In need of recipes for main dishes for the crockpot.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I FINALLY got my DH to use the slow cooker! He lives in one town and state while I stay in another town and state to go to school. He works 12 hour shifts doing shift work. Does anyone have any SIMPLE main dish ideas for the crockpot for my DH that doesn't require much mixing, dicing, or sautéing? Has anyone ever made meatloaf in the crockpot and if so, how did it turn out?

I can search the Internet for recipes and ideas, but I want to give DH recipes and ideas that you have personally tried, in case I have questions.

Day before yesterday, upon my instructions, DH threw a pork roast with some seasonings in the crockpot. He was impressed at how easy it was. He came home and dinner was practically done! He loves meatloaf as well as pork chops. However, he will not dice, saute, or mix. He isn't much of a cook. He will, occasionally, make a meatloaf if he doesn't have to add diced onion or bell pepper. Now that I got him to try making a roast, I would like to send him a folder of recipe and meal ideas that he can make on his own that doesn't require a whole lot of ingredients or time.

[sweetnell3]

I make a dish with pork chops & new potatoes with cream of mushroom soup.You flour the chops & brown in a skillet on both sides.The new potatoes clean cut in half if very big throw in crock pot put chops in with them then pour the cream of mushroom soup on top of meat & potatoes cook on low several hour til potatoe are tender & meat is done.Can use any kind of cream soup you like.Hope this helps.Serve with a salad.

[cat lover]

I'll get busy tonight and see what I can come up with after I go through my favorites box. Will post some tomorrow!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I make a dish with pork chops & new potatoes with cream of mushroom soup.You flour the chops & brown in a skillet on both sides.The new potatoes clean cut in half if very big throw in crock pot put chops in with them then pour the cream of mushroom soup on top of meat & potatoes cook on low several hour til potatoe are tender & meat is done.Can use any kind of cream soup you like.Hope this helps.Serve with a salad.


Nell, this sounds like a recipe that I would like to try. But, I doubt my DH would take the time to brown the chops. He has to have recipes that even a child could make or he won't make them.

When I am not there, DH makes hamburgers (a cooked patty on bread with mayo and Velvetta), meatloaf with no diced onion or pepper (meat, seasonings, tomato sauce), pork chops cooked in the oven, frozen fish, and steak. He cooks everything in the oven. He primarily heats up canned green beans, and adds a can of fruit for his meals. He gets excited when I come down to make meals for him. I triple casseroles and freeze several for when he gets tired of his own cooking.

[cat lover]

French Onion Meatballs

1 18 oz pkg. frozen cooked meatballs
1 12 oz jar beef gravy
1 10z pkg dry onion soup mix
Put meatballs into a 4 to 6 qt crcokpot. In medium bowl combine gravy, soup mix and mix well. Cover on cook on LOW 4 1/2 hours. Serve over pasta or rice.

Meatloaf

I cooked meatloaf in the crockpot and it turns out well. The "secret" is take two 12" double folded pieces of foil at right angles in the bottom of the crcokpot and up the sides of the crockpot. When the meatloaf is done, use these to remove the meatloaf from the crockpot.

Use your regular meatloaf recipe (IF you need a meatloaf recipe let me know); and put the formed meatloaf in a 4 1/2 qt. crcokpot. Pour your "sauce"(tomato soup, tomato sauce; whatever you use) over it. Cover and cool on LOW 7 to 9 hours. Remove from crockpot and let stand about 5minutes before slicing.

Cajun Pot Roast with Corn & Tomatoes

1 2 to 2 1/2 lb boneless beef chuck roast
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 9oz pkg frozen corn
1 cup combination of frozen diced onions & green peppers (you can buy separately bags of frozen chopped onions and green peppers in the frozen food section)
1 14.5 ozcan diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

Rub the entire roast with the dry Cajun seasoning. Put the roast in a 4 to 6 qt crockpot. Top with the corn, onion and pepper. In a small bowl combine tomatoes, pepper and hot pepper sauce and mix well. Pour this over the vegetables and roast. Cover and cook on LOW setting 8 to 10 hours.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

4 medium red potatoes,unpeeled, cut into 1" pieces
8 to 12 baby carrots
1 medium onion, cut into large wedges
1 -2 to 2 1/2 lb corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
1 -12 oz can beer
water
8 thin wedges cabbage
In a 4 to 6 qt. crockpot combine potatoes,carrots and onion. Top with corned beef and sprinkle with the seasonings from the packet. Add beer and enough water to cover the brisket. Cover and cook on LOW 10 to 12 hours. Remove the corned beef from crcokpot and cover with foil. Add cabbage wedges to the vegetables and broth in the crockpot. Cover and cook on HIGH 35 additional minutes.


