Southwestern Pork Chili

This would be delicious with ground pork, beef, turkey, or chicken... or even some cooked, shredded pork. A nice change from traditional chili, it was delicious with some shredded cheese, tortilla chip crumbles, and sour cream on top. Or serve with some cornbread. :)

1 lb lean ground pork
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, chopped
14.5 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Add all the ingredients to your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

If you want to freeze, put all the ingredients in a gallon freezer bag with the pork last. When ready to cook, thaw and add contents to crockpot.

Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini

This was a favorite of my almost 2-yr old. She had three helpings! You do have to do a little cooking, but then the crockpot takes care of the rest.

3 cups chicken broth
1 lb cooked, chopped chicken
1 lb spaghetti
1 med onion, chopped
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions, leaving al dente. Drain and put in bottom of crockpot. In a large pan over medium heat, saute onions and mushrooms in 1/4 cup butter. Add other 1/4 cup butter and dust with 1/2 cup flour to create a roux. Gradually stir in chicken, chicken broth, sherry, paprika, and heavy cream. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. Pour chicken mixture over pasta and top with parmesan cheese. Cook in crockpot for 3-4 hours on low.

Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros

We love gyros, but lamb can be expensive so I thought I'd give chicken gyros a try. This smelled amazing as it cooked!! I suggest topping them with tzatziki sauce, crumbled feta, and tomato. This will make 10-12 pitas, depending on how much chicken you like on yours.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Place chicken in slow cooker. Top with remaining ingredients. Cook on low 5-6 hours. Before serving, shred and let sit in juice for 10 minutes or so.

To freeze: Put all ingredients in freezer bag and squish to mix. Lay flat to freeze. Thaw in refrigerator then empty bag into slow cooker.

Curried Coconut Chicken Soup

I love curries and love soups in the winter. I thought I'd give this one a try and it was delicious! I served it over basmati rice, which really just added rice to the soup. ;) Next time, I might omit some of the chicken broth to make it a creamier soup, but it is delicious as is.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
4 cups chicken broth
3 stalks lemongrass, crushed**
1 tsp salt
2 lbs diced, cooked chicken
14-oz can coconut milk
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sriracha
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add and saute onions, carrots and pepper until they begin to soften. Add garlic, ginger, and curry powder and cook a minute more until fragrant. Pour in the broth and add salt and lemongrass. Bring to a boil then add to the crockpot with the chicken. Cook for 3-4 hours on low. At the end of cooking time remove the lemongrass, then mix coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha, and brown sugar in a small bowl and add to the soup. Cook for 15-30 more minutes. Stir in the cilantro just before serving.


To freeze: Cook as directed above, reserve cilantro for serving day.Cool soup and store in freezer bags. Thaw and reheat soup; stir in cilantro leaves.


**This was my first time working with lemongrass so I'll pass on the info I learned. These are long stalks, and inexpensive from my normal grocery store. You'll want to trim off the bulb end and the majority of the stalk, leaving you with only a 4-5" stalk left. Peel off the outer leaves (they come off easily) then crush with a knife or rolling pin, like you would a clove of garlic. Throw in whole like this when making a soup. (You can mince or chop for other dishes).


Just a note: If making gluten free, be sure to get gf soy sauce and chicken broth.

Alabama White BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

This a delicious swap for the traditional BBQ chicken sandwiches. My 10-yr old loved them so much he had two large sandwiches! I'm not a fan of horseradish, so it can easily be left out of the sauce and it still fantastic. Thanks, Tori, for introducing me to these! (Original recipe here)

2.5 lbs bone-in chicken breasts, or 2 lbs boneless
14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 tbsp liquid smoke
1 tsp seasoned salt

White Sauce:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp jarred horseradish
1 tbsp water
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth and liquid smoke. Cover and cook on low 5 hours. Remove chicken, pull off skin, remove bones, then shred the meat. Sprinkle seasoned salt over the meat and mix it in using your hands.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients. Pour half the sauce on the chicken and toss. Put the chicken on toasted rolls and top with more sauce. Top with pickles, if desired.


To freeze: Put chicken, broth, and liquid smoke in large freezer bag. Mix sauce together and put in small bowl or small freezer bag. Thaw and follow directions above.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos

This is another meal I received as part of a monthly meal-swap. They were fantastic! My whole family scarfed them down. Serve them with the pineapple salsa and ranch dressing, or just eat plain. Thanks for bringing these into my recipe rotation, Bobbi! (Recipe from here)

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tbsp liquid smoke
16 taco-sized soft tortillas (corn or flour)
1-1.5 cups shredded mexican-style cheese

Pineapple Salsa:
1 cup diced pineapple
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder

In a small bowl, whisk together bbq sauce, garlic powder, pineapple juice, and liquid smoke until smooth. Place chicken breasts in bottom of your crockpot. Pour bbq sauce mixture over chicken. Cook on high 3 hours or low 6 hours. About 20-30 minutes before serving, shred chicken in crockpot and stir so chicken soaks up remaining juices.

