Crockpot Creamy Tamale Taco Soup

We opted not to go with the usual turkey or ham dinner for CHRISTmas, instead we went with a Mexican fiesta.The leftovers definitely taste much better after all. So now it's time to re-purpose those leftovers and since we finally have a cool day why not make a pot of soup...

 

2 lbs. taco ring filling

6 spicy tamales cut into small pieces

2 (10 oz) cans Ro-tel diced tomatoes & peppers; undrained (can use homemade if desired)

8 oz. softened cream cheese, cubed (or torn into small chunks)

1 & 1/3 cans chicken stock

 

In a 6qt. crock pot, combine all ingredients and stir lightly to mix. You want to avoid tearing your tamales into mush. Cover and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours. Serve with cornbread, tortilla chips or topped with sour cream.

 

 

Alternate: you can also add in a bit of cubed Velveeta cheese if you like a more cheesy soup.

 

Click HERE for printable recipe

 

 

Smells Like Spaghetti-O's

We had some errands to run this afternoon and I hadn't even thought about what to fix for dinner, so I made a quick run down of the pantry and freezer to see what I could throw together. I pulled out my trusty crockpot, dumped my ingredients in & said a quick prayer hoping that it would turn out ok. A few hours later we arrived back home and my bofriend says, "Man it smells like spaghetti-o's in here..." Since I really didn't have a name for my dinner creation, I just ran with it. LOL  I have to say, the LORD does answer prayer because it tasted pretty dang good too!

1 lb pasta noodles of your choice
1-12 oz package frozen prepared meatballs
1 jar three cheese alfredo pasta sauce (a little bit of milk to rinse sauce from jar that remains)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can Campbell's Harvest Orange Tomato soup
1 1/4 soup cans full of milk
1 Tblsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch of black pepper

Add all ingredients, except pasta to your crock pot and stir to combine well. Cover with lid and place on LOW setting for 3 hours. About 15 minutes or so before meatball & sauce is ready, prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain. Spoon meatballs and sauce over pasta & serve.
 
Click HERE for printable recipe

Crockpot Taco Soup

Today I thought I'd make dinner easy on myself. So, naturally I pulled out my trust kitchen companion...my crockpot. It's still hot outside but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a good bowl of soup. One of my favorites is Taco Soup, so when I found an easy recipe years ago for it in my "Fix-It and Forget-It" cookbook, I knew it was a must try. I did ad my own touches to it though, but as a base for a recipe to start with, it's wonderful!

Crockpot Taco Soup

1-lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 (14-oz) cans pinto beans (I use black beans as that is my favorite)
14-oz can tomatoes w/ chilies (I used my homemade mexican style version)
14-1/2 oz can petite diced tomatoes
15-oz can tomato paste
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
15-1/4 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
2 c water

Brown beef & onion in a medium size skillet. Cook until meat is no longer pink & onions are translucent. Drain grease. Combine meat & onion with remaining ingredients in a 4-6qt crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours or until ingredients are heated through. Serve with tortilla chips if desired.

Click HERE for printable recipe

 

Dinner With Gooseberry Patch

Last night's dinner consisted of fresh green beans w/ new whole potatoes, stuffing and Crockpot Creamy Apricot Chicken from my newest Gooseberry Patch cookbook...

This is one of the easiest and tastiest chicken recipes I have made in a long time.

Creamy Crockpot Apricot Chicken
1 (8-oz) bottle Russian dressing
1 (12-oz) jar apricot preserves
1-2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine dressing & preserves in a small bowl & stir together. Place chicken in 4-6qt. crockpot. Pour dressing mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour then turn to Low and cook for 3 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.

This was the finished product and boy howdy it not only looked good, it taste heavenly too!!

Click HERE for printable recipe

Served Her Well Crockpot Soup

1-1/2 lb. ground meat
1/2 an onion diced
6 large potatoes, peeled and diced
6 carrots, peeled and diced
1 (15 oz) can peas, drained
1 cup frozen corn
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans tomato soup
water
seasonings to taste

Brown meat and onion in a medium skillet; season with spices to taste. Drain grease &. set aside. In a 4-6 qt. crockpot layer potatoes, carrots, ground meat mixture, peas, corn and tomato soup. Fill crockpot with enough water to cover all ingredients. Season more with spices of your choice, cover and let cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours.

Recipe Source: my dear friend Mrs. K. F.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Spicy Crockpot Chicken Pasta & Cheese

This is a slightly different twist on our favorite macaroni & cheese recipe. You can adjust the heat of the dish by adding more or less jalapenos to it. I like to cook with fresh peppers but for this dish, I am using the jarred peppers that you find at your local market. If you prefer, you can even use canned green chiles and it will be just as tasty.