Barbecued Turkey and Vegetables

1 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup water
3 turkey thighs (2 1/2 to 3 lb)
3 medium potatoes, unpeeled and cut into large pieces
12 baby carrots
In a bowl combine barbecue sauce and water and mix. Layer turkey, potatoes and carrots in a 4 to 6 qt crockpot. Pour sauce over top of everything. Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours.



Will send more later.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Cat, I am not sure what you mean to do with the foil? Could you "draw" me a more vivid picture? Do you mean to make the foil so the meatloaf can drain or to shape it?

Thanks for the recipes.

My BIGGEST problems for DH are a) he is a picky eater b) he won't go through a lot of effort to cook himself a meal c) he rarely tries new things and he NEVER tries new things when I am not around.

I wonder if some casseroles can be turned into crockpot dishes? For example, I have one Poppy Seed chicken that requires a mixture of cooked diced chicken, poppy seeds, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup over a Ritz cracker crust. Now, I am thinking that DH could dump some boneless chicken, cream of chicken soup, and poppy seeds, and a bit of crushed Ritz crackers for flavor into the crockpot. When he comes home from work (or wakes up to get ready for work when working the graveyard shift), all he would have to do is add the sour cream and stir. It should be ready to serve by the time he finishes a cup of coffee. The chicken wouldn't be diced, but he would get the flavor of the original casserole. It would be more like boneless chicken with poppy seed sauce. Hummm...I wonder?


Has anyone ever cooked a dish that had pasta in it in the crockpot? If so, how did it turn out? Does anyone have the water to pasta ratio for cooking/baking pasta without draining it? I am thinking about "casseroles" or crockpot dishes with pasta in them.

[sweetnell3]

DeBora the porkchops can be put in that dish without flour or browning pork chops the I just thinks they taste better.This recipes is one that normally is fix in the ove but I use the crockpot as a fallback plan for when I'm really busy & don't have time to fix in the oven.Have you try Swiss steak in the crockpot ?It is really good also, a friend at church told me about that one.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Nell, cool! I think I will give the recipe to DH as I think he would try it as it seems simple enought for him.

[sweetnell3]

To make it simple I have use the new potatoes in the can also for when I don't have fresh new potatoes.

[cat lover]

Cat, I am not sure what you mean to do with the foil? Could you "draw" me a more vivid picture? Do you mean to make the foil so the meatloaf can drain or to shape it?

Thanks for the recipes.




Has anyone ever cooked a dish that had pasta in it in the crockpot? If so, how did it turn out? Does anyone have the water to pasta ratio for cooking/baking pasta without draining it? I am thinking about "casseroles" or crockpot dishes with pasta in them.


On the foil thingy, it is just two strips of foil that are approximately 12" long double folded and put one on the left side down to the bottom and up the other side of the crockpot, leave a few inches sticking out of crockpot aS "HANDLES" Do the same thing across the other way. When you are finished you should have four "handles" sticking out of the top of the crockpot to use to lift out the meatloaf and as you are looking down in the crockpot you will see them cross over each other at the bottom. Then you put the meatloaf on top of them and use them to lift it out when down. I hope that makes sense to you. Let me know and I'll try again.


Everything I have read in my crockpot cookbooks say spaghetti and noodles and macaroni aren't particularly good ingredients to cook in a crockpot. It says to cook them in rapidly boiling water on the stove and then add them to the crocokpot ingredients. There may be some recipes that have incoporated them into a recipe and then those should be fine, but till it has been tired I wouldn't say so.

[cat lover]

I forgot to add these things:

Here is a "timetable" sort of a guide:

If you have a recipe you want to cook in a crockpot here is a basic time

Recipe Time------------------------------ Crockpot time

15 to 30 minutes----------------------------1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours on HIGH OR
--------------------------------------4 to 8 hrs on LOW



35 to 45 minutes---------------------------- 3 to 4 hours on HIGH OR
-----------------------------------------6 to 10 hrs on LOW




50 minutes to 3 hours------------------------ 4 to 6 hours on HIGH OR
-----------------------------------------8 to 18 hrs on LOW





Using this guide you might be able to change around recipes for him that you normally make in a casserole and he could dump it all in and cook these times. Maybe a little revamping some recipes for him. If I can help let me know or if there is something else particularly let me know. I'll look around for some of my "casserole" style crockpot recipes.

