swiss steak

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 1/2 to 2 lb. round steak, cut in serving portions
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 can tomato soup or a can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 c. water (if using tomato soup)
• 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar

Combine flour, salt, and pepper; using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin, pound mixture into steak. Brown steak in butter with chopped onion. Add tomato soup, water, vinegar; transfer to crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

cocktail weiners in tangy sweet sauce

grape jelly
ketchup
cocktail weiners

mix equal parts grape jelly and ketchup. Stir using low heat until jelly is melted and mix has a smooth consistency.  Add in cocktail weiners and stir.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. 

Alternately, place weiners in a crockpot and pour sauce over.  Stir and cook on low for 3-4 hours before serving. 

I like to leave them in the crockpot and place toothpicks beside the pot for parties.

onion and balsamic vinegar pot roast

3-4 pound boneless roast
1-2 T steak rub
black pepper to taste
1-2 T olive oil 1/4 cup water to deglaze pan
2-3 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1 cup beef broth, cooked down to 1/2 cup
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Trim as much fat as you can from roast, and cut if necessary to fit into Crockpot. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides. This will take a few minutes;

While roast browns put 1 cup beef stock in saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce. Peel onions and cut into thick slices. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture.

Place onions in bottom of Crockpot. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set Crockpot to low and cook 6-8 hours, until beef is tender. The meat might be partly submerged in liquid after this much time.

Remove meat from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from Crockpot and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.

easy way to get a few meals for pretty cheap

I buy a 9 ish lb spiral cut ham.  I cut the slices off the bone, wrapping them in meal sized portions in freezer paper.  When I want to make ham, I take a meal sized portion from the freezer and place it in the crockpot with some pineapple juice and sliced or chunked pineapple.  It takes about 4-6 hours on low for the ham to be done.  This is a fully cooked ham when I freeze it so basically I am just warming it up.I use any leftovers from that meal in this dish for another meal.

1 9 lb ham can make multiple meals for us.  Ham, ham sandwiches, cheesy au gratin potatoes with ham, grilled ham and cheese, diced up in camping eggs, and the ham bone is used for beans and ham, which my mom makes in the pressure cooker and then cans for us.  I can get 14-15 meals from one ham.  That's a bargain!

chicken cacciatore

2 boneless/skinless thighs and breasts
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 large red or green bell peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon each basil and oregano
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 (8 oz.) can stewed tomatoes with chiles
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling before serving

Place sliced onions on bottom of crock pot. Add chicken. Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
Cook on low 7-9 hours. Serve over pasta

*made this dish on 11/4.  It was quite spicy but we did enjoy it.  Next time I would tame the spices down by using just diced tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes with chiles.  I think that made it a tad too spicy for my taste but my husband loved it.  Definitely a keeper.  I also used canned mushrooms instead of fresh and left out the basil as I didn't have any.  I forgot the parmesan cheese as well.*

finished product

chicken parmesan

The Ingredients:

--2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

--1/2 cup bread crumbs

--1/4 cup parmesan cheese

--1/2 t Italian Seasoning

--1 t black pepper

--1 T olive oil

--1 beaten egg

--shredded mozzarella cheese

--favorite pasta sauce

The Directions:

--spread the 1 T of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert

--whip the egg with a fork in a separate bowl

--mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the parmesan cheese in another separate dish

--dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings

--place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crock

--layer shredded mozzarella cheese on top

--cover with entire jar of sauce

--close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours. If your chicken is still frozen, it will take longer.

Serve with your favorite pasta.

This recipe is from 1 year of crockpot cooking blog.  I changed a few things to suit our tastes.

meatballs with gravy

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  small onion, grated
• 1  clove garlic, minced
• 1  pound  ground turkey or ground beef
• 1  large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2  cup  rolled oats (do not use instant)
• 1 package gravy mix or make some homemade

Prep

1. Warm oil and saute onion and garlic.  Make gravy mix in a seperate pan
2. Place turkey or beef in a large bowl. Add onion mixture, egg and oats. Use your hands to gently but thoroughly blend ingredients. Dampen hands lightly and form mixture into about 20 meatballs, each 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
3. Pour a small amount of gravy over bottom of slow cooker. Add meatballs, top with remaining gravy. Pour in 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on high until meatballs are cooked through, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

I serve this with mashed potatoes.

Salsa chicken

chicken breasts (boneless skinless works best but can use bone in)
jar of salsa

place defrosted chicken breasts in a crockpot, add in 1/2 jar or so of salsa (add in to taste and depending on how much chicken you are making).  cover and turn on low, cook until chicken is done (6-8) hours.

slow cooker BBQ meatballs

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  small onion, grated
• 1  clove garlic, minced
• 1  pound  ground turkey or ground beef
• 1  large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2  cup  rolled oats (do not use instant)
• 2  cups  barbecue sauce

Prep

1. Warm oil and saute onion and garlic. 
2. Place turkey or beef in a large bowl. Add onion mixture, egg and oats. Use your hands to gently but thoroughly blend ingredients. Dampen hands lightly and form mixture into about 20 meatballs, each 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
3. Pour a small amount of sauce over bottom of slow cooker. Add meatballs, top with remaining sauce. Pour in 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on high until meatballs are cooked through, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

I serve this with mashed potatoes.