Do you have any simple crock pot meals?

1. 58

   ElleBeeposted 12 years ago

   Do you have any simple crock pot meals?
   
   I bought myself a new crock pot a few years ago but have yet to use it. I'm wondering if anyone has ideas for simple recipes that are really "dump it and go" kind of deals.  I've found several recipes that require multiple steps in the cook time, or only cook for 2 or 3 hours - my goal is to plug the crock pot in before work and have supper waiting at night, so those definitely don't work for me.  Any suggestions?

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2. 70

   jenbeach21posted 12 years ago

   Put a pot roast in the crock pot with a cup of water, small red potatoes, and other vegetables. Simmer on low all day. You can also add some salt and pepper on top for flavoring. Really easy and really good!

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   1. 58

      ElleBeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds delicious

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3. 82

   Efficient Adminposted 12 years ago

   When the weather gets cooler, I throw a chuck roast (cut in 1-inch pieces) in the crock pot with some tomato sauce, raw vegetables, a bay leaf, and some raw garlic, and cook on low for about 8 hours.  The last 30 minutes I will add the dry spices such as parsley, oregano, basil, thyme, sage, salt and pepper.  It usually turns out pretty good.
   
   You can prepare the ingredients the night before.  In the morning you can dump all the ingredients into the crock pot.
   
   There are also several really good crock pot cookbooks you can find on the internet (like Amazon or eBay) called Fix It and Forget It that may be useful to you.

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   1. 58

      ElleBeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      OOOh the fix it and forget it one sounds perfect for me!  I have two cookbooks but they're definitely not fix and forget style!

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      MarleneBposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This is exactly what I do, only I have been known to hook up my crock pot in the summer months as well - less heat in the kitchen. Put everything in the pot, then come back when it's dinner time. I love it!

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      Mama Kim 8posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Fix it and forget it is the one I use ^_^  hasn't done me wrong yet!

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4. 68

   Mama Kim 8posted 12 years ago

   If your crockpot has a low setting use that if the recipe says it has a short cook time on high. If you want to save time from chopping any veggies use pre-cut frozen veggies.

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   1. 58

      ElleBeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Okay - sounds easy enough. I wasn't sure if changing the heat settings messes things up, but sounds like no. I'll give it a try.

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   2. 68

      Mama Kim 8posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      lower heat just means it has to cook longer. I think this makes for more tender meat anyways ^_^

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5. 78

   Diana Leeposted 12 years ago

   One of our favorite cold weather meals is bean soup. Wash a pound of dry beans and put them in the crock pot with enough water to bring it about 2/3 of the way full. You can add a diced onion or meat to this if you wish with a little salt and pepper. Cook on low all day as long as you like. If the beans are a little firm yet when you are wanting them sooner you can turn up the heat, but only if you are going to be there because it will boil over if to much water is in the pot. You can soak these beans overnight in water if you wish so they will cook faster, but we seldom do because we plan to let them cook from morning until night.

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   1. 58

      ElleBeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This sounds good I've become a big bean fan of late, so I may need to try this.

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