Day 115: Browning Ground Beef in a Crock-Pot (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I've never thought to brown my ground beef (or turkey / chicken) in the Crock-Pot, but I did it today and it worked great.  I thought the end taste with slow cooking was better than when I brown it on the stove; however, I don't think it saved me any time/energy since I needed to be home to stir the meat every hour or so.  I only browned 2 pounds of ground beef this time, but would use this method again when needing to brown a bunch of meat at a time (4+ pounds) since I don't have a pan big enough to do that on the stove!

Instructions: 
Put the raw meat in the Crock-Pot (I used a liner, but realized halfway through that with stirring the meat every hour, it was easier not to use one for this recipe), mash it a little to separate, cover, and cook on high for 4+ hours (mine took 5-1/2 to brown to my liking).  Stir every hour.

Done (at this point, I'd already taken half of the meat out to use in our dinner).

I used some in our dinner tonight, and then placed the rest in two freezer bags to freeze for upcoming meals.  Easy!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 79: Crock-Pot Glazed Carrots (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I'm not typically a fan of cooked carrots, but these were super easy to prepare in my Crock-Pot and the end result was tasty.  Evidently, I'm a fan of combining sugar and vegetables :)

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) bag baby carrots (mine was 24 ounces, but we had already eaten some!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)

Instructions:
Spray Crock-Pot with non-stick cooking spray (or use a Slow Cooker liner).  Put carrots in first, sprinkle salt and brown sugar over them and top with butter.  Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until carrots are desired tenderness.  Remove carrots with a slotted spoon to serve.

I didn't know what we were having for dinner, so I just threw the carrots into a spinach salad with a chicken burger and some vinaigrette dressing, and it was delicious!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 69: Perfectly Shredded Chicken (success).

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I love this new way of easily shredding chicken!  Around 2 PM today, I realized I didn't know what we were having for dinner (this is a common issue in our house -- but it's typically 430 PM instead!).  I had frozen, marinated chicken breasts that I threw in the Crock-Pot for 3-1/2 hours on high.  I then took them out and put them in my KitchenAid "classic" stand mixer (probably the best wedding gift we received -- I use it all the time).

While the chicken was still warm / hot, I used the "flat beater" attachment and turned the mixer on medium speed.  In 15 seconds, the chicken was perfectly shredded (please excuse the blurry photo -- I think I was excited this worked so well!).

Dinner was super easy -- uncooked green beans, quinoa (made in my rice cooker), shredded chicken on top, and BBQ sauce drizzled over that.  Easy!

Verdict: SUCCESS!

Friday Favorite: Crock-Pot Delicious Dinner Mixes.

Website link.

As you know, my favorite mode of cooking involves using my Crock-Pot, so I was excited to try one of these "Delicious Dinner" mixes when I saw them on sale at Bartell's.  I picked up the Chicken Marsala mix because I already had the additional ingredients needed at home.  We loved it -- and will definitely be trying more of these when I see them on sale!

Ingredients:

• • 1 pkg. seasoning mix (included)
  • 1 pkg. vegetable mix (included)
  • 1 pkg. pasta (included)
  • 2½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1¼ cup Marsala wine
  • 2 cups fresh-sliced mushrooms (I didn't have this many)

  

  I added a bagged salad from Costco, and dinner was done -- with minimal effort!
  

  

  Verdict: SUCCESS!

Day 59: Crock-Pot Mac and Cheese (fail).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My kids are huge Mac & Cheese fans, but this did not go over well with them or their friends -- it was really rich and didn't taste at all like the boxed variety they love :)  Plus, I'm not sure if it saves you much, if any, time from just making the kind in a box.  You still have to cook the noodles before putting them into the Crock-Pot, and at that point, you could just mix in the milk, butter and boxed cheese instead of throwing it into the Crock-Pot for a few more hours with a bunch of high-fat ingredients.

Ingredients:
8 ounces of elbow macaroni, cooked
12 ounce can of evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups of whole milk (I mixed half & half and 2%)
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 stick of butter, melted
1 teaspoon of salt
Dash of pepper
5 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I didn't use quite this much)
Dash of paprika

Instructions:
Using at least a 4-quart Crock-Pot sprayed with cooking spray, mix the ingredients together (with the exception of a 1/2 cup of grated cheese).  Sprinkle the remaining cheese and paprika over the top of the mixture.  Cook on low for 3 hours and 15 minutes, stir, and serve hot.

