Slow cooker Meatloaf

Who does not love a big hot slice of meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes? Well if you dont like meatloaf then you are CRAZY! To me, meatloaf is one of those comfort foods that is always what the doctor ordered. Now, if you have read any of my blogs, you know that I really am not a fan of cooking ground beef in the slow cooker. It all goes back to a stuffed pepper recipe that was HORRIBLE! The whole meal had to be thrown out. I think the thought of another ruined meal keeps me cooking the ground beef on the stove.

But, I am not above facing my fears. I tried a meatloaf recipe, and I liked it. (Read that sentence again like you are Katy Perry).

Ingredients:
1 small chopped onion (you can saute them if you are feeling froggy)
2 TBS tomato paste
1/3 c broth
2 tsp soy sauce
3 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Worestershire
1 cup Ketchup

Mix tomato paste, soy sauce, worestershire, broth, and onions. Combine onion mix with eggs, bread crumbs, and combine into meat. I added the loaf mixture to the freezer bag and stored it in the freezer.

We defrosted the meatloaf the night before and added it to the slow cooker before heading to church Sunday morning. Keep in mind when crock pottin' whatever is on the bottom will cook faster. I took aluminum foil and made 6 small balls. I then layered 2 sheets of foil and punched holes in the foil to allow the fat to drip down. I then sat the meatloaf in the slow cooker and added the ketchup. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. With most meatloaf recipes in the oven you add the ketchup the last 10-15 minutes that the loaf is cooking. You can really do either, I just like the ketchup to be nice and congealed. (That sounds gross, so I hope you know what I am talking about.)

Do you want to know the best part??? My 5 year old at the meatloaf. WHAT!!!! I know I was so excited it made me wish that I had hid some vegetables in it before cooking.

I of course made some instant taters and opened up a can or two of green beans.

There were plenty of leftovers for the next day, and our dog spicy even got a small taste. I may not have fully committed to cooking raw ground beef in my slow cooker, but meatloaf will clearly be the exception.

Hope you enjoy your meatloaf, and keep some leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the next day.

Slow Cooker Siracha Pork Tacos

My husband and I LOVE spicy food. Recently Subway has had a Spicy Siracha Steak sub that has this creamy Siracha sauce on it, and it is SOOO good. (Yes, I do eat foods that are made outside of the crokpot!) Well it got me thinking that I would love to find a slow cooker recipe that centers around Siracha sauce. I decided to combine a korean pork taco recipe I had along with the Siracha sauce. I also found a recipe for Siracha cream sauce which can be made mild (pansy-mouth)- hot (Lips on Fire!).

The night that I made this recipe I was oh so grateful for that little slow cooker pot. It was a busy day at work, I pulled in the driveway at 5:20 pm to find my 5 year old running around outside, not ready for T-Ball practice that started in 10 min. I go inside to find my husband hobbling around due to a pulled muscle in his back (poor guy could not even put his shoes on). We arrived at T ball practice late (I don't like to be late, and if I am ever late... it is due to my husband- he has his own time zone). I got home just as my sister pulled in so that we could go to a children consignment sale. We stood in a line that resembled black Friday shopping and I got home around 9 pm. One thing that I did not do was eat fast food. Everyone had a delicious meal even though it was a crazy night.

Ingredients:
Pork:
2 lbs pork loin
4 TBS Soy Sauce
2 TBS Peanut butter (definitely optional!!)
1 TBS light Corn Syrup
1 TBS Red Wine Vinegar
1 TBS Minced Garlic
2 TBS Siracha Sauce
1 tsp EVOO

Taco filling:
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 bag shredded cabbage
corn tortillas

Sauce
1 1/2 TBS sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup Mayo
2-3 TBS Siracha Sauce (more or less depending on taste)

In my freezer bag I added all the "Pork Ingredients to" the pork loin. I defrosted the bag the night before and put it on low for 6 hours. Once the meat was done, my husband shredded the pork in the slow cooker. We then sauteed the shredded cabbage in 1/2 cup vegetable broth. This step is not necessary and can be skipped if you want crunchier cabbage.

Prepare the sauce by whisking together the Mayo, Siracha, and sweetened condensed milk. I warmed the corn tortillas on the stove and then made the tacos. Just layer with pork, cabbage, and the Siracha cream sauce. The pork is not spicy at all so you will be getting most spice from the cream sauce.

This meal was SO good!!! My husband said this can be on the menu anytime I wanted it! Since there is always alot of left overs another idea I had was to get the Asian Salad ready mix in the grocery and put the pork on top.

Hope you enjoy the recipe and let me know how hot you made your Siracha cream sauce!

2 week slow cooker menu/ grocery list

I hate going to the grocery store! I try to go only once every 2 weeks. I go on Sundays after church along with the majority of people in this town. Even though Sunday grocery store excursions are horrible, I have found that if I do not go on Sunday I will not go at all! Once home I put all foods together and package them in freezer meals. 

