Lasagne Soup

In the cold months of fall and winter, I like to serve soup at least once per week. It's such a warm me up dish that is absolutely delicious with homemade bread or rolls. However, by mid January I was getting a little tired of the same ol', same ol' soups week in and week out. It seems that my husband is rather picky when it comes to soup and I found myself making Chili, Vegetable Beef Soup and Potato Soup most of the time. Then, Real Mom Kitchen had "Soup Week" in January, and shared the recipe for this Lasagne Soup. I had to have it. I knew it was a MUST try! We love lasagne, we love soup...what's NOT to love about this recipe? I changed her recipe from being a stovetop prep to Slow Cooker and I served this soup up with Parmesan Knots (recipe coming soon!) and it was the perfect solution to a perfectly cold day!

Ingredients

- 1 lb. ground beef

- 3 T.  dried, minced onion

- 3 T. Garlic Powder

- 1 t. Thyme

- 1 T. packed Brown Sugar

- 4 cups of Chicken Broth

- 2, (14.5 ounce) cans Diced Tomatoes

- 2, (8 ounce) cans Tomato Sauce

- 2 t. Italian Seasoning

- 1/2 t. Salt

- 2 c. uncooked shaped pasta

- 1/2 c. Grated Parmesan Cheese

In a skillet, brown ground beef, then add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. Drain well and put in crockpot. Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. In the last thirty minutes of cooking, add cooked pasta to soup and stir in Parmesan cheese.

Directions

Rotisserie Style Chicken - in the Crockpot!

I found some whole chickens for a very good price at Target a few weeks back, and there they have sat in my deep freeze ever since - just waiting for the perfect recipe to come and save them! That's where A Year of Slow Cooking came to the rescue (again! She is brilliant with crockpot recipes!). We LOVE us some rotisserie chicken, and I usually just purchase the marked down birds that didn't sell the day before at Fareway - only $3.99 and all I have to do is heat it up! This was was cheaper (because I got the birds on sale) and (I think) much more delicious. Probably because the labor of love was involved ;) This really couldn't get any easier (well, except for buying it hot and ready from the grocery store...but homemade wise, I mean!) and is a super delicious, moist, falling off the bone meal to make for your loved ones!

Ingredients

--1 Whole Chicken, skinned (4-5 pounds)

--2 tsp Kosher Salt (3 tsp. if you like them as salty as in the store)

--1 tsp Paprika

--1 tsp Onion Powder

--1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

--1 tsp Italian Seasoning

--1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

--1/2 tsp Black Pepper

-- Pinch of Chili Pepper

Directions

Skin the chicken and get rid of the neck and other stuff from the cavity. This takes awhile - so be prepared to spend a little time getting down and dirty with this chicken. If skin doesn't bother you - or if you'd PREFER to have it on the bird - then by all means don't skin it. Just pull the yuckies out from inside the chicken.

In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Plop the bird breast-side down into the crockpot.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8. The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.

Be sure to check out Foodie Friday over at Designs bt Gollum!

Savory Pot Roast

I feel like I've tried every pot roast recipe out there. Seriously. Okay, maybe not every pot roast recipe out there, but we've tried a lot. I just have issues with pot roast. I guess I like 'em creamy - and they all just turn out juicy. I'd prefer for the roast to soak up in gravy that I can drown my potatoes in.

I have found one recipe that I make time and time again, which calls for a can of cranberry sauce. But I was out of cranberry sauce, so I turned to A Year of Slowcooking in search of another fabulous pot roast recipe. I mostly chose this one on the basis that I had everything in my pantry and wouldn't have to venture out in the -15 degree temps (yep. that's a negative sign before the fifteen there peeps!) to the grocery store. This did turn out fabulously - not creamy like I long for - but it had excellent flavor!

Ingredients

Rump or Chuck roast

1/4 c. Brown Sugar

1/2 c. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 c. Ketchup

2 c. Chicken Broth

2 c. Baby Carrots (optional)

Directions

Put the roast into of your crockpot pot, and pour in brown sugar, vinegar, and ketchup. Toss in carrots (if using). Pour broth evenly over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the meat has reached desired tenderness.

Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu

I have never eaten chicken cordon bleu. Ever. I've heard great things about it, and I've been interested in giving it a try, but it seems that every recipe I've found calls for bleu cheese. I don't like bleu cheese. So I've steered clear. But when I found this particular recipe over at A Year of Slow Cooking that didn't call for even a HINT of bleu cheese, I jumped on it! I mean chicken wrapped around ham and gooey cheese? I'm all over that (have you noticed yet that I really love me some ooey, gooey cheese?)

