Barbecued Pork Pot Pie ****

This is one of our very favorite recipes, but since it's kind of time-consuming, I tend to only make it every now and then.  That makes it even more special to us.  :)  I normally use roasted red pepper in place of the chopped sweet red pepper, green chilies in place of the Anaheim pepper, and two boxes of Jiffy cornbread in place of the cornbread twists (we're big Jiffy fans, lol).  I usually put the pork in the crockpot that morning, and then it's ready to shred by suppertime.  This makes a full 9x13, with plenty left over for lunches.  We could easily make it last for two suppers, but I don't like leftovers, other than lunch time.  I'm picky that way, lol.  The kids even loved it.  My 10-year-old actually tried to talk me into letting him have thirds!

BARBECUED PORK POT PIE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Taste of Home)

1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 large Anaheim pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 can (14-1/2 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 bottle (12 oz) chili sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 square (1 oz) unsweetened chocolate, grated
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 cups cubed cooked pork loin roast (2 lbs)
1 tube (11-1/2 oz) refrigerated corn bread twists

In a large nonstick skillet, sauté the onion, celery, pepper, and garlic in oil until tender. Add cumin and coriander and cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add vinegar and cook for 2 minutes.
Set aside 1/2 cup broth. Add chili sauce, brown sugar, chocolate, Worcestershire sauce and remaining broth to the vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine cornstarch and reserved broth until smooth and add to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in pork. Transfer to a 13x9x2 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.
Roll out corn bread dough and cut into strips. Twist and place over filling in a lattice design. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Yield: 12 servings
** Amy’s notes: I couldn’t find the refrigerated corn bread twists, so I just mixed up two boxes of Jiffy cornbread and poured over the top in a criss-cross design. I also used a jar of roasted red pepper in place of the sweet red pepper and chopped green chilies in place of the Anaheim pepper.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff ***

This was super simple but still pretty yummy.  I added a carton of mushrooms, and I would highly recommend that.  The really add a lot to the flavor, in my opinion.  Hubby and the kids loved it, but hubby said it seemed like it was missing something that he couldn't put his finger on.  I used whole wheat noodles, so I'm sure that was part of it.  Maybe I'll use a bit more worchestershire next time.  The directions say to brown the meat and cook the onions, but I just dumped everything (except the noodles) directly into the pot.  I cooked on high for 2 hours and low for 2 hours.  I did use a kind of meat labeled carne pasada.  Loved it.  Will do that from now on.  It's just little strips of meat, but since my only complaint with stroganoff is the beef chunks, they are the perfect solution for me!

CROCK POT BEEF STROGANOFF
(luckmommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ EazyPeazyMealz)

8 ounces cream cheese
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 cup milk
1 tsp garlic salt
1 lb beef stew meat
1 large onion
1 package egg noodles

Start by chopping up your onion, and putting it in fry pan with your stew meat.
Season with the garlic salt.
Cook just until the onion starts to get translucent and meat is browned on outside, but not cooked through.
Mix together milk, mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, and cream cheese. Stir well so not too lumpy.
Put sauce mixture and meat and onions in crock pot, put lid on, and cook on low for 4-6 hours. You can stir occasionally.
Just before finished, boil water and cook noodles according to package directions.
When noodles are cooked through, and drained, stir into crock pot. Let sit about 5 minutes, then serve.
*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I added a carton of mushrooms and just mixed all ingredients except noodles directly into the crockpot, without browning the meat.

Creamy Mushroom Chicken (Crockpot) ***

We just love this one.  It's been several years since I've made it, though.  I have no idea why, since it's so darn easy, and the kids just love it.  My stores never carry jars of the mushroom gravy, so I just use two packets of the dry mushroom gravy mix and then put it and the required two cups of water directly into the crockpot. After the chicken is done cooking, I shred it and put it back in the gravy.  I then cook a bag of egg noodles and add them directly to the crockpot.  I also like to sprinkle a little shredded cheddar on each serving.  Really good comfort food.  The chicken totally takes on the flavor of the gravy, so there's lots of flavor in each bite.  The chicken stays amazingly tender and didn't even dry up the time that I put it in frozen and cooked it for 8 hours.  This would be a perfect weekend lunch for us.  It's great as a supper, but it's just so convenient for everyone to be able to grab a quick bowl when they're ready to eat.  Simple!

CREAMY MUSHROOM CHICKEN
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ from "Fix It and Forget It")

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
12 oz jar mushroom gravy
1 c milk
8 oz pkg cream cheese, cubed
4-1/2 oz can chopped green chilies
1 pkg dry Italian salad dressing

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
Cover. Cook on Low 6 hours.
Serve over noodles or rice.
* Amy's notes: I mix two packets of dry gravy mix and two cups of water along with the other ingredients, except for the chicken, into the crockpot.  I stir until mixed well, and then add the chicken.  I've also subbed frozen b/s chicken breasts and then upped the time to 8 hours.  I like to shred the chicken after it's cooked and add cooked egg noodles to the crock.  I then sprinkle a little shredded cheddar on each serving.

