Slow Cooker Irish Coffee

Cooking club's theme this month was Slow Cooker. Woo-hoo! I signed up for the alcoholic beverage and attempted Irish Coffee. AMAZING. It's the perfect night cap or after-dinner dessert. It was so good I made it again the following night. I had this awesome Kahlua coffee that I used. Any regular coffee will do though. If you are not a big coffee drinker, then it's the perfect recipe. And if you are not a big alcohol/Bailey's drinker, then it's still the perfect recipe. Everything is mixed together so well that you don't taste too much of the Bailey's and you don't taste too much of the coffee. It's just a perfect drink for entertaining guests. You might think of using decaf coffee depending on what guests are coming over. Enjoy!


This served about 8 people


Ingredients:
6 cups of freshly brewed coffee
1 cup of Bailey's Irish Creme 
1 tbsp of cocoa powder
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
container of fat free cool whip


Directions:
Combine coffee & Bailey's in slow cooker.
Mix in cocoa and whipping cream.
Cook on low for 3 hours.
Serve in coffee mugs/glasses and top with cool whip





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Slow Cooker Puffy Pizza

I stole this from A Year of Slow Cooking Blog. I haven't really mastered this recipe yet. I had a lot of people over and didn't have enough for everyone (we wound up ordering pizza too). I could of doubled the recipe and made it in my larger crock pot, but I don't know about the cooking times. I cooked on high for 4 hours. You may need to experiment and watch it to see if it needs longer or less than that. My edges came out a little too burnt. I would have wanted to make it more puffy and less meaty. But I don't know how to time that so that the meat doesn't get too burnt and the water/flour/milk/egg mix cooks enough.  Feel free to try this recipe and give me some pointers. It's really good and you can add more vegetables like onions & peppers (or any other pizza topping you enjoy). Feel free to check out the original recipe too. 

Also, you can just go to the store and pick up Spaghetti Mix and use that instead of all the seasonings. But I did what was recommended and just made it. (That's really just cause I couldn't find the Spaghetti Mix at the grocery store.) All the ingredients to the right is what i needed to make the Spaghetti Mix So that is up to you to decide. I also didn't have green pepper flakes so I couldn't use those as well. 



Ingredients:
3/4 pound extra lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
20-30 turkey pepperoni slices
1/2 cup sliced olives
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon green pepper flakes (if you have them)
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown beef, cook onion & garlic.
In a small bowl mix together kosher salt through italian seasoning.
Pour over beef mixture.
Add oregano, tomato sauce, and water.
Stir over low heat until bubbles appear. Remove from heat and place in 4 quart slow cooker.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, milk, eggs, and cheese. Pour evenly over beef mixture.
Top with pepperoni and olives.
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Cooking time may vary.
Look for it to puff up and pull away from sides.





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Poker Night Cheesy Taco Dip

Now that I'm in good standings with the library again (long story) I've been checking out cookbooks. One of them that I borrowed was Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes - Family Favorites. This recipe was inspired by one of the recipes I found in the dip section. Gerald had the guys over to cook meat in the smoker all day (who says guys can't cook!?!?) and watch football. I decided to hide in the kitchen all evening to avoid all the testosterone. They had ribs and chicken cordon bleu wrapped in bacon. They were showing off all their creations to me and when it was ready to eat they just went to town and devoured it all. It was comical it reminded me a little bit of the epic meat videos I had seen on youtube. The chicken cordon bleu is below, isn't it a beauty? I can't take credit for it, it was all my husband and his friends. 



I wanted to cook something that complimented the meat. Literally, that's all they had...meat. No side dishes, no salad, no starch, no veggies. Just meat. So I attempted to make salad & cornbread, but got distracted. I just made this dip instead to make sure they had all 4 food groups covered. I modified it based on what I had in the kitchen and it turned out to be a delicious, creamy, cheesy, tasty, masterpiece. Oh and despite the name, we did not play any poker that night. 