The sad part? I didn't use presliced cheese. I used block cheese that I sliced myself. Apparently too thick. Because the cheese all melted right out of the chicken and into the sauce. So I couldn't even tell it was there. It was a sad moment when I discovered that. Next time I'll know. Use thin (like paper thin) slices if you want that ooey gooey goodness.

And oh how I long for that ooey gooey goodness!

Ingredients...

...4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

...4 slices Ham
...4 slices Cheese (I used mozzerella)
...1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
...2 T. milk

Directions...

Prepare your crockpot by greasing the bottom and sides with cooking spray. One at a time, place each chicken breast in a gallon size Ziploc bag and pound thin. Remove from the bag and place 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese on top of each breast. Roll up chicken breast and place seam side down in the crockpot. In a small bowl, wisk together the milk and cream of chicken soup until smooth. Pour mixture over the chicken breasts. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Irish Lamb Stew

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm by no means Irish, and I don't even really enjoy "pretending" to be Irish around the holiday, but I do love me some Irish Lamb Stew! I attended college in a very small, very Irish town, and St. Patricks Day was a bigger deal than any other day of the year! Actually, the weekend before St. Patty's Day was the biggest deal of the year, but you get the picture  :) Anyways, my first year living in this small Irish town, I worked as a waitress in an Irish Pub located inside the casino in town. One of our menu specialities was Irish Lamb Stew. For the first portion of my employment there, I was scared to try this stew. The whole "lamb" thing kind freaked me out. I'd never eaten lamb before! One night, I was tired of eating the same thing day in and day out so I decided to give this stew a try! Mmmmm! It was love at first taste! This stew was so thick and rich! The meat and veggies were in large chunks and the seasonings were spot on!

I was the only server there that liked the stuff! I really wanted to recreate that recipe on my own, with the exception of using lamb, as I don't have access to any around here, just beef. I didn't really succeed in creating an exact replica of said stew, but I did created a mighty great tasting alternative! This stew wasn't as thick, I think the "sauce" needs work, and I chose to chop the veggies and meat into smaller, bite size, chunks.

I found this recipe over at Allrecipes and it reminded me a lot of my crockpot beef stew recipe that I already make (and apparently haven't shared with you, shame on me!), with a few changes. To make it "Irish" I suppose. I'm going to continue to make this recipe and play around with it a bit. I really want to try and get the thicker, rich sauce like the first Irish Stew I ever tried!

Ingredients...

...1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and diced

...3 lb. of steak or roast, cut into 2 inch pieces (or lamb, to be traditional)
...1/4 tsp. salt (not pictured)
...1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
...1/4 c. flour
...1 tsp. garlic powder
...1 large onion, chopped
...1/4 c. water
...2 c. beef broth (I used 2 cups of water and 2 beef boullion cubes)
...2 T. sugar (not pictured)
...2 c. carrots, sliced
...2 c. celery, sliced
...4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
...1/2 tsp. dried thyme
...1 bay leaf
...1 c. water (or you can use white wine in place of this water)
 

Directions...

 
Coat steak/roast/lamb (whatever you choose to use) with salt, pepper and flour. Place in a skillet with some oil and cook until meat is cooked through. Place in greased slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to mix ingredients and evenly distribute spices. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

To see more great crockpot recipes, be sure to check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!

Slow Cooked Vegetable Beef Soup

Ohmygosh! Why did it take me sooo long to make my own Vegetable Beef soup?!?!? If that doesn't give you any tips as to how good this soup is, then let me spell it out for you.

This. Soup. Is. Amazing.

End of story.

I started this soup in the morning, and then taste tested it before I went to work for the afternoon...I seriously didn't want to go to work after I tested it. I just wanted to sit at home all afternoon and eat this soup. I was practically giddy all afternoon at work, just thinking about this soup simmering away in the slow cooker at home, awaiting my arrival. The wait to eat this for supper was worth every. last. minute. YUUMMMMM!!! The seasonings and spices are right on, the consistency is perfect, and the combination of everything together is just heaven. Heaven in a bowl. Perhaps we should rename this...

