Crock-pot Ravioli Casserole

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper to taste
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (I used fresh spinach)
16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic.  Put in crock-pot and add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for 6-7 hours on low.  Add the last 4 ingredients during the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crock-pot to high.  I added the fresh spinach, pasta, parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella and I mixed it all up really well.  Then I added the last 1/2 cup of mozzarella to melt on the top.


I found this recipe here

Slow Cooker Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients:

2½ to 3 pounds chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skinned
1 (16-ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons dry onion soup mix
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
3 cups hot cooked rice
Directions: Place chicken pieces in a 3½- or 4-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, stir together cranberry sauce, dry soup mix, and tapioca. Pour over chicken pieces. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2½ to 3 hours. Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice. Makes 6 servings.

For the past 30+ years I have cooked chicken in the clock pot almost every Sunday.  I'm excited to try this new recipe for chicken in the crockpot.   I traditionally put chicken legs in the crock pot in with a cup of salsa and a can of chicken broth.  I got this recipe from this link.

Refried Beans

There are tons of recipes for refried beans out there and they are all pretty much the same and very easy. All you need to do is plan ahead a little and you’ll have something much tastier and healthier than what you’d get from the can!

Refried Beans

• 6 to 7 cups dried beans (we like black beans, but you can use whatever kind you prefer)
• One medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablepoon salt (add more to taste)

Instructions:

1. The night before, put beans in a large bowl and cover with water.
2. The next morning, drain and rinse beans, then put them in the crockpot and cover with water or broth (liquid should be about 2 inches higher than the beans). Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, then check to see if the beans are soft. If not, add a little more liquid and let cook one or two more hours.
3. When the beans are soft, drain them, but be sure to reserve at least one cup of the liquid.
4. Sautee the onions and garlic in butter, lard or tallow, until soft. Add them to the beans, along with the cumin and salt.
5. Using an immersion blender (or a food processor or blender), puree the mixture. Add liquid as needed. Taste, and increase seasonings to taste.
6. If you will not need all of the refried beans right away, you can fill mason jars to within 1 ½ inches of the top and freeze. To avoid the jars bursting, I let them cool on the counter and then overnight in the fridge before putting them in the freezer.

This is a cut and paste from this website:   http://creativechristianmama.com/refried-beans/

I want to try to have these beans on hand in my freezer instead of using the canned refried beans.  We'll see if it happens. I think I would make it out of pinto beans.  I would also just cook them on my stove top and not in the crockpot. 

Crockpot Cashew Chicken

 Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thigh tenders or chicken breast tenders
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup cashews

Directions:

Combine flour and pepper in large Ziploc bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with flour mixture. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in small bowl; pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Add cashews and stir. Serve over rice. 

Makes 4-6 servings.

If you want more sauce to pour over the the rice, double the sauce ingredients.

My niece posted this on her facebook wall from Health is Wealth page here.  We had it for dinner tonight.  It was good.  It was easy to make.  

Cafe Rio Chicken

4 chicken breasts

1/2 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

1/2 cup water

2 t. chili powder

2 cloves of garlic

1 pkg Ranch dressing

2 t. cumin

Place chicken in crock pot.

Mix all other ingredients together and pour over chicken.

Cook on High for 5-7 hours.

Remove chicken and shred with fork. Serve on flour tortilla, with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa...the works.

My sister-in-law, Brittney, is queen of finding AWESOME recipes. I don't have to look for recipes...I just wait until she serves a yummy dish to Dave and I, and then I know it's a good enough recipe to steal! "The boys" LOVE this meal...and "the girls" love how easy, quick, and satisfying it is!

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

3 or 4 chicken breasts cooked and diced
1 dozen corn tortillas torn into pieces
1 cup milk
1 chopped onion
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 can cream chicken soup
1 can green chili salsa (7 oz size)
1/2 cup chicken broth
Grated cheese

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, except the cheese. Put into a crock pot and cook all day on low. Then put grated cheese on top right before serving. You can also put into a 9x 13 pan and bake for 1 ½ house covered at 300 degrees.

I got this recipe from Scott's mom. I make this recipe a lot using the leftovers from our Sunday crock pot chicken. Sometimes I'll add leftover rice or add a can of beans.

June 23, 2023

I can't believe I've been making this recipe for over 20 years.  I have this version of the recipe that I use now. 

I’ll use a rotisserie chicken from Costco for the chicken meat.  I'll buy the chicken, debone it, and divide the chicken meat into 2 or 3 portions.  As I debone the meat, I put the skin and bones into a pot, cover the bones and skin with water, and boil it for about 1 hour.  Then I remove the bones and skin, skim off the grease, and divide the broth into 3 equal parts. (It's about 1 cup broth x 3)  I will use one portion of  the meat and one portion of the broth for each time I make this recipe.  I put the other 2 portions in the freezer to use the next time I make the recipe. 

Chicken Tortilla Casserole 

1 jalapeño pepper (about 3 Tablespoons) that I’ve chopped in my chop wizard. Click here to see what a chop wizard is.  If you don’t have a chop wizard, just chop it into small pieces.  

