Chocolate Crockpot Cake

This was in a crockpot recipe book I have and I've wanted to try for quite some time.

Decadent Chocolate Delight

1 pkg chocolate cake mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup water

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

Spray inside of crockpot with cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients in crockpot. (mix well)

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Serve warm or cold with ice cream. ☺

*Side note: Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your crockpot. I used the 6 qt and mine was done under 2 hours, so keep that in mind.



Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna

1 head cauliflower, cored

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 can black beans

1 cup frozen corn

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3-1/3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

1 (16 oz) jar tomatilla salsa

6 fajita sized flour tortillas (I made my own using this recipe)

sour cream (optional)

Cut the cauliflower into florets and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Combine cauliflower, tomatoes, beans, corn and cilantro in a bowl. Sprinkle the chili powder and cumin on top and stir to combine.

Coat inside of slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Spread about 3 cups of cauliflower mixture over bottom of slow cooker, sprinkle with 1 cup shredded cheese,  and a generous 1/2 cup salsa over the top. Place 2 tortillas on top. Repeat layering

Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 5-1/2 hours, or until cauliflower is tender. Top with 1/2 cup cheese and cook until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

Recipe from Family Circle magazine. I used regular cheddar cheese, and I only did two layers. ☺

Tim's Black Bean Chili

This is my uncles recipe and I didn't follow it exactly and I cooked it in the crockpot.

Tim's Black Bean Chili

2-4 lb Roast trimmed of fat

1 lg onion (chopped)
2 red bell peppers (chopped)
3 jalapeno peppers (fine chopped)
3 cloves garlic (fine chopped)
10 mushrooms (sliced)
6 sm tomatoes (lg chunks)
1 cup frozen corn
1 tsp black pepper
0-2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-3 tsp ground cumin
1-3 tbs chili powder
4 cans black beans (rinsed)
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 10 oz pkg chopped spinach
 
Slow barbeque the roast over briquets and water soaked mesquite chips until fully cooked & smoked. Cut the roast into bite sized chunks. Set aside.

Lightly spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add onion, red peppers, jalapenos, garlic, mushroms, tomatoes, corn, pepper, cumin and chili powder.

Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.

Add beans, meat, chicken broth and boil for 10 minues.

Remove 1.5 cups of mixture from skillet and place in blender or food processor. Blend mixture until pureed. Return to saucepan and add spinach.

Cook 5-6 minutes until spinach is well heated.

Serves 6-8

Crock-pot Buffalo Chicken

There are many ways to do this, but this is what I did. This can go on salads or be used for sandwiches.

Crock-pot Buffalo Chicken

3-4 boneless skinless breasts

1 bottle of Buffalo Wing Sauce (I used Franks)

1 packet Ranch salad dressing mix

 Sprinkle of Garlic Powder

Mix everything in the crockpot, shred chicken when done.

The sauce I used

We like blue cheese, and so I mixed blue cheese and sour cream together to spread over the bread for our sandwich.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Probably one of my favorite soups this winter!

Chicken and Rice Soup

2-3 Chicken Breasts (they can be frozen)

1-2 Carrots, chopped or shredded

1 Celery, chopped

1 small Onion, chopped

Garlic Powder

Pepper

6 c Water

6 tsp Chicken Bouillon

1 box Wild and long grain rice

(If you don't use boxed rice, you'll just want to add more of your own spices)

Throw everything but the rice in the crockpot

Shred the chicken with two forks when it's cooked enough. Add box of rice about an hour before eating.

Pasta E Fagoli

***Edit***
I decided that since this was the first recipe I ever posted here that it deserved a reposting with pictures. In these pictures I cooked this in the crockpot and used partially frozen ground beef, so just know that you have that option too (of not browning the meat). I also used my own spaghetti sauce made out of tomato paste, v8 juice, and spices, and it still tasted good!  ;o)
Here is the recipe for Pasta e Fagoli. It's supposed to be a copycat of the soup at Olive Garden, but I've never had it so I can't tell you how it compares. I just think this stuff is pretty good! It makes quite a bit so either have it for guests or freeze. :-)

Pasta e Fagoli (makes about 6 quarts)

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1/2 of a small 1 lb. bag of baby carrots, chopped
5 stalks of celery, diced
2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 (32 oz.) carton + 1 (14.5 oz.) can of beef broth (If you like a more brothy soup add more, I made up about 50 oz of broth.)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
11/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped (I used dry)
3/4 tsp tabasco sauce
1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup dry small pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni)
salt to taste


Brown ground beef. Drain if necessary. Add onion, carrot, celery and diced tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes. Add beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, parsley, tabasco sauce and spaghetti sauce.Simmer soup on low for about 30-45 minutes until carrots are almost tender.Add pasta to pot and simmer on low for about 15-30 minutes until pasta is just shy of al dente. As the soup cools, the pasta will absorb the broth. You can cook the pasta separate and add it to the soup after the soup has cooled.
(I browned the meat, pureed the onion and celery and added everything but the noodles and put it in a crockpot. Added the noodles to the crockpot about an hour before eating.)

All ingredients in the crockpot except noodles, cook for atleast 4-5 hours

Add the noodles about 1/2 hr to an hour before eating.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Butternut Squash

1 Onion, med sized, chopped or pureed

1 Carrot, normal size, chopped pureed

Chicken broth or boullion

Garlic, minced or powder

Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Olive Oil

Parsley (optional)

I only cut the squash into halves, but I would recommend cutting into 4ths for faster cooking time. I just stuck in the microwave on a plate until it was soft enough to scoop out with a spoon, but you can roast in the oven too.

I started out by cooking the Olive Oil, Carrots, and Onion

Added 5-6 tsp of Chicken Base and water. (Water will depend on how soupy you want your soup, I like mine on the thick side) Then add Garlic, Pepper, and a little Cayenne.

Add the Squash, let simmer and then beat with a whisk, or with a hand blender

Sprinkle in some dried parsley, stir in for a few minutes serve with breadsticks.

Potato Casserole

Another one of those recipes that everyone else but me seems to know about and it's nice that you can do lots of different things to change it up. ( I know my aunt throws chopped onions in there too) You can also make this in a crockpot. (so I hear)

Potato Casserole

1 bag Frozen Hashbrowns

1 can Cream of Chicken

2 cups grated Cheese

1 cup Sour Cream

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

Potatoes, Sour Cream, Cream of Chicken

Mixed together with everything, but I saved out some of the grated cheese for the top, and I put some Feta in the mixture.

Sprinkled the remaining grated cheese on top and baked

Mine could have been cooked longer but my husband and child were getting rather impatient. :)

Bourbon Chicken

This is a recipe from Busy Mom's Cookbook blog, I'd heard lots of raves about it and I'm just barely getting around to trying it.

Bourbon Chicken

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/4 tsp. ginger

3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup apple juice

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. ketchup or chili sauce

1 Tbsp. cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce



Put all in crockpot and cook on low 8 hours. Serve over rice. (I did it over the stove instead of in a crockpot)

Crockpot Chicken Stuffing

Crockpot Chicken Stuffing


4 Chicken Breasts
1 box Chicken Stuffing Mix
1 can Cream of Chicken (or Mushroom)
1/2 c Water
1/2 c Chicken Broth

Place frozen Chicken on the bottom
Mix Stuffing mix, Water, Cream of Chicken, and Broth together in bowl and pour over chicken

Cook for 8 hours in crockpot

I thought the flavor was really good, but 8 hours was WAY too long in my crockpot so I either need to turn it even lower or not cook as long. As you can see the sides of the crockpot were nice and cooked and the chicken got kind of dry.