What's For Dinner? (An oldie and a new one: Easy Skillet Cornbread)

Tonight my house smells incredible and my stomach is growling in great anticipation of my husband's arrival home from work so we can devour the dish that's been cooking for a few hours in the crockpot and the cornbread that's baking as I type. Here's the original post about these incredible Calico Beans.

And my instagram of it just now in the crockpot, happily bubbling away.

Okay, so I'll share with you my secret for quick and easy skillet cornbread when it's already 6:39pm on a school night and your husband is scheduled to get off of work within the next hour and you've realized you are out of cornmeal and didn't realize it until you've already got the oven preheated and calico beans in the crockpot and now it's really necessary to get some cornbread ready to go alongside the beans or else life just won't make any sense anymore and you just can't let that happen so you turn to the trusty mix that grandma used to use and you sigh in relief.  It fills in the gaps, you see. In the bowl, in the stomach, in the menu…it's necessary. 

Being the good little Southerner that I am, I always keep some of this on hand:

It keeps for 6-12 months on the pantry shelf and it's delicious and easy so on nights like these I don't have to panic. And look how beautiful the result is! Mmmm…

Quick & Easy Skillet Cornbread

Makes 6-8 Servings

2 8.5oz boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup of milk

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix together cornbread mix, milk and eggs. Place butter in a 12" cast iron skillet and put in preheated oven for about 3-4 minutes until butter is melted and hot. Scrape batter into cast iron skillet, listening for that telltale sizzle that means life is about to be good. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Cut into pieces and serve.

Not really a true "recipe" considering it's on the back of the box (for muffins anyway), but hey, it's what works for me on nights like these so maybe it can help one of you too. :) Now, if only my hubs would get home so we can EAT! Have a great night,

Crockpot Mississippi Roast

We eat a lot of chicken. That's probably because I love chicken the best and I'm usually the one doing the cooking. ;) I could probably eat it every day. Or at least 6 out of 7 days in a week. But I wouldn't do that to my family. I know they appreciate it when I mix it up, so I do try to alternate meats when meal-planning. I'll do chicken one day, ground beef the next, then pork, then meatless, chicken again, beef, etc. Last night we had BEEF. And not just plain beef. A delicious, tender, tasty beef ROAST. My kids always cheer when they discover we've got beef roast on the menu. I must admit I really love it, too!

This roast is a simple as you can get. A tablespoon of au jus mix, a tablespoon of ranch seasoning mix, a stick of butter and a handful of pepperoncini peppers is all you need to get some amazing flavor out of a cheap chuck roast or whichever type of roast you prefer.

Makes 6 Servings

1 3-5lb. beef roast
1 tablespoon ranch seasoning
1 tablespoon au jus seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick of butter
6-8 pepperoncini peppers
4 teaspoons cornstarch
3-4 teaspoons water

Directions:

Grease down your crockpot and place the roast inside. Sprinkle the ranch, au jus and salt over the top of the roast. Place a stick of butter on top of that, then put the peppers around on top. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or high 4-6 hours. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with water using a fork or whisk. Skim all the oil/fat off the top of the liquid in the crockpot. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture until completely dissolved. Cover and cook 5 more minutes. Stir before serving. Serve with potatoes, rice, pasta or bread.

This roast forms its own gravy that is delicious served over mashed potatoes, our personal favorite, or egg noodles or even rice. We've also used some crusty bread to sop up the gravy. You don't need to add any additional liquid to this roast, the beef gives off its own liquid as it cooks down. I've even put a frozen roast in there and had it turn out just as good! And let me tell you...leftovers in a hoagie with some of that gravy for dipping make an EXCELLENT lunch the next day! Yummo! This is one easy-peasy recipe. Have a great day!

