Death by Chocolate – Slow Cooker Style

There is no easier meals than crock pot cooking.   Throw it in the pot in the morning on low and let it cook all day.  No fuss, no rush at the end of the day, and the house always smells delicious!  I love my crockpot, and other then my coffee maker it is the most used item in my kitchen!  Well, after my mixer.  Like I said, I love my crockpot. ~B

If you’re anything like me, than you are down for ANYTHING chocolate! YUMMO!  lol!  This recipe is so good, it almost feels ILLEGAL!

• 1 box Devil's Food Cake mix
• 1 box instant chocolate pudding mix
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 cup chocolate chip morsels (+1/8 cup for sprinkles)
• 3/4 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk

Butter your crockpot.

In a bowl mix all ingredients, then pour into buttered crockpot.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining chips.

Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

 

*please note, sometimes this cooks up like a cake, and sometimes it cooks up like a gooey mess, but no matter how it turns out it is soooo delicious!  So ugly or not, stick it in your mouth and SMILE.  You will like it, I promise.

 

Enjoy!

Boston Baked Beans

There is no easier meals than crock pot cooking.   Throw it in the pot in the morning on low and let it cook all day.  No fuss, no rush at the end of the day, and the house always smells delicious!  I love my crockpot, and other then my coffee maker it is the most used item in my kitchen!  Well, after my mixer.  Like I said, I love my crockpot. ~B

These beans are GREAT for Pot Lucks and family get togethers!

• 4 cups navy beans (rinsed and sorted)
• 12 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp dried mustard
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 lb salt pork (cubed) or bacon
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• pinch garlic
• 1 jigger Worcestershire Sauce or Red Wine vinegar

This recipe comes in 2 parts and takes about 18 hours.  I like to start the beans the day before, while Im cleaning up that nights supper dishes.

Step ONE: Cooking the beans.

Rinse the beans and pick out the bad ones.  Place beans, water, onion, pork, and salt in the Crockpot.  Cover and cook on low for about 12-13 hours.

Step TWO:  Making them yummy!

Drain the cooked beans, keeping about 2 cups of the juice.   In a large bowl mix that juice you just saved with all the other ingredients (dried mustard, brown sugar, molasses, ketchup, bell pepper, garlic, and Worcestershire Sauce)  I use a whisk, it incorporates it all better.

Return the beans to the crockpot, and pour the ketchup mixture of them.  Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

If you do like I do and start these after dinner the day before you need them…
the beans will be done around 8-9 am, by the time you add the sauce to make them yummy and that cooks up together, it will be Noonish and done in perfect time to get them to that potluck still warm!

*Im sure you can speed this recipe up by soaking the beans over night and then just cooking it all in one day, but I have never tried it that way.

Enjoy!

Baked Apples

There is no easier meals than crock pot cooking.   Throw it in the pot in the morning on low and let it cook all day.  No fuss, no rush at the end of the day, and the house always smells delicious!  I love my crockpot, and other then my coffee maker it is the most used item in my kitchen!  Well, after my mixer.  Like I said, I love my crockpot. ~B

• 6-8 apples, washed and cored
• 2 handfuls raisons
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup water

Butter the sides and bottom of the Crockpot.

In a bowl: mix raisons, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Stuff this mixture down in the holes of the apples.  Its ok to have some spilling out of the tops!

Melt butter in the microwave and drizzle over the tops of the apples.

Slowly pour in the water and cover.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Enjoy!

Crocked Stuffed Bells

There is no easier meals than crock pot cooking.   Throw it in the pot in the morning on low and let it cook all day.  No fuss, no rush at the end of the day, and the house always smells delicious!  I love my crockpot, and other then my coffee maker it is the most used item in my kitchen!  Well, after my mixer.  Like I said, I love my crockpot. ~B

Stuffed Bells are one of my favorite “comfort” foods.  They just remind me of HOME.

