mexican Chicken Soup for crockpot

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 can Rotel tomatoes or diced tomatoes with chilies
1 8oz brick of cream cheese, 1/3 less fat okay
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kernel corn, do not drain
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning

Place all ingredients in your crock pot and allow to cook 6-8 hrs. Or until chicken shreds. Serve alone or over rice~

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 small onion, chopped
1-16 oz can chili beans, with liquid
1-can whole kernel corn, with liquid
1-can kidney beans, with liquid
1-can black beans, with liquid
1-8 oz can tomato sauce
2 cups of water
1 can of diced tomatoes (I like 2 cans)
1 packet of taco seasoning 
1 packet of Ranch Salad Dressing (dry)


 You can also use a small can of green chilies and jalapenos. It depends on how "spicy" or "hot" you like your food. Put everything in your slow cooker and allow to simmer several hours. I usually put this on early in the morning~2-8 hours is good. Just enough to let the flavors marry. Serve with tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream and even a sprinkle of cheddar cheese!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

This recipe comes from my sister Heidi. I have been smelling it all day, and all I can say is WOW~!!! I can't wait to dig my fork into it. Here's her recipe.
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 cup of buffalo wing sauce
16 oz ricotta cheese
red, green and yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
blue cheese, optional
1 box of lasagna noodles, oven ready is great to use
1/4 cup water

After cooking and cubing chicken, add buffalo sauce and spaghetti sauce, mix well. Spray some non-stick cooking spray in your crockpot. Spoon a small amount of chicken mixture on the bottom of pot. Top with uncooked lasagna noodles, you may need to break them to fit. Smear ricotta cheese over pasta. Sprinkle with blue cheese, bell pepper and mozzarella cheese. Top with 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used. Use 1/4 cup of water to rinse out the spaghetti sauce jar and pour on top of last layer. Cook for 7-8 hours on low or 5 hours on high. Serve....

Slow Cooker Lasagna

1 Lb ground beef cooked and drained
1 small onion, chopped, cooked with ground beef
1 26oz jar, or fresh spaghetti sauce
1 16oz ricotta cheese (light is fine)
8 oz mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp parsly
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

After beef and onion is browned, add sauce. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, 1 1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 Tbsp parmesan, egg and parsley. Spoon 1 cup of meat sauce on bottom of cooker and layer. Start with noodles and end with sauce and remaining cheese. If during the cooking process it looks dry, sprinkle with some water.
**When I use lasagna noodles in other recipes and I have any leftover, I freeze them in baggies and use them for this recipe. Doesn't taste any different. Just being frugal.