Crockpot BBQ Chicken and Oven Fries

Crockpot BBQ Chicken and Oven Fries

Recipe and photo from Smashed Peas and Carrots Website

BBQ Chicken

1 1/2 lbs Chicken breasts (about 4 nice-sized ones)

1 18-oz bottle of BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

1/2 Cup brown sugar

3/4 Cup Italian dressing

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Buns and other condiments you desire

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Once chicken is tender, shred chicken.

Oven Fries

2-3 Large baking potatoes

1 1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

1 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp olive or vegetable oil

Wash, dry, and cut potatoes up into large, steak fry sized pieces. Place cut fries into a large, resealable bag. Add in salt, pepper, sugar, and oil. Seal and shake until potatoes are completely coated. Place tin foil on a baking sheet and place potatoes onto the lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 for about 30 minutes or until fries are tender and brown (crispy on outside).

Chicken Cacciatore

*Our Best Bites suggestion: White cooking wine is DEFINITELY better than juices but as a note, don't go cheap on cooking wines when you buy them. (I used grape juice.)

*I am going to put they way I cooked it below the real recipe. I didn't want to use the slow cooker and dirty another dish. It worked fine. I dunno, maybe if I had used the cooking wine and the slow cooker this recipe may have been higher rated.

Chicken Cacciatore

Recipe from Our Best Bites

1 lb. chicken breasts or breasts and thighs, cut up

1/4 cup white flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

5-6 cloves or garlic, peeled and crushed or halved

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 cup white wine, white cooking wine, or apple or white grape juice

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp salt (omit if using wine)

1 bay leaf

1 cup sliced mushrooms (or more)

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and onions and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to blender. Increase heat to medium-high.

In a large Ziplock bag, combine flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Add chicekn pieces, seal bag, and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire back into the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent pieces from sticking together. Saute until chicken is golden. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Turn off the heat under oil.

While chicken is draining, add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the chopped green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta.

*My Cooking Instructions

In a large frying pan or wok add oil and saute onions and garlic pieces. Then transfer to blender. Increase heat to medium high.

Combine flour, salt, and pepper into a Ziploc bag. Add chicken and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire bag to the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent form sticking together. Saute until chicken is golden, but not entirely cooked through.

Add mushrooms and green pepper and continue sauteing until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are crisp/tender.

To the onions and garlic pieces in the blender add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram. Blend until smooth. Place sauce and bay leaf into pan with chicken and veggies. Heat until sauce is heated and begins to bubble. Cover, turn down heat to simmer, and let simmer for 20 minutes (or longer). Serve over pasta.

Dressed Up Sloppy Joes

Dressed Up Sloppy Joes
Recipe from Our Best Bites blog

1 lb. lean ground beef
Seasoning salt to taste
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 green pepper, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 c. ketchup
1 tsp mustard
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp Worcestershire
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/3-1/2 c. water to reach desired consistency
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 hamburger buns

Stovetop instructions:
Brown ground beef, onions, green peppers, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Add in mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire. Combine tomato paste and water and add to hamburger mixture. Add more water if desired. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns.

Crockpot instructions:
Brown ground beef, onions, green peppers, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add in remaining ingredients and combine well. Cook on low for 3-4 hours and serve on hamburger buns.

Pennsylvania Pot Roast

*I stole this picture from the Taste of Home website because I didn't take a picture of mine.

Pennsylvania Pot Roast
Recipe from the Taste of Home cookbook

1 Boneless pork shoulder roast (2 1/2 to 3 lbs), halved
1-1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
6 Medium red potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
4 Medium carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
7-8 fresh mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water

Place roast in a 5 quart slow cooker; add the broth, onions and seasonings. Cover and cook on high for 2 hrs. Add the vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Remove the meat and vegetables; keep warm. Discard bay leaf.

In a saucepan, combine flour and cold water until smooth; stir in 1 1/2 cups cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add browning sauce if desired. Serve with roast and vegetables.

Crockpot Lasagna

*This is a pretty basic lasagna recipe but done in a slow cooker. Why I like this? You don't have to pre-cook the noodles. I just don't enjoy trying to mess with the cooked noodles. I also use pre-cooked, frozen ground beef. I'll often take a whole package of ground beef, cook it all up and then split it to the amount needed. Then I'll label and freeze the rest. Makes it easy for this cause in the morning you don't have to even take out the skillet and brown the meat.

