crock pot dinners

i would love to cook dinner in my crock pot more often. however, i distrust a lot of recipes i find because i guess i just don't always believe that only three ingredients are all you need for a scrumptious main dish. what are your favorite crock pot dinner recipes? i'd really love to have some trusted recipes to try. thanks!

1 chicken, 5 ways, 7 days

last sunday i roasted a chicken and we used it all week for various meals. i thought i'd share what i did.

day 1: roasted chicken with roasted root vegetables

i had a 4lb chicken, doused in harry and david's turkey rub, that i roasted @ 375 for a little over an hour and a half in my roasting pan. while it was cooling and i was making gravy from the drippings, i made cooked my roasted root vegetables. save the gravy for a meal later in the week.

day 2 and 3: chicken soft tacos

i took some of the breast meat that wasn't covered with turkey rub and marinated it in a little bit of olive oil, lime juice, garlic salt and cumin. then i quickly sauteed it and added all of our favorite soft taco toppings and voila! i served it with chips and my corn and bean salsa.

day 4: chinese noodles

this is something i grew up eating and i'm probably the only one who likes it, but my kids didn't seem to mind it, so it'll go on the list of possible future dinners. warm your favorite chicken stock. add fresh soba noodles (quickly cooked however you'd like--boiled, sauteed), shredded chicken, chunked boiled egg, green onions and soy sauce. i served it with some egg rolls i had made previously and frozen.

day 5: chef salad

some of my favorite add-ins are boiled egg, kidney beans, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, olives, sunflower seeds and croutons.

day 6 & 7: chicken and dumplings

i have never had, nor made this before so i had nothing to compare this to, but the whole family enjoyed it, so for right now, it's good enough for me. i got it from the better homes and gardens cook book and since the chicken was already cooked, i saved steps by using that and the gravy i had reserved from day 1. i served this over the roasted root vegetables we had on day 1 as well and it proved to be a good use of leftovers.

ingredients

2 - 2 1/2 lbs meaty chicken pieces
3 C water
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t dried marjoram
1/4 t pepper
1 bay leaf
1 C sliced celery
1 C sliced carrots
1/2 C sliced mushrooms
1 C flour
1 T snipped fresh parsley
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 t dried oregano
1 beaten egg
1/4 C milk
2 T vegetable oil

directions

1. skin chicken and rinse. in a large pot combine chicken, 3 C water, onion, basil, 1/2 t salt, marjoram, pepper and bay leaf. bring to boiling; reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes. add celery, carrots and mushrooms. return to boiling; reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes. discard bay leaf.

2. for dumplings, in a mixing bowl combine the 1 C flour, parsley, baking powder, the 1/4 t salt, and oregano. in another bowl combine the egg, milk and oil; add to flour mixture. stir with a fork til just moistened. drop batter onto the hot chicken and not onto the broth. return to boiling; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the dumplings comes out clean. transfer chicken and dumplings and vegetables to a serving platter, keep warm.

3. make gravy with remaining broth.

health nut blueberry muffins

a fun way to use some of the blueberries we picked this summer and a perfect after school snack. i got it from allrecipes.com. i didn't have oat bran so i substituted wheat bran and i didn't have a banana so i substituted about 1/3 C applesauce. they took 20 minutes in my oven.

ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oat bran, quick-cooking oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.
3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

tangerine-pistachio sticky buns

this was a tasty new year's eve treat. i got the recipe from everyday food magazine and made a few adjustments after having tried the recipe once, using my own favorite sweet roll recipe (the magazine calls for using frozen pizza dough). this is such a refreshing mix of flavors in a sweet roll that isn't sickly sweet. yum!

ingredients

make the dough from this cinnamon roll recipe, let rise 1 hour
3/4 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C shelled unsalted pistachios
7 T butter, melted
3/4 C tangerine marmalade or store-bought orange marmalade
1/4 t salt

directions

1. in a food processor, pulse brown sugar and pistachios until coarsely ground. sprinkle 5 T sugar mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish and drizzle with 4 T butter.

