Zesty Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken

This was pretty good! I was going to make barbecue chicken anyway, so I thought I'd try something just a tiny bit different. It added a little bit of a kick to it-I don't think I'd make it every time because I really like using honey barbecue sauce with my chicken, but it's good for a change! Recipe found here.

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

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

California Black Bean Chili

Recipe from Kas! Sooooo good.

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey

2 cans (15oz) black beans, drained

1 can (7oz) diced green chilies

1 can (14oz) diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

3 cups diced Zucchini

1 cup frozen onions

1 packet (1.5oz) chili seasoning mix

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

Brown turkey in a skillet and throw it all in the crock pot for 4-6 hours. (Our house smelled soooo good when we walked in after being gone all day!)

Slow-Cooker Brisket Sandwich

This was good. So so so good. I burned my hand pretty bad searing the brisket (the hot oil splashed me when the brisket hit the pan) but it was amazingly delicious. We used the juice it made to dip it in and next time I think steak fries would be a nice addition to dip as well. Recipe from Food Network

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 5-to-6-pound first-cut or flat-cut brisket, cut into 3 pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 12-ounce bottle stout beer
4 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
2 brioche or other rolls, split open and toasted
Coleslaw, for serving

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the brisket with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides, about 10 minutes, adding the garlic in the last 2 minutes. Transfer the meat and garlic to a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Pour the beer into the skillet and simmer 30 seconds, scraping up the browned bits from the pan; add the beer mixture to the slow cooker.
Nestle the celery around the meat and add the brown sugar, tomato paste, vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, bay leaves and paprika. Stir, then cover and cook on low 8 hours or on high 6 hours. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, then thinly slice.

Serve on brioche halves with coleslaw; drizzle with the cooking liquid.
You'll have plenty of leftover brisket: Use it in tacos, quesadillas, chili or even on a pizza.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

I tried this one after Rae and a bunch of other board girls were buzzing about it... it comes from the Year of Slow Cooking blog and it's wonderful! It really has a kick to it-I think I might back off a little on the Frank's next time because it was a little too spicy for Maya to eat.

Uncooked Lasagna noodles, 1 box
4 already cooked chicken breasts (I just used a package, as usual)
Jar of prepared pasta sauce
1 C buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank's)
3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
15oz tub of ricotta cheese
2 C shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses
1/2 C bleu cheese crumbles
1/4 C water

Use at least a 5qt crockpot, or else cut back on the ingredients. In a large glass bowl, combine cooked and chopped chicken breast, the pasta sauce, and 1 cup of buffalo wing sauce. Ladle a big spoonful of the sauce into the bottom of your crock pot. Cover with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. You'll have to break them to get a proper fit. Add a smear of ricotta cheese to the top of the noodles. Add a layer of chopped bell pepper. Sprinkle on a handful of shredded cheese. Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients. Add the bleu cheese crumbles, if desired. Put the 1/4 cup of water into your empty pasta sauce jar and shake. Pour the liquid over the top of the entire lasagna. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5. When cooking time is complete, unplug and take off the lid of the crock. Let it sit for 20 minutes before cutting into, or it will fall apart.

Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff

Wow, I have so much catching up to do that I forgot what recipe this was! This is one from Leah!

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, frozen (I just always use a package. Whatever.)
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
16 ounces sour cream
1 (1 ounce) package onion soup mix

Place frozen chicken breasts on the bottom of the crock pot (mine were thawed, it was fine). Mix the other ingredients together and pour over chicken breasts. Cook on Low for about 7-8 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Stir sauce before cooking and if you would like to thicken sauce, add flour or cornstarch. (I didn't do this but I would next time!) Serve over rice or noodles.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

My dear sister in law, Kristin, mentioned something about a pot roast the other night... and my mouth was watering constantly after that. Growing up I ate it pretty often I think, but I've never actually made one myself. So now that I'm in a crock pot kick I decided to do a little searchy search and found a high rated recipe. It was SO delicious!

Now. As for the directions-this is where it got interesting. I got the recipe here, and I didn't notice until I got home and had everything I needed for it that this recipe makes 12 servings-and so basically I bought double of everything, no big deal. (There's no way the original recipe would have even fit in my crock pot and I have a big one!)

So-this is the recipe scaled down to 6 servings (but was a perfect amount for the three of us with a teeny bit of leftovers).

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons water
2-3/4 pounds pot roast

In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

Cream Cheese Chicken

Thank you to Kelly for the recipe!

This was my win for yesterday. I had it all planned out to have a nice dinner waiting after I went to pick up Patrick from work... but of course his work had other plans and so he ended up eating his out of a tupperware container sitting in the parking lot and dear daughter smeared it all over her tray. I loved it though, and Patrick thought it was fantastic as well. The more sauce you glob on it when you eat it the better because it's SO good!


4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I just used a pack because who sells packs of 4?)
2 tablespoons butter melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
8oz cream cheese cut into cubes (I didn't cut it because I was in a hurry, and it was fine)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 dash paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Wash and dry chicken breasts and place them evenly in crock pot. Sprinkle paprika and package of ranch dressing mix over chicken. Drizzle chicken with 1 tablespoon butter. Cover and cook on low for 4 hrs. Melt remaining butter in saucepan, add garlic and saute. Add cream cheese, chicken soup, chicken broth, oregano and parsley stir until smooth on medium heat. Pour over chicken, cover, and continue to cook on low for 1.5-2hrs.