Slow Cooker Cheesy Sausage and Veggie Pasta ***

We loved this so much!  Before you stir in the pasta, it sort of smells like one of my lentil recipes (which is a good thing!).  The cheese thoroughly breaks down during cooking, and it's just this yummy, creamy sauce.  The kids ate every bite, including all the vegetables!  Not only that, but they didn't see the vegetables as actual vegetables, so I got away with serving another veggie (broccoli) on the side!  Score!

SLOW COOKER CHEESY SAUSAGE AND VEGGIE PASTA
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ inspired by Fix-It-and-Forget-It)

2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup butter
2 cups shredded fiesta blend cheese (or your favorite cheese blend)
2 lbs kielbasa, sliced into quarters
1 cup onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
2 cups carrots, shredded
1 lb rotini pasta

Heat beef stock to boiling on stovetop.  Add in butter and stir until melted.
Add boiling stock to slow cooker.  Slowly whisk in flour until there are no clumps.  Add remaining ingredients except pasta.  Stir well until combined.
Cook on low 6 to 8 hours, until vegetables are soft and tender.
When finished cooking, prepare pasta as directed on box. Drain and mix into crockpot.  Stir gently until well mixed.
Serve warm.
Yield: 8 servings

Seven-Layer Casserole (Crockpot) **

We were super disappointed with this one.  The flavor was great.  No complaints there.  But it's like a soup.  You can't even tell that the rice used to be rice.  I've done lots of rice dishes in the past with no problems.  The few that gave us trouble just ended up with bloaty, mushy rice.  I can't even describe this, except to say that the rice just pretty much dissolved.  I scooped a full cup of extra juice out of the crock when I was serving.  Just a big mess.  We ate it, since the flavor was okay, but I wouldn't make it again.

SEVEN-LAYER CASSEROLE (CROCKPOT)
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Fix-It-and-Forget-It)

1 cup uncooked rice
1 (12-oz) can whole-kernel corn, undrained
2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 lbs ground beef
6 to 8 slices lean bacon

Spread uncooked rice in bottom of slow cooker. Spoon corn with juice over rice.
Mix together tomato sauce, water, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Spoon half the tomato sauce mixture over corn. Sprinkle with onion and bell pepper.
Crumble uncooked ground beef over vegetables. Top with remaining tomato sauce mixture.
Cut bacon slice into fourth and arrange over top.
Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, until vegetables and beef are as tender as you like them. Uncover slow cooker during last 15 minutes of cooking time to crisp bacon.

Crockpot Angel Chicken Rotini****

Holy.freaking.cow.  This is dangerously delicious.  I based it off of our old favorite Angel Chicken recipe, but I made a few changes.  Screw the old recipe.  This new one is our go-to from now on.  The rotini soaks up the sauce beautifully, while still maintaining it's firmness.  My kids rarely ask for leftovers, but they are already asking if they can have the rest for lunch tomorrow!

CROCKPOT ANGEL CHICKEN ROTINI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

4 large uncooked chicken breasts (rotisserie chicken also works well)
1/2 cup butter
8 oz garden vegetable flavored cream cheese (chives and onions is also good)
2 (1-oz) packages dried Italian salad dressing mix
2 (10.75-oz) cans Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup
1 (14.5-oz) can chicken broth
1 container sliced fresh mushrooms
1-1/2 lbs rotini pasta (cook according to box directions)

Place the chicken in crock pot. Cube cream cheese and butter over chicken.  Pour in soup and broth, and then stir in the salad dressing and mushrooms.
Cook on low 5-6 hours.
While pasta cooks, shred chicken in crockpot.
Before serving, stir in cooked rotini pasta.

Crockpot Cajun Chicken Spaghetti ***

We loved this!  I based it off of a recipe on Tablespoon, but I made so many changes that would affect the end result (good or bad) that it felt wrong using their recipe here.  So anyway, this was great.  I will most definitely make it again.  Even the kids were begging for seconds.

CROCKPOT CAJUN CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ inspired by Tablespoon)

3-4 uncooked large chicken breasts, diced
1 lb turkey Polish sausage
30 oz reduced-fat Alfredo sauce
1 package frozen fajita blend green peppers, red peppers, and onions
28 oz fire-roasted diced tomatoes
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1 lb dried angelhair pasta

Combine all ingredients except pasta in crockpot.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
Follow directions on package for cooking pasta.  Drain and add to crockpot.
Stir until all noodles are covered.

Creamy Pineapple Dessert ***

I don't know what it is about summer, but I always crave pineapple-y things when it gets hot out.  Add in some nice creamy Cool Whip, and Amy is a happy girl.  This isn't a new recipe, but it's been a year or so since we've had it.  We love it every time.  Even hubby tried and loved it this time around, and he usually turns his nose up at these kinds of sweets.  I need to make it again soon.