Preheat oven to broil and grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. Lay tortillas on a flat surface. Sprinkle 2-3 tbsp of shredded cheese in a line down the middle of each tortilla. Top cheese with 3-4 tbsp shredded chicken. Tightly roll up tortillas and place them on prepared baking sheet 1" apart. Spray rolled taquitos heavily with cooking spray. Cook in the oven (on high broil) for 5- minutes or until cheese is melty and tortillas are crisp.

Combine all the salsa ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.


To freeze: Make and roll taquitos. Flash freeze on cookie sheets and place in large freezer bag. Bake at 400 for ~20-30 minutes (do not thaw completely or they will lose shape) Make and freeze salsa in small freezer bag.

Garlic Herb Turkey Breast

I love the ease of cooking in my crockpot, and could not believe how well this turkey turned out! I got a smaller whole (bone-in) turkey instead of a boneless turkey breast, so either will work depending on store availability or personal preference.

5 lb frozen boneless turkey breast, thawed
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 cup sliced yellow onion

Rub turkey breast with butter; sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic salt. Arrange onion slices in an even layer in a 5-7 quart slow cooker. Pour 1 cup water over onion; place turkey breast over onion. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours; let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Orange Cranberry Pork Roast

This.is.delicious. My whole family scarfed down almost the entire 4 lbs of pork loin! Not to mention it smelled absolutely wonderful as it cooked - my house smelled like autumn!

3-4 lbs pork roast (loin, butt, shoulder)

2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

zest and juice of one orange

salt & pepper, to taste

Put the pork in the crockpot and season with salt & pepper. Cover with cranberries and diced onion. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, mustard, and orange zest/juice; pour over top of pork. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.

To freeze: Put everything in a gallon freezer bag. Thaw in refrigerator before cooking.

Turkey, Kale, & White Bean Soup

I love to eat soups and stews when the weather turns cold. This one was delicious and so easy to throw together! You could also substitute leftover (shredded) Thanksgiving turkey, or even shredded turkey breast any time of the year.

1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and halved/quartered
2 cans cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1 Italian dressing pouch
salt & pepper, to taste
~3 cups kale, chopped
8 cups chicken broth

Combine all the ingredients in the crockpot, crumbling the ground turkey a bit, and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

To Freeze: Combine all but the chicken broth in a gallon freezer bag, adding the turkey last so it is first to go into the crock pot. Thaw, or mostly thaw, before cooking.

Beef, Mushroom, & Barley Stew

The weather turns cold, I make stew. This one is super hearty, warm, and delicious. The beef was super tender after slow cooking all day in the crock pot. You can also make it vegetarian by leaving out the beef - it would still be super delicious. Easy to throw together, and would be great to freeze as well!

1-1/2 lbs stew beef, cubed
1 onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup uncooked barley
8 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to taste

Put everything into the crock pot and season with salt & pepper. Cook for 8 hours on LOW.

To freeze: Put everything but the stock in a gallon freezer bag. Thaw, or mostly thaw, before cooking.

Slow Cooker Beef & Mushrooms

This was easy to make and delicious! My whole family gobbled this up, served over some egg noodles and alongside broccoli. If time is short, don't worry about browning the meat and mushrooms first - just throw it all into the crockpot and start cooking. :)

2 tsp olive oil
2 lbs lean stewing beef, cubed
10 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper then brown it in the skillet. Place beef in the slow cooker.
3. Brown the mushrooms in the same skillet and add them to the slow cooker.
4. Add the red wine to the skillet and stir up any browned bits. Stir in the mushroom soup and onion soup mix until blended, then add to the slow cooker. Stir everything to combine.
5. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Green Chili Chicken

This recipe is as easy as it gets. It also happens to be delicious. It's my favorite take on salsa chicken and has been a staple in our house since we were married. I serve it in corn tortillas or over tortilla chips to keep it gluten free, but you can make burritos out of it using flour tortillas if you don't need to keep it gluten free.

Ingredients:
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can be frozen)
1 small can salsa verde (I use Herdez)
1 small can diced green chilis
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano

Combine all ingredients except the chicken in your crockpot. Add the chicken breasts. Cook over low heat until easily shredded (about 6 hours in my crockpot). Shred shortly before serving and let it absorb the sauce. Serve as tacos, burritos, nachos, or in a bowl over rice and beans.

