Crock Pot – Taco Chicken Bowls/Enchiladas

Rendy Stillman

Ingredients

§  1½ lbs. chicken breasts (I’ve used just 1 lb and it still turns out great)

§  1 (16 oz.) jar salsa

§  1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained

§  ½ lb. (8 oz.) frozen corn (canned corn can be used with the noted changes below in the recipe)

§  1 Tbsp chili powder

§  ½ Tbsp cumin

§  ½ Tbsp minced garlic

§  ½ tsp dried oregano

§  ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

§  ¼ tsp salt

§  to taste cracked pepper

§  ¼ C water

§  2 cups dry rice

§  8 oz. shredded cheddar

§  ½ bunch cilantro (optional)

Instructions

1.       Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro (and corn, IF you are using canned) to the slow cooker along with ¼ cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.

2. Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.
3. After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily.

IF MAKING TACO BOWLS:

1.       Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to the package directions. 

2.       Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

IF MAKING TACOS/ENCHILADAS:

1.       Serve on tortillas and add chopped extras as preferred (i.e. tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, olives, avocados, etc).

2.       When making Enchiladas, put taco filling inside shells, top with enchilada sauce and cheese and microwave for about 20-30 seconds (until cheese is melted), then top with chopped extras as preferred (i.e. tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, olives, avocados, etc).

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Dianna Tygard

1- 2# pork tenderloin

1-18 oz. bottle your favorite bbq sauce

1-12 oz. can or bottle root beer

8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker, pour root beer over the meat.  Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily....6-7 hrs.  Drain well, stir in bbq sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

Escarole Soup

46 ounces of chicken broth (from can or homemade)
1 head of escarole or 3/4 of a box of chopped spinach
1/2 cup pastina (tiny, star shaped pasta)
1/2 of a chicken breast, shredded
1 lb of mini meatballs

make the meatballs first (see above link). heat up chicken broth. if you are using spinach, you can add it now with the pastina and the meatballs. if you are useing escarole, wash it VERY WELL (it is bitter) and boil it in a separate pot in about 1 cup of water. keep the lid on and steam for about 5-8 minutes. drain well and cool. rinse again then add to soup. let the soup cook down a bit, but not for more than an hour.

By BethAnne Service

SLOW COOKER LATIN CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS AND SWEET POTATOES

SLOW COOKER LATIN CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS AND SWEET POTATOES
Trish Slussar

About 10 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
2 teaspoons ground cumin (honestly, I use more)
1 Tablespoon chopped chipotle in adobo sauce *
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (15-19 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 pounds (I use 3 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks*
1 roasted red pepper cut into strips *
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
lime wedges

1. Sprinkle chicken thighs with ground cumin, salt, and ground black pepper. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add chicken thighs and cook until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate. Remove skillet from heat.
2. In same skillet, combine chipotles, allspice, chicken broth, salsa, garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin.
3. In 6-quart slow cooker, combine beans and sweet potatoes. Place chicken on top of potato mixture in slow cooker; pour broth mixture over chicken. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook as manufacturer directs, on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours.
4. With tongs or slotted spoon, remove chicken pieces to large platter. Gently stir roasted red pepper strips into potato mixture. Spoon mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

*
~I buy my jars of roasted red peppers at the dollar store. $1 versus $4 at the grocery store.
~A can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce goes a really long way. Even if you like it HOT, as we do. I usually use what I need for one recipe out of the can and then freeze the rest in a ziploc bag. Put them in the bag and spread the peppers and sauce out flat to freeze. Then you can break off chunks for subsequent recipes.
~It's important to cut the sweet potatoes in large 2 inch chunks. If you cut them too small they will pretty much disintegrate as they cook.

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
Andrea Binns

1 lb. sausage, cooked and drained (I use Jimmy Dean Sage sausage)
2-3 cups diced carrots
2-3 cups diced celery
1 medium onion, diced
28 oz. diced tomatoes
28 oz. water
15 oz. tomato sauce
2-3 beef bouillon cubes
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
Combine ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours
Just before it’s done, add 1 can of green beans, and 2-3 cups of cooked egg noodles. Mix well and serve!

Beef and Sweet Potato Stew

Beef and Sweet Potato Stew
Cyndie Call

Prep Time:30 min
Start to Finish:4 hr
makes:4 servings


1 3/4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat to make 1 1/4 pounds lean beef stew meat
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced 1/2 inch thick (3 cups)
1 medium onion, cut into wedges (1/2 cup)
1 3/4 cups Progresso® beef broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup dried apricots or pitted dried plums (prunes), quartered
2 tablespoons chopped unsalted peanuts
Sliced green onion (optional)


1. Cut meat into 1-inch pieces. In a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine meat, sweet potatoes, and onion. Stir broth, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, salt, and garlic into mixture in cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
3. Stir in undrained tomatoes and dried apricots. Sprinkle individual servings with peanuts and, if desired, green onion.

I just buy stew meat. It's easier.