All meals are enough for 2 nights. You can either split the recipes in 1/2 and freeze separately or just prepare left overs. (That is what we do)

On the Menu: (click the link for the recipe)

Slow cooker BBQ Chicken

Slow cooker Chicken Noodle

Slow cooker BBQ Burger Sliders

Slow Cooker Gumbo

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Slow Cooker Goulash

Slow Cooker Gyros

Grocery List:

Meats:

6-12 chicken drumsticks

4 lbs chicken breast

3 lbs ground beef

1 kilbasa

1 lbs Shrimp (only if you want shrimp gumbo instead of chicken)

Canned goods:

2 cans chicken broth

3 cans cream of chicken

2 cans cream of mushroom

2 cans tomato sauce

4 cans diced tomatoes

1 can diced green chilis

1 can mushrooms

Frozen Foods:

1 bag frozen sweet potato tater tots (regular tots are fine too)

1 bag frozen okra

1 bag frozen corn

Condiments/ spices:

white vinegar

red wine vinegar

ketchup

mustard

BBQ sauce

EVOO

minced garlic (jarred)

creole seasoning

cayenne pepper

Brown sugar

Produce:

2 lemons

3 onions

2 cucumbers

1 red/green pepper

shredded lettuce

slicing tomatoes

Dairy:

1 lbs velveeta

32 oz Greek Yogurt

Bread/ Pasta:

Pita pockets or Flat bread

1 bag egg noodles

spaghetti noodles

1 box macaroni noodles

slider buns (or hamburger buns)

White rice

The only meal that you will need a side with is the BBQ chicken (We had steamed cabbage) and the gyros (we had hummus and chips). You can always change the list as your wish. 

When I shopped all these groceries cost about $175. Some of the ingredients you may already have at home. You may have more patience than I and use coupons. 

I will give you some parting advise. Stick to your list, do not shop with children (you will end up over spending due to the incessant "Can I have this?"), and mark off what you have purchased (Did I mention how I hate when I have forgotten something?)

Hope you enjoy all these great recipes and check back for more grocery lists!

2 week grocery list Feb 2014

Slow cooker BBQ chicken

One thing about planning your menu out is being organized. In most aspects of my life I lack organization. I am organized at work, despite what my desk looks like, and I am organized with my crockpot meals. Everything else is merely organized chaos. Everyother Saturday I sit down with my "diary", as my son calls it, (a notebook full of recipes) and computer. I go through old recipes, find and tweak new ones. I review my menu for the next two weeks with my main squeeze to see it he is requesting anything in particular.

When I was making my most recent grocery list, my husband said something that made me look at him with utter confusion. He said "Can we get something to grill?" Whhaatt? Grill? Like, not use my slow cooker? I told him I had to think about it. I have been using my slowcooker for 90% of all meals for the past 5 months. And prior to that I used it pretty frequently. Now, dont get me wrong, I love a grilled meal just as much as a crocked meal. But, the one thing I love more is coming home to a already cooked meal. I went ahead an prepared for BBQ chicken as that could be grilled or prepared in the crock pot.

Ingredients: Serves 6
6-8 chicken drumsticks
1 bottle BBQ sauce
3TBS brown sugar

I added all the ingredients to a freezer bag and defrosted the night before. Place the chicken and BBQ sauce in the slowcooker and cook high 3 hrs or low 5-6 hours. A good tip is to put the cooked chicken drumsticks under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes.

With this meal we also had steamed cabbage and onions (Mmmmm). My son kept asking me for a bone. I was thinking, Yes!!! He is going to eat something besides peanut butter... nope, he just wanted to pretend he was a dog and chewing on a bone.

If you decide to cook this in the slowcooker (team chintzylady) or on the grill (team grill-guy) it is very easy to prepare, easy on the budget, and delicious to eat.

I forgot to take a picture, but this is what it looks like (You see one BBQ chicken leg, you've seen them all)

Crockpot Chicken Noodle

I love this recipe because it is very versatile. It is also SOOO cheap to make. Often times when you hear Chicken Noodle, you think of being sick. When I am sick, the last thing that I want is a can of overcooked mystery meat chicken in super salty broth with mushy vegetables. But that might just be me. After making this a few times I love it regardless of my germ count. Healthy or sick this is a go to meal in my house.

Like I said before, I have made this a couple different ways

1. Like traditional Chicken noodle soup (more liquidy)
2. Creamy noodle soup (thicker consistency)
3. Chicken noodle casserole

The consistency is in how long you cook it and  how much cream of chicken you use.

