Crockpot Tater Tot Sloppy Joe Casserole ***

This was better than I thought it would be. I am generally not a big Sloppy Joe fan, but I am a HUGE tater tot fan (as I might have mentioned once or twice on here 😉). I figured that would be enough to keep my interest. And I was right! This was not bland at all, which can be a problem with crockpot tater tot meals. I used some frozen ground turkey that I had on hand, so I just skipped the first step and mixed everything together in the pot. I also subbed pinto beans for the kidney beans, since Hubs is pretty anti-kidney.  It was all great, though. The kids loved it. I will definitely make again!

CROCKPOT TATER TOT SLOPPY JOE CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ TammiLeeTips)

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 c tomato sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 can red kidney beans
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 bag tater tots, frozen

Brown beef with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and mustard to the beef mixture. Mix well.
Add the kidney beans
Spray the inside bowl of the slow cooker with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper
Place a layer of tater tots on the bottom of the bowl
Cover with the beef mixture
Place another layer of tater tots on top of the beef mixture.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel, and place the lid over that.
Cook on high for 4 hours
In the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and sprinkle on the cheese. Replace lid and continue cooking until the cheese is melted and gooey.
When serving, garnish with a dollop of sour cream or ketchup if you prefer.
*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I subbed pinto beans for the kidney and ground turkey for the beef.

All-In-One Crockpot Chicken with Rice and Brussels Sprouts *

This was just disgusting. The chicken had zero flavor (which I should have known, but I must have totally been off my rocker that day). I coated it well with rotisserie rub, but you honestly couldn't taste it at all. The sprouts were decent but bland. The rice was just kind of there. I mean, it was kind of mushy, with no flavor whatsoever. We love sprouts, but this is something I will never be making again.

ALL-IN-ONE CROCKPOT CHICKEN WITH RICE AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS
(KathEats)

1 cup long grain brown rice
4.5 cups water
2 large chicken breasts, herbed to your liking with rosemary, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper
1 pound of Brussels sprouts, halved (or any vegetables you like!)

Layer as listed above and cook on high for 4 hours.
I enjoyed mine with a dollop of Greek yogurt on the side. We ate all of the chicken but had plenty of rice + sprouts to save for a side dish the next night.

One Skillet Sausage and White Bean Gnocchi **

This was my first attempt at making anything with gnocchi at home. We love the Olive Garden gnocchi soup, so I knew we'd eventually need something for that at home as well. I'm WAY behind on my reviews, so when I made the recipe, it was way too hot for the soup. This seemed like a good way to incorporate it into our meal plan. We did all like it a lot. The gnocchi didn't quite soften up like it should have, though. I don't have a Dutch Oven, so I cooked it on the stove in my regular skillet and then transferred it to a 9x13 baking dish to put it in the oven. That could have had something to do with it, I guess. Anyway, we did like it, but I don't know that I would bother with this exact recipe again. I'm usually pretty busy in the evenings, so this takes a little more prep work that I prefer, unless it's a phenomenal dish that we all are crazy about. I doubt I'll be making it again.

ONE SKILLET SAUSAGE AND WHITE BEAN GNOCCHI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ ChelseasMessyApron)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 package (13 ounces) Butterball Hardwood Smoked Turkey Sausage
1/4 cup water or chicken broth
1 can (14.5 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika optional
Seasoned salt and pepper
1 can (15 ounces) white kidney or cannellini beans
1 package (16 ounces) gnocchi
1 and 1/2 cups fresh spinach ~4-5 ounces
1/2 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: fresh parsley

Move a rack in your oven to the upper third of the oven and then preheat to 425 degrees F.
Put a large oven-safe skillet (I use a 12 inch lodge dutch oven skillet), on the stove at medium-high heat. Pour in the olive oil.
Add in the chopped onion and stir until the onion is transparent -- about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.
Coin the turkey sausage and add to the skillet. Cook over high heat until lightly browned or about 3-4 minutes.
Add in the water or broth, undrained Italian diced tomatoes, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, paprika, seasoned salt and pepper, THOROUGHLY rinsed, drained, and dried cannellini beans, and uncooked gnocchi. Stir until everything is well combined. Gently stir in the spinach and make sure it's covered with liquid.
Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and place in the oven.
Bake for 17-22 minutes. If desired, turn on the broiler and then broil for another 2-3 minutes for a delicious crispy top.
Remove from the heat, top with additional salt, pepper, and some chopped fresh parsley if desired. Enjoy immediately.

Mexican Cream Cheese Crockpot Chicken ***

Well, I just now noticed, while typing up this post, that I put the cream cheese in at the beginning instead of waiting until the end.  Honestly, I see no reason to wait.  It didn't curdle, and letting it cook with the ingredients the entire time lets it soak up more of the juices.  But I don't really think it matters either way.  I chose it off Pinterest because of the short list of ingredients and quick preparation.  I also liked that it closely resembles Crockpot Taco Soup, which is one of my most favorite winter-time comfort foods.  Considering it's the middle of a heat-ravaged summer, I couldn't possibly go the soup route, so this was a nice way of *almost* having it. 😉

I did double the recipe, but I think that it would be better to do more like 1.5 times the amounts. We wrapped ours up in tortillas, burrito-style, and filled them with lettuce and tomatoes and such.  The original recipe mentioned having it over rice, which would be really good in cold weather.  But whatever you choose, this sucker was a big winner for us!

