Crockpot question- weeknight meals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put a meat (beef, chicken, pork, doesn't matter) ...even still frozen in the crockpot, cover with some sort of sauce (tomato, creamy soup, bbq, salsa, whatever. Then cook on low all day. .

Food safety experts do NOT recommend putting large pieces of frozen meat (roasts, whole chickens, etc.) in the slow cooker. The meat defrosts too slowly and at too high a temperature during the slow cook process, which can encourage bacterial growth in the meat. Either defrost in the fridge overnight or defrost in the microwave.

On another note, here's my favorites slow cooker cookbook. A lot of the recipes involve more prep, but they also have a bunch of easy prep recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933615699?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

Another vote for this cookbook (and really any of the cookbook's from america's test kitchen) -- the recipes are foolproof and delicious. But yes, they sometimes require more prep and longer ingredient lists, but its worth it. They do have quick prep recipes noted in the cookbook though - like the Bachelor Beef Stew that uses stuff like frozen onions and frozen roasted potatoes so you don't have to chop anything.

[Anonymous]

I have found that prepping (chop, wash, dry) vegetables for the week in one shot is a huge time saver. I will also do prep work in advance - so keep the browned /seasoned stuff in the fridge then Todd it into the slow cooker later in the week.

[Anonymous]

Damn you, autocorrect!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Damn you, autocorrect!

What, Todd doesn't like hanging out in the slow cooker?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if anyone suggested this yet, it not, but;

-as far as the "chopping" goes, you can purchase veggies that are already peeled, washed and chopped at the local grocery store. You can either but them fresh (in containers in the produce isle) or frozen in bags (in the freezer section).

-on weekends, you can chop your veggies and freeze them yourself. Google it to find directions.

-You can also use weekends to brown/cook meats ahead of time, then freeze them once cooked. Then when you need them for the crock, just pull them our of the freezer and add to crock.

- you can cook all your crock pot recipes ahead of time, and freeze and store them, then simply place them in the crock, again, and rewarm on low.

-www.allrecipes.com. and www.fixitandforgetit.com are good sites for crock pot recipes.

[Anonymous]

Got a quick 10-step Potato and Ham casserole on my blog with step-by-step pictures. It's quick, easy, and tastes awesome. My 2 year old and 6 year old eat it. Check it out.

http://diyandsimplify.blogspot.com/2012/02/10-step-crock-pot-potato-and-ham-dinner.html

Also, the quickest, easiest crock pot meal i know is this:

pork chops in the crock. add a jar of apricot preserves. high for 3-5 hours. done. you can make a pot of rice if you want to be an overachiever

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got a quick 10-step Potato and Ham casserole on my blog with step-by-step pictures. It's quick, easy, and tastes awesome. My 2 year old and 6 year old eat it. Check it out.

http://diyandsimplify.blogspot.com/2012/02/10-step-crock-pot-potato-and-ham-dinner.html

Also, the quickest, easiest crock pot meal i know is this:

pork chops in the crock. add a jar of apricot preserves. high for 3-5 hours. done. you can make a pot of rice if you want to be an overachiever

Is it me or does anything with cream of chicken taste like... well, cream of chicken? I just can't get around it.

[Anonymous]

I just made this last night and it required very little chopping and no browning. It came out great...serve with some corn bread.

Whole Foods Split Pea Soup: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1882

P.S. I diced up some Canadian bacon instead of ham and it worked great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got a quick 10-step Potato and Ham casserole on my blog with step-by-step pictures. It's quick, easy, and tastes awesome. My 2 year old and 6 year old eat it. Check it out.

http://diyandsimplify.blogspot.com/2012/02/10-step-crock-pot-potato-and-ham-dinner.html

Also, the quickest, easiest crock pot meal i know is this:

pork chops in the crock. add a jar of apricot preserves. high for 3-5 hours. done. you can make a pot of rice if you want to be an overachiever

Is it me or does anything with cream of chicken taste like... well, cream of chicken? I just can't get around it.

I hear you! 99% of the time you're right on with that one. In this meal the cream cheese definitely dominates. you really cant taste too much of the cream of chicken - its more for texture. You could subst. cream of mushroom if you wanted - or cream of potato would be good, as well.