I bet you can't guess where I got this recipe from either (wink, wink). Surely enough...Taste of Home's Slow Cooker Favorites cookbook. I've sang my praises about Taste of Home before, and I'll sing them again. I love Taste of Home. Probably just about as much as I love this soup! The recipes are so down home delicious and easy. I mean, you just can't beat chopping some stuff up and tossing it in the slow cooker for 8 hours while you go out and enjoy yourself, then coming home to a fully prepared dinner! It's like you have your own maid or chef or something slaving at the stove all day for you!

Ingredients...

...1 lb. steak, cut into cubes
...1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
...3 c. water
...2-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
...1 onion, diced
...3 celery ribs, sliced
...3 carrots, sliced
...3 beef bouillon cubes
...1/2 tsp. dried basil
...1/2 tsp. dried oregano
...1/2 tsp. salt
...1/4 tsp. pepper
...1 pkg. frozen mixed vegetables

Directions...

Combine the first 12 ingredients in your slow cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours. Add frozen vegetables and cook an additional 2 hours on high.

To see more great crockpot recipes be sure to check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!

No Fuss Potato Soup

I feel like I make potato soup all the time. This is like, what, the third recipe I've shared for potato soup now?!? What can I say, I love the stuff! When I was growing up, we rarely had homemade soup. The only soup I knew came from a can...sad, I know. I remember when I reached junior high age, my mom graduated me from canned chicken noodle or tomato soup to canned potato soup...I was obsessed! I loved the stuff! I always felt so "grown up" eating potato soup while my younger sisters munched on chicken noodle. Yep, I was kind of a loser like that ;)

So that explains my obsession with making potato soup. And I guess that explains why when I found (another) new recipe for it in my trusty Taste of Home Slow Cooker Favorites cookbook, I just had to give it a try! I think this *might* be my favorite version yet!

Ingredients...

...6 c. cubed, peeled potatoes
...5 c. water
...2 c. chopped onion
...1/2 c. chopped celery
...1/2 c. sliced carrots
...1/4 c. butter
...2-3 chicken boullion cubes
...2 tsp. salt
...1/4 tsp. pepper
...1 can evaporated milk

Directions...

In a large slow cooker, combine all the ingredients except for the evaporated milk. Cook on high for 8 hours. Add milk, stirring well. Cook an additional 30-60 minutes, until heated through.

To see more great recipes, be sure to check out Tempt my Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace, Tuesday's at the Table over at All the Small Stuff, Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam and Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!

Chicken A La King

There are lots of recipes for chicken served over pasta, but one I had never heard of before was Chicken A La King. This title baffled me. What does "A La King" mean exactly? My only guess was "for the"...Chicken for the King? I could believe it. I decided I'd better translate it though, or curiosity was going to get the best of me. So I found an online translator and typed in "a la", which is apparently french for "with". Chicken with King? I still don't get it. At least with "a la" it sounds fancy and not confusing. Well...sort of not confusing.

I found this recipe in my Taste of Home Slow Cooker Favorites Cookbook. I strive to use my slow cooker two times a week, and to have chicken once or more per week. So I figured why not give this a shot. The slow cooker part of it is just for the chicken portion...and then was served a la (teehee...) rice.

Ingredients...

...1 can Cream of Chicken soup
...3 Tbsp. flour
...1/4 tsp. pepper
...dash cayenne pepper
...1 lb. chicken, cooked and cut into cubes
...1 celery rib, chopped
...1/2 c. chopped green and red peppers
...1/4 c. chopped onion
...1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas

Directions...

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 2-3 hours, until the mixture is bubbly and heated through. Serve over rice.

To see more great crockpot recipes, be sure to check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie and the Crockpot Carnival going on over at Smockity Frocks!

Grandma's Pot Roast

This was how I grew up on pot roast. Nothing fancy. Pretty plain and simple. But super delicious to me because it's how I know it. I remember the first time I saw my grandma pour a bottle of Pepsi into this and almost gagging because of my severe dislike for Pepsi (and Coke. and Dr. Pepper.), but Grandma just hushed me and told me it's how she always makes it and that I won't even know it's in there.

Well obviously so, since that's how she's been making it for decades and I never noticed before...

Ingredients...

...1 pot roast
...1 packet dry onion soup mix
...1 can cream of mushroom soup
...1 bottle Pepsi

Directions...

