Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Casserole

I have found a new website that I love for recipes, Six Sisters Stuff.  I tried a recipe from their site last night and it was so delicious.  It could be used for dinner or breakfast.  I halved the recipe and put the other half in a freezer bag for a meal in a couple of weeks.  This recipe is perfect for leftover ham.  When I halved the recipe I used my 2 quart slow cooker.  It was enough for my boyfriend, myself, and lunch the next day. 

Ingredients:
1 (30 oz) package frozen hash brown potatoes, cubed or shredded
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1 (10.75 oz) can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups cooked chopped ham
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (6 oz) package, herb-seasoned stuffing mix

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Combine hash browns, dried onion, salt, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, and ham and place in slow cooker. Sprinkle stuffing mix over top, then drizzle melted butter over stuffing. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high 2-4 hours.

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

As the weather is getting warmer we are looking for recipes that require less time in the kitchen so we have more time outside.  I found one...  Throwing chicken in a crockpot before you leave for work, shredded the chicken when you get home and add a few ingredients and the main course of dinner is done.  This chicken is very versatile.  Make a sandwich with it, hot or cold, put it on a salad, add noodles and it makes a noodle salad (similar to tuna salad)... oh the possibilities.  I used chicken I had previously cooked in the crockpot, shredded it and froze it.  Worked perfectly to put the frozen chicken in the crockpot, warm it back up, add the ingredients and dinner was done.  

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (I used Chicken Breasts)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite Caesar dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or 2 teaspoons of dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 12 slider buns or 4-6 regular sized hamburger buns

Directions:

• Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.  
•  Remove chicken from cooker using a slotted spoon and drain the water from the slow cooker. Place chicken on a cutting board and pull chicken into shreds, discarding any fat. 
• Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper over the top. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot. 
• Spoon 1/4 cup mixture onto each slider bun if you are making sliders or more for regular sized buns. Top with extra shredded Parmesan cheese and lettuce to serve.

Slow cooker Orange chicken

I love orange chicken, the non-spicy variety, from Chinese restaurants so I was on a mission to find something similar that was much healthier.  I made the recipe below over the New Year's weekend at my cabin and it turned out very good.  Not quite the same as a Chinese restaurant but close enough.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour

olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt (use less if you use table salt)
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

Directions: 

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/09/slow-cooker-orange-chicken-recipe.html

To die for crock pot roast

I was looking for a new and exciting Crock pot Roast recipes and I stumbled across this one.  It has been added to my favorite recipe collection... YUM YUM YUM!

Ingredients
1 beef roast, any cut, to fit size of crock pot.
1 pkg. hidden valley ranch dressing mix
1 pkg. brown gravy mix
1 pkg. Italian dressing mix
1 Cup water
small red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered. (optional)
1 Cup celery , chopped (optional)
1 pkg baby carrots (optional) 

Directions:Mix together packets and water in a bowl. Put roast in crock pot and pour mixture over the top of the roast. Cook on low for 8 hours.  Add veggies during the last three hours.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I don't think this recipe could have gotten any easier.  The hardest part was cutting up onions or maybe buying the groceries.  Who doesn't love a recipe that takes 10 minutes to assemble... 8 hours later dinner is done.  I tried it because of the cream cheese variation.  Most stroganoff's use sour cream so I thought I would give this one a try.  I also added thick cut mushrooms to bulk it up a little.  I made egg noodles to serve it over and made a salad as a side.  It was the perfect amount for 4 adults.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cubed beef stew meat
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 ounces cream cheese

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, combine the meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water.
2. Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-beef-stroganoff-i/detail.aspx

Crockpot Egg Casserole

This was a huge hit on vacation at my cabin! It was very nice to wake up and breakfast was done.  Try different variations with this recipe.  I used ham I had frozen in the freezer and mozzarella cheese.  It only took about 6 hours in the crockpot and I would go any longer than that.  Don’t want to stay up till the wee hours to start the crockpot.  Use a timer that would use if you wanted your lights to turn on while you were gone on vacation.  It doesn’t the same thing for a crockpot.  I used a 7qt. crockpot for this recipes and it was pretty much to the top of the crockpot. 

Ingredients:

• 32 oz. bag frozen hash brown potatoes
• 1 lb. cooked ham, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Preparation:
Spray inside of slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. In small skillet, cook onion and green pepper in olive oil until crisp tender. Let cool about 10 minutes. Place one third of the frozen hash brown potatoes in the slow cooker. Add one third of the ham, onion, green pepper and cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk and seasonings until well mixed. Pour over the ingredients in the slow cooker, cover and turn on low. Cook for 8-10 hours, until casserole is set and eggs are thoroughly cooked. Serves 12

If you have a new hotter cooking crockpot, you'll need to check this after 6 hours. It will probably be done after 7 hours. The eggs should reach a temperature of 160 degrees F.