I’m not a big Taylor Swift fan but I must admit I’m in my crockpot era. I really savor time, so when I can save time on something I don’t love doing so that I can invest it in something I do love, that’s a win.
Things I love about cooking are that I can be creative in recipes and that I can feed people I love and it’s an act of service or blessing for them.
Enter crockpot.
With my crockpot I can still be creative and still bless people with food. But I save 15-45 minutes a night by using it. Below you will find my favorite crockpot recipes for meals or sides or a little of both. I should be better at using the same recipe every time, but that’s what I love is the creativity to use a little of this from one recipe and a little of that from another recipe and maybe grab a few extra things I have on hand I want to use up. I tend to be a dump and go gal, but a few of these I will good the ground beef ahead of time before adding to a crockpot.
- Chicken (Or Turkey) Corn Soup – I use these ingredients but take chicken off a rotisserie chicken or use chicken breasts and just put them in the slow cooker followed by all the ingredients except the hard boiled eggs and the rivels. I also add parsley. This is how my Grandma Meemo made it but with the leftovers from Thanksgiving turkey and I always looked forward to it.
- Taco Casserole – I’ve used no tomatoes and just salsa on this and I’ve also done partial gerde salsa and partial red salsa because that’s what I have. I usually add some cilantro, more jalapenos, and sour cream after it’s ready to serve.
- Meatballs – Easy a heck. 3 ingredients and you can just serve them on their own, on sliders or a hoagie roll, or over a rice.
- Chili – I grew up on chili with beans. It was a staple in the winter and so dang good. I sometimes make it with ground turkey, and other times with ground venison instead of ground beef. It just depends what we have on hand that’s defrosted. I also have learned about the cinnamon rolls and chili pairing which I personally like a lot. Other times i’ll make cornbread as a side or put it over sweet potatoes.
- Verde Chicken – It’s 2 ingredients. Chicken and salsa verde. You don’t even need a recipe but I’ll give you one just in case. Put them on a taco, a quesadilla, on a salad, or on a sweet potato.
- Macaroni & Cheese – I like my macaroni and cheese simple. This is a 3 ingredient recipe for ust noodles, cheese, and milk. If you want to feel like a true Lancaster County resident, add in some stewed tomatoes.
- Pasta E Fagioli – I’m not always able to find the noodles they call for so I use whatever I have on hand and it turns out just fine.
- Enchilada Soup – So good on a cold evening. I will add whatever I have on hand to the top of it like cilantro, sour cream, cheese, or avocado. Sometimes I put those little tortilla trips in it.
- Cheesy Potato Soup – Green onions and cheese on top is delightful. And fresh bacon if you’re up to making it. A lot better than those bacon crumbles.
- Chicken and Dumplings – This one is a favorite around here. I don’t usually use onions but rather some onion powder and it tastes great. Such a cozy fall or winter meal.
- Sweet Potatoes – I’m not even including a recipe for this one it’s that easy. You wash the sweet potatoes, put them in the crockpot and turn it on You know they’re done when you can easily smash them. Viola! Add some butter and brown sugar or put some chili or taco meat over top. So good.
Tips
- Most of these are freezer friendly. I purchase a bunch of the quart deli containers and then take the leftovers from our meal and put them in the freezer for later in the season. I’ll take a quart out on a Sunday so it’s defrosted and then I have another easy dinner during the week pre-made or a lunch for Teddy or myself pre-made.
- If you want to freezer prep but don’t have multiple crockpots laying around to do it all in one day, make your regular dinner for the night and have a crockpot also on making a soup during the day. I did this 3 days this last week and it was so great to know I had about 8 quarts of food going into the freezer already.
- Get a group of friends together and each pick 1-2 recipes to make. Either bring all your crockpots over together and do it or exchange meals at an upcoming meeting.
Do you have any favorite crockpot recipes? PLEASE share them because, you know, crockpot era and all.