Crockpot Lasagna
Recipe from Macie Stratton

1 lb. Ground beef, cooked
4-5 Cups spaghetti sauce
8-10 Lasagna noodled, uncooked
1 Egg
24 Oz. cottage cheese
2-3 Cups mozzarella cheese or Italian blend, shredded

Combine ground beef and spaghetti sauce in bowl. Combine egg and cottage cheese in another bowl. Layer sauce, noodles, cottage cheese mixture, cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches (Crockpot)

*So, I LOVED this recipe. And it was easy with little mess. Not much better than that! This picture just doesn't do it justice.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Recipe from OurBestBites.com (with a few of my changes)

3 lb. boneless pork roast
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Smoked paprika or liquid smoke (I used cayenne pepper)
1 Bottle BBQ sauce
Rolls, biscuits, or bread (I used Pillsbury homestyle biscuits)
Coleslaw (recipe here)
Thick cut dill pickles (optional)

Rinse pork in cold water and trim excess fat. Pat dry. Sprinkle roast with seasonings and place in slow cooker. Add about 1/2 inch of water and cook on low 8-10 hours. When roast is cooked, drain liquid and then return to slow cooker and shred. Pour enough sauce over the meat so its well-incorporated, but not soupy. Return the lid to slow cooker and heat through until ready to serve. To serve, slice rolls and add meat. Top with coleslaw and pickles.

Freezer instructions:

Prepare meat through seasoning step. Instead of placing in slow cooker, place seasoned meat in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. When ready to prepare, follow same instructions. Just make sure you have buns, coleslaw, and BBQ sauce.

Crockpot Fettuccini Alfredo

Crockpot Fettuccini Alfredo
Recipe from Macie Stratton

2-4 Chicken breasts
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 pkg. dry Italian dressing mix
3 Tbsp. Butter, melted
1-2 cans Cream of chicken soup
½ c. Milk
8 oz. Cream cheese, cubed
Pasta noodles, cooked

Place chicken in the Crockpot. Sprinkle with Italian dressing mix, salt and pepper. Drizzle the butter over the top of the chicken. Mix the soup and milk together and pour over chicken. Add the cubed cream cheese. Cook on low for 4 hours. Shred the chicken with a fork and serve over noodles.

BBQ Pork Bake (Slow Cooker and Oven)

*Good Sunday type dinner and leftovers make wonderful BBQ pork sandwiches. Just heat up the pork, put on a hamburger bun, and add any toppings desired such as cheese, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, sprouts, lettuce, avocado, mayo, extra BBQ sauce, etc.

All-Night Pork Bake
Recipe from With Singleness of Heart Cookbook (Finlinsons)

Pork:
1 Lean pork roast
1 bottle (16 oz) BBQ sauce

Slow Cooker Instructions:
Put together in slow cooker and cook overnight or all day on low heat until pork shreds easily.

Oven Instructions:
Put pork roast in roasting pan and bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes. Add sauce and turn down heat to 220. Cover and bake for 8 to 10 hours.

Pineapple and Green Chile Pork Tacos (Crockpot)

Tips: I buy pork chops when they have two for one deals at Albertsons. Works well with chicken also. Don't even bother defrosting the meat if it's frozen; it'll be just fine. If you can't find green salsa, the red variety will be tasty here also.

Pineapple and Green Chile Pork Tacos in the Crockpot
Recipe from Prudence Pennywise

1 lb. pork chops

1 8 ounce can crushed pineapple with juices

1 cup tomatillo salsa (green salsa or salsa verde)

1 4 ounce can green chiles, undrained

1/3 cup brown sugar

For serving: warm flour tortillas, queso fresco (or feta), chopped cilantro, lime wedges, more green salsa

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for four hours or on low for 6 to eight hours. Shred pork, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve in soft flour tortillas with desired accompaniments.

Sweet Pork (Slow Cooker)

Sweet Pork
Recipe from Macie Stratton

4 lb (or smaller) Pork Roast
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Salsa

(Just make sure equal parts brown sugar and salsa.) Put pork roast topped with brown sugar and salsa in slow cooker. Cook for 6-8 hours on low or until shreds easily.

*Great plain, in tacos, burritos, sandwiches, etc.