Slowcooker Chicken Artichoke Pasta

This may very well be similar to another recipe posted previously here.  It seems familiar, but it was kind of thrown together based on ingredients I had for another recipe that I didn't want to follow.  The original recipe was for baked cheesy artichokes and spinach.  But it seemed like a side dish and I had no other plan for dinner to accompany it.  So instead I threw all of the ingredients into a crock pot on top of chicken and made pasta about 10 minutes before it was ready.  Voila.  Dinner.

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts, cut into 2 pieces each
1 car artichokes
1/2 bag of fresh spinach, or 1 box frozen spinach (thawed)
2 TBS garlic
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 small carton (1 1/2 cups??) heavy cream
1 block cream cheese
fresh pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Spray crock pot with non-stick spray.  Put chicken on bottom.  

In a bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.  Add to chicken in crock pot.

Cook on high for 2-3 hours.  Serve over pasta.
 

VERDICT
This was delicious.  I added a bit more skim milk to the crock pot because the cream wasn't quite enough to moisten the entire mixture, but it wasn't necessary. 

Crockpot Tortellini in Tomatoes & Spinach

 

This recipe came from Pinterest under the heading "THE BEST Crockpot meal I've tried yet!"

Seems easy enough... let's give it a try!

INGREDIENTS

1 bag frozen tortellini or refrigerated... it doesn't actually matter

1 small bag of fresh spinach

2 cans Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 box or 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock... whoops!

1 block cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

Cut cream cheese into small blocks and add to crockpot with remaining ingredients.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  If your tortellini was not frozen, 2-3 hours is just fine... or else your tortellini will start to fall apart.

VERDICT

I don't know if this is the BEST crockpot recipe ever, but it is one of the easiest.  And it's very flexible.  I didn't have vegetable broth, I had chicken stock.  Still tasted fine.  I even had a can of regular old tomatoes that I used, adding in dried oregano, garlic powder & basil at the end.  Still tasted just fine.  Best of all- everyone ate it.  No picky eaters with this recipe!

 

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork

Sometimes I go through my drafts file and find recipes that have been sitting there for a while.  Like months. Kind of like this crock-pot recipe!  Sure, it's not winter any longer, but I love the crock pot year long.  It's the perfect way to cook in the hot summer months without making your kitchen unbearably hot!

March 26-
It is STILL darn cold here.  Luckily I have a lot more crock pot Sunday recipes to get through before we start to thaw out.

INGREDIENTS

For the pork:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

For the Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

DIRECTIONS

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens, it took about 5-10 minutes for mine to thicken. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

VERDICT

6-8 hours on high is WAY too hot and WAY too long.  I noticed it was really cooking about 2 hours in and lowered the heat to low.  Even then it was done in 5 hours.  So watch your time or you'll have a dried out mess of a pork tenderloin.

Other than that, this recipe was perfect!

Beer chicken

 

INGREDIENTS

• 2lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or a mix of breasts and dark meat)
• 1 bottle or can of your favorite beer
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in the crock pot, and cook on high for 4-5 hrs, or low for 6-8 hrs. 

VERDICT

Low for 6 hours was too long- it was dry!  This doesn't mean it wasn't a good recipe- I just haven't mastered chicken in the crock pot yet.  I over cook it EVERY TIME!

Crockpot Mac and Cheese

 

I made this big crockpot of Mac & Cheese up for a board meeting it was my turn to bring dinner to.

I can't say that I'm the biggest fan, but for anyone who likes the authentic mac & cheese (with the browned edges and hard bits) this is the recipe for you.  Me... I'll still take my box of Kraft Mac & Cheese with the fake powdered cheese any day :)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound uncooked macaroni or hearty pasta
4 cups of milk
1 egg

4 cups shredded cheese (I used all cheddar)
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 T dried mustard

I also added 1/2 a cup of velveeta cheese block.  I like my mac & cheese creamy, not gritty and thought this would help.

 

DIRECTIONS

Spray crock well with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, whip egg and milk together. Stir in spices.

Add cheese and noodles, and stir well to combine. Pour the mixture into the crockpot.

It will be very liquidy.

Cover and cook on low for 2-5 hours, or on high for 1-3. The cooking time will vary depending on what size crockpot you are using, and how quickly it heats and cooks.  It cooks a lot quicker than you might expect- watch carefully!

 

 

VERDICT

The board meeting this was taken to only had 4 members present.  So I brought a LOT home.  My husband was very happy to help finish it off over the next several night. 

 

She was not impressed either.