Crock Pot Usable Chicken

1 whole chicken or package of your favorite parts
4 cups water
2 Tablespoons parsley
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon minced onion or onion flakes
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (salad seasoning also works)

Place all ingredients on crock-pot. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. I love the fact that I can just put the ingredients in my crock-pot and the chicken cooks by itself while I do other things. If you do not have a crock-pot, simply put the ingredients in a large pot on the back burner of the stove and allow the pot to simmer.

Allow chicken time to cool and then remove from bones. You have several cups of usable chicken all ready for any of your favorite chicken casseroles or recipes.

You can also use frozen chicken parts with this recipe. Cooking the chicken on low allows you to start this cooking before bed at night and have cooked chicken ready in the morning – all ready for use in a casserole for dinner that night! This recipe adds a terrific smell to the kitchen versus simply boiling a pot of chicken parts.

Chalupa

3 pound boneless pork roast
1 pound dry pinto beans
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. salt
4 ounce can chopped green chilies (or make your own)

Rinse beans and place in empty crock pot. Cover beans with water and allow to soak overnight. (Do NOT turn crock pot on at all - just let the beans soak overnight in the cooker).

In the morning, drain beans, reserving soak water. Place roast in bottom of slow cooker. Add spices and green chilies. Replace beans on top of roast and add enough or reserved soak water to cover all ingredients. (Add additional water if necessary for all ingredients to be covered.)

Cook on HIGH one hour and then on LOW for 6 hours. Remove meat and shred with two forks. Return meat to slow cooker and cook an additional one hour on HIGH.

Serve over lettuce as a salad, over rice, or use as a filling for burritos, adding your favorite toppings such as cheese, sour cream, salsa, chopped onions or tomatoes.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

2 pounds stew meat
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
4 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, cut into chunks
1 stalk celery, sliced

Place meat in crockpot with flour, salt and pepper. Stir and coat meat with flour and spices. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 5 hours.

I often double this recipe to ensure leftovers!

Serving suggestions : add homemade rolls or serve in bread bowls. Serve with fresh vegetables or green salad for a complete meal.

Easy Beef Roast

I have two favorite ways to cook any type of roast.

The first is to use a Reynold's roasting bag and just follow the instructions within the package. You can actually purchase a box of roasting bags and check the instructions while in-store to make sure you have all ingredients on hand to make your meal. The roasting bags make a very moist and delicious roast every time with minimal effort!

My second choice for cooking a roast is to place it in a large crock pot slow cooker with some spices (use your favorites or just pour an envelope of dry onion soup mix on top and add about a 1/2 cup of water). I set the dial to low and let it cook ALL DAY on low. It makes my home smell wonderful and is another great, easy way to make dinner. I will even go so far as to use the meat drippings from the crock pot to make gravy on a good day! :)

You can actually bake your potatoes with your roast in the crock pot too! Just wash them well and pat dry. Wrap each in it's own piece of aluminum foil and place in bottom of crock pot. Place roast on top and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5-7 hours. A great step by step recipe for stacking this meal in the crock pot can be found on Stephanie O'dea's wonderful crock pot website here.

Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 ½ lb. Shredded cheese
2 cans (10 ¾ oz. each) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of mushroom soup
1 to 1 ½ soup cans of water
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chilies
2 cans chicken or 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken or turkey
24 to 36 corn tortillas

Mix the soup and water to the thickness you want. Add the chilies and chicken. In a large crockpot, layer a few spoonfuls of sauce then break up about ½ package of tortillas over sauce. Sprinkle with some cheese and begin layers again, repeating until everything is used up. Heat and eat – takes approximately 1 to 2 hours on high to heat thoroughly.


Serving Suggestions – fresh veggie tray or green salad, chips and salsa

Pork Chops with Scalloped Potatoes

3 Tbs. butter or margarine
3 Tbs. all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 can (14 ½ oz) chicken broth
6 rib or loin pork chops ( ¾ inch thick)
2 Tbs. cooking oil
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled potatoes (about 4 lb.)
1 medium onion, sliced

In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add broth and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside. In a skillet, brown pork chops in oil. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired. In a greased 13 in by 9 in by 2 in baking dish, layer potatoes and onion. Pour the broth mixture over. Place pork chops on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

This recipe can also easily be adapted to cook in the crock pot while you are away. Just layer the onions and potatoes in bottom of crock. Brown pork chops in skillet and place on top of vegetables. Make sauce as directed above and pour over ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Yummy!

Yield : 6 servings


Serving Suggestions – steamed vegetables and homemade rolls