• 4-6 bell peppers
• 1/2 pound ground beef (browned and drained)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 package frozen corn (abt 10-oz)
• 1 15-oz can Dark Red Kidney Beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup cooked rice (I like brown rice, but white works)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar +abt 1/4 cup

Combine all ingredients except the peppers.  (that + 1/4 cup cheese) you will use at the end, so don't mix that in.

Carefully cut off the tops of the peppers, and de-seed them.

Then stuff them with the mix.  Carefully place the peppers (stuffing hole UP) in the Crockpot.  

Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours.   Just before you are going to serve them, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and recover for about 5 minutes so the yummy cheese can melt.

Enjoy!

**IMPORTANT NOTE**

Every Crock Pot is different.  My current crock pot only has 3 settings: Warm, Low, High.  The Low setting on my current crock pot burns EVERYTHING that is supposed to be cooked on LOW, so I actually set mine on LOW for the first 10-15 minutes, then switch it down to WARM for the rest of the time.  

*TIP*

Since I only cook 4 bell peppers, I always have a ton of filling left over. 

I usually but 3-4 spoonfuls in the crock pot, incase someone is extra hungry, and then FREEZE the rest. 

The frozen filling comes in great on those “Fend for Yourself” nights when the  kids want something easy like pizza and I would like Grown Up food.  :)

mock lasagna

There is no easier meals than crock pot cooking.   Throw it in the pot in the morning on low and let it cook all day.  No fuss, no rush at the end of the day, and the house always smells delicious!  I love my crockpot, and other then my coffee maker it is the most used item in my kitchen!  Well, after my mixer.  Like I said, I love my crockpot. ~B

This recipe is for some super easy “lasagna”.

• 1 box lasagna noodles (I use Oven Ready Lasagna by Creamette)
• 1 pound ground beef (lightly browned & drained)
• 1/2 pound Italian Sausage (lightly browned & drained)
• 1 med onion (chopped)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 12-oz package of shredded Mozzarella
• 1 12-oz cottage cheese
• 2 6-oz cans tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan

Lightly butter your crock pot.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef, sausage, and onion.  Drain.  While that is cooking, chop your onion, and mince your garlic and just toss it into the meat as it cooks.

In a bowl, whisk together tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, parsley, basil, oregano, and parmesan.

 

Place the meat in your Crockpot,
  top with your cottage cheese, lasagna noodles (broken into bite size pieces),
 

the shredded mozzarella,
 

and then pour the sauce mix over the whole mess.  Run a spatula around the edges down to the bottom, so the sauce can slop over the sides and get around the meat.

Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. 

**IMPORTANT NOTE**

Every Crock Pot is different.  My current crock pot only has 3 settings: Warm, Low, High.  The Low setting on my current crock pot burns EVERYTHING that is supposed to be cooked on LOW, so I actually set mine on LOW for the first 10-15 minutes, then switch it down to WARM for the rest of the time.   If you find your crock pot already causing everything to ‘stick’ after the first 10-15 minutes, lower the setting.  You can add a little water (like a cup or so) to re-moisten it all, and then let it finish cooking on that “warm” setting.

Great served with Garlic Toast and a side salad.

Cheese n Spinach dip

• 1 10-oz package chopped frozen spinach, thawed, drained
• 8-oz Velveeta cheese {cubed}
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4-ounces Philadelphia (or Neufchâtel)cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives

 

Combine all ingredients (except olives) in crockpot.   Cook on LOW for abt 1 hour. After the first hour, stir well making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the crockpot, and then on LOW for 1 hour more.  Stir in the olives right before serving.

Great dip for raw veggies and even CHIPS!  I love it with TOSTITOS!

Crockpot Scalloped Tators n Ham

• 3 lbs medium-sized potatoes (peeled and sliced)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar
• 1 cup cooked ham (chopped into cubes)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  
• 1/2 cup water

In a small bowl, mix the soup and water.  In the crockpot, combine the potatoes, onion, cheese and ham. Pour the soup mix over potato mixture. Cover and cook on high for at least 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Stir well before serving.