Cafe Rio Chicken

This was a recipe I found on Pinterest and knew I had to try! It's super easy since you cook it in a crockpot, and it's so versatile - serve as tacos, over salads, on a bun... My entire family devoured this when I made it, and it's now something we make regularly. You can also freeze this, either before or after cooking. It's also easy to double the ingredients for a large crowd, or just for extra to freeze.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breasts
1/2 small bottle Italian dressing
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
packet ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp ground cumin

Mix all ingredients except chicken in a bowl and whisk together. Place chicken in crockpot and pour liquid over. Cook on high 5-6 hours or low 8 hours**. Shred with a fork and serve.

If freezing prior to cooking, simply put everything in a gallon freezer bag instead of the crockpot. Thaw (or mostly thaw) before cooking as instructed above.

If freezing after cooking, simply thaw and reheat for a delicious meal.

**All crockpots vary. I have an oval 6-qt crockpot and this will cook (with 2.5 lbs chicken) in 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low. If it gets done early, I simply shred and turn the crockpot to the warm setting until it's time to eat.

Autumn Herbed Chicken with Fennel & Squash

This is such a yummy fall dish - it requires a little work in the beginning, but then the crock pot does the rest. My kids ate it up! It's also delicious leftover. :)

3-4 lbs boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 butternut squash, peeled/seeded and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 tsp thyme
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup apple juice or cider
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp rosemary

In a freezer bag combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Put the chicken in the bag and shake to coat. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and brown the chicken. Remove and place in the slow cooker (make sure chicken is on the bottom). Add the fennel, onion, and squash. Combine the chicken broth, apple juice, thyme, salt, pepper, and rosemary and pour over the veggies and meat. Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours or on high 2.5-3 hours.

(To make a freezer meal: In one large freezer bag place the chicken thighs. In another large freezer bag place the fennel, onion, squash, thyme, broth, cider/juice, salt, pepper, and rosemary. In a small freezer bag put the flour, salt, and pepper. On cooking day, thaw the chicken and follow the directions above.)

Marmalade Curry Chicken

This is the first recipe I tried from More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow (if you love your crock pot, it's a must read).  The sauce is so tasty - we devoured it!
 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or thighs (I used breasts)
1 (18oz) jar orange marmalade (I used 1/2 regular and 1/2 sugar free)
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chicken broth

Put the chicken into the bottom of your slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, combine the marmalade with the dry spices and chicken broth.  Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for about 4 (you might want to flip the chicken towards the end if you choose to cook on high heat).  Serve over brown basmati rice.

Mango-Chicken Chili

This is a recipe I adapted to become a freezer meal. So easy, yummy, and healthy! Throw everything into a bag to freeze, thaw, then cook in a crockpot. I served it over rice with a bit of cheddar cheese on top. You can also serve it with cornbread and a salad. :)

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into large cubes
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
1 16-oz jar mango peach salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Add all the ingredients into a freezer bag; seal and freeze. Thaw in refrigerator at least overnight. Add entire contents to a crockpot; cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

Minestrone Soup

I love to make soups once the weather turns cold. This one was a bonus, as the crockpot does the cooking for me! My whole family loved this soup - my kids especially liked the little pasta. I liked that the veggies were still a little crisp. You might want to have more broth on hand for the leftovers (there's plenty!). This soup will freeze well too.

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-oz) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, drained
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
2 bay leaves
salt and ground black pepper
2 cups cooked ditalini pasta
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach
parmesan cheese (shredded or grated)

In a slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, sage, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours.

Thirty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add ditalini, zucchini, and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Orange Apricot Pork Chops

In addition to being delicious, this recipe smells AMAZING as it cooks! :)

6 pork chops (medium thickness, bone-in or boneless)
1 cup apricot jam
3 T brown sugar
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges (needed on-hand for serving day)
Place all ingredients in large freezer bag. Mix well, remove air, & freeze.
Serving Day: Thaw completely in fridge. Pour contents of bag into slow cooker. Add the entire can of mandarin oranges (with juice!) evenly over the top. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. Serve with rice to soak up the yummy juice.

Bacon Ranch Slow-cooker Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T Baco's bacon flavor bits
1 t minced garlic
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (healthy version is fine)
1 c light sour cream

1 lb egg noodles (on hand for serving day)

Cooking Day:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients
2. Place chicken in freezer bag and pour sauce over top
3. Seal and freeze

Serving Day:
1. Empty bag (which has been thawed completely in fridge) into slow cooker.
2. Cook on high 4-5 hours
3. Serve over hot egg noodles.

Honey BBQ Ribs

3 lbs boneless pork ribs
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c ketchup
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 c honey
1/4 c spicy brown mustard
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 T liquid smoke

Place all ingredients in a large zippered freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal & freeze.
Serving Day: Thaw completely in fridge. Place pork ribs & sauce in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, then reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 3 hours. Serve on hoagie rolls or with cornbread.