Alright, alright, alright, alright! We’re back today with some more Crock-Pot deliciousness for you and yours!
In the last installment of the Crock-Pot Recipe Roundup, we talked all about soups/stews/chili. Hopefully, you’ve tried a few of those and you now have some new family staples!
I know that, in our house, this back-to-school/fall season is precisely the time of year that my crocks get the heaviest workout. Back to school, back to dance, back to marching band, back to sports…all of this means back to Crazy Town for us! Tuesdays and Wednesdays seem to get especially hard and I always like to have something hot and ready to go, no matter what time people are finally able to eat. In fact, right at this very minute, there is a crock pot full of turkey, kale, and white bean soup cooking away in my kitchen. Glory be!
Sometimes, though, soup and stew just won’t cut it. And maybe you’ll be home to pull dinner together, but won’t have much time during the day to make it work. Or, you just like meat that cooks low and slow all the livelong day. In that case, here you go:
The Meats
Pork
I’m going to tell you a secret. OK? I am not a fan of pork as a general rule. Process it all to heck and make it into bacon or sausage and I’m all about it. Put a pork chop on my plate, though, and I will have to force it down. Other than the pork tenderloin that my son does some sort of amazing voodoo with on the grill, these few recipes are all that I care for when a pig is involved.
Pulled Pork in a Crock Pot — This is the healthy version. Really, no skill is required in the making of this recipe. If you can cut an onion in half and measure stuff, you’re good to go. This recipe freezes amazingly well and reheats like a dream. It’s a little spicy, so I really like to serve it with some cool coleslaw and fresh cornbread (the kind of out the Jiffy box is the best!).
Pulled Pork — This is the not so healthy, yet super easy and delicious version. No special link or recipe necessary. Step 1) Put a 3-ish lb. pork shoulder roast in the crock. In a large mixing bowl, stir together 12 ounces of root beer or Dr. Pepper and a 16-oz. bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce. Pour this over the pork, through in a couple tablespoons of minced garlic, and cook on low for about 8-10 hours. Shred the pork and serve!
Chile Verde Pork — Remember this one from a while ago?
Chicken
Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken Thighs — These are super good. Serve them with mashed potatoes (the kind from the refrigerator section at the grocer store are A-OK!) and some sort of green vegetable. The chicken thighs stay nice and moist, but for goodness sakes DON’T cook them for longer than 3 hours on high. Any longer than that ruins just about any chicken recipe.
Crock Pot Maple Dijon Chicken Drumsticks — Skinnytaste, man. It’s a great go-to website for delicious meals. Her cookbooks are wonderful, too! This recipe is a great way to use up those drumsticks you can get for super cheap from Costco or whenever they go on BOGO at Publix (my condolences if your area doesn’t have Publix…they’re the best!). They have a great flavor, but not too crazy for kids who might wonder what you’ve done to their “chicken on the bone”.
Mexican Chicken — OK, another super easy, no-recipe one for you. Put about 1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs!) in the crock. Add in your choice of one jar of salsa or 2 (15-oz.) cans diced tomatoes + 1 packet of taco seasoning (or if you like Rotel, you could use 2 cans of that, as well). Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Shred the meat and stir it back into the salsa and juice. You can use this for any taco/enchilada/etc dinner you’d like!
Beef
You may notice that I don’t have a pot roast on this list. That’s because my mom makes the best roast in the world and she makes it in the oven. So why would I mess with success? Maybe I’ll post that recipe on here someday. If I feel like being generous and sharing. And if she agrees! Hahaha!
Chile Verde Beef — That pork recipe up there? Absolutely delicious made with a chuck roast instead of a pork shoulder. Try it. You’ll like it.
Italian Beef — OK, no link for this one, but it’s super easy. My friend Dianna gave me the recipe a year ago and my family LOVES it served on crusty rolls with some provolone cheese. Here goes. Into the crock, dump a 3-5 lb chuck roast, 1 sliced yellow onion, 1 sliced green pepper, 2 T dry Italian seasoning, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 3 beef bouillon cubes, and 2 cups of water. Now, for the delicious part…take half a stick of butter, slice it up, and dot it on the top. Cook low and super slow all day long. Like 8-10 hours on low. Then, when it’s time, simply point your forks at the roast and it will fall apart in fear and tenderness and won’t even need to be shredded. Stir everything back together and enjoy! (Of course, you can add more peppers in if you’d like. This is just the base.)
Next Up…
Next up in a couple weeks, we’ll have the one-pot wonders. All of those marvelous meals that are ready start-to-finish in one pot. So, when the timer is up, dinner is ready!
Until then, bon appetit!