Place roast in slowcooker and top with remaining ingredients, making sure to combine everything well. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

For more great crockpot recipes, be sure to check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Fettuccine

And now for the main dish of the night...Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Fettuccine. I thought long and hard about what would make a good main dish recipe for your big night in, and chose this one for a multitude of reasons.

a) For some reason pasta dishes speak "elegance" to me. And after all, elegance is what we're going for on this romantical night.

b) It's in the slow cooker. Which means you don't have to slave over the stove all day to prepare this meal. Instead you can slave away in front of the mirror getting all dolled up for your lovey.

c) Pasta dishes can be paired with a lot of sides very easily. So even if this is the only thing you make off of my "menu" for Valentines Night...then at least you can rest assured it will pair easily with any number of side dishes.

Okay, that's it. I don't quite know if three reasons qualifies as a "multitude" of reasons. But it'll just have to do.

I found this recipe in my trusty copy of Taste of Home's Slow Cooker Cookbook. I originally purchased this cookbook during their annual $5 cookbook sale with the intentions of giving it as a Christmas gift. And then I flipped through it upon recieving it in the mail. Well, let's just say that I gave myself a Christmas gift this year :)

Ingredients...

...1 1/2 lb. chicken, cut into chunks
...1/2 tsp. garlic powder
...1/2 tsp. onion powder
...1/8 tsp. pepper
...1 can cream of chicken soup
...1 can cream of mushroom soup
...4 oz. process cheese (I used American cheese slices, but Velveeta works nicely as well)
...1 can olives
...1 pkg. fettuccine or spaghetti noodles

Directions...

Place all ingredients except for the pasta in a slow cooker. Stir until well combined. Cook on low for 3 hours. Prepare pasta according to package directions, drain, and serve with sauce.

Crockpot Spinach Dip

Day 2 of your Valentines Day Dinner...the appetizer, yuuummm!!

Hubs and I have an unnatural obsession with Totinos Creamy Spinach chip dip. We luurrrve the stuff! I figured that there has to be a way to make this stuff at home so we can enjoy it more regularly.

Which could be a bad thing, but I'm choosing not to look at it in that light. I keep telling myself that since I use 1/3 less fat cream cheese and light mayo that it's not that heavy in the calorie area. It would probably be best if I hit the gym tomorrow anyways, just in case ;)

I was pleasantly surprised at how close to the real thing this came. Hubs said he thinks it's still missing something, but I'm 100% content with how it turned out! I've already decided that the Totinos dip will be no more. Hubs can take it or leave it. I'm pretty sure he'll take it.

Ingredients...

...1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen, chopped spinach
...1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese
...1/2 c. mayonnaise
...8 oz. cheddar cheese
...1/2 tsp. Tabasco Sauce

Directions...

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high until melted, creamy and heated through. Place slow cooker on a lower setting to keep the dip warm for serving purposes. Serve with tortilla chips, bread, bagel chips or crackers.

To see more great recipes, check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!!

Creamy Sausage Dip

This is a surefire crowd pleaser. Men and women alike will be gobbling up this dip faster than you can blink an eye. I don't know why it tastes so good. One look at the ingredients list, and I thought to myself, "what?!? This can't be good!" But it is. I recently took it to a family function to test out before the big game, and I was thanked...yes thanked...for bringing it. Simply because it was so good. Not because they had ever had it before and it was a favorite. Just because it. is. that. good.

I found this recipe over at A Year of Slowcooking, where Stephanie lovingly refers to this dip as Mommy Crack. I've tried recipes that are loosely similar to this one, but never with these ingredients, so I was eager to give it a go. Plus, the tag of "Mommy Crack" just had me interested...

Ingredients...

(no picture, sorry!)

...1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese

...1 lb. ground sausage, browned and drained

...1 can tomatoes and green chiles, drained

...Tortilla Chips

Directions...

Plop it all into a slow cooker (if you have a mini slow cooker, that is the perfect size!) and cook until melted and heated through. Serve with tortilla chips.

To see more great recipes, check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!

Hobo Beef Stew

While my computer was away getting all fixed up, I had a craving for beef stew. I have one tried and true recipe that I found on the internet and had bookmarked, but with no computer, I didn't have access to that recipe. I started to scrounge my many, many, many cookbooks and found a lot of recipes that sounded delicious, but none that I had all the ingredients on hand for at the time.

In comes my trusty Taste of Home Slow Cooking Cookbook to the rescue! This recipe was originally called Hobo Meatball Stew...but I was in no mood to make meatballs. So I just eliminated the meatballs and replaced them with some cut up steak. Wa-la! Hobo Beef Stew!

