Crock Pot Chicken Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest of course, although why I didn't think of it before is beyond me. So easy. I put it together while I was cooking dinner last night, so it was perfect for a busy week night. Tasted pretty good too- comfort food without all the effort! Sorry, in all my haste to make it, I completely forgot to take pictures.

3 chicken breasts (or about 7 thighs)

1 cup carrots

1 cup onions, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 large can of petite diced tomatoes

1, 32 oz container of chicken broth

Corn pasta

1 tablespoon oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

salt and pepper

1/4 cup basil, chopped

Directions: 

• Put all the veggies in the crock pot then put the chicken on top.
• Add all the seasonings, tomatoes and chicken broth, mix to incorporate. 
• Cook on low for 8 hours. 
• Options for the noodles: You are welcome to cook your noodles right in your soup, it always gives it extra flavor, BUT if you think you will have any left overs, I recommend against doing that. It will only make your noodles super soggy overnight. If you do want to cook them in the crock this is how you do it (otherwise, just boil the noodles how you normally would). 
• About 30-45 minutes before you want to eat, add your favorite noodles. I used corn penne noodles. Let cook about 30-45 minutes until al dente.
• Serve up and sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and fresh basil!

Easy Crock Pot Turkey Breast

A friend posted a recipe for what looked like an amazing turkey breast recipe in the crock pot. Of course, when I went to make it, I couldn't find the recipe anywhere. I tried to remember everything that was in it and made this turkey recipe. Believe me, its seriously delicious! The turkey is so incredibly moist and the gravy that is makes is great - its like Thanksgiving Dinner all rolled into one.

1 (5-6 pound) turkey breast

1/4 cup orange juice

1- 14 oz can whole cranberry sauce

1- 1 ounce package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

For gravy
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water

Directions:

• Let turkey breast thaw (I had mine in fridge 2 days before)
• Add turkey to the crock pot
• Mix all the other ingredients together and then pour over the turkey
• Cook on low for 8-9 hours. 
• Remove the turkey and shred or carve!
• If you want, make a BOMB gravy with the juice left in the crock pot. Simply put the juice in a pan on the stove and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry. 
• Bring the juices to a boil and slowly add the corn start mixture. Let it cook and it will begin to thicken. 
• This gravy is great because it has a tiny bit of sweetness from the cranberry. 

Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash

I love this meal for its simplicity. It is so easy and always tastes delicious. This is a perfect weeknight meal (don't mind my extremely messy picture below)! This meal served Steve and I, as well as left us with tons of left overs!

1 large spaghetti squash

6 cups favorite spaghetti sauce

1 - 2 pounds ground turkey (or your favorite ground meat)

You are all thinking it.... booooobs

Directions: 

• Cut spaghetti squash in half (hamburger style)
• For the spaghetti sauce, I always make tons of extra meat sauce when I make spaghetti so I can freeze it and use it at times like this. If you don't have a pre-made sauce, put 3 -4 jars of your favorite store bought marinara sauce in the crock pot and then add 1 - 2 pounds (depending on how meaty you like it) to the crock pot. Break up the meat a little in the crock pot and stir it into the sauce. Don't worry about cooking it first. You want the sauce to go up the spaghetti squash an inch or 2 in the crock pot. 
• Then add your halved spaghetti squash, cut side down, to the crock pot. 
• Cover and cook on low for 7 hours 
• Shred the squash right into the spaghetti sauce and stir. 
• Serve it up!

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Thanks to "Just a Taste" blog for this recipe. It is awesome! Perfect Monday dinner to come home to after a long day. Many times "Asian" type chicken dishes in the crock pot lack flavor. This one was packed with flavor. I did add A LOT more garlic and onions to the recipe, I highly recommend it. This dish was also really good with some sriracha lightly drizzled over :) I served ours over brown Jasmine rice (even though it looks white in the picture), but it is definitely not necessary.

3 large chicken breasts, skinless

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup blackberry jam

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

7 cloves garlic minced

1 diced onion

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon cornstarch

scallions & sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

• Put chicken in the slow cooker
• In a small bowl, mix together hone, soy, jam, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion and crushed red peppers. Then pour the sauce over the chicken
• Cover and cook the chicken on low for 5 hours until the chicken is fully cooked. 
• Remove the chicken and shred, then put in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.
• Transfer liquids from slow cooker into a small saucepan and set over medium-high heat and whisk. Add the cornstarch slurry.
• Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until it reduces and has thickened slightly - 3-5 minutes. 
• Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss. 
• Serve the chicken topped with scallions and sesame seeds. 

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Crock Pot Pesto Chicken

I can't seem to get enough of my pesto. I thought it would be delicious to make it with a protein  so what better than chicken? I made the pesto the night before and then put it in a crock with the chicken and magic definitely happened! You can also just buy store bought pesto and add if you are pressed for time- but really- homemade pesto is SO good and actually very easy.

