Mexican Pork and Black Bean Burritos in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless pork sirloin, cut into bite sized cubes
1 cup black beans
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed, or 1 teaspoon crushed
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 can (15 ounces) stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 can chicken broth
1 cup brown rice
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Whole wheat tortillas, burrito size
Shredded lettuce for garnish
Extra sour cream or Greek yogurt for the topping
Hot sauce or salsa.

Preparation:
Mix the meat, beans, and spices in the slow cooker.
Add the onions and garlic.
Cut up the stewed tomatoes by using a pair of kitchen shears. Cut them right in the can.
Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and cilantro to the crock pot and stir.
Cook on LOW 8-9 hours.
Cook the rice in boiling water according to package directions.
Strain off excess fluid from the meat mixture.
Stir the rice into the meat mixture.
Spread some of the mixture into the center of tortillas and top with cheese.
Wrap up the burritos.
Serve with sour cream lettuce, hot sauce, and extra chopped cilantro.


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Lemon Herb Turkey Breast with Summer Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 turkey breast, up to 6 pounds
• 2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 head of red leaf lettuce, cut up
• 1 tomato, cut into slices
• ½ cucumber, sliced
• 1 can of yellow corn, rinsed and drained
• ¼ cup of Italian dressing

Preparation:
Rub the seasoning into the turkey breast.
Place the turkey breast and the rosemary sprig in the slow cooker.
Cook on LOW heat 6-8 hours.
To make the salad, toss the lettuce with the cucumber, corn, and dressing.
Top with the tomatoes.
Let the turkey breast rest for ten minutes before slicing and serving with the salad.


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Homestyle Baked Beans and Bratwurst in the Crock Pot

This dish takes almost no prep and cooks in the crock pot. It's an easy dish to take to a potluck.

Ingredients

• 4-6 bratwurst, sliced
• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• ½ cup of white vinegar
• ½ cup of catsup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
• 1 can of lima beans, drained
• 1 can of kidney beans, drained
• 1 can of baked beans

Preparation
Cook the bacon and crumble into small pieces.
Put all of the ingredients into a slow cooker and stir.
Cook on low heat for 2-3 hours.
That's it!

Turkey in a Sweet and Tangy Sauce

This easy meal cooks all day in the crock pot. All you have to do is enjoy it.

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 onion, quartered
2 or 3 turkey legs
1/3 cup of Dijon style mustard
1/3 cup maple flavored syrup
1 tablespoon of tapioca (for thickening)
Lettuce, tomato, and cucumber for a salad
Salad dressing

Preparation:
Place the potatoes and onions in a slow cooker.
Lay the turnkey legs on top.
Mix the mustard, syrup, and tapioca together.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3 hours.
Serve with a tossed salad.

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Roasted Pork in the Crock Pot

 

We used a red pepper instead of a relleno pepper in this dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pork butt or shoulder roast, up to 6 pounds
• 3 cloves of garlic or 2 teaspoons garlic, crushed
• Salt and pepper
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 whole jalapeno or relleno pepper

Preparation
Place the vegetables, the garlic, and the bay leaves in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Salt and pepper the roast, then place it on top of the vegetables.
Place the jalapeno or relleno pepper next to the roast. Do not cut the pepper open.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Place the roast on a platter with the vegetables.
If you would like gravy, place two tablespoons of drippings in a preheated pan.
Add two tablespoons of flour, and stir until smooth.
Add milk slowly, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the gravy reaches the consistency you desire.
Add salt and pepper for taste.
Serve with a green vegetable as a side dish.

Wine Pairing
This dish pairs well with two red wines: Beaujolais or Barefoot Pinot Noir.

More great recipes are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

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Pot Roast with Homemade Bread

This pot roast cooks in the crock pot all day, the bread bakes in the machine, and when you get home, you've got a delicious dinner ready to go.