[cat lover]

Sorry for the back to backs. Here are a couple easy almost casserole style dishes:

Beef Ragout
This can be served over pasta, rice or polenta

1 medium onion, chopped (frozen chopped onions work fine)
1 green bell pepper, chopped (frozen chopped bell peppers work fine)
8 baby carrots
1 lb stew beef cut inot 1 1/2" cubes
1/2 tsp pepper
1 (14 oz) jar tomato base pasta sauce

In a 4 to 6 qt crockpot layer all ingredients. Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours. Serve over pasta, noodles or polenta.



Open Faced Pizza Joes

1 1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (4.5 oz) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1(15 oz) can pizza sauce
1 (9.5 oz) pkg texas toast
3 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

In a skillet cook the sausage and onion till sausage is no longer pink and drain. In a 5 qt crocokpot combine cooked sausage, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and tomato paste and mix. Top with pizza sauce. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Serve over heated texas toast.

Texas Chili

1 1/2 lb beef top round stak cut into 3/4" cubes
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (16 oz can) pinto beans, undrained
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin

In a 4 to 6 qt crockpot combine all chili ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.

[ajrsmom]

DeBora, My Crockpot Chicken Stew (http://www.momsmenu.com/cgi-bin/sefer.cgi?display:1169646683-17934.txt)is easy to make if he will cut up red potatoes. In the recipe, I say to take out the chicken and stir after 3 hrs. but you really don't even have to do that. I would think that you could use frozen, diced potatoes in this, too, if he really didn't want to cut them up.

How about chili in the crockpot--he could have it over baked potatoes or tortilla chips.

I cook beef roasts all of the time in my crockpot--either plain with just a little seasoning or with a can of cream of mush. soup to make gravy.


The problem I have found with cooking pasta in a crockpot is that it gets really soft and mushy. It's better to cook the recipe without the pasta, then add the pasta later.

Does he like vegetable soup? I make my veggie soup in the crockpot, too.


Here's another easy that I make. You can buy frozen diced onion and peppers that work great. Used sliced canned mushrooms instead of the fresh.

Tami's Chicken Cacciatore in a Crockpot

Starting from the bottom up in a crockpot:

4 lg. boneless chicken breasts

2TBS of Italian seasoning

onion powder

garlic powder--both powers, use amts that you like. We like a lot of seasonings.

1 lg. green pepper, diced into small chunks

1 sm. pack of button mushrooms, chunked into pieces

Pour over everything:

2 cans Rotel or similiar tomatoes (or regular tomatoes if you don't like it spicy)
1 C. chicken broth

DO NOT STIR -- It will cook down together.

Cook on High for 4 hrs or low for 7-8. Remove chicken to a plate and shred with 2 forks. Add the chicken back into the crockpot mixture.

At this point, you could thicken the mixture if you like a more "gravy"-like sauce. I didn't thicken it.

Serve over rice. MMMM!!!!

[ajrsmom]

I've never made meatloaf in a crockpot but I watched Sandra Lee make one on one of her shows the other night that looked really good. I was surprised that it looked good because to me, meatloaf should be "crispy" on the outside. Here (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_109183,00.html) it is. :)

[ajrsmom]

I knowt hat you are looking for tried and true recipes but this one sounded good to me, too. My family won't eat it because of the beans. :rolleyes:
Taco Soup (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29781,00.html)by Paula Deen.

[Lizzie-boo]

Wow, what a lot of great ideas. I've been wanting to use my crockpot more, but in the couple of slow cooker cookbooks I have, most of the recipes that appeal to me are only for 6 to 8 hours and that won't work with my work schedule since I leave the house at 7:15am and return at 5:45 or 6:00pm. I'm going to have to print a bunch that you gals have shared and try them out. It's so lovely to come home to a wonderful aroma and have dinner ready to serve!

Liz

[DeBora4BobbyL]

DH would definitely like the meatloaf, the chicken stew, and the Chicken Cacciatore. I am sending them to him. Thanks so much for sharing.

I think people will want to use the crockpot/slow cooker when they see how easy it is to use.

[dval]

Some good recipes here.

DeBora, maybe you could try my torpedo (http://www.momsmenu.com/cgi-bin/sefer.cgi?display:/1155257791-12905.txt) recipe when you are home and hubby could do it on his own later. It freezes very well. I have also been lazy when I made it the last few times and used frozen diced peppers and onions.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Donna, that definately looks like something worth trying!