I also made a few other changes, but that's typical of any recipe I try...

Ingredients...

...1 lb. steak or stew meat
...4 medium potatoes, peeled and chunked
...4 medoum carrots, peeled and chunked
...1 1/2 tsp. salt
...1/2 tsp. pepper
...1 medium onion, chunked
...1/2 c. ketchup
...1/2 c. water
...1 1/2 tsp. vinegar
...1/2 tsp. dried basil

Directions...

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir until well combined. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or on low for 4-5.

Slow Cooker Beans 'N' Weenies

When the weather outside is frightful...this dish is quite delightful!

There is no doubt in my mind that at some point so far this school year, you have had your kids at home with you due to a snowday. Therefore, you've had some hungry voices asking "whats for lunch?" and you want to be sure to fill them up with something tasty, warm, and kid friendly. I don't have kids (yet! Due in May!) but on one particular snow day evening, we had a few people end up spending the night due to untravelable roads...so when I found out that our house would be full, I turned to Stephanie over at A Year of Slowcooking for a quick and easy crockpot recipe that was sure to please on a chilly day. And it did.

Except, I advise you to think ahead on the whole serving beans to a group of grown men...enough said.

How 'bout some beans 'n' weenies? You can't go wrong with this dish when there are kids involved. Actually, you can't go wrong with this dish, even when kids aren't involved :) This is the perfect snow day meal, just pair it with some warm homemade bread and you've got yourself a tummy filling, heartwarming winter meal!

Ingredients...

...4 cups beans (they're in the crock already. That's why they aren't in the picture)
...2 pkg. hot dogs
...4 cups bbq sauce

Directions...

Place cooked beans, cut up hot dogs and bbq sauce in the crockpot and stir until well combined. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3.

Crockpot Meatballs in BBQ and Cranberry Sauce

It's at this time of year that I truly appreciate my crockpot. It comes in handy on so many occaisons! In all the hustle and bustle and running around that comes with the holiday season, it's so nice to have supper slow cooking at home so you don't have to worry about rushing through supper preparation when you get home! The slow cooker is also a great way to transport your delicious dishes to family get togethers! It's also a great way to free up some oven space for the other dishes you and family are preparing for family gatherings.

This recipe is sooo simple and amazingly delicious! At first I thought that the combination of ingredients was really weird, but then I figured that most meatball recipes call for a strange combination of ingredients, so might as well give this a shot! Besides, who doesn't have a can of jellied cranberries sitting in their pantry during this time of year?!?

Ingredients...

...1 lb. meatballs (I used homemade meatballs that I premade a week before and then froze until ready to toss in the crock...)
...1 can jellied cranberries
...1/2 cup barbecue sauce
...1 T. soy sauce

Directions...

Slice jellied cranberries into thin slices and line bottom of crockpot with the slices. Cover craberry slices with barbecue and soy sauces. Place (still frozen) meatballs on top of saues and cranberries. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3.

As a side note, you can use meatballs that aren't frozen for this recipe, just watch the cooking time, and shorten it some since the meatballs are already thawed out.

To see more great recipes, check out Mouthwatering Monday over at A Southern Fairytale!

Crockpot Stuffing

Two days and counting until Thanksgiving...are you ready? I'm guessing you have your grocery list all made out for what you need to buy, and I'm guessing that Stove Top stuffing is on that list. Well cross it off! Seriously, you won't regret it! At first I was skeptical too...stuffing in the crockpot? No way it could be done! Well, bite your tongue (or rather, bite into some of this, yuummmm!) because it can be done! And it can be done better than any old box of Stove Top any day!

Ingredients...

...1 loaf bread
...1 tsp. minced onion (or onion powder. or that chopped onion that's dried and you can keep in the spice closet)
...1 cup celery, diced
...1 cup apple, diced (I used a granny smith)
...1/4 cup butter, melted
...1 1/2 cups chicken broth
...1 T. poultry seasoning

Directions...

Before you start crockpotting, you need to toast the bread. I cut my bread into chunks before I toasted it, but you can toast it in slices and then chunk. It's totally up to you. Place a single layer of bread in the oven at 300 for 15 minutes. But really, toasting time will depend on what type of bread you are using.