Done.

 Served warm.

 Verdict: fail.

Day 51: Crock-Pot Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (fail).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Ingredients:
6 bell peppers (tops removed, cleaned out)
1 lb lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
Onions, diced
Carrots, chopped
Celery, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced
Tops of peppers, chopped
Italian seasoning (I only had oregano and basil)
Salt and pepper
1 jar of tomato sauce or pasta sauce
1 box of organic quinoa , prepared as per box instructions

Saute veggies and meat before mixing together with the pasta sauce and quinoa.  Stuff the peppers, add two cups of water to your Crock-Pot, place your stuffed peppers inside the Crock-Pot, and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

I added cheese 30 minutes before dinner -- and the peppers looked promising when we were ready to eat.

Verdict? Fail.  These were a mushy mess and didn't have much taste.  Apologies to our good friends / dinner guests who I made this for -- they were good sports and ate it anyway!

Day 48: Avocado Chicken Salad (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My husband and I loved this, but our kids wouldn't try it because of the avocado.  We didn't force the issue because that meant we could eat more of it!

Ingredients:
Chicken, cooked and shredded (I threw three frozen chicken breasts into the Crock-Pot with about 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  It was done and ready to shred after 3-1/2 hours on high).

One avocado.

A little bit of mayo.

Sliced green onion, to taste.

Cilantro, to taste.

Lime juice, to taste.

Salt & pepper, to taste.

I'm planning to enjoy the leftovers of this on a sandwich tomorrow, but we used it as a dip for dinner tonight with Food Should Taste Good multigrain chips (purchased from Costco).  Delicious!

Verdict: success!

Day 35: Baked Potatoes in the Crock-Pot (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Ever since I pinned this over a year ago, we have baked potatoes in the Crock-Pot about twice a month.  I do them for parties, dinner with friends or just our family-of-four dinners.  To me, potatoes are so much easier to cook in the Crock-Pot for eight hours than in the oven for one hour (where I might be trying to cook something else at the same time).  Once you try them in the Crock-Pot, I promise you won't go back because they're so soft and delicious!

Instructions:
Wash and pierce as many raw potatoes as needed.
Wrap in foil.
Place in Crock-Pot, on low, for 8 hours.

We typically serve them with sour cream, salsa, bacon, shredded cheese, and broccoli.

Verdict: success!

Day 27: Crock-Pot Pork marinade (fail).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I am determined not to waste any of our Costco pork tenderloins (4 in a pack for $20!), so here's yet another Crock-Pot pork tenderloin recipe we tried!

Ingredients.

I substituted Agave nectar for pancake / maple syrup...

...and misread the directions that said to cook it 6 hours on low; I cooked mine 6 hours on high.  Although it was a bit burnt on the outside, my pork and marinade were frozen, so I subconsciously must have wanted to ensure that it was really cooked in those 6 hours!

My husband liked it and even had seconds, and I agreed that the meat was really tender from sitting in a marinade and cooking in a Crock-Pot.  However, I decided it was a fail because the marinade was really strong -- much too salty and tasted primarily of soy sauce.  It looked pretty plated, though!

Verdict: fail.

Day 25: Crock-Pot Balsamic Pork (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Although we already have a go-to Crock-Pot pork recipe, I didn't want to serve it so often that my family started to dislike it!  I found another delicious-looking recipe on Pinterest -- and it didn't disappoint!  I didn't have a roast in my fridge, so I substituted pork tenderloin instead.

Ingredients.

Ready to turn on the Crock-Pot (using Slow Cooker Liners to make clean-up easy).

Done -- and delicious!

Verdict: success!

Day 20: Crock-Pot Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (fail).

Pinterest pin and website link.

To be fair, I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal.  However, I do like apples, cinnamon, and (as you know) my Crock-Pot -- and the pinned picture looked much more appetizing to me than regular oatmeal, so I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients.