MEXICAN CREAM CHEESE CROCKPOT CHICKEN
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ GonnaWantSeconds)

4 Chicken Breast Halves, Boneless and Skinless
1 (15 Ounce) Can Black Beans, Drained
1 (7 Ounce) Can Ortega Chiles, Chopped
1 (15.5 Ounces ) Can Diced Tomatoes, Undrained
1 (8 Ounces) Can Corn, Drained
1 (6 Ounces) Can Black Olives, Drained
1 Small Yellow Onion, Chopped
1 Envelope Taco Seasoning
8 Ounces Cream Cheese, Cubed

Add all ingredients to crock pot EXCEPT cream cheese.
Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8 hours or until chicken is extremely tender.
Remove chicken and shred. Add back to crock pot. Add cream cheese, cover and continue to cook on high for 30 minutes.  Stir well and serve with tortillas or over rice.

*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I doubled the recipe and added the cream cheese at the beginning.

Mexican Spaghetti ****

Back when I still had "little" boys (sniff, sniff 😢), they loved watching iCarly.  On the show, one of their favorite dishes was Spaghetti Tacos.  So after listening to my kids beg relentlessly for Spaghetti Tacos, I finally created a recipe for them.  And they loved it.  Six years later, they still do.  Well, the hubs and I never really wanted to waste the extra carbs with noodles and shells, so we compromised and ate ours without the shells.  And so was born this Mexican Spaghetti.  To this day, we still eat ours this way.  We top it with lots of lettuce and sour cream and black olives.  Sometimes salsa.  It's a pretty forgiving recipe, but it's so, SO good!

MEXICAN SPAGHETTI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup water
1 jar Sauteed Onion and Mushroom spaghetti sauce
1 box spaghetti noodles
Salsa, optional
Cheddar cheese, optional
Lettuce, optional
Black olives, optional

Prepare noodles according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.
Brown meat in pan until no longer pink; drain.  Add taco seasoning and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until sauce thickens.  Add spaghetti sauce and cook until warmed.  Add to noodles and mix thoroughly.
Add taco toppings to each serving as desired.
Very messy, but very yummy!

Crack Slaw (Low Carb) ***

I made a few alterations on this one, but the overall principle is good.  First off, I used a lot more soy sauce.  It was extremely bland.  Second, the 2 tsp of red pepper flakes is just too much for me.  I knew that when I put them in, and I definitely regretted it afterwards.  The rest of the family loved the heat.  Me, not so much.  Finally, one of the many times that I was adding more soy sauce, I accidentally grabbed the Worcestershire.  Oddly enough, it added a whole new dimension to the flavor, and we loved it!  I want to try more recipes likes this before I decide on our final winner, but this one most definitely has possibilities.

CRACK SLAW (LOW CARB)
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ MandyJo.com)

2 lbs. ground beef or turkey (your choice on meat)
2 bags classic cole slaw mix
4 green onions, chopped
3 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tsp ground ginger
*Optional add a single serve packet of Splenda.

Ground hamburger in pan as you normally would. Drain excess fat after cooking and set hamburger aside.
In separate pan, put sesame oil, soy sauce, chopped up green onion and chopped up garlic together and stir fry until tender.
Add cole slaw mix, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger and cook until mostly tender.
Add browned hamburger to the pan with the rest of the ingredients and stir. Can add more soy sauce to taste.
*luckymommy/Amy's notes: Use the Splenda.  Add way more soy sauce.  Add a touch of Worcester.

Slow Cooker Pork Gyros with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce ***

We tried our very first gyros this past January on a trip to a school competition in another city.  We all absolutely fell in love.  Since then, we've tried a couple of other places, but we've never found one that we loved as much as that first place.  So when I came across this recipe on Pinterest, I knew that I had to see if it would work for us.  While this one didn't blow our minds like that first place did, it definitely came in pretty high on the list.  The 11-year-old wanted to have it again the next night. 😂 I didn't go for that one, but I do see us having this again soon.  It's fairly simple, in comparison to other recipes out there, and I was at least able to throw together everything on my lunch break, which is one of my big requirements for most of our meals, lol.  I'm not much of a fan of cucumbers, but even this tzatziki sauce was pretty good.  I think I want to shred the cucumber for it next time, though.  Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing!

SLOW COOKER PORK GYROS WITH CUCUMBER YOGURT SAUCE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ 365DaysOfCrockpot)

FOR PORK
3 pounds pork sirloin tip roast
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 large lemon, juiced
Lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sliced grape tomatoes, for serving

FOR TZATZIKI SAUCE
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup diced cucumber, seeded and diced into tiny pieces
1 tablespoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

FOR PORK
Place pork, onion, garlic, oil, oregano, allspice, lemon pepper and lemon juice into slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (if it’s frozen it will be like 8-10 hours)
Remove lid. Using tongs remove the pork and place on a cutting board. Shred or slice the pork and place back into the slow cooker.
Serve the pork and onions on the top of pita bread with Tzatziki sauce, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes.

FOR TZATZIKI SAUCE
Combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt and garlic in medium bowl. Stir until creamy and combined.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with gyros.

Crockpot Mississippi Chicken Thighs ****

We're big fans of the Crockpot Mississippi Roast, and we all love us some chicken thighs.  When this one popped up on my Pinterest board, it was basically a no-brainer that I would have to try it.  And I am so very glad that I did!  We all practically inhaled our dinner plates.  It was that good.  My local grocery store very rarely has the Au Jus packets, so I typically just use the brown gravy ones.  The Au Jus is definitely my preference when it's in stock, though.  There's nothing special about the recipe, but it's one of those that tastes like it takes a lot more effort than it actually does.  Always a good thing, lol.  I'm definitely going to be making this one again.  The kids have already requested that it go back on the menu for next week! 😊

CROCKPOT MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN THIGHS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ RecipesThatCrock)

3 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 envelope Ranch Dressing Mix
1 envelope Au Jus Gravy Mix or Brown Gravy Mix
1/2 Stick of Butter (1/4 Cup)
6 Pepperoncinis

Lay chicken thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Sprinkle mixes on top.
Slice butter and place evenly on top.
Add peppers.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.