Spicy Crockpot Chicken Pasta & Cheese
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
3-5 Tblsp. chopped marinated jalapeno peppers
1/4 c. cubed Velveeta cheese (adjust cheese amount to your preference)
1 c. milk (can also substitute evaporated milk)
2 Tblsp. minced garlic
1 tsp.onion powder or flakes
Salt & pepper to taste
1 (8 0z) box pasta noodles (spirals, elbows, farfalle or whatever your preference is)


Heat soup, milk and cheese in a small sauce pot until cheese is melted. Stirring often.



Place all ingredients except pasta in a 4-6 qt. crockpot. Stir to mix well. Cover & cook on LOW setting for 6 hours or HIGH setting for about 3 -4 hours. Before last 10 minutes of cooking time, stir in uncooked pasta noodles. Let mixture continue to cook until pasta is tender.

**If you prefer, you can cook the pasta according to package directions and then stir into chicken mixture before serving.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Crockpot Pizza

I need to take care of some home keeping today, so I thought I'd at least make one of my tasks easier by pulling out my trusted crock pot. I found the following recipe on the Taste of Home website and thought it would be perfect to try on this chilly winter day.

(Photo by: Taste of Home)

Crockpot Pizza
1 pkg. (16-oz) wide egg noodles
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef or turkey
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 jar (26-oz) spaghetti sauce
1 jar (4-1/2 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 pkg. (3-1/2 oz) sliced pepperoni, halved
3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, mushrooms and Italian seasoning. Drain noodles.

In a 5-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray, spread a third of the meat sauce. Cover with a third of the noodles and pepperoni. Sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Repeat layers twice. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Crockpot Pork Roast

The first "official" day of Autumn is here and with it came rainy weather. Now I am not complaining about the rain as we are still way behind in rain from the summer drought, so this is a good thing. The temperature has fallen some as well which helps to welcome in the new season. So, with that in mind I thought it would be appropriate to pull out the crock pot and make a good old fashioned fall food...Roast. For some this may not be a fall time meal but for us it sure is.

Most times when I hear of a roast recipe it always includes root vegetable and such. Not that I mind this, but I really am more of a meat & gravy fan than anything else. This recipe is one of our family favorites. It taste great with mashed potatoes, rice...even over noodles. The best thing is you can substitute the pork roast for beef and the bouillon can be changed as well if desired.

Crockpot Pork Roast
3-4 lb. pork roast (or beef roast)
1 Tblsp. garlic powder
salt & red pepper to taste
1/2 a medium onion, rough chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope pork bouillon seasoning
1 envelope vegetable bouillon seasoning
water or pork broth (or beef broth)
cornstarch (optional)


In a 4 to 6 quart crockpot place roast. Sprinkle with dry seasonings.


Add in onions and soup.


Pour in enough water and/or broth to cover meat and fill until almost full.


Cover and cook on High for about 8 hours or until meat is completely cooked. For a thicker gravy, you can transfer gravy to a sauce pot and cook over the stove using cornstarch.


Click HERE for printable recipe

Fast Fix Dinner

Since we are planning on going to the movies tonight, I thought it would be better to have a quick, easy meal before we head out. This way we won't be going hungry and then spending an arm & a leg on snacks while there. So tonight's fast fix will be Crockpot Sloppy Joes. While dinner is cooking away, I can easily tend to my home keeping.

I am sharing the full recipe for this, but note that today I am only using 1 lb. of ground meat instead of 3 lbs. Since it's just the two of us for dinner tonight, I cut thge recipe to reflect the portion size that we need.

Crockpot Sloppy Joes

(oops! the ketchup & buillon
are missing in the photo)

3 pounds ground beef
1 c. onion, finely-diced
1/4 c. finely-diced celery
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. ketchup
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
1-1/4 c. water
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules*
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 Tblsp. cider vinegar
3 Tblsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard

In a skillet, cook meat until no longer pink. Drain fat then return to skillet. Add celery, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Saute until vegetables are softened. Pour meat mixture into crockpot. Next add all remaining ingredients to the meat & vegetable mixture to the crockpot. Stir until well combined. Cover & cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or High for 3 to 4 hours. Serve over toasted hamburger buns or bread slices.

*Note: because buillon usually has salt added to it, I don't suggest adding salt to this recipe at first. The need for more salt will be based on your personal taste.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Creamy Crockpot Beef Stew

Although I like beef stews, I am not partial to ones that are tomato based. So instead I have modified the traditional stew so it has more of a creamier base to it.

Creamy Crockpot Beef Stew
1-lb. beef stew meat
1/4 c. flour
1 family size can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 c. baby carrots, chopped
1 1/2 c. potatoes, peeled & diced
1 (5-oz) can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
1 c. frozen peas
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste
water or beef broth

In a small bowl, add flour. Coat stew meat in flour and then transfer to a 4-6 qt. crock pot.

Add all remaining ingredients. Add enough water or broth to fill crock pot insert to almost full. Stir slightly to help the soup blend.

Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours, or HIGH 4-6 hours. Serve over cooked noodles, rice or as is.

Click HERE for printable recipe