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

  Two things you can count on in Florida in the summertime:

   1) Rain

   2) Humidity

So you may think soup wouldn't necessarily fit in very nicely with those two things, but to me there's just something really comforting about a nice, warm soup on a rainy day. The other day it was actually a little chilly in the house with the A/C on and the gray skies outside. So it really was the perfect day for this soup! Also, the weather is so fickle here in North Central Florida that you can't turn your A/C way up in preparation for rain because the sunshine state will just change her mind and the sun will pop out and you'll be stifling. I call it yo-yo weather because it's just all over the place. Trust me, this is one that shows up quite frequently during the fall and winter too. It's so quick-cooking and doesn't get much easier than a crockpot, really. Since it does come together so quickly, you don't have to have it in there in the morning; if you forgot to toss something in there until lunchtime, this soup saves the day!

Makes 4 Servings

1 20oz package refrigerated shredded hashbrowns ~or~ 1 32oz. bag frozen shredded hashbrowns

3 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

8 oz. cream cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese

Cooked and crumbled bacon

Sliced green onions

Directions:

In a greased crockpot dish, stir together the hashbrowns, broth, cream of chicken, chopped onion and seasonings. Cook on low 2-3 hours. Place cream cheese in and cook another hour, then stir everything together and leave on warm until you're ready to serve. Serve with cheddar, bacon and scallions.

If you use frozen hashbrowns, you may need to adjust the cook time accordingly and you may also want to stir in another cup or so of chicken broth if the extra potatoes soak in all the liquid leaving it too thick. I don't use canned soups, I have a dry mix that I stir up as a cream of chicken soup substitute that is a lot better for you--no added preservatives or anything like that--and also a lot better tasting too! I'll be posting that recipe soon. It's also cheaper than the canned soups. I never buy them anymore. Hope you like the soup, it's a favorite in our house!

Rewind: Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

     Yesterday being Father's Day as well as a church day for us, I decided to again put my Crockpot Breakfast Casserole in the crockpot Saturday night so that when we all woke up, my hubs would have a yummy, hearty breakfast ready to be served up and eaten right away. (How do you like that dinosaur party plate? My son turned 4 last week and he insisted I use one of his plates for this photo...I couldn't resist that sweet face and how nicely he asked!) I've made it a handful of times since then, but it's been 6 years since my original post, so I thought it was time for a reminder of how awesome this casserole is! My boys like theirs with ketchup; me, I just like it plain as is. I changed a couple minor things, which I'll share with you today, and out of my whole 6 quart crockpot, we've only got maybe a serving left of it. 

Makes 6-8 Servings

1 lb. ground pork sausage, browned
1 20oz. package refrigerated shredded hashbrowns
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 8oz package cream cheese
12 eggs
1 cup half & half (or milk, if you prefer)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Directions:

Place hashbrowns in the bottom of a greased crockpot. Sprinkle sausage evenly over hashbrowns. Slice cream cheese into about 1/4" thin slices and lay evenly on top of sausage layer, covering the layer as well as you can. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheddar and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheeses over the cream cheese.  Whisk together the eggs, half and half, salt, pepper and ground mustard and pour over the cheese. Cover and cook on low 4 to 4 1/2 hours until set. *If your crockpot runs extra hot, like mine does, you can cook this on the "Keep Warm" setting overnight.*

     7 years ago when I first posted this recipe, I had an older crockpot...loved that thing, may she rest in peace...the crock dish broke and I couldn't find a replacement for it, so I bought a new, digital crockpot. I kinda hate it. It cooks SUPER hot, way hotter than my older one, apparently because of new food safety concerns...which I can understand, however, none of us ever got sick on my old one and she got plenty of use, so I'm still bummed about it. So with this one, I have to watch it VERY carefully, and if I think I'm going to be gone all day long and something's in there that doesn't need a long cook time, I'll put it on the keep warm setting, which I'm convinced is the same setting as my old crockpot's low. I'm telling you, this new crockpot will be boiling on low and end up burning the edges. Drives me crazy. This time around I added a layer of cream cheese which got all melty and delicious and warm and really helped keep the casserole from being too dry. Of course, my hubs and boys still doused theirs with ketchup, but what can ya do? I used one bag of refrigerated Simply Potatoes shredded hashbrowns and they were perfect. They are buy one get one free at Publix frequently, so I usually stock up on those for soups, casseroles, breakfast, etc. Such a tasty and versatile product!