2 chicken breasts

1 cup pesto sauce

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons dried minced onions

Pesto: 

Roughly 3 cups basil

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (can be vegan or dairy free version)

1/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper 

1 clove garlic

Directions:

• Put your chicken in the crock pot and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried minced onions. 
• Then put all of your pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor (minus the olive oil). 
• Pulse the ingredients until well mixed
• Slowly start to pour the olive oil into the blender or food processor until the pesto has the desired consistency. It should be somewhat liquid but still have some thickness to it. 
• Then add 1 cup of the pesto and the stock to the chicken breasts.
• Cook on low for 6 hours. 
• Shred the chicken in the crock pot and stir, let it sit about 15 minutes or up to an hour on warm. You can also just carefully pull the chicken out whole, but I like that the pesto gets all over every bit when you shred it!
• Serve over rice, pasta or just serve it with a side salad!

Slow Cooker Mac n Cheese!

After looking over a million "crock pot macaroni and cheese" recipes, I decided to take a mix of all of them and try out my own! I think it worked out fabulously, and I would HIGHLY recommend this dish! Many of the recipes, with a few exceptions, had you cook the noodles before adding them to the crock pot. I wanted to save myself the time and effort of boiling water ( :) ) and I also wanted the noodles to cook in the milk and cheeses- talk about effortlessly adding extra flavor! I made this to accompany a veggie side and homemade chicken strips!

1- 12 oz box pasta (I used penne)

1 can evaporated milk (this keeps the sauce from getting curdled)

3 cups cheese (I used sharp cheddar and a mozzarella & provolone mix)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg (sorry for the 3 in pic below)
1/2 stick of butter, melted and then cooled to room temp

2 tablespoons sour cream

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

3 cups milk

Directions:

• Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray
• Put the evaporated milk, milk, eggs, sour cream, butter and spices in the slow cooker and mix together. 
• Add the cheddar and mozz/provolone mix and then add in the macaroni and mix up.
• Top with the Parmesan cheese and put the lid on.
• Cook on high for 45 minutes then turn to low and cook for 1.5 hours. Try with all your might to not open the lid- I know it is hard, but it lowers the cooking temp and can add 15-30 minutes to cooking time every time you open it!
• Serve! 

Chili Colorado Smothered Burritos

These were a very easy crock pot meal that I will be making again and again! Tons of flavor too! This recipe will make approximately 5-6 burritos.

3.5-4 lbs of cubed meat (like top sirloin)

3 beef bouillon cubes

1 large onion, sliced

1 can of medium enchilada sauce

tortillas

refried beans

Directions: 

• Put meat, enchilada sauce, onion and beef bouillon cubes in the crock pot. Stir and cook on low for 8 hours. 
• When the meat is done and tender, warm the refried beans on the stove. 
• Spoon some meat onto a large burrito tortilla (careful not to get too much sauce with the meat), then add 1-2 spoonfuls of refried beans.
• Wrap like a burrito (I stink at this step), then place it in a baking dish. 
• Put 2-3 spoonfuls of the enchilada sauce that was cooking with the meat over it, followed by cheese.
• Pop under the broiler for about 4 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown!
• You can serve w/ a little guacamole or sour cream but I thought it was delicious as is! Enjoy!

Cream of Mushroom Chicken

This meal is definitely my go-to meal because of its simplicity, I almost always have every ingredient and its so incredibly simple. 3 ingredients (not including the standard salt and pepper) and you are done! I made this recipe for years like the Campbells can told me to... not in the crock pot. However, about 3 years ago I started making it in the crock pot and never went back! It is hard to make this dish look exciting, its a lot of beige but I always add some colorful veggies on the side!

Pack of chicken breasts (I usually get a 3 pack for me and Steve and leftovers)

1 large can + 1 small can cream of mushroom soup

salt and pepper

rice

Directions:

• Put the soup and chicken in the crock pot. Add 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and walk away for 8 hours!
• Shred the chicken in the crock pot, stir up.
• Cook the rice, serve under the cream of mushroom chicken and you are done!
• Delicious!!



Pulled Pork Sammys and Coleslaw

I have always loved this meal and with my new crock pot, I am actually able to make a large amount of pulled pork at once! This is a must try :)

Pulled Pork:

Pork Roast (I trimmed off the fat before cooking)

3/4 bottle of bbq sauce

8 oz sprite or 7up

Coleslaw (below makes for 4 people):

1/2 head of cabbage

2 large carrots (If you have shredded carrots all the better)

2 green onions

1/4 cup mayo

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon carraway seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

•  Put the pork, bbq sauce and sprite in a crock pot and cook on low 8 hours.
• Shred the pork when it is done and remove some of the excess liquid. If you want it to be a little bit more bbqy (that a word? haha) add the rest of the bbq sauce after remove excess liquid.
• Chop the carrots, onion and cabbage and put in a bowl.
• In a small mixing bowl add the mayo, sugar, carraway seeds, s & p and vinegar and mix. Do a quick taste test to make sure its how you like it and pour over the cabbage mix.



