The Crock Pot Cookery

So, I have been testing out crock pot recipes on Brent for that past two weeks. Some have been good, some have been nooooot so good. I attempted my first pot roast today and I must say, it was delicious! I was so pleased with myself that I made Brent take pictures...my first pot roast Yeay! Yes, we had a photo shoot of our little dinner for two that I had cooking away in the crock pot all day. :)

Voila! Pot Roast, Potatoes, Carrots and Rolls

Here are some of our favorite recipes so far....

SPICY POTATO SOUP
1 lb. Ground Beef or Bulk Sausage, Browned
4 Cups cubed, peeled potatoes
1 small onion, chopped
3-8oz. cans tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2-1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
water

1. Combine all ingredients except water in slow cooker. Add enough water to cover ingredients
2. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hrs. or High 5 hrs. until potatoes are tender.

Our variations:
We used bulk HOT sausage Jimmy Dean
Cut the onion (Brent hates onion) and seasoned with a little onion salt
Added: Garlic salt, Crushed Red Pepper and Italian Seasoning to taste
You can adjust the spicy-ness of this dish by the sausage or hamburger, the hot sauce and the crushed red pepper

CORN CHOWDER
6 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
2-10 oz. pkgs. frozen corn
16 oz. can cream-style corn
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups water
2 cups milk

1. In skillet, brown bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving drippings.
2. Add onions and potatoes to skillet and saute for 5 minutes. Drain.
3. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Mix well.
4. Cover. Cook on low 6-7 hours.

Our variations:
We cut the onions, of course, and added in the bacon that was browned.

BRISKET-Mom's recipe
1 medium brisket
1 jar Claude's brisket sauce or Liquid Smoke
Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
Celery Salt

Sprinkle brisket liberally with all salts. Rub into the meat. Place meat upside down (fat side up) in the slow cooker ceramic dish. Pour the whole jar of Claude's over the meat. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Place in slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours the next morning.

BARBECUED PORK
2-3 lb. boneless pork roast, cubed
2 onions, chopped
12-oz bottle barbecue sauce
1/4 cup honey
hamburger buns

1.Place meat in slow cooker. Add onions, barbecue sauce and honey.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 6-8 hours.
3. Use two forks to shred meat.
4. Serve on buns with sauce.

Our variation:
Cut onions, we used Bullseye Barbecue Sauce.
We had so much of this leftover that we used it for burritos for lunch the next day with a little cheese and light sour cream...delicious!

POT ROAST
6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 carrots, peeled and halved
3 to 3 1/2 lb. chuck roast
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
Salt
Pepper
2-3 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup cold water

1. Place potatoes and carrots in slow cooker. Add meat. Top with soups.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 8-9 hours.
3. To make gravy, remove meat and vegetables to serving platter and keep warm. Pour juices into saucepan an bring to boil. Mix 2-3 Tbsp. flour with 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Stir into juices in pan until thickened. Serve alongside as gravy.

BEEF ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp. oil
10 oz. can of enchilada sauce
8 oz. can tomato sauce
salt to taste
pepper to taste
8 corn tortillas
1 lb. hamburger, browned
15 oz. can ranch-style beans, drained
11 oz. can Mexicorn, drained
3/4 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
2 1/4 oz. can sliced black olives, drained

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil in saucepan. Brown hamburger with onion and garlic. Stir in Enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place two tortillas in bottom of slow cooker, layer 1/3 hamburger/sauce mixture on tortillas, top with 1/3 beans, 1/3 corn, 1/3 cheese and 1/3 black olives. Repeat layers 2 more times ending with black olives.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 6-8 hours.

Our Variation:
No Onions, No black olives. Served with tortilla chips and salsa.

Along with our crock pot experimentation, the girls have been doing great!!! Baylee slept 11 HOURS LAST NIGHT!!! We had a great night, two nights ago when all of the girls slept from 7:30 pm until 5:15 am. They are doing great! They have started holding onto toys and getting excited and smiling at toys they like. They are also very close to rolling over and we are working slowly on sitting up. Addie and Reagan LOVE the monkey toys we have hung from the top of their swings. We let them sit in their swings maybe once a day without the motion on and just play with the monkey toy and they just squeal and bat at him...so cute!

Reagan in her swing

Grammy has been here to see us A LOT lately. She has been a great help to me with the girls during appointments. She also helps me all the time by watching two girls when I have to take one girl for an appointment so I don't have to take all three with me to every appointment. Here is a picture of Grammy with Baylee Boo during playtime.

Grammy and Baylee

Baylee during tummy time
Addie loving her reflection in the mirror above her swing :)

We are very much looking forward to the next few weeks. Christy is coming back! YEAY! She is going to help me get the girls down to 0 feeds. Imagine it, 12 hours of sleep at 5 months old (3 months adjusted). She's awesome. :)

We are also looking forward to our nephew CJ's 4th birthday party! Star Wars theme...so cool. :) On the invitation, guests were encouraged to dress as their favorite Star Wars character and Brent said, "I need to find out what Clark (our brother-in-law, CJ's daddy) is wearing so we don't duplicate costumes." I said, "Honey, I am pretty sure that was meant to be directed at the kids invited." and he replied, "Well, where are we going to find three Princess Leia costumes for 5 month olds?" He's such a riot and keeps me laughing all day long. Love you, honey!