Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Super Bowl Sunday was unofficial "Crock Pot" day in our house.  We didn't really get a chance to eat breakfast or a real lunch, so I whipped up this dip to munch on until dinner.  We had everything in the house, so it was nice and easy.

I got this version of the recipe from my cousin at our wedding shower.  It was so easy!  And of course, delicious!  I have another recipe for this kind of dip here, baked in an oven, not a Crock Pot.  Also great!

1 pound shredded or cubed cooked chicken (I boiled 2 breasts and shredded them)

8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup ranch dressing

3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Wing sauce (not the regular kind, has to be the wings version)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients in a Crock Pot, heat for around an hour on high until everything is melted.  Turn heat to low and keep on low while serving.

Great with tortilla chips or celery.

Note from the original chef...light ingredients are OK, but do not use Fat Free...does not come out as well. :)

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Pork -2, Amy - 1.  I had written off cooking pork.   I tried 2 different recipes for a pork tenderloin and both were disappointments.  When I suggested to Steve that I make a pulled pork sandwich for Super Bowl Sunday dinner, he said sure, and I didn't even realize I volunteered to cook pork...the meat that had haunted me!  This was a great, simple recipe that was delicious!

I found this recipe on All Recipes.com and since it was a Crock Pot recipe, I thought it would be perfect.  It was very easy and didn't require any out of the ordinary ingredients, which I always like!  I did add some BBQ sauce and liquid smoke at the end per the recommendations of others on the site and it was great!

I wish I would have remembered to buy some nice kaiser rolls to have with these, but I forgot to grab them at the store.  Luckily, I had some regular old boring sesame hamburger buns in the freezer.

I did cut the recipe below in half.  The original serves 12.  We had enough for 4 sandwiches and probably at least 4 more, which will be great for dinner this week.  Here is the original.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast, netted or tied
1 (10.5 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed French Onion Soup
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
12 round sandwich rolls or hamburger rolls, split

1. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until it's well browned on all sides.
2. Stir the soup, ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the pork and turn to coat.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours* or until the pork is fork-tender. (I cooked on high for 6 hours)
4. Remove the pork from the cooker to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the pork. Return the pork to the cooker. (I didn't have to do this.  Mine literally fell apart to the touch at 6 hours in the pot)
5. Divide the pork and sauce mixture among the rolls.

I did try to remove a majority of the liquid the meat cooked in to cut down on the juicy/messiness.  That is when I added about 3/4 cup of BBQ sauce and around 1 Tablespoon of liquid smoke.  I let that heat up for another 15 minutes or so and then served.

Crockpot Meatballs over Noodles

I wanted to throw something in the Crockpot for dinner that was warm, gooey and mindless. I found this on All Recipes.com and thought we would try it. It is kind of like Swedish meatballs, but better. And SO easy. I mean, really easy. No measuring or anything!

The recipe originally called for 24 servings!! I would love to see the size of the Crock Pot you would use for that one! I cut it in half to 12, because that is what took 1 can of each item. So that is what I am listing here. If you want to mess around with the serving size, just follow the link above. This made enough for Steve and I with leftovers...not a ton, but some. It was really good and hit the spot on a cold winter's night!

1 can cream of celery soup (I used Healthy Request)

1 can condensed French Onion soup

8 oz. sour cream (about a cup)

3 pounds frozen Italian style meatballs (I ended up only using 2 pounds)

egg noodles

melted butter

Throw the cream of celery and french onion soup into the Crock Pot, mix well. Add the meatballs. If you choose, you can add the sour cream at this time as well. I followed some suggestions from other readers and added it in the last 3o minutes. I also added 2 small jars of mushrooms.

Cook on high for 3 hours. I cooked ours on low for around 6 and found the meatballs were breaking up a lot when I was stirring it around, so my advice would be to not cook it for too long.

Serve over cooked egg noodles that you can add butter to if you want, I didn't.

BBQ Ribs in a Crock Pot

We have been MIA from our kitchen for awhile...reverting back to old standards and frozen quick meals from Trader Joe's! I am anxious for the wedding planning and execution to soon be done so I can dig into all our new cookbooks and try out new recipes!