Crockpot Hot Boiled Peanuts

Summertime here in the south means hot boiled peanuts! You can find them at grocery stores, convenience stores, produce stands, festivals and there are even little boiled peanut carts on a lot of street corners downtown in the little towns and big cities alike. My kids know once we start seeing the peanuts on display at our local grocery stores, that means it's time for Mommy to cook up some hot boiled peanuts just for us. 

*Ok, quick side note here: Fellow Mommy bloggers, how do you do it? Have you noticed how completely impossible it is to think and get into a flow when you are surrounded by children and talking and noises and microwave beeps and fights over whose turn it is to be "it" and kids saying they're hungry and asking if they can eat such-and-such, etc...?? I'm about to go insane!! I need an office. Ahem, hubby....?!? lol*

So anyway....Tuesday morning I hauled out the peanuts I had bought--raw, green peanuts--and rinsed and drained them before placing them in my crockpot. I then added enough water to completely cover them and stirred in some salt and seasonings, switched to the high setting and let it go. A few hours into it I added a little more water since the top layer was becoming dry. After about 6 hours, we had delicious hot boiled peanuts that required very little effort but tasted like I'd been hard at work all day. Yay! Happy kids and parents alike. Now here it is Thursday and they're already nearly cleared out which means another trip to the local supermarket or Farmer's Market to pick up some more raw, green peanuts! These are a staple to our summer: we snack on them throughout the day, bring them with us to the pool or beach, bring them to share at parties and BBQs, bring bags of them with us to the fireworks, etc....they're so versatile and keep really well with all the salt in there as a preservative. Enjoy!

Makes 2 Pounds

2 lbs raw green peanuts, found in the produce section of your grocery store

1 - 1 1/2 cups salt

Dash garlic powder

Dash onion powder

Dash cayenne

Directions:

Rinse and drain the peanuts in a colander, picking out any that are broken or open. Place peanuts in a crockpot and add enough water to completely cover the peanuts. (They will float to the top.) Stir in a cup of salt and a few shakes of each of the seasonings. Cook on high for 6 hours and check for doneness and taste, adding more salt if needed. (If it's too salty, add 3-4 more cups of water and cook for another hour...likewise if they aren't soft enough for your taste, cook longer, checking after every hour until you reach the level of "doneness" that you want.)

This has been one of my favorite snacks since I was little and my mom made hot boiled peanuts for me and my brothers and sisters. I remember my grandparents buying some for me at a produce market on a street corner in Green Cove Springs, FL, where we'd meet up with them so my brother and I could go stay with them at their house at the beach for a week or two over the summers. You can also use packaged raw dried peanuts in the nut and popcorn aisle at your grocery store, but I much prefer the raw green fresh peanuts to those. But if you're having a craving and the raw green ones aren't to be found or aren't in season, by all means, use the dried! 

Crockpot Spinach, Sausage & Sun-dried Tomato Tortellini

Makes 6 Servings

1 large 32 oz bag frozen cheese-filled tortellini
1/2 bag of fresh spinach
1 jar sun-dried tomatoes
8 oz cream cheese, cut up and softened
1-2 cups chicken broth
1 lb ground Italian sausage, browned
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Grated Parmesan

Directions:  

Brown the sausage with the minced garlic and place in a greased crockpot. Add the cream cheese, chicken broth, tomatoes and seasonings. (I started with a teaspoon of each.) Cook on low for 2 hours. Mix well and add the tortellini and cook for another 1-2 hours, until tortellini is warm. Add fresh spinach and cook for another hour. Test tortellini for doneness. Taste and add more seasoning if desired. Serve with fresh grated parmesan.