Once bread is toasted, place in crockpot. Add celery, apple, onion and poultry seasoning. Toss to evenly disperse ingredients. Add melted butter and chicken broth and toss to evenly coat bread. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. At this point you can determine if you would like your stuffing a little more moist or not. Let it stand for a few minutes uncovered, if you want more moist then add 1/4 cup more of chicken broth and stir well to coat all bread. Otherwise, serve as is!

Yep. That's it. It's that easy. So don't give me the excuse that boxed stuffing is easier to make. Puh-leeze!

To see other great recipes, be sure to check out Tempt my Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace and Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Crockpot Creamy Potato Soup

It's a common known fact that with pregnancy comes cravings. And my cravings have been all things potatoes. Mashed potatoes, potato salad...mmmmmm!!! So I decided to brave a potato soup in the crockpot. I've made it before, you can find that attempt here. And while it was good then, it was watery. And appeared to have "grease" pockets floating around. I prefer my potato soup to be more creamy.

And this recipe is just the ticket! YUUUMMMM!!!

Ingredients...

...1 lb. potatoes
...1/4 of a medium onion, chopped
...3 T. cream cheeese, cubed
...1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth
...1/4 c. milk
...1 tsp. parsley
...1/8 tsp. white pepper

Directions...

Throw all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 3-4). Give a good stir to the soup before serving to completely combine the ingredients, which may appear resistent to combining until you stir. Once you stir it gets creamy and delicious! You may also want to add in salt and pepper to suit your tastes when you are serving this. It needed something, so I added a little of each and that TOTALLY completed this soup! Enjoy!

Pizza Dip

I love using my crockpot. I'm pretty sure I've confessed that love of mine to you all before. I have two crockpots, a larger sized one and a smaller one. (and I've asked for two more for Christmas!). I've never really used the smaller one before except to make a nacho cheese dip once, I usually make that recipe in the microwave, but I had to travel with it, so the mini crockpot just made good sense. I finally decided after cruising around A Year of Crockpotting that it was high time my mini crockpot got some lovin'. So I made Steph's version of the Pizza Fondue Dip. She has really made me want to make fondue and dip in my mini crockpot every day now!

Ingredients...

...1 cup pizza sauce
...handful of pepperoni
...1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
...1 cup shredded cheese

Directions...

Cut pepperonies into pieces. Dump all ingredients into mini crockpot and stir together (if you don't have a mini crockpot, just place a small, oven safe dish, into your normal size crockpot.). Plug in and let cook for about an hour before serving (most mini crockpots don't have heat settings. If yours does for some reason then, a) use the high heat setting and b) TELL ME WHAT BRAND IT IS!!!!)

Pot Roast and Veggies

This only looks greasy, runny and disgusting. It's actually quite tasty. Quite tasty. Now that it's fall, I love making recipes like this. They sit in my crockpot all day, seeping in flavor and juices. Then we enjoy them at night, with a chill in the air and the food warming us up! This is such a fix it and forget it, toss it in and get on with your day type of meal. Yes, meal. It has everything. The meat. The veggies. The starch. Delish. Just whip up some sort of a quick fruit and you have a tasty meal in minutes (of your own effort).

Ingredients...

Sorry, no pic!

...1 two to three pound beef roast

...1 can cream of mushroom soup

...1 packet dry onion soup mix

...carrots (I used 4)

...potatoes (I used 1 per person)

Directions...

Thaw and place roast in crockpot with potatoes and carrots. Pour in onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6.

Brown Sugar Chicken

I love chicken. Probably too much. Because my stockpile is almost out. And I have a deep freezer FULL of other meats...but yet I'm still planning on going out and buying more chicken this week since it's on good sale, when in reality I should wait until next time and eat up some of that other meat...Anyways. I digress. This chicken will make you think that you've tasted a bit of heaven. And then you'll feel guilty about all of the sugar and immediately want to go brush your teeth. But it will all be worth it. Because this chicken is goo-ood! It kind of reminded me of when I toss chicken in the crockpot with BBQ sauce, but it was better! And it didn't taste quite as sugary as I was expecting it to, which was a definite plus!

The Ingredients...

...6 chicken breast halves

...1 cup of brown sugar (I told you that you'd feel guilty...)

...1/4 cup lemon lime pop (I used 7UP)

...2/3 cup of vinegar (I used white)

...3/8 tsp. garlic powder

...2 tbs. soy sauce

...1 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions...

Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, garlic powder and soy sauce. Pour in the vinegar and then add the pop (yes. it is supposed to bubble like that!). Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6. The longer you cook it the more tender the chicken will be.