I’m all about using my slow cooker, the Crock Pot, especially in the winter months. Dinnertime is crazy. My oldest is getting home from kindergarten, all excited to be back at home to play & homework to be completed. My preschooler, recently done napping, is starting to hit the “witching hour” with meltdowns and exhaustion. And baby girl Abby, she is into everything & loves to bedoingwhatever I am doing,which means that one of my two hands is usually wrangling her one way or another. My husband works later hours & is often not home until after the kids are fed and dressed for bed. So I don’t have a ton of time to prep, but I do like to have a homemade meal to serve to my kids. The Crock Pot is awesome forbusy parents & today, I am sharing four quick and easy meal ideas to get delicious meals on the table with a little amount of prep time earlier in the day.
This first recipe is one of my favorites! I adapted one of my mom’s recipes that I love to be cooked in the Crock-Pot & am so happy with how it turned out. I serve with rice & cooked vegetables. Make sure to use the sauce to top the chicken and the rice. One of my favorites…
Slow Cooker Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Dried Beef
Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts
1 Package of Bacon
1 Jar of Dried Beef.
1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 8 Ounce Carton of Sour Cream
Directions:
Wrap chicken breasts with bacon. For each chicken breast, place 2-4 slices of dried beef on the bottom of the crock pot. (I cooked four chicken breasts, so therefore I had four different piles of dried beef.) Place bacon-wrapped chicken on top. In a separate bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup with the sour cream. Cover the chicken with the sauce. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve with rice.
Fajitas is a super easy meal with my kids. We have sort of a “create your own” fajita night wherever everyone can add what they want, which means that one of my kids may just choose cheese & more cheese. I usually serve with some sort of rice & black beans.
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients:
1 Pound of Uncooked Boneless Chicken Breasts
3 Peppers, Assorted Colors
Chicken Broth
Taco Seasoning
Directions:
Slice peppers. Place chicken at bottom of crock pot. Add peppers. Add about 1 cup of chicken broth to add liquid to keep the chicken moist. Season with taco seasoning. Cook on low for approximately 8 hours.
I often adapt a recipe idea in my head based on what I have in the cupboards. These are all ingredients that I often have in my refrigerator or pantry so it’s an easy go-to meal night for a cold day. Soup is another favorite in this house because it can easily be reheated for another lunch or dinner. With young ones, such as my toddler, I often drain some of the liquid and she can eat with her hands. We serve with crackers or fresh bread which my young boys love so they can dip their side right into the soup and eat.
Hamburger Soup
Ingredients:
1 Pound of Hamburger
Olive Oil
1/2 Cup of Cut Celery
1/2 Cup of Cut Carrots
1 Onion, Diced
5 Cups of Chicken Broth
1 28 Ounce Can of Diced Tomatoes
1 28 Ounce Can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 Tbsp of Garlic
1 Tbsp of Basil
1 Tbsp of Oregano
1/2 Box of Pasta of Choice
Salt
Directions:
Brown hamburger in skillet with a small amount of olive oil (approximately 1 tbsp). Once browned, add celery, carrots, and onion and cook on medium-low heat for about five minutes. In crock pot, combine the hamburger & vegetable mixture, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, & oregano. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Right before serving, cook pasta. Serve the soup in bowls & add a small amount of pasta. Season with salt to taste.
(I always cook pasta separately as I find it easier to save leftovers without the pasta getting mushy. When we eat again for leftovers, we just make a new batch of pasta.)
This last recipe is really is probably an appetizer recipe, but we do eat it for dinner. I got this recipe from my mom as well & is an easy go-to dinner for our family. We often serve with fruit & yogurt for the kids. This would be a great recipe for upcoming Super Bowl Sunday!
Nacho Dip
Ingredients:
1 Pound of Hamburger Meat
1 Small Bar of Velveeta Cheese, Cut into Cubes
1 15 Ounce Can of Chili with Beans
(You can do without beans as well, it’s really your preference!)
Tortilla Chips
Directions:
Brown the hamburger meat. In slow cooker, combine meat, chili, & velvet. Stir well & cook on low for 1-2 hours. Keep the slow cooker set to warm to serve & make sure to stir before serving. Serve with tortilla chips.
I hope you enjoy these recipes & would love to hear some ofyour favorite Crock-Pot dinners. I am always lookingfor more ideas & suggestions! For a few more slow cooker recipes, check out our following posts:
Quick and Easy Crock-Pot Pot Roast
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