Ingredients for the pot roast
5 pound beef pot roast
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters
1 turnip, peeled and cut into chunks
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, cut into small pieces
1 package of Lipton onion soup mix
1 cup of beef broth or red wine
Whole wheat flour for the bread machine
Yeast

In the morning:
Sear the pot roast on all sides in oil in a heavy dutch oven to seal in the juices.
Place the browned roast in the crock pot and sprinkle the Lipton onion soup mix over it.
Add the vegetables around it.
Pour the broth or wine over it all.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Set up the bread per your machine's instructions and set to delay bake.

In the evening:
Remove the roast and vegetables to a platter.
Take the bread out of the machine.
Pour the broth from the crock pot into a pan.
Thicken with 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, stirring to make a gravy.
Slice the bread and serve with the pot roast.

Save the leftover pot roast to make:
Beef Roast and Artichoke Pizza
Spicy Fajitas and Chipotle Refried Beans
Stir Fried Rice and Beef


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Photo/kenidala on Flickr

Easy Cassoulet in the Slow Cooker

A cassoulet doesn't get much easier than this.

Ingredients:
2 cups Navy beans
2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
1 pound of chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and sliced (or ½ a small bag of baby carrots)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup white table wine
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (15 ounce) diced tomatoes
1 cup of low sodium chicken broth
½ pound of Italian sausage, hot or mild
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation:
Soak the Navy beans overnight in water. Rinse and drain in the morning.
Cook the bacon until crisp. Brown the chicken in the bacon grease.
Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker.
Cook on LOW for 7 hours.

If you like recipes with beans, check out my selection of bean soups, chilis, and casserole recipes.

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Moussaka in the Slow Cooker

I adapted this traditional Greek recipe to the crock pot so I can have it cook slowly several hours to bring out the flavors. Using ground turkey or ground chicken makes it a lighter recipe, cutting the fat and calories. The cinnamon gives it a slightly spicy flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, peeled and cubed.
• 1 pound of ground turkey or chicken
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 can (14 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup of feta
• ¼ cup of Italian bread crumbs
• Romaine lettuce
• Red leaf lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Sliced black olives
• Croutons

How to make Moussaka in the crock pot
Spray the slow cooker crock with nonstick cooking spray.
Lay the cubed eggplant in the bottom of the crock.
Cook the turkey or chicken, onion, and garlic until the meat is well done.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and spices. Mix well.
Spread the meat mixture over the eggplant.
Mix the feta cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the top.
Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Serve with a dinner salad made from the lettuce, tomatoes, and olives. Top with croutons and/or feta cheese.

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All Day Italian Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

This is as close to the traditional, cook all day marinara sauce as you’ll find. I add crushed garbanzo beans (chickpeas) to my sauce to up the protein content. Serve it up with Barilla spaghetti, angel hair, or any other type of pasta you desire. After trying many different boxed pastas, my family seems to prefer Barilla. You may have another favorite brand.

Just an FYI...this recipe makes a full crock pot of sauce. We had it this week, and we had our spaghetti, then I made a Spaghetti Pie with it, I reserved some of the sauce for my Garden Veggie Pizza, and I still had sauce left over to freeze for another meal. Make sure you have plenty of dishes to store the sauce in before you make it!

Ingredients for all day Italian spaghetti sauce

• 1 onion chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon of basil
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ cup of red wine
• 1 can (28 ounces) of tomato sauce
• 1 can (6 ounces) of tomato paste
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and crushed with a potato masher
• 1 small can chopped black olives
• 1 pound of Italian sausage links

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker.
Cook on low all day. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
In the afternoon, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
Fry the sausage. Cut on the diagonal into slices and add to the sauce.
Serve the spaghetti with parmesan cheese and sliced black or green olives for topping.

Photo/Foodista

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Sauerkraut Dinner in a Slow Cooker

For all you readers of German ancestry, this recipe will strike a chord. It’s been lightened from the full fat version by using turkey bacon and turkey polish sausage.