2. on a lightly floured surface, roll and stretch dough into a 12 x 18-inch rectangle. spread with marmalade, leaving a 1-inch border. top with remaining sugar mixture, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with remaining butter. starting at a long edge, roll up dough like a jelly roll. cut into pieces that are roughly 1 1/2 inches wide. place rolls in the 9 x 13, loosely cover and let rise 1 hour.

3. preheat oven to 350. place 9 x 13 on a rimmed cookie sheet (if it boils over, it gets ugly) and bake until buns are golden brown, about 35 minutes. immediately run a knife around edge of the pan and invert buns onto a serving platter. serve warm.

tangerine marmalade

i got this recipe from everyday food magazine. it was the perfect way to use up some cuties that are inevitably lying around during the holidays. i halved the recipe in the magazine so that's what i put here. it was fun to try marmalade--it's something i've always wanted to try. it does require a bit of time, so make it while you're already in the kitchen for something else.

ingredients

about 9 tangerines (i used cuties), unpeeled, washed, ends trimmed and cut into thin slices
2 C sugar

directions

in a large pot, bring cuties and 3 C water to a boil over high. reduce heat to medium and cook at a rapid simmer until cutie peels are tender, about 20 minutes. add sugar and increase heat to medium-high and stir until sugar dissolves. return to a boil and cook, stirring often, until mixture is thick and darkens slightly, about 45 min. it should be thick like jam. transfer marmalade to airtight container and let cool completely before using or refrigerating. can refrigerate up to one month and freeze up to six months.

sausage potato stew

for a st. patrick's day party a couple years ago, my friends brought this super yummy soup. i posted their original recipe first. since the recipe calls for peppers (and i'm allergic) and because i had a bunch of stuff in my fridge to use up, i created a variation that i posted second...and it just happens to be vegetarian.

logan's sausage potato stew

8-10 med red potatoes

2 large onions

1 large green pepper

1 large red pepper (optional)

2 lbs. smoked Polish sausage

1/3 c olive oil

1 Tbsp dried basil

½ Tbsp pepper

1 c cream

3 tsp cornstarch

3 Tbsp water

Clean potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. Boil potatoes in water until almost done. Drain off water. Add onions, peppers, sausage, oil, basil, and pepper. Cook in large pan until vegetables are tender but still slightly crisp. Combine cream, cornstarch, and water and pour over potatoes and vegetables. Cook until thickened. It is very thick; add more cream or milk to make more of a soup if desired.

jamie's sausage potato stew

2 medium red potatoes, diced

2 large links of vegetarian smoked apple-potato with rubbed sage sausage(available at safeway), sliced and browned

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 large carrot, sliced

4 C milk

1 C chicken stock

1 T basil

1/2 t pepper

1 T cornstarch mixed with water for a thick paste

1 C coarsely chopped cabbage

boil potatoes until almost done. drain off water and add oil, green onions and carrots. saute for a few minutes. add milk and stock and bring to a boil, stirring often. reduce heat to simmer, add basil and pepper and cook until carrots are tender, about 5 minutes. slowly stir in cornstarch mixture until the soup barely thickens. add the cabbage, turn off heat but keep on the burner, put the lid on to let the cabbage steam, about 5 minutes. voila!

jam thumbprint cookies

these cookies are Christmas to me.

ingredients

2/3 C butter
1/3 C sugar
2 eggs, divided
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C flour
your favorite jam--i like raspberry or pineapple apricot
finely chopped nuts or flaked coconut

directions

cream together butter and sugar til fluffy. add egg yolks, vanilla and salt and beat well. gradually add flour, mixing well. shape into 3/4 in balls; dip in eggs whites, then roll in nuts or coconut. place 1 in apart on a cookie sheet. press center of each cookie down with thumb. fill with jam. bake @ 350 for 15 minutes. makes 3 dozen.