The Ingredients: Serves 4-6

1/2 bag egg noodles

2 chicken breasts

2 cans of chicken broth

1-2 cans of cream of chicken soup (more C of C for a creamier consistency)

chopped celery and carrots (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

In your freezer bag place the chicken broth, chicken breast and optional chopped vegetables. When you are ready to cook, defrost the night before. Cook on high 3hrs, or low 6 hr. Remove the chicken and diced. Before adding the chicken back, whisk in 1-2 cans of cream of chicken soup. (I used 2 for a creamier outcome.) Replace chicken to slowcooker and cook on low for 30-45 min. If you want a more soupy-soup, cook the egg noodles in a separate pot and then add them to the slowcooker. This time after adding my chicken back into the slow cooker, I poured the uncooked egg noodles into the slowcooker and cooked on low for 1 hr. It then sat overnight on the warm setting. In the morning it was more of a casserole consistency. Now I could have just been done after the hour on low, but I was super lazy and went to bed. But I think it turned out just as good!

If you are a super nice friend you can always make this for someone that is sick. Im sure they would recover quickly!  Hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know what version you like the best!!

Slow cooker Gumbo

Every Christmas, my father in law makes the most delicious Gumbo! I remember the Christmas I was pregnant, I sat down with a large bowl of Gumbo and a bottle of Tums. That night while I was propped up on pillows with the worse indigestion ever, I was still thinking about that gumbo. When I found a recipe for slow cooker gumbo I knew I had to try it. After several runs and tweaks it is just right.

I have to warn you about this recipe. A roux is involved....For all you novice cookers, a roux is essentially burnt flour. Im not joking! You also have to exemplify great persistence when making this dumb thing. A roux is equal parts oil and flour cooked over medium to low heat while constantly being stirred. In my experience you also have to have some magical power to make a perfect roux. If you cant tell yet, I am not very good at making a roux; however, I have a very talented husband that can. He also makes delicious gravy too (the same technique for making gravy is involved in a roux.) Maybe it's a hereditary thing, because my mother can not make gravy unless it is a powdered mix.

If you are roux-challenged like me, and dont have an awesome husband that handles all things roux dont let that keep you from making this great recipe. You can always buy Tony Chachers's Instant Creole Roux mix.

This is really an easy and cheap recipe. This time I used chicken and turkey kilbasa. When shrimp is on sale I will use shrimp and kilbasa.

 First step is to make your roux and set aside to cool. Stir 3T of oil and 3T of flour on low heat until you get a dark color and the mixture is thickened.

In a freezer bag put rotel, diced kilbasa, diced chicken, minced garlic, cayenne pepper, and creole seasoning. I also added diced jalapenos (optional) Once your roux is cooled pour it in the bag.

I defrosted my gumbo the night before in the fridge and then through it in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. About 30-60 minutes before eating, put the frozen okra into the gumbo. I have found that putting it in last keep the okra a little crisp.

We always cook white rice and  mix it in, but some like their gumbo without a starch. If you have sissy taste buds and can not tolerate hot foods, substitute hot rotel with diced tomatoes, or skip the cayenne pepper. We like spicy foods at our house!

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

This is one savory recipe- and of course super easy to make. Another freezer crockpot recipe for another busy day of the week!

Wednesday, I was meeting a couple of girls from church for dinner. We have our Lifegroup on Wednesday nights. In attempts to have adult conversation, we alternate meeting every other week. One week the dads stay home with the kids and the women meet and vise-verse. Wednesday lady's night is full of fun stories and laughter. The night usually ends when one of our spouses calls and sends an SOS.

Tuesday night I reminded the hubs that I would not be home until late. His first question, "So what am I going to do for dinner?". Now I am a lucky lady who has a spouse that can cook, as long as he knows what is planned. The slow cooker meals are always a team effort in this house. He gets home about 2 hours before me and sends a text "Do I need to do anything with what is in the crokpot?". This day was no different. On the menu was Creamy Chicken Spaghetti.

Ingredients: Serves 8-10

1 small box dry spaghetti

1 lbs velveeta

2 cups cooked  diced chicken (1 put 2 chicken breasts on broil for about 15-20 min while I was preparing the freezer meals)

1 can cream of mushroom

1 can cream of chicken

1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)

1 can green chilies

1 can mushrooms

1 small onion diced

Combine everything except the velveeta and put it in a freezer bag.

I defrosted the meal the night before in the fridge and just dumped it in the slow cooker before leaving for work. I set it to low for 3 hours. When the hubs came home from work, the slow cooker was on warm and he added the velveeta. He also boiled the spaghetti and poured it in the slow cooker once it was done.

Now, this is just a theory, but I imagine my husband then got a plate full of spaghetti and sat in front of his Xbox One for the night. Considering the day before his had picked up his reserved copy of Titan Fall. (Im married to a 30 year old gamer). My son went to church with my parents that night so my husband had a few quiet hours by himself.

This makes a ton of food. The last time I made it I took half of it over to my sister and brother in law. (best sister in the world- me, not her of course... Just joking, she is alright).

I have heard this strange thing before. I have heard that some people do not like mushrooms. Whaaattt? Do not let your hatred for the fungus deter you from making this recipe! Just skip the mushrooms.

Hope you enjoy this yummy twist on traditional spaghetti. It is pretty delicious!