The Crockpot Continued… Easy Recipes for Your Family

Alright ladies, as the summer approaches and things are sure to heat up in your kitchen, why not continue to find new and inventive ways to use that crockpot and avoid turning on the oven and heating up the house?

Don’t forget that for easy cleanup you can throw a crockpot liner in before for no mess after.  Enjoy!

1. ~ Hamburger & Potato Soup ~

You will need:

1. 1 1/2 lb. Hamburger
2. 1 lg. clove of garlic
3. 1/4 tsp. pepper
4. 1/2 tsp. thyme
5. 6 med. potatoes
6. 2 lg. onions
7. 1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use chicken due to a mushroom allergy)
8. 1/2 c. water

Cook beef and garlic in skillet until lightly browned.  Stir in pepper and time.  Peel and slice potatoes and onions.  Put 1/2 potatoes and onions into a buttered crock pot.  Add browned beef and top with remaining potatoes and onions.  Mix soup with water and spread over top of contents.  Cover.  Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

~ Again ~ spices are not a necessity, they’re more like a recommendation in my opinion.  But if you keep running into something that you don’t have, make sure to pick up a small container the next time you’re at your local grocery store so that you have it on hand.  No need to make one giant spice run and blow your whole grocery budget!

2. ~ Ground Beef & Veggie Casserole ~

You will need:

1. 2 lg. potatoes, sliced
2. 2 to 3 med. carrots, sliced
3. 1 can of peas, drained
4. 3 med. onions
5. 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned
6. 2 stalks of celery, sliced
7. 1 can cream of tomato soup
8. 1 soup can of water

Place layers of the vegetables in the order given in the crockpot.  Season each layer with salt and pepper.  Put the lightly browned ground beef on top of the celery.  Mix the tomato soup with the water and pour over the layers.  Cover and set on low for 8 hours.

~ Notice how these recipes typically don’t have more than 8 ingredients?  Pretty nice right.  Go ahead and give this one a try by prepping all of the ingredients the night before.

3. ~ Pizza Potatoes ~

You will need:

1. 6 med. potatoes
2. 2 lg. onions
3. 1 lb. smoked sausage
4. 1 tsp. salt
5. 2 (8 oz.) can’s pizza sauce

Peel potatoes and cut in half, place in crock pot.  Cut smoked sausage into pieces and place on top of potatoes.  Chop onion.  Pour pizza sauce on top, cook in crock pot until potatoes are tender.  Again, on low this is something that can sit at home while you’re away.

4. ~ Teriyaki Chicken ~

You will need:

1. 3 lg. frozen chicken breasts with the ribs still attached (or thighs)
2. 1 can (16 oz.) of pineapple chunks, partially drained
3. 4-6 oz. of Kikkoman teriyaki sauce
4. Add vegetables that you desire (broccoli, snow peas, zucchini, squash)

Place chicken breasts in crock pot, with meat facing out.  Dump in the pineapple, add teriyaki sauce and veggies.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve over rice.

Don’t forget about that microwavable rice cooker we talked about before!