This recipe is from my grandma. At our showers, we included a recipe card for everyone to bring back completed with them at the shower. We got some great recipes! This one was quick, easy and delicious!!!

3-4 pounds spare ribs

salt

pepper

onion (I just used a medium sized yellow one)

16 oz. jar of BBQ sauce (any flavor you like)

Heat up your broiler. Cut the ribs into serving size pieces. Rub salt and pepper on both sides. Place ribs on broiler pan. Broil ribs for about 10-15 minutes or until they start to brown.

Slice onion, place in the bottom of the crock pot. Pour the entire jar of BBQ sauce on top. Place ribs on top of sauce and onion and then stir all around so the ribs get coated. I kind of stood the ribs up on their sides to maximize the sauce coverage. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours. The ribs will be just falling off the bone...delicious!!!

Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken

Since we had our 3rd (and final) wedding prep class with the church all afternoon today, I wanted to make something that wouldn't take much to do when we got home.  I got this recipe from a fellow Knottie's food blog and have been wanting to try it.  We really liked it and are already thinking of things to add to it for the next time!

3 - 4 boneless chicken breasts (un-thawed or frozen, I used frozen and it worked great)

4 Tbsp. butter

1 packet dry Italian dressing mix

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup (we used the Healthy Request kind)

8 0z. cream cheese (I used Neufchatel, less fat, same cream cheese taste we all know and love)

1/2 cup chicken broth

Place the chicken breasts on the bottom of the crock pot, sprinkle the packet of dressing mix on top of the chicken.  Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter and drizzle over the dressing covered chicken.  Set the Crock Pot on low and cook for 4-6 hours.

About an hour before you want to eat, melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. in a large pan and saute the chopped onion and garlic.  Add the remaining ingredients (cream of chicken soup, cream cheese and chicken broth).  Stir until smooth.

Add the mixture to the crock pot and cook for an additional hour.  We had it with egg noodles...rice would probably be good as well!  Enjoy!

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili

I love anything I can use a crock pot for. It is my new favorite kitchen gadget! Since the weather has turned colder, I have been craving soup and chili, so I made some super easy chili this weekend that turned out yummy!

1 1/2 pound boneless chicken breasts
2 15.8 oz. cans Northern Beans (drain 1 can, leave the liquid in the other)
1 15.5 oz. can white hominey, drained
1 packed reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chilies
1 can reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup

Optional
Sour cream
chopped green onions

Place chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the beans, hominey, taco seasoning, chilies and cream of mushroom soup. Mix together and cover. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Top with sour cream and chopped green onions if you choose.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe in a cookbook my future mother-in-law gave me for Christmas and thought I would give it a try. It was super easy, fast and yummy!

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (I threw 2 frozen breasts into the crock pot with a can of salsa verde diluted with one cup of water and some various spices on low for 6 hours and it worked like a charm)
1 10 oz. can of red enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
6 6" corn tortillas
Shredded lettuce (optional)
Chopped tomato (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Tightly wrap the corn tortillas in foil and cook in the oven for around 8 minutes, until they are warm.

In the meantime, place shredded chicken in a bowl and mix in half of the can of enchilada sauce and half of the amount of cheese.

Place about a 1/3 of the mixture in the tortillas and roll up. Place them seam side down in a 2 quart baking dish. Cover with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes. If you choose, top with shredded lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Enjoy!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

This recipe was posted to the Detroit Board of the Knot, and has become a fast favorite at our household. It inspired Steve to buy an entire cookbook of Crock Pot recipes!

This is very yummy and easy...just throw it all in the pot and let it do all the work! Plus, it is very easy to halve it to make it more portion friendly for two and it easy to make low fat with reduced sodium and low fat ingredients!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can even use full frozen ones, trust me, they cook in more than enough time!)
1 cup salsa
1 package taco seasoning
1 can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup (I always use cream of mushroom)
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix together the soup and salsa. Place chicken in the Crock Pot. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken. Then pour the soup and salsa mixture over the chicken.

Cook on "Low" for 6-8 hours, then shred the chicken with a fork (it is so easy to d0). Mix in the sour cream until it is thoroughly heated.

Serve with white rice, flour tortillas or even tortilla chips!