I've made this so many times with different variations and my kids and husband love it. It's super easy--you just have to remember to toss the ingredients in when needed and give it a quick stir--and when it's done you have a healthy, one-dish meal to serve to your family. I've also used lower fat cream cheese and haven't noticed much of a difference. Sometimes in place of the Italian sausage, I'll use grilled chicken strips or cubed, cooked chicken breasts. This is such a versatile recipe that you can really customize to however you like it. You could use Italian style diced tomatoes in place of, or even in addition to, the sun-dried. You could use Rotel tomatoes & chiles and give it a Southwest twist. Toss in some cumin instead of the Italian seasoning, chorizo in place of Italian sausage and sprinkle with some monterey jack cheese you've got a delicious meal ready for scooping up with tortilla chips. I've used both refrigerated and frozen tortellini as well as ravioli. If you use refrigerated, just add that in for the last hour along with the spinach. I love crockpot meals! No rush at dinnertime, yay!

Crockpot Calico Beans

Makes 4-6 Servings

2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained

1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled, or 1 lb fully cooked bacon, cut up

1 large onion, chopped

1 large can baked beans

2 cans dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can butter beans, drained
1 can lima beans, drained
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a greased crockpot and stir together until combined well. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with cornbread and fresh chopped onion if desired.



This is one of our favorite, super easy, super quick, super filling recipes. I usually like to keep cooked ground beef in ziploc bags in my freezer, and I always have some of the fully-cooked packages of bacon on hand, so if I've forgotten to pull something out of the freezer for dinner and I look at the clock and it's 2pm already, I still have plenty of time to throw this together and still get dinner on the table at a reasonable hour. It tastes sweet like baked beans, and is delicious over cornbread. Sometimes we like to put some chopped green pepper in the crockpot too and you will want to taste it and add extras of the last five ingredients and/or some salt if you think it needs it. I do a lot of tasting and adding this or that...I will never serve something to my family (or friends or anyone for that matter) that I haven't tasted first! I am a HUGE fan of crockpot meals, especially in the summer when I don't want to heat up my whole kitchen for dinner.

Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts & thighs

2 tablespoons butter

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

1 medium onion diced

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 10oz can refrigerated biscuits, cut into quarters

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

Directions:

Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken in bottom of crockpot. Place butter over chicken. Pour cream of chicken soup and broth in. Sprinkle onion and parsley. Cook on high 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked through and sauce is boiling. Place biscuit dough on top and cook for 1 hour more until biscuits are cooked through. Serve.

My family loves this easy crockpot meal and we have it at least once or twice a month. I usually put frozen chicken in and a couple chicken bouillon cubes instead of the broth since the frozen chicken creates its own water. I also use my homemade cream of chicken soup mix instead of the canned stuff.

Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings II

Makes 8 Servings

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 bouillon cubes
*If using thawed chicken, add 2 cups water. If the chicken is frozen, this is not necessary as it creates its own juices.*
2 cups peas (thawed or frozen)
2 cups baking mix
2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons parsley
4-6 teaspoons cornstarch
4-6 teaspoons cold water
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Directions:

Place chicken in the crockpot and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour the cream of chicken soup over the chicken, spreading evenly on top. Place the bouillon cubes equally throughout the crock. *If using thawed chicken, pour the 2 cups of water evenly around the sides of the crock. If frozen, no additional water is needed.* Cook on low for 4 hours, then switch to high and cook for another 30 minutes. Mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl with a whisk until completely dissolved. Use 4 teaspoons for a thinner gravy, 6 for thicker. Stir the mixture into the liquid in the crock, stirring until combined. Stir in the peas and cook for another 30 minutes. (If your peas are already thawed, you can skip the additional 30 minutes and just let it cook for an hour after switching it to high, then stir them in just before putting the dumplings in. But if they are frozen, they will lower the temperature of the mixture, which is why you need to let it get bubbly again before adding the dumplings.) *Make sure your chicken is cooked all the way through at this point* Once it comes to a boil (or bubbling slightly) again, mix together the baking mix, parsley, cheese and 2/3 cup of milk. Add an additional tablespoon or two of milk and stir again--you want the consistency to be wetter and stickier than your usual biscuit dough so that you get nice and moist dumplings. Drop by heaping spoonfuls on top of the boiling mixture in the crockpot and cook on high for another hour, or until dough is cooked through and no longer "doughy".