Crock Pot Orange Chicken

So this is no Panda Express Orange Chicken (I LOVE Panda Express chicken) but it is definitely yummy and so easy! I served this up with some Jasmine rice and Trader Joe's Sweet Chili Sauce. I think the next time I make this I am going to make it a little spicier, it was like something was missing. I added a sprinkling of red pepper flakes near the end of cooking, but adding them when it starts would give it a more intense flavor. If you are up for it, add 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes!

1 12 ounce can condensed OJ, thawed

4 chicken breasts cut into cubes

1/2 cup flour

1 tablespoon salt

1/3 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup brown sugar

olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons ketchup

1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

• Cube the chicken breasts and put in a plastic bag with the flour. Shake the bag to fully coat all of the chicken.
• Begin to heat a pan with 2 tablespoons oil. Once the chicken is coated, brown the flour coated chicken. No need to worry about cooking it all the way through, it will cook in the crock pot.
• Put the OJ, brown sugar, pepper, salt, pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar, and ketchup in a small bowl and mix together.
• When the chicken is done, put the chicken and sauce mix in the crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours (or high 2-3).
• When done, serve over some rice. I also made some yummy veggies to go with it.
• Who needs Panda Express when you have this right? YUM!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Italian food is my absolute favorite. When I discovered "no boil" lasagna noodles, I knew I had to try and make a lasagna in the slow cooker. I pretty much wing it when I make my own lasagna from scratch so I decided to do that with this recipe, but I did try to keep track so I could add it to my blog :) Let me tell you, ahh-may-zing! Next time I will add even more sauce though!!

1 pound of turkey meat, cooked and drained
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 very small can of tomato paste
1 packs of "no boil" lasagna noodles (mine were by Barilla)
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 8oz bag of frozen spinach, cooked and drained (I did it in the microwave)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Brown the turkey meat (you can use beef, but I always use turkey, lower cals!), season with garlic powder, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning
• Once the meat is done, add the jar of spaghetti sauce and small can of tomato paste and let cook about 5 minutes, put aside
• Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray (trust me, makes clean up SO much easier)
• Put a little bit of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the crock pot
• Layer some of the uncooked noodles, followed by a layer of sauce, then ricotta, then spinach. Do two more layers of this, on the second layer, add a sprinkle of mozzarella over the ricotta. Finish with a layer of noodles, then sauce and cover with mozzarella cheese.
• The order of how you do things really isn't too important, as long as you have the layers- you can customize it and add whatever you want too!
• Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Chicken Posole

So. so. good! I absolutely LOVE hominy, so I wanted to try out yet another recipe with my new crock pot. I looked up tons of recipes, didn't really love any so made up my own. This one is awesome, you have to try it!

2 cans hominy

1 can mild or medium enchilada sauce

1 or 2 cans chicken broth (2 cans makes a lot more broth, 1 makes it more meaty)

1 can diced tomatoes, I used ones with chili's in them

2 teaspoons pepper

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons oregano

3-4 chicken breasts

4-5 carrots, sliced into half moons

1 medium onion, chopped in large dices

5 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

• Put all ingredients in a crock pot and stir to mix.
• Cook on low 8-10 hours
• Shred chicken and return back to the soup
• Top with avocado, cilantro, and tomatoes
• Gobble up!

Italian Wedding Soup- Meghan Style!

This is my version of one of my top favorite soups, Italian Wedding Soup, crock pot style! My amazing husband got me a huge 7 quart crock pot for Christmas (I was operating on a tiny little one before) so I had to try it out the day after Christmas. We wanted something lighter and delicious so I came up with a version of Italian Wedding Soup that could be made in the crock pot! This recipe does differ from the original Italian wedding soup because I added tomato sauce.

Meatballs:

1 pound turkey  meat

1 egg

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

  

Soup:

6 cups chicken stock

1 cup boneless cooked chicken breast (I just quickly boiled)

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

2 cups spinach, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt
1 can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup small noodles (I used mini pinwheels)

Directions:

1. Meatballs: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all the meatball ingredients together and form into very small balls (see below) and place onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake them for about 15 minutes and stir them around after about 7 minutes until they are slightly browned but still soft.
3. Remove from oven and drain off any grease if necessary. Turkey meat won't be very oily at all, but if you choose to use a ground beef it will be more oily.
4. Soup: Place all of the ingredients, except the pasta and spinach into the crock pot with the meatballs.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours (add the pasta and spinach during the last hour of cooking time). When the soup was ready I did a quick taste test and saw that I needed a little more garlic powder and I added "natures seasoning" 
6. Top each serving with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
7. ENJOY!

Hope you love this recipe as much as I do :)

Roll into tiny balls, I can get about
90 meatballs from 1 pound of meat

Cooking away my new crock pot!

Crock Pot Stroganoff

My mom told me about this recipe (moms always know best!), it is awesome and easy!

2 pounds of beef stew meat

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

4 cups sliced mushrooms

1 packet of Liptons Onion Soup mix

egg noodles or rice (whatever you prefer)

Directions:

• Just throw it all in the crock pot, stir and put on low for about 7 hours.
• Cook the noodles and serve under the Stroganoff.  That is IT!