All loaded into the Crock-Pot.  Looking good, right??

Not anymore.  This is after cooking on low for 9 hours.

This recipe smelled so promising while it was cooking today, but the end result was not good -- the taste was pretty bland and the texture was mushy.  Our kids wouldn't try it and my sweet husband, who normally eats anything I make, agreed that I shouldn't make it again.

Verdict: fail.

Day 11: Crock-Pot Mashed Potatoes (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

We love mashed potatoes done in the slow cooker -- they're so good and easy.  When I make them for our little family of four, I use our 1.5 quart Crock-Pot, throw in 4-5 Sierra gold potatoes, a 1/2 cup of water, salt and pepper, and drastically reduce the amount of butter (pictured below).

Then after cooking for 6-8 hours, I add approximately a 1/2 cup of milk while beating with an electric mixer.

Although the end result is not quite as creamy as using all the butter recommended, it makes me feel less guilty feeding these to my family as often as I do!  I have made these for holidays, however, and I follow the recipe exactly -- butter consumption doesn't count on holidays, right??

Verdict: LOVE!

Day 10: Crock-Pot Apple Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I never knew I liked pork, but I know I love my Crock-Pot, and I'm fairly willing to try just about anything in there.  Because of this recipe, we now LOVE pork.  Like, love it so much we have it about once a week.  Suffice it to say, you should probably prepare yourself for many more pork tenderloin recipe "pins" coming up!

Ingredients prepped and ready.

(Side-note about that particular pork tenderloin -- it's from Costco (of course!) and I was initially hesitant to buy it (before I knew that we loved pork) because it's around $20 for what I assumed were 2 pork loins.  Nope -- there are 4 in there.  You can't really beat $5 per meal for meat! 

Crock-Pot loaded and ready to turn on low for 3-4 hours.

Cooked!

Verdict: paired with a Trader Joe's salad in a bag, wine, and Crock-Pot mashed potatoes, this is one of our favorite meals!

Day 6: Crock-Pot Pumpkin Spice Lattes (fail)

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I know it's January and no longer pumpkin spice latte "season," but I've been having serious withdrawals!  I thought I'd try a Crock-Pot pumpkin spice latte "pin," but unfortunately, it did not pan out as expected.  Luckily, I halved the recipe, so I didn't have to pour as much down the drain!

Ingredients & Directions:
4 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups strongly brewed coffee
3 cups milk
4 tablespoons sugar
Whipped cream (optional)

Combine and whisk all ingredients (minus the whipped cream) in a slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours.  After pouring into cups, top with whipped cream (optional).

Verdict:
There wasn't much of a pumpkin taste to this drink -- and it was much too sugary for my liking. I'm still on the hunt for a Crock-Pot pumpkin spice latte, as it would be so nice to be able to make these at home!

Day 2: Crock-Pot Breakfast Casserole (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

My modified ingredient list:
3-4 Sierra gold potatoes
1 sweet onion
1 teaspoon of garlic
4 sausages
1/2 cup milk
8 eggs
1/2 teaspoon each of salt & pepper
1 cup cheese

The blog author is right -- this looks gross, but after cooking, is delicious!

Verdict: LOVE! Since this recipe can be prepped ahead of time and then cooked on low overnight, I have made this for large brunch gatherings, Christmas morning, and family birthdays.

Day 1: Crock-Pot Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

Ingredients:
One medium spaghetti squash
Meatballs
Jar of spaghetti sauce

Instructions:

* Use a 6+ quart slow cooker.
* Dump tomato sauce into the slow cooker.
* Wash squash, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds.
* Place the squash halves face-down into the slow cooker.
* Fit as many meatballs into the sauce around the squash.
* Cook on High for 3 hours or Low for 5 hours.
* Use a large fork to pull the “spaghetti” out of your squash, then top with meatballs and sauce.

Verdict: We loved it, however, the excess water from the squash made the end result a little runny.  Update: on my second attempt at making this dinner, I squeezed most of the excess water out of the squash before combining it with the spaghetti sauce, and it helped a lot.  My kids initially balked at eating it because the squash doesn't taste at all like spaghetti noodles, but now they've mostly adjusted!