Crock pot dinner suggestions?

[The Old School JPS]

I'm looking to help out with dinners more at the house. I'd love to be able to start it up in the morning and come home to a decent meal for which most of the work is already done.

Any suggestions for using a crock pot for making dinner that way?

[Matt Dillon]

It sounds as if you're looking for something that is quick and easy to prepare. You can purchase crock pot meals in a bag. All you have to do is put them in and time does the rest. Some are complete meals, while others require you to purchase the meat seperately. I've tried some of them, and found them to be quite satisfactory.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Matt is right they have those crock pot meals already in a bag for you.....they are pretty good I had them quite often during many softball seasons when we were always on the go

or sometime I put some boneless chicken breasts in there with a can of cream of chicken soup add some potatoes..salt and pepper.....then when we get home it is ready..I usuallyt have salad and another veggie

[misterbluecat]

Get a roast, season it the way you want, toss in some small taters and other veggies, let it cook all day then eat it when you get home. I do this about once a week so I don't have to bother cooking in the evening.

[capcat]

JPS, I like to cook that way, too. I cook meat in the crockpot, something like seasoned chicken breasts, a roast, browned pork chops with some bbq sauce on them, etc.

To go with that, I buy fresh vegetables and cook them separately. Usually broccoli, asparagus (when I can afford it), summer or winter squash, brussel sprouts, green beans, kale or carrots. I clean and trim them as soon as I get home from the grocery store so they're ready to be steamed (or roasted in the oven) without any other prep when I get home from work during the week. If roasted, I do them together in the oven, tossed with some olive oil, kosher salt and garlic. If I buy fresh corn, I shuck it when I get home from the store so it's ready to season and wrap in foil, then cook in the oven when I'm ready. I have given up most of the sides like potatoes, rice, pasta in favor of two fresh vegetables because it's easier for me and probably healthier, too. We have crusty sourdough or whole wheat rolls with it, and olive oil for dipping. It's easy and easy clean up.

For a whole meal in the crockpot, I usually make something like chili, white or brown beans, vegetable soup or beef stew... Served with crackers, or corn bread, depending on the dish. I fix cornbread the night before. Somehow it doesn't seem as labor intensive if I make it ahead of time and heat in the microwave for that night's dinner.

There are crock pot cookbooks with other ideas, but I find it's more expensive to cook some of their recipes with lots of ingredients. Speaking of expense though, I bought a slowcooker from Williams Sonoma with a removable, nonstick insert that can be put directly on the stove for browning and then put in the crockpot for the rest of the cooking. The insert can be put in the dishwasher for cleaning afterwards. I don't know that I'd invest in that myself, but had a gift card that I applied towards the purchase. It's nice.

[UKhoov]

You can actually make some very good pulled BBQ Pork in a crock pot. I have done it several times myself. Yous should find an easy recipe on the web just about anywhere.

www.foodtv.com (http://www.foodtv.com)

[surveyor]

Get a roast, season it the way you want, toss in some small taters and other veggies, let it cook all day then eat it when you get home. I do this about once a week so I don't have to bother cooking in the evening.

JPS, I like to cook that way, too. I cook meat in the crockpot, something like seasoned chicken breasts, a roast, browned pork chops with some bbq sauce on them, etc.

To go with that, I buy fresh vegetables and cook them separately. Usually broccoli, asparagus (when I can afford it), summer or winter squash, brussel sprouts, green beans, kale or carrots. I clean and trim them as soon as I get home from the grocery store so they're ready to be steamed (or roasted in the oven) without any other prep when I get home from work during the week. If roasted, I do them together in the oven, tossed with some olive oil, kosher salt and garlic. If I buy fresh corn, I shuck it when I get home from the store so it's ready to season and wrap in foil, then cook in the oven when I'm ready. I have given up most of the sides like potatoes, rice, pasta in favor of two fresh vegetables because it's easier for me and probably healthier, too. We have crusty sourdough or whole wheat rolls with it, and olive oil for dipping. It's easy and easy clean up.

For a whole meal in the crockpot, I usually make something like chili, white or brown beans, vegetable soup or beef stew... Served with crackers, or corn bread, depending on the dish. I fix cornbread the night before. Somehow it doesn't seem as labor intensive if I make it ahead of time and heat in the microwave for that night's dinner.

There are crock pot cookbooks with other ideas, but I find it's more expensive to cook some of their recipes with lots of ingredients. Speaking of expense though, I bought a slowcooker from Williams Sonoma with a removable, nonstick insert that can be put directly on the stove for browning and then put in the crockpot for the rest of the cooking. The insert can be put in the dishwasher for cleaning afterwards. I don't know that I'd invest in that myself, but had a gift card that I applied towards the purchase. It's nice.