Crockpot Texas Hash ***

Loved this one again.  We haven't had it in a while, so I thought I'd pop it back into the rotation.  Definitely still a winner.  I do think, though, that I'd like to add a bit more rice next time. Maybe even double it.  Just to break up the meat a bit.  This time, I used a frozen fajita blend with green peppers, red peppers, and onions, and then I threw in a can of corn as well.  I didn't bother cooking it with the meat beforehand, though.  I just threw it all in the crockpot together.  I need to do this one again soon, just to see how the rice thing does.  I'm curious now. :-)

CROCKPOT TEXAS HASH
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar.com)

2 lbs lean ground beef or venison
2 medium onions, diced (1-1/2 cups)
2 green bell peppers or red bell peppers, diced (1-1/2 cups)
2 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup water
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or grated (3/4 cup) (optional)
1/4 cup sliced spring onion (optional)

Brown ground beef, breaking meat into small pieces, cooking until pink disappears from meat.
Pour into colander and drain.
Place cooked meat and all other ingredients into crock pot and stir thoroughly.
Cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 6-8 hours. (If you can still see individual grains of rice, keep cooking it until they disappear.)
Sprinkle cheese and spring onions over each serving, if desired.
* Amy's notes: I subbed fire-roasted diced tomatoes, instant brown rice, ground turkey, and a frozen stir-fry mix.  I cooked the stir-fry veggies in the pan with the turkey, and I only had to cook in the crock for 4-5 hours.


Previous Posts:
4/5/10 ~ Oh my goodness, this was so good!  I sent some home with my mom, just because I couldn't believe how good it was, lol.  I used ground turkey, as always.  I also subbed fire-roasted diced tomatoes, just because we prefer them, and instant brown rice, because that's all I had.  After cooking the turkey, I added frozen chopped onion and a frozen stir-fry mix (green peppers, red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and snap peas) to the pan and let them cook until softened.  I then drained everything and added it to the crock.  Because I had already semi-cooked the veggies and used instant rice, mine only cooked for about 4-5 hours on low before it was done.  I added a little bit of shredded cheese to each serving.  This will definitely be a keeper for us!

Slow Cooker Bacon Ranch Chicken and Pasta ***

This was the second time I made this one, and I made so many changes that it's just easier for me to post the recipe as I did it.  The original recipe is in the link under the title, though.  I definitely did not come up with this amazing dish, so I want to give credit where credit is due. :-)

We loved it even more the second time.  It's just so simple to throw together.  It makes a ton, so you can easily halve the recipe for a smaller crock.  I always make extras so that we have enough for lunches or a weekend meal.  The addition of mushrooms this time around was just an afterthought to use up some that I had on hand, but I will never make it without them again!  Canned mushrooms wouldn't be the same, though, so if you don't have fresh on hand, I'd probably just leave them out.  I'm definitely making this again soon!

SLOW COOKER BACON RANCH CHICKEN AND PASTA
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ original recipe by FamilyFreshMeals)

4-5 chicken breasts, frozen
1 packet real bacon pieces
1 carton sliced fresh mushrooms
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (1 oz) packets dry ranch dressing mix
2 (10.75 oz) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup water
16 oz. angel hair spaghetti, cooked

Spray 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray; place chicken breasts in cooker.
Combine remaining ingredients (except pasta) on top of chicken and stir well.
Cook on low 6-7 hours (until chicken is fully cooked).  Shred chicken and combine well; stir in cooked pasta and serve warm.


Previous posts:
4/15/15 ~ This wowed all of us.  It's unbelievably quick to throw together, but it tastes like you spent longer.  I doubled the recipe so that we'd have enough leftovers for lunches, but it was a little too much.  I think next time I'll multiply it by 1.5 instead.  I used the real bacon pieces in place of strips of bacon, since that's what I had on hand.  I also went with angelhair pasta in place of spaghetti, because that's just our preference.  It seemed senseless to me to dirty an extra dish, so when I threw it all together, I put the chicken in the bottom of the crock and mixed the other ingredients right on top of it.  Worked out perfectly.  I'll definitely be making this one again.

Crockpot Pizza Tortellini ***

This was really good.  I have an old BBC recipe for Crockpot Pizza that we love, but as I was shopping for the ingredients, I decided to remake it into a tortellini dish.  The kids and I love tortellini, so when coupled with pizza, it was just bound to be a slam dunk.  I originally made it with more water and more tortellini, but I've lowered the amounts in the final recipe.  I used the frozen chopped peppers and onions.  You can obviously sub in ground beef.  Ground turkey is just our preference.  I definitely want to make this again!

CROCKPOT PIZZA TORTELLINI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

12-oz dried spinach and cheese tortellini, uncooked
1-1/2 lbs ground turkey, browned and drained
8-oz can sliced mushrooms
8-oz can sliced black olives
1 packet sliced pepperoni
3 (14-oz) jars pizza sauce
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced green pepper
14.5-oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
2 cups water (enough to cover the mixture)
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix all ingredients together in crockpot.
Cook on low 7 hours.
Top each serving with a sprinkle of mozzarella.
Serves 6-8