Ingredients:
1/2 pound of extra lean ground beef
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese (Sargento was buy one, get one free this week)
1 can of fat free refried beans
1 package of taco seasoning (or maybe just 3/4 of the package)
4 oz of reduced fat cream cheese
1 triangle slice of laughing cow light cheese (i used this instead of cream cheese, you can just use additional ounces of cream cheese)
1/2 cup of onions
green chilies, diced
1 or 2 bag of Fritos Scoops



Directions:
Turn slow cooker on low.
Cook the ground beef and brown. Mash up the ground beef into really small pieces (see picture)
Mix sour cream, taco seasoning, cheese, & beans in a medium sized small cooker and stir together.
Stir in beef, onions &, chilies.
Then add cream cheese & laughing cow cheese, cut them into chunks first. They won't be mixed in right away, wait until they melt a little bit.
Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. The cheeses will start to melt and you can stir and mix everything together 2 or 3 times while cooking.
Serve warm when everything is melted with fritos. 


I didn't get any good pictures, here is the dip after we started eating it. As you can see we ran out of fritos, so we switched over to doritos. The dip was a hit!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Crock Pot Corn Chowder

There is this cool website called A Year of Slow Cooking about a women who set a New Year's Resolution to cook, using her crock pot, every day in 2008. It's great because she has a TON of slow cooker recipes. There are desserts, drinks, entrees, soups, etc. All kinds of recipes. I found this corn chowder one and decided to give it a try.

I did this recipe a little differently. The original recipe has you throw everything into a slow cooker, cook for 4 hours, then puree the soup using a small hand mixer while the soup is hot. I didn't have the resources or the skill to do that. So I pureed everything in a blender first, then put it in the slow cooker and cooked it after everything was blended together. I was still happy with the results. You may want to add more seasoning, or garlic, or other types of vegetables. But the corn and potatoes is what gets it done. 

Ingredients:

2 quarts of low fat chicken broth

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 cup shredded carrots

32 ounces of frozen corn

6 small white potatoes (i didn't peel mine, but you can choose to take the skins off of yours)

1/2 cup low fat shredded cheese (optional)

olive oil or fat free cooking spray

fresh parsley

salt & pepper

Directions:

Brown the onion in oil until cooked.

Add onion, red pepper, celery, carrots, broth, & corn into a blender and puree. You can do this in sections, if needed.

Add potatoes and blend more. 

It should be a creamy consistency and there shouldn't be too many lumps. 

Transfer to slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 8 to 9 hours.

When ready to serve top with cheese & parsley, add salt & pepper to taste. 
Serve with toast. 

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Crock Pot Tuscan Pasta

Stumbled across this recipe on more than one website. Decided to give a try. It worked out very well and I'm a big fan of leftovers it created for lunch the next day (and the rest of the week). It was almost too much for my smaller crock pot. But the point is it is very easy to make. The basic ingredients are chicken, spaghetti, kidney beans, & tomatoes. But I wanted to make it better so I added zucchini, green pepper, roasted red peppers, pepperoni, & cheese. It's delicious and filling. Especially with a side of my husband's perfect garlic bread :-)


Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 cup of roasted red peppers
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup of turkey pepperoni
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 tsp of garlic salt or 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 cup water or 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons italian seasoning
• salt & black pepper
• 6 oz of uncooked spaghetti, broken into pieces
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients, except the spaghetti and cheese in medium sized crock pot and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Stir in spaghetti, cover & cook on High for 45 minutes to an hour, or until pasta is tender.
3. Top with parmesan cheese before serving.

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Slow Cooker Pizza

I love Slow Cooker Saturdays! (Except when I forgot to defrost the ground beef) I try to freeze stuff more to prevent food from spoiling, but it always backfires on me because I forget to take out the food in time. Oh well. I still made it work. I prepared the recipe in the morning and let it sit in the fridge right there in the crock-pot. Then went to work to get some things done. My husband came home with the Christmas tree around 1 and all he had to do was plug in the crock pot and turn it on. It was perfect & easy. Dinner was ready when I walked in the door @ 6PM.  This is a great recipe because it uses so few ingredients. It takes a little time to prepare, especially when you have to cook frozen ground beef in your skillet while cooking the pasta. But it was great and really does look like slow cooker pizza! 

Thoughts? What could I add to improve this recipe? I stole this from AllRecipes.com and didn't make much changes. I know it could use more veggies! What do you think?




Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds of extra lean ground beef
• 8 oz of pasta (I used elbow macaroni)
• 1.5 or 2 15 oz cans of pizza sauce
• 1 19 oz can of cream of tomato soup (I used creamy tomato basil soup from Progresso)
• 1 package of turkey pepperoni, about 30 slices.
• 1 - 2 cups of part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Italian Seasoning

Directions:
1. Boil salted water and cook pasta according to box directions.
2. Brown ground beef in skillet and drain, if necessary.
3. In medium sized slow cooker alternate layers of ingredients: Ground Beef, Italian Seasoning, Pasta, Cheese, Soup, Sauce, Pepperoni Slices. You should be able to make 3 layers. 

4. Top with additional cheese or ingredients, if desired.

5. Cook on low for 4 hours.


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Baked Oatmeal

We're spending Thanksgiving with my husband's family in OBX for the week. So fun! We each took a day to be in charge of cooking & are sharing Thanksgiving day responsibilities. Today, Wednesday is my day. I got up early and I made Baked Oatmeal & Quiche for breakfast. Baking for this many people is a lot of work, but so fun!!!

I'm thankful for wonderful in-laws who love to help and love to praise my food :-)

I've never made baked oatmeal before, only slow cooker oatmeal. I forgot to bring my slow-cooker, so I decided to suck it up and try something new. My sister-in-law is making a pumpkin custard pie for tomorrow and had an extra pie shell that she offered up to me. I'm using graham cracker pie crust for the pumpkin pies that I'm making so I had to come up with a creative use for this particular pie shell. I had excess oatmeal badder so I realized the pie shell was perfect! It came out beautifully.

Later today I took on the challenge of making guacamole again and the always famous Taco Ring. Stay tuned!

You may notice that the pics on this post are much nicer than my usual blog pictures, that's because I was able to use my sister-in-law's fancy camera. So cool. Thanks, Teresa!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 1.5 cups of white sugar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 cup of chopped pecans or other nuts
• 6 cups of oats
• 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 chopped apples
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• raisins (optional)
• pie crust (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix butter, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, pecans, & oats in a large bowl
2. Grease or spray casserole dish or baking pan or place extra in pie crust (optional) and bake it that way.
3. Top oatmeal with apples and ground cinnamon.
4. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
5. Serve with cinnamon, raisins, and brown sugar.

It was a hit!!!!

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Taco Soup

Taco Soup has become one of my new favorite recipes. It's a perfect large group slow cooker meal. I made this past weekend for my small group. This is a non-spicy version, feel free to make it spicy by adding the appropriate ingredients. 


The picture was taken from an iPhone and it doesn't do it justice because this is before you add the sour cream, cheese, & chips.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed or diced tomatoes
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 3 green onion, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cans fat free chicken broth (or 1 can of broth, 1 can of water)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of bay leaf seasoning
• 1 package frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 bag of fritos
• 1 bag of tostitos
• 1 can of fat free sour cream
• 2 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese

Directions

1. Place ground beef in skillet and brown.
2. Add taco seasoning and simmer for a few minutes.
3. Add ground beef, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and onions to a large slow cooker.
4. Pour in chicken broth, season with cumin, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. 
5. Stir in corn and cilantro. 
6. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. 
7. When ready to serve, place in large individual bowls, top with chips, cheese, & sour cream. 

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Slow Cooker Tamale Pie

There is this group on facebook called "The Crock Pot Recipe Exchange." I occasionally find slow cooker recipes on there among the discussion boards. You have to sort through everything to find them and if you don't save them as a word document you might never find them again. But it's a great resource and it's where I found this recipe. But there are equivalent recipes on AllRecipes.com. I wanted mine really spicy so I added a lot to it.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 8 servings) :

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 
1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 
3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 2 jalapenos peppers, diced
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1/4 tablespoon pepper
• 
1 can (15oz) black beans -- rinsed and drained

• 1 can (14 1/2oz) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies -- undrained
• 
1 can (11oz) whole kernel corn -- drained

• 1 can (10oz) enchilada sauce
• 
4 green onions -- chopped
• 
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 
1 package (8 1/2oz) corn bread/muffin mix
• 
2 eggs


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. 
2. Stir in the cumin, salt, chili powder and pepper. 
3. Transfer to a 4 or 5 qt. slow cooker.
4. Stir in beans, tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce, onions and cilantro.
5. Add cayenne pepper & hot sauce.
6. 
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until heated through.
7. 

In a small bowl, combine muffin mix and eggs; spoon over meat mixture. Cover and cook 1 hour longer or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.