You can actually make some very good pulled BBQ Pork in a crock pot. I have done it several times myself. Yous should find an easy recipe on the web just about anywhere.


I agree with the above and we've routinely prepared many of these recipes or similar.

I'd add that country style pork ribs or baby back ribs are excellent in a crock pot as well. Just add some quartered onions, dry rubs to taste and about half cup of your favorite bbq sauce or your own recipe.
Swiss steak is also excellent with carrots, tomatoes and onion quarters as well.
Chicken and dumplings are also good crock pot fare.

We've tried the processed frozen bag crock pot meals and many are very, very good, but as with all processed foods some can be high in sodium. The bagged stuff is smaller portion as well, so if you need it to last more than a few days you may want to buy extra.

[UKcat]

Buy a boneless pork loin when they are on sale; cut it in half if need be and freeze the other half for later. I coat it all over with a good dry rub spice mix; add a little lime juice and cook on high all day. When I get home I either slice it (usually falls apart when trying to slice), or I just pull it apart with forks and serve with vegetables or chips. Makes great sandwiches or goes well as the entree for your meal.

[capcat]

With the pork, I'd break my potato ban and make a big bowl of potato salad on a Sunday, put ribs, or other pork cut, in one crockpot and brown beans in another on Monday morning. Dinner would be ready to serve when everyone got home and enough for Tuesday, too. For brown or white beans, I season with chicken boullion instead of salt pork or bacon like people used to. With enough other spices added, it tastes just as good and with no fat.

[surveyor]

Don't forget offerings such as Gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee and other creole offerings. Those are excellent prepared in a crockpot as well.:thumbup:

[TrueblueCATfan]

Crock Pot Classics has a new Chicken Noodle soup out that is pretty darn good if I say so myself:thumbup:

[WILD1]

Crockpots make the task so much easier and let me applaud you for helping out...good for you! :thumbup: However, it's currently too hot for crockpot food! Wait till Sept/Oct for that sort of hearty fare and till then, grill, grill, grill! :beer:

[capcat]

JPS, another idea is slow cooked lasagna. I've never tried to make that, but have seen recipes. I'm sure you could find a recipe online if your family likes lasagna. I'm guessing you'd use the 'no-cook" pasta. That and a salad would make a nice meal and lunches for the next day.

[The Old School JPS]

You all are the best. I'm encouraged and eager to try some of these great ideas. Thanks a ton!

[freethrow]

Being a bachelor for much of my life I have used the crock pot method loads of times. This is about my favorite method and one of the simplest.

One of the great things about Crock Pots is the long slow cooking allows you to not have to buy a more expensive cut of meat to get a good result. The key is to allow more heat or more time if the cut is rather thick or you can cut it into pieces no more than an inch to an inch and a half thick. Thicker can be fine with the right amount of time/heat per cut of meat, but even a cheap chuck roast can come out good too with less heat/time.

The trick I found is that it is a good idea to sear as much exposed area of the meat as you can the night before. Sear to where it is browned pretty darn good. I salt and pepper and sometimes a little garlic salt too before searing.

After searing allow to cool a bit and then pop in the fridge til morning. Also the night before I would peel and cut up about 4-6 medium potatoes. 3-4 medium size onions. The chunks I like are usually around golf ball size in mass or just a bit bigger. Cut up 3 stalks of celery (optional) into 4 inch lengths. Rinse and check a 1 pound bag of baby carrots or do the extra work and use full size carrots if you wish and get them cut into appropriate pieces.

Place all of your veggies in a large container and be certain the potatoes are covered with water or you are likely to see gray ones in the morning. It doesn't hurt to put a teaspoon of lemon juice in the water because it lessens the tendency for the potatoes to color on you.. It also doesn't hurt to have "all" the veggies covered but certainly the potatoes. Just putting the others into large ziplocks for the night is a good option if you wish.

In the Morning fill your crock pot, hopefully yours is a normal or large size and not one of the small ones, fill about half full with water. Stop by the spice section the day before and pick up two foil packs of Au Jus mix. You can use instead of the Au Jus some Beef Bullion to taste if you wish. Take a drinking glass, plastic is best, and fill half way with water. Dump your Au Jus in that and stir for a few minutes with a fork or whatever. Dump this into the crock pot.

