Taco Chili Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can yellow corn, drained
1 can white or yellow hominy, drained
1 can Mexican tomatoes
1 package