This was super easy and delicious. My kids LOVED it! They love for me to add cheese to the dumplings, but you can certainly leave it out if you prefer. If your crock tends to take longer for cook times, it may run at a lower temperature and you may prefer to bake the dumplings in the oven--450 for 10 minutes--before putting them into the crock, or serving the chicken mixture on top of them, however you like it. This is the perfect weeknight meal. I started this at noon today and it was ready by 6 before hubby went to work. We were doing renovations on our guest bathroom ALL day long, so this was perfect for us to have a home-cooked meal without spending hours over the stove, giving me more time to work on the bathroom. Gotta love that!

Crockpot Apple Crisp

Makes 6-8 Servings

10 small apples
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cut up
-can substitute 1 box cake mix + 1 stick melted butter for oats & sugar if desired-

Directions:

Preheat your crock on high. Spray inside of the crock. Cut up the apples--peel or not, it's personal preference. Toss the apples with the orange juice, cinnamon, vanilla, cubed butter and brown sugar in the crockpot. Mix together in a separate bowl the oats, brown sugar and remaining cut up butter. Sprinkle over the top of the apples. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 5. If you prefer the cake-mix-type topping, you can mix that with the cubed butter instead and sprinkle that on top of the apples instead of the oats and sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Yum!



So easy and delicious. It's the perfect way to use up apples if you've got a ton like I do! My kids love this and I've made it with both kids of topping. I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon on top of my ice cream when I eat this.

Crockpot Soy Sauce Chicken

Serves 4-6

1/2 cup soy sauce
6 packets splenda (or 3 teaspoons of white or brown sugar)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or can mince fresh)
1/4 cup chopped onion
Dash Worcestershire
1 whole chicken (can cut up or not...can also use boneless pieces if preferred)

Directions:

Place chicken in a greased crockpot. Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl then pour over chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6.



This is a simple recipe that is delicious! We like to serve ours over rice or egg noodles, whichever we're in the mood for or whichever is in our pantry! I usually serve some steamed or roasted veggies on the side and my husband likes to mix all his meat/rice/veggies together to make a sort of stir-fry type dish. This is great for a weeknight or one of those late mornings when you didn't put something in the crockpot early enough. If you start it by 2 you can still eat by 6!

Crockpot Lasagna

Makes 8-10 Servings

1 lb. lasagne, uncooked
1 32oz (2lbs) tub ricotta
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 tablespoon basil
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
1 26oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1-2 cups water

Directions:

Mix sauce, tomatoes and 1 cup of water together in a bowl. It should be pretty watery...if not, add another cup of water. Mix the ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and seasonings together in a bowl. Spray crockpot well with cooking spray or spread with olive oil. Cover bottom of crockpot with sauce. Break pasta to fit and get as even a layer as possible, making sure pasta is pretty well "sauced". Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on top, then sauce, then pasta, then cheese, etc. Repeat all layers, ending in sauce then sprinkle extra parmesan and mozzarella on top. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 6-8 hours.



Amazing!! Lasagna that is moist, cheesy and delicious from your crockpot! No boiling noodles or heating up that oven in the summer. I can't believe how easy and tasty this is and this has become our new regular. This recipe makes it extra cheesy and "gooey", and to us, this is perfect. Make sure all the lasagna noodles are submerged under the sauce or cheese and that no dry edges are sticking out or you'll get a hard piece. Mine brought it to about two inches from the lid and that was the perfect amount of space for steam to cook it perfectly. This makes enough to feed our family of six and still have half the pot leftover, so if you want less, the recipe halves nicely. I like to freeze the remaining half, or invite company over. YUM.

Crockpot Macaroni & Cheese

Makes 12 Servings

2-3 cups uncooked pasta
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated fresh Gruyere, Parmesan or Romano
1/2 cup grated sharp or mild Cheddar cheese, for topping
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

In a greased crockpot, combine the eggs, sour cream, soup and milk and stir well. Add the mustard, salt and pepper and stir well. Boil the macaroni according to package directions. Leave in the hot water to stay warm. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Then drain the macaroni and add it to the crockpot, pouring the melted cheese/butter mixture on top of the warm macaroni. Stir everything together well. Sprinkle with extra 1/2 cup grated cheese. Cook on low for 3 hours.