Place a few chunks of your onion and carrots on the bottom of the pot but no more than 1 chunk deep. Place your meat on top of this. Put the rest of your onions on top of the meat. I usually add about 4 cloves of garlic too but that is optional. Place your celery and the rest of your veggies in. You can add a bay leaf or two to this as well but I like it without them myself.

At this point be sure that all veggies are just barely covered with liquid. Don't worry about the liquid being gone when you come home. Just leave it on high and go shower and get ready for work. But, it is important that before you leave for work to lower the temp to medium and that the crock pot is covered. You may even want to lay a towel underneath the crock pot if you have it pretty full so it can catch any possible spillage?

I love to have a nice loaf of more rustic French Style bread with this when I eat but biscuits etc can work too. Popping a few ears of Corn on the Cob in a pot at a hard boil for about 20 minutes is a nice addition too. A few slices of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers on the side make this meal over to top. To make it REALLY over the top, bake a nice black berry cobbler the night before too. Nuke it a bit to warm up and serve with ice cream. yummmmmm. :)

Edit: I forgot to mention that if you use a cheaper cut of meat to be sure and trim off as much of the excess fat on the meat as possible. Of course if you have one of those things you can fill with broth and pour the fat off the top easily it probably doesn't matter or you can dip it off the top by hand too I guess. I just like to keep excess fat out of the equation where I can. :) Wish I had one of these. Lets you pour the broth out the bottom leaving the fat.

http://1tess.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/lots-of-fat_7884.jpg?w=300&h=225

[MercerTitans]

Never a bad time for crockpot food IMO, regardless of time of year.

Two of my favorites are swiss steak and country-style ribs. For the swiss steak I slice a couple of large onions and layer the bottom of the crock pot with them. Lay several slices of lean round steak on top and cover with a can of tomato sauce and a diced carrot. Let it cook all day. Fix some mashed taters or rice and smother it with the meat & gravy. For the ribs I first empty a bag of kraut into the crock pot and lay the country style ribs on top. Slice four Granny Smith apples into quarters, season with a little salt and pepper, and let it cook all day. Fry up some cornbread and it makes a helluva tasty supper!

[Blue Heaven]

Crockpots make the task so much easier and let me applaud you for helping out...good for you! :thumbup: However, it's currently too hot for crockpot food! Wait till Sept/Oct for that sort of hearty fare and till then, grill, grill, grill! :beer:
This is exactly what I do. Crocpot meals, soups, stews and Chili are better for the cooler months, IMO. I'm a grillin' fool from spring to fall.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Never a bad time for crockpot food IMO, regardless of time of year.

Two of my favorites are swiss steak and country-style ribs. For the swiss steak I slice a couple of large onions and layer the bottom of the crock pot with them. Lay several slices of lean round steak on top and cover with a can of tomato sauce and a diced carrot. Let it cook all day. Fix some mashed taters or rice and smother it with the meat & gravy. For the ribs I first empty a bag of kraut into the crock pot and lay the country style ribs on top. Slice four Granny Smith apples into quarters, season with a little salt and pepper, and let it cook all day. Fry up some cornbread and it makes a helluva tasty supper!
wow that sounds pretty good I might try that tomorrow

[UK Chic]

JPS, another idea is slow cooked lasagna. I've never tried to make that, but have seen recipes. I'm sure you could find a recipe online if your family likes lasagna. I'm guessing you'd use the 'no-cook" pasta. That and a salad would make a nice meal and lunches for the next day.

Anyone know how to make this??

[surveyor]

Anyone know how to make this??

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,crock_pot_lasagna,FF.html

http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotsausagerecipes/r/bl121c22.htm

My wife finds numerous great recipes on this site. She typically looks for the ones that have been rated by numerous people (at least 50 or more) and at least 4 stars or better:

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=crock%20pot%20lasagna

[UK Chic]

Awesome - thanks!!

[CATHYnKY]

Never a bad time for crockpot food IMO, regardless of time of year.

Two of my favorites are swiss steak and country-style ribs. For the swiss steak I slice a couple of large onions and layer the bottom of the crock pot with them. Lay several slices of lean round steak on top and cover with a can of tomato sauce and a diced carrot. Let it cook all day. Fix some mashed taters or rice and smother it with the meat & gravy. For the ribs I first empty a bag of kraut into the crock pot and lay the country style ribs on top. Slice four Granny Smith apples into quarters, season with a little salt and pepper, and let it cook all day. Fry up some cornbread and it makes a helluva tasty supper!

These are good meals. I do the country ribs with onions and garlic. When I get home, take them out and then throw on the grill with some BarBQ sauce. Just takes long enough to get the Q a little crispy and hot. Also had a great meatloaf recipe for it.