Ingredients:
½ pound of turkey bacon, cut into pieces
1 pound of turkey polish sausage or polska kielbasa, cut into slices
1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 apples, peeled and cut into chunks
1 can of sauerkraut, well drained (squeeze it over a strainer)
½ cup of apple juice
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of celery seed

Preparation:
Cook the bacon in a frying pan. Brown the polish sausage in the bacon drippings.
Place all the ingredients in the crockpot and stir together.
Cook on low 8 hours.
Serve with dark rye bread or pumpernickel bread and herb butter.

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More great recipes are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

Dinner Salad and Sourdough Bread

Ingredients:
1 package of yellow split peas (16 oz.)
4 cups of water
1 cup of baby carrots, peeled
1 onion, chopped
1 can of creamed corn
1 cup of ham, chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
Salad ingredients:
½ head of lettuce
1 tomato, sliced
½ cucumber, sliced

Preparation in the morning:
Place all the soup ingredients in the slow cooker.
Cook on low 6-8 hours.
Use a potato masher to mash the carrots if you don’t want whole carrots in the soup.

In the afternoon:
Toss the lettuce, tomato, and cucumber to make a salad.
Serve the soup with the salad and sourdough bread spread with herb butter.

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More great recipes are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

Spicy Turkey Sloppy Jo

Oven Baked Fries
Corn with Red Pepper

The kids in the family will love this meal. Using turkey to cook the sloppy jo mixture makes it healthier than the traditional version. Baking the fries instead of frying them also makes it a healthier alternative.

Sloppy Jo Ingredients:
1 pound of ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
1 cup of tomato paste
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ cup of catsup
½ cup of water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce


Topping ingredients:
Shredded lettuce and cheese
Sliced pickled jalapenos in a jar
Whole wheat hamburger buns

Potato and vegetable ingredients:
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced into fries
Oil, salt and pepper to coat the fries.
1 package of frozen corn with red pepper.

Preparation:
Cook the meat and the onion in a skillet until well done.
Add all the sloppy jo ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to mix.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Just before dinner, toss the potatoes with just enough oil to coat, and salt and pepper.
Cook the potatoes in the oven at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Heat the corn in the microwave.
To serve, place the sloppy jo mixture on a hamburger bun.
Top with cheese, then lettuce. Add jalapenos if you prefer extra hot.


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More great recipes are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

Slow Cooked Lean Beans

Pumpernickel Bread

Ingredients:
½ pound turkey bacon
1 onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 cans of baked beans (32 ounces total, any flavor of baked beans)
1 can pinto beans
1 can of lima beans
1 can of navy beans
1 can of tomato sauce
½ cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of molasses (blackstrap, if you can find it)
1 tablespoon of Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce

Pumpernickel or dark rye bread.

Preparation:
Cook the bacon and onions over medium high heat until well done.
Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and stir to mix.
Cook 6-8 hours on low.
Serve with warm pumpernickel or rye bread.

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More great recipes, cooking tips, and foodie ideas are at my Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner website.

Pork Roast with Cranberry Gravy

Parsley Potatoes and Carrots

Ingredients:
1 boneless rolled pork roast
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup of homemade cranberry sauce or canned, your choice (link to cranberry sauce recipe)
¼ tsp allspice (only if you use the canned cranberry sauce)
1 tsp of dry mustard
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of water
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of water
4 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup of baby carrots, peeled
¼ cup fresh parsley or two tablespoons dry

Preparation in the morning:
Spread the salt over the pork roast and place in the slow cooker.
Mix the cranberry sauce, spice, sugar , and water, and pour over the roast.
Cook on low 6-8 hours.

In the afternoon:
Boil the potatoes and carrots with the parsley.
While the vegetables cook, remove the roast from the slow cooker.
Mix the cornstarch and water, and add to the sauce to make a gravy.
Strain the vegetables and arrange them around the roast on a serving platter. Place a pat of herb butter on them.
Pour the cranberry gravy over the roast. (It’s fine if the roast falls apart.)





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