1 small onion chopped

4 minced garlic cloves

6 Tablespoons butter

Several shakes of Mrs. Dash (original seasoning blend)

Put the above ingredients into a large pot and cook until tender.  

Add:

1/3 cup flour (or corn starch for gluten free) and blend in.  

Add:

1 1/2 cups milk and whisk and cook until thick

Add:

1 1/4 cup salsa (I use 1 cup red salsa and 1/4 cup green salsa)

14 cut up corn tortilla shells (I cut them into squares with my knife on a cutting board)

1 1/4 cup cooked rice  (I use rice that I cook in my instant pot and have ready to use in the freezer.  The rice I prefer to use is the blend is 1 cup wild rice and 1 cup brown rice.  After it is cooked, I put it 1 1/4 cup portions in a zip-lock sandwich bag and put it in my freezer — ready to use when I make this recipe.

1 cup chicken broth (from my freezer from the rotisserie chicken made earlier.  See above explanation) 

1/3 - 1/2 of a Costco rotisserie chicken that I have stored in my freezer (see above explanation) or fresh cut up rotisserie chicken.

salt and pepper to taste (I use 1/4 tsp each) 

Put it into a 9x13 pan.  Top with grated cheese (I use sharp cheddar cheese)  Cook in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes.  

Pictured below are the ingredients I use for the recipe.  The brown and wild rice mixed are cooked together and put in the freezer

Pictured below is the cut up rotisserie chicken, broth, onions, jalapeño pepper, and rice mixture that was prepared earlier and put into the freezer.

Frozen brown rice and wild rice mixture

Crock Pot Chicken

Spray crock pot with Pam (cooking spray). Put whole chicken or chicken pieces in crock pt. Add one cup salsa or BBQ sauce (see recipe below) Cook on high for several hours. (depending on how hot your crock pot cooks). Serve the chicken and broth that is made through the cooking process over rice.


I have made crock pot chicken almost every Sunday for the past 30 years. It makes a delicious Sunday meal with minimal effort. Our family favorite is to use the cup of salsa, but the BBQ version is good too.  Lately I've added a can of chicken broth along with the salsa when I put the chicken in. It gives me more chicken broth to use with the leftovers.   

When everyone is home from their Sunday meetings, I put on a pot of rice to cook for 20 minutes, and also serve a vegetable. I prefer to use chicken with bones because then it makes a better broth. I usually buy the frozen chicken breasts from Smart and Final and put the chicken in frozen or I'll use a whole fresh chicken, or chicken legs from Costco or Smart and Final. I like to buy my fresh chicken from Fresh and Easy or on sale at any grocery store. If I have any leftovers, I'll use it for chicken tortilla cassarole, or homemade soup (add a couple cans of chicken broth to what ever left over broth there is along with vegetables and noodles, or chicken tacos. If there is left overs with the BBQ sauce chicken I add stir fry vegetables and 1 TBS soy sauce to the BBQ chicken sauce and chicken and serve over rice. There is probably endless ideas to do with the left overs from this meal!

For a change I'll add this BBQ sauce recipe instead of adding salsa;

BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1 small can tomato sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs prepared mustard
1/4 tsp Lowry season salt   (optional)                                                         

Hunter's Stew

More like a casserole than a stew, this is essentially a tin foil/dutch oven dinner. This is very versatile and you can add whatever vegetables you like. The ones listed are the ones I use. (If you're short on provisions, the first 6 ingredients are pretty much necessary.) Sorry there are no quantities listed--add as much as you need/like.

Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
Onion, chopped
Carrots, sliced thin
1 lb. hamburger, cooked and drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
Celery, sliced thin
Bell peppers, chopped
Corn
1 small can green chilis
Seasonings: Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, SeasonAll, Mrs. Dash

Layer/dump all ingredients in a crock pot and cook all day. OR...cook in a 9x13 at 375* for about 1 1/2 hours (until potatoes are done).

From my college roommate, Jess.

Stewed Chicken

Put 1 chicken in crock pot or in pot on stove along with several carrots, some celery stock (including leaves) and an onion cut into quarters. Cover with water and salt to taste. Cook until tender. Remove chicken and vegetables. Strain broth. Cut chicken off bones in larger bite size pieces. Put back in broth.
Heat broth to slow boil and thicken with a mixture of cornstarch and water. Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.

My mother always made this when anyone in our family was sick. She called it her, “Mormon, Jewish Chicken Soup. She always has a batch in her freezer for times of need.

B-B-Q Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1 small can tomato sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 TBS prepared mustard
1/4 tsp Lowry season salt
1/4 tsp Lowry season pepper

Mix well

Side note. Instead of the Lowry's seasonings I have used the seasoning -Mrs. Dash.

This Harris family recipe goes back to my childhood. It is a sweet BBQ sauce. I like to use it when I cook chicken in the crock pot and then serve the chicken and broth with rice. Add a few stir fry vegetables to your leftovers and you have a nice stir fry dish.