 

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Nuts & Fruit Oatmeal in the Crock Pot

I made Slow Cooker Pumpkin Oatmeal earlier this month and didn't love the way it turned out, so I tried a different kind of slow cooker oatmeal inspired from a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. (Side Note: Anyone know where I can find pumpkin pie spice??? I swear it doesn't exist)


This picture is right after I put everything in the crock pot. I forgot to get a picture of the finished product.


I made enough to serve 16 people. Original recipe calls for 8 so I doubled everything. I recommend using less liquid (water or milk). Even though I cooked it overnight for 8 hours it was still runny the next money. (Good thing this is Lancaster County and people like it that way).


INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups of milk
• 3 cups of water (I recommend using less)
• 4 cups of dried cut oats
• 1 cup of craisins
• 1 cup of raisins
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 2 diced granny smith apples
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Throw all ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker. [I recommend leaving some or all of the apples, raisins, pecans, & brown sugar out and serving as optional toppings with the finished product, but that's up to you].
2. Cook overnight on low for 8 hours. 
3. If still runny in the morning, cook for an additional hour on high.

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Slow Cooker Pumpkin Oatmeal

The Union, a Sunday School class @ church for young married/engaged couples, met a few weeks ago on Sunday morning. We try to serve a light breakfast because we meet early in the morning. Sometimes we like to serve a hot breakfast because the group enjoys it. I was brainstorming what I could bring. I was going to use the Pepperoni & Cheese Quiche that I had in the freezer...but that turned into a DISASTER. So I decided on oatmeal instead and I found this nice pumpkin spiced one that I could make overnight in the crock pot. So easy! I actually started making this @ 1:30AM and it was ready in time for church the next day.

 Note: Though my entire crock pot got eaten, the results did not come out as nice as expected. It wasn't sweet enough. The raisin definitely helped. You should put sugar, especially brown sugar into your recipe. That'll make it worth it. Also try using more milk instead of water to make it more creamy.


This picture was taken with an iPhone, not the best, but you get the point!

Ingredients

• 2 cups steel cut oats (you might want to use more)
• 1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 3 cups water (you might want to use more)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or just mix in Libby’s Pumpkin Puree
• 2 teaspoons butter (I opted out of this to cut down the fat)

Directions

1. Mix oats, water, milk, cinnamon, pumpkin puree, & butter overnight.
2. Cook overnight or for 8 hours on low setting.
3. Top with pecans & raisins.

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Chili is my specialty and I never make it the same way twice. This recipe was from my Freezer Pleasers book. But I didn't follow the exact recipe. I had to make enough to feed 12, plus have some leftovers for the week. I prepared it after lunch on Sunday and it was ready in time for small group that evening.


Ingredients: 

• 1 pound of lean ground turkey
• 1 can of red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can of pinto beans, drained
• 1 can of mexican chili beans
• 1 can of cannelloni beans, drained
• 3 cans of "fire-roasted" diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cans of whole kernel corn
• 1 cup of chopped onions
• 1 envelope of taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup of chipotle sauce
• 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons of chili seasoning

Directions:

1. Cook ground turkey in skillet.
2. Add to large 5 qt. slow cooker.
3. Add all other ingredients, mix together.
4. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours.
5. Serve with cornbread & rice.

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

Tortilla Soup

Sundays are my signature "Slow Cooker Days". Usually small group comes over for dinner and I'm usually trying to finish up grading or just relax. I'd rather throw everything in a crock pot and let that do the work for me. Last week I made Tortilla Soup. Easy & Painless.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1.5 pounds of chicken
• 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 10 oz can enchilada sauce
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 oz can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 cups water
• 14.5 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 10 oz package frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 large bag of tostitos or fritos
• 1 can of fat free sour cream
• 2 cups of reduced fat cheddar or mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. 
2. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Stir in corn and cilantro. 
4. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. 
5. Shred chicken before serving.

I forgot to get a picture of the finished product. But what I did was pour the soup into individual bowls.  I top with a combination of fritos,(or tostito chips) sour cream, and shredded cheese. It's a great meal. 

I also included this great side salad which was just a combination of what I had in my fridge/cabinets; spinach, chopped tomatoes, raisins, craisins, & shredded carrots. Served with ranch or balsamic vinaigrette dressing.