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slwprincess
member
Crockpot Ladies, I've got some questions
slwprincess
member
OK, y'all know I've got severe Crockpot paranoia... so bear with me.
First of all, is it bad to load the ceramic pot the night before and leave it in the fridge and then just put it in the heater in the am? For some reason, this makes me extra paranoid b/c I feel like its bad for the ceramic pot to go from being so cold to so hot in a short amount of time and it might crack or something. Of course I have no scientific basis for my paranoia- just the voices in my head. I'd really like to do all the prep the night before since we leave so early in the morning and we're always rushing because... well... I tend to ignore all 3 of our alarm clocks.
Secondly, if you think that it would be a no no to load it over night, what are your most simple crockpot recipes? Something that I can throw everything in 5 minutes or less and turn it on and go out the door. I'm just not a morning person and we already leave so early in the morning- I like to do EVERYTHING the night before.
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Re: Crockpot Ladies, I've got some questions
Can't really help you with your paranoidness, but I've got a couple of recipes that I fix in the morning and they cook for 8-10 hours.
1. Super Simple beef stew (had it tonight)
2. No bean chili (I hate beans!)
3. BBQ chicken
Let me know which you want and I'll send/post the recipes.
Laura
photos by Jody Lynn Photography
Oooh, can you send me 1 & 3- I've got a good chili recipe but my beef stew tonight was kinda blah. slwprincess at gmail dot com. Thanks!
Josie's white bean chicken chili
https://pinkparsleycatering.blogspot.com/2009/10/crockpot-white-bean-chicken-chili.html
Abigail Taylor 09.18.2008
You can put all the ingredients into a plastic tupperware type dish in the fridge at night and then just dump into the crock pot in the morning. I usually leave the liquid ingredients separate until I put them in to start cooking.
I am sure the ceramic would be just fine. Easy BBQ Chicken - doesn't get much easier than this:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts1 cup any BBQ sauce
1 cup crushed pineappleCook on low in crockpot 5-6 hours. Shred cooked chicken with a sharp knife and a fork (or chop finely), mix well with the sauce in the crockpot. Serve on rolls or in pita pockets.
Stacie, here are my two faves b/c they are soooo easy:
1. Salsa Chicken: Put one package of boneless skinless chicken breats in teh crockpot and top with one jar of salsa. Cook 6-7 hours on low. Shred chicken. Serve with tortillas and any taco fixins you like-- I use salsa, guac and sour cream. YUM!
2. BBQ Pulled Pork: Put one pork tenderloin in the crockpot. Top with one bottle bbq sauce of your choice (I use sweet baby ray's, just use your fave) and one can root beer (i use diet). Cook on low 6-7 hours. Shred pork. Serve on rolls for pulled pork sandwiches.
I almost always fix my stuff the night ahead and put the pot in the fridge overnight (when I have room for my giant crock in the fridge). My favs are taco soup and "rotissiree" chicken.
For the chicken (use a whole one), I just wad up aluminum foil and cover the bottom with wads (keeps the chicken from sitting in the juices after they run off - that would make it soggy). Squeeze lemons on bird and shove the lemons in the cavity. Sprinkle lemon pepper all over the bird. Cook on low for 8 hours or so. It'll be so tender it'll fall apart as you take it out.
Taco Soup
1 lb. of lean ground beef (can also be made with ground turkey)
1 can of Pinto Beans
1 can of Kidney Beans
1 can of Black Beans
1 can of Great Northern Beans
1 can of Fancy Diced Tomatoes (or Petite Diced Tomatoes)
1 can of Whole Kernel Corn
1 can of Beef Broth
1 pkg. of dry Ranch Dressing (fat free)
1 pkg. dry Mild Taco Seasoning
Cook meat and drain, wash juice off of the Black Beans & Corn (only). Combine all of the ingredients in a crockpot and heat thoroughly (a few hours is good). Excellent when served with Fritos or Tortilla Chips and topped with cheese.
My salsa chicken is a bit different...I put 2-4 boneless chicken breast in the crock, 2 cans of drained black beans, 2 jars of salsa and cook 5-7 hours on low. the last 1/2 - 1 hour i shred the chicken (just stirring it pretty much shreds it and then I add a package of cream cheese. You can eat it alone, over rice, in a burrito. I've heard of people adding a can of drained corn, but I'm not a big corn fan...also a packet of taco seasoning, but i find it flavorful enough w/out it.
