Sometimes, you just need to ask:
While I can easily check out every website on the planet for crock pot recipes (and, believe me, I will!) – if my dear readers could please share ones they know have worked really well for them, that would be awesome. I am much more likely to try something that comes with personal recommendations first. It’s a 6 qt pot so I can handle some of the larger recipes. Please share!
Next – any advice on how to stop my cuticles from drying out/splitting and getting the skin around my fingertips back to normal? Ever since I had the acrylic nails removed (after having them for over 20 years!), my fingertips are just a mess! I guess the fake nails protected them in some way? I have no idea but I read on another site that someone else experienced this too so I am hoping someone knows what to do? My nails themselves are healthy and strong, but its the cuticles and skin around them that are still thrashed. Lotion isn’t enough. Baby oil has helped a tad, but not enough. Any ideas?
Oh and just so I am not just all take and no give – check out this Beef Barley Soup recipe from my August mom friend. I made it Monday night and it was YUMMY x3 – declared a hit by SportsBoy too who actually ate most of it on his own 🙂
Also – here’s the new bed picture I promised:
Trees & Flowers & Birds! 
I can throw you some fairly simple, one or two serving crockpot recipes. I have a 1.5qt crock in my cube at work and sometimes I make lunch in it. What they have in common is using ingredients that don’t require refrigeration, I can pull them out of my overhead bin and go.
DM me on Twitter if don’t come back & you want to try them.
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Ingredients:
• 2 lbs. ground chuck
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 to 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 large (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 2 cans kidney or pinto beans, drained
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 3 tsp. chili powder
• hot pepper, to taste, cayenne
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
Preparation:
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain well. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker; cover and cook for 7 to 8 hours on LOW, or until done.
Serves 6 to 8.
http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotchili/r/bl5c2.htm
Results: Yummy! Sauteed vegies and spices in with meat and refrigerated overnight; did not drain. In the morning, put in slow cooker w/other ingredients plus 1 additional tsp. mild ancho chili powder and 1 canned chipotle in adobo. Cooked on low from 8am to about 5:30 pm. Removed chipotle before serving. Had just a little spicy kick; everyone loved it. Even better with diced chuck instead of ground beef.
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Whoops, the title got left off my previous comment–that recipe is called Crockpot Chili!
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Red beans and rice is a Monday tradition in Cajun country, where some of my ancesters are from. This is a recipe from Roy F. Guste:
1 lb. red kidney beans, dry
2 qts. water
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. minced parsley
salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
pork or ham (I use pork shank, but hamhocks work well also), about 1 lb.
Rinse and drain dried beans and place in crock pot with the 2 qts. water. Cook on high for 1 hour. Add all remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 6 hours or so. Serve over cooked rice. (Homemade cornbread goes with this dish really well!)
You can also use andouille sausage, kielbasa sausage, salt pork, or ham as the meat.
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Is there something I don’t know?
My favorite crock pot recipe is spiced oatmeal.
1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
1/4 cup dried cranberries (or any dried fruit)
Chopped walnuts or pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Mix all together, cook overnight on low. Voilà, breakfast is served!
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You have some great recipes here already. I might have to copy a few.
I have a great Hungarian Goulash recipe for the crock pot. I’ll dig it out for you. You can make it spicy or not, depending on the type of paprika you use.
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This is always a crowd-pleaser. We tend to serve it for New Year’s Day or the Super Bowl.
Drip Beef
3-4 lb. roast, cut into pieces
1 Tbs. garlic salt
1/2 Tbs. oregano
1/4 Tbs. rosemary
3/4 Tbs. savory salt
2 beef boullion cubes
peppercorns to taste
2 cups water
Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 8-12 hours, breaking chunks of beef into smaller pieces before serving. Serve on rolls to make sandwiches. Serves 10-12.
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A non-beef recipe to try!
Roast Sticky Chicken
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion power
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large roasting chicken
1 cup chopped onion
In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to cook chicken, put the onions into the cavity. Make three fist-size balls of aluminum foil and place in crock pot. Place chicken on top of foil. This allows the chicken to roast rather than stew. Do not add any liquid to crock pot. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour. Reduce to Low and cook 7-9 hours
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I have a bunch of healthy slow cooker recipes on my blog at http://healthyslowcooking.wordpress.com/. There are some soups and stews that are perfect for fall and winter.
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I have one for your son–I do this once a week and it feeds my two water polo-playing boys a quick meal before they head off to practice. I put some pork tenderloin from Costco (you can do it with a cheaper cut of meat, but I don’t like them to have such fatty meat) in the crock pot with salt & pepper and cook it on low for 8 hours or high for about 5+1/2 hours. Then I shred it with forks, add barbecue sauce and they keep it in the fridge and make meals/snacks from it for the next 3 or 4 days. I keep some nice, soft kaiser rolls on hand for bread.
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I didn’t forget. It just took me a while to get caught up with myself.
Hungarian Goulash
2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup catsup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup water
1/4 cup flour
Place meat in slow-cooking pot; cover with sliced onion. Combine garlic, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, paprika, and mustard. Stir in water. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 9 to 10 hours. Turn control to high. Dissolve flour in small amount of cold water; stir into meat mixture. Cook on high 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve goulash over noodles or rice.
Makes 5 to 6 servings.
Note: I usually double the sauce in this recipe. Originally it was a way to stretch the meat (and the budget), but we like the sauce so much on noodles that I kept to that tradition.
I don’t bother to put in the salt either, but that’s a matter of personal taste. You might want to start with half that amount. You can always add salt later if needed.
This can also be served over spaetzle. Yum!
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