I love this recipe! I like to use penne or "curly-q" pasta for mine, but you can use pretty much any pasta shape you want. I also like to use the 1/2 cup of extra-sharp cheese such as Gruyere or Parmesan, but you certainly don't have to, you can always just stick to cheddar--nothing wrong with that! We like to serve this with some spiral ham or we've even cubed some up and mixed it right in with some peas to make it a one-dish meal. You can't really mess this one up, it is easily customizable and you can pretty much do whatever you want and it turns out delicious. This is a family favorite!

Crockpot Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Makes 14 Half-Cup Servings

3 lbs small red potatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chives and onion cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

Directions:

Wash potatoes--do not peel--and cut into quarters. Place in greased crockpot dish. Add garlic, oil and water. Mix well to coat potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and toss to cover evenly. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours or until potatoes are tender. Mash potatoes and garlic and stir in cream cheese until melted and incorporated. Stir in milk until well blended. Serve immediately, or cover on keep warm or low setting for up to 2 hours. Before serving, drizzle melted butter on top and sprinkle with fresh chopped chives.



These potatoes are a nice twist on the traditional favorite. The flavor is amazing, and it's so much easier to pop these in the crockpot while you do the rest of your Thanksgiving cooking. I usually put them in the crockpot at around 7 or 8 in the morning, so that they are ready to eat by 2, when we eat. I have also prepared them the night before, then put them, crockpot dish and all, into the fridge overnight. Then I put them back into the crockpot cooker on low or keep warm for a couple hours until heated through. Just don't put the melted butter and chives on until right before you are about to serve them.

Crockpot Peking Pork Chops

Makes 6 Servings

6 boneless pork chops, 1" thick
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup ketchup
1/8 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder


Directions:

Place pork chops in greased crockpot. Combine brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, ketchup, hoisin sauce, worcestershire, garlic and seasonings in a bowl and mix well. Pour over meat in crockpot and cook on low for 5 hours, or until tender. Season with extra salt and pepper if desired. Serve over noodles or rice.



These pork chops are so tender and moist and just plain old delicious. My husband requests these often, and we usually eat ours over egg noodles or plain steamed rice. Sometimes my husband will fry up some plain rice and we'll eat it on that...the kids love it. 5 hours is exactly perfect for my crockpot--not too tender so they're stringy and falling apart, but not too tough either.

Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

Makes 6 Servings

6 baking potatoes, washed, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 pound cooked or deli ham, cut into 1" pieces
1 can corn, drained
2 tsp. instant minced onion
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups shredded cheese
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper

Directions:

In greased crockpot, combine potatoes, ham, corn and onion and mix well. In a small bowl, combine soup, milk, seasonings and flour and beat with whisk until smooth. Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese. Pour soup mixture over ham and potato mixture and stir gently to mix. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover until melted.



This is another easy crockpot meal that everyone loves. You can substitute the veggies for any other veggie you like, or omit them altogether. I have used leftover dinner ham before, but in a pinch, the deli ham is easily accessible and just as tasty! I have also used other condensed soup if I am out of the cheese one. Cream of chicken is just as good, in my opinion! If you like yours creamier, you can always add a bit more milk. Seasonings are according to preference. I always have to taste and sprinkle at the end, just before spreading the cheese on top, to be sure it's seasoned enough.

White Chicken Chili

Makes 6-8 Servings

3-4 cups cooked, cubed or shredded chicken
6 cans Great Northern or Navy beans
6 cans White Kidney beans (Canellini)
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
1 can green chilies
2 - 16oz. sour cream
2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder


Directions:

Put all ingredients in a crockpot and stir until well mixed. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Taste and add more seasonings if needed. Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips and shredded or nacho cheese.



This is my favorite white chili recipe. I have tried several other ones and they are all delicious as well, but the added tomatoes in this recipe and the combination of ingredients is delicious. We always sprinkle shredded cheese on top or stir in nacho cheese and scoop the chili out with tortilla chips. I love this!