Yummy and easy creamy pork chop one:
6-8 medium carrots ( 1lb), coarsely chopped
3-4 medium potatoes, cubed
4 boneless pork loin chops (3/4 in. thick)
1 large onion, sliced
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. ea.) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (we used reduced sodium)
Place carrots and potatoes in a 3 qt. slow cooker. Top with the pork chops, onions, soup mix and soup. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until vegetables and meat are tender. Yield: 4 servings.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
1lb boneless chicken breast
2 cans cream of whatever soup (I?ve used chicken, mushroom and broccoli..i?ve even used 1 of each, I use the lowfat/healthy request version)
3 lemons
Salt & Pepper to taste
Other spices if you want
Box of Orzo
Jar of Capers
Chicken Stock
Put chicken into crock pot (I use 2-3 chicken breasts). Put two cans of cream of soup in crock pot. Zest the lemons into the crock pot and juice the lemons (I do it into a bowl to ensure no seeds), it?s about 1/3- ? cup of lemon juice total. Turn crockpot on low for 5-6 hours. Add salt and pepper ? I use fresh ground pepper and I?ve even added a cube of frozen garlic and frozen basil (from Trader Joes) which is yummy too.
1 hour before you want to eat it, cook the orzo according to directions. I usually cook it for 8 minutes, cause it will still cook in the crock pot. I?ve wanted to try putting in dry orzo, but haven?t done it yet. Drain the orzo and dump it into the crock pot. Drain and rinse the capers and dump them in too. Add chicken stock til it?s the soupiness that you like (I like thicker than thin, so it?s up to you). Let cook ? hour or so to meld the flavors.
My BBQ pork is REALLY easy too: boneless pork butt (4-6lbs) w/ a packet of lipton onion soup mix...on low for 5-7 hours (high for 3-5 hours). take out the meat and run a fork through it...remove all the juices (you can use it to make some REALLY flavorful rice). Put the pulled pork back in the crock and add your favorite jar of BBQ sauce.
I also have about a 100+ page "lowfat crockpot recipe book" softcopy if you want it.
When I have leftovers I will sometimes add additional chicken stock to my individual bowl.
I def. don't think the crock pot is going to explode.
The salsa chicken takes literally less than 60 seconds to throw together. Throw the chicken in the crock pot, drain/pour in a can of black beans, pour in a jar of salsa. That's it. I guess you could drain the beans and mix them w/ the salsa the night before but seems like unnecessary prep work b/c we're literally talking seconds here! When you get home, put in a little cream cheese (the small block), it takes like 10 minutes to melt. We like it served over yellow rice (which you could make the night before and reheat).
Bone in chicken in the crock pot, sprinkle over a packet of Knorr Spring Vegetable soup mix, add in maybe a 1/4 cup of water or broth but you don't need much liquid if you use bone in bc it makes its own broth. Serve w/ egg noodles. My kids LOVE this and it's DH's childhood fav.
Marks Awesome Cockpot Ravioli
Ok, I was asked to provide the recipe and here it is. This is one of those "set it and forget it" kind of meals and it's a rib sticker. Also, it's WAY better the next day. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
32 oz. Spaghetti sauce
16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese (slices will work too)
32 oz. cheese or meat filled ravioli (1 1/2 bags of frozen ravioli will do)
3 tsp garlic powder
1 large crockpot
Pour enough sauce to coat the bottom of the crockpot
layer ravioli on top of sauce, don't be stingy!
sprinkle approx. 1 tsp garlic powder over ravioli
layer cheese over ravioli
repeat until crockpot is full, making sure cheese is on top.
Set crockpot to low and cook for 5-6 hours or until pasta is tender and cheese is bubbling.
Substitutions:
32 oz of tortellini
add a layer of pepperoni and/or italian sausage between pasta and cheese
spread a layer of ricotta cheese between sauce and pasta
this stuff is the best, and totally filling, and great to freeze for lunches later(we do it all the time). we just use the Great Value frozen ravioli from walmart
I just loaded my crockpot up tonight all set for tomorrow morning! I think you will be fine.
Great recipes ladies!
this recipe is really good:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/slow-cooker-chicken-gumbo-recipe/index.html
it takes a bit of prep time to cut everything up, but that can be done the night before. It also makes a ton of food so I freeze half of it once it is cooked and reheat it.