Photo from Screaming Sardine

CREAMY PINEAPPLE DESSERT
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Screaming Sardine)

Large can of crushed pineapple and juice (can also substitute chunks)
Vanilla pudding mix – large box
Whipped topping – 8 ounces

Mix all of the ingredients together, including the juice in the can of pineapple. You can also add some
coconut if you’d like. Chill. Enjoy!

Previous posts:
4/29/12 ~ We loved this!  I threw it together in just a few minutes and let it chill for a couple hours.  The kids begged for seconds, lol.  It's nothing extraordinary, but after taking our evening walk, it was the perfect cool, creamy dessert to come home to. 

Slow Cooker King Ranch Chicken ***

We loved this!  It reminded me a lot of our long-time favorite Mexican Chicken recipe.  I didn't have any cooked chicken on hand, so I just grabbed a rotisserie chicken and used that.  I also forgot to drain the Rotel, but it didn't seem to matter.  Mine cooked on low for about 5.5 hours and was perfect.  Kind of makes me want to try the Mexican Chicken in the crockpot.  So good, though.  Seriously, I'd have had seconds if my tummy had room!

SLOW COOKER KING RANCH CHICKEN
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ SixSistersStuff)

14 ounces tortilla chips, white or yellow
5 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chilies, drain slightly (Rotel)
10.75 ounces cream of chicken soup
10.75 ounces cream of mushroom soup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican blend)
1 cup chicken broth

Spray slow cooker with non stick cooking spray.
Spread a layer of tortilla chips in the crock pot to cover the bottom. (It's ok if they are overlapping.)
In a medium sized bowl combine the chicken, diced tomatoes, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, garlic and onion.
Stir until combined.
Place half of the chicken mixture on top of the chips.
Then top with half of the cheese.
Then repeat layers on top of cheese...chips, chicken mixture and cheese.
Cook on low for about 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
Serve with extra tortilla chips.

Slow Cooker Mexican Hashbrown Casserole ***

This doesn't really seem like it should work, but it just does.  I actually used a bigger bag of hashbrowns, and I didn't even thaw them.  It was totally fine.  In actuality, they probably held up better from frozen than they would have from thawed.  There wasn't too much liquid in it or anything.  I'll do it that way again.  For the onion and peppers, I just used a frozen fajita blend (also not thawed).  I don't like regular stewed tomatoes, so I went with petite diced.  I'm thinking I might try it with Rotel in place of the tomatoes and chilies sometime.  It was all great, though.  The hubs and kids bragged on it quite a bit!

SLOW COOKER MEXICAN HASHBROWN CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ SixSistersStuff)

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 package taco seasoning
4 oz cream cheese
1 (16 oz) package frozen hashbrowns
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Place the hashbrowns in a bowl with half of the chopped red pepper, half of the chopped green pepper, half of the onion, and 1 cup of the cheese. Add 1 tbsp of the taco seasoning mix from the package and toss everything together. Set aside.
Saute the ground beef, onions, and reserved peppers in a large non-stick pan over medium high heat until the ground beef is cooked through and the vegetables are soft.
Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the remaining taco seasoning, green chilies, and stewed tomatoes.
Stir in the cream cheese.
Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Spread 1/2 of the hash brown mixture onto the bottom, layer half of the ground beef mixture, a half cup of the remaining cheddar cheese, the second half of the potatoes, the last half of the ground beef, and the last half cup of cheese.
Cook on the low setting for 4-6 hours.
Top with tomatoes, avocados, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, and any other toppings you love!
*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I used a frozen fajita blend for the peppers and onion and didn't thaw the potatoes.  It cooked perfectly at 6 hours on low.

Apple Pie Bubble-Up ****

This.was.phenomenal.  It's some kind of crazy mix-up of cinnamon rolls and apple dumplings.  I doubled the recipe and still used a 9x13.  We needed to feed more than 8, so I thought I'd better be on the safe side.  I just added an extra 10 minutes on to the cook time.  It was absolutely perfect.  There were two tiny pieces left afterwards, and I let the kids have them for breakfast.  Just as good reheated!

The butterscotch chips added an extra little level of flavor, but it honestly would have been just as good without them.  I may try it with halving them next time and eventually try it without them in there at all.  I also wonder how it would be with caramel chips.  Or with using peaches instead of apples.  The possibilities are endless!

We were in such a rush to eat it all at our 4th of July get-together that I didn't get to take a pick.  I'll have to do that next time.

APPLE PIE BUBBLE-UP
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ PlainChicken)

1 (12-oz) can refrigerated Pillsbury Grands Jr biscuits (10 count)
1 (21-oz) can apple pie filling
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine apple pie filling, cinnamon and butterscotch chips. Using a spatula, chop up apple slices into bite-sized pieces. Cut biscuits into 4 pieces. Stir into apple mixture.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes. Combine powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over baked casserole.
Yield: Serves 8
*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I doubled the entire recipe and put it in a 9x13. I then added on an extra 10 minutes of cook time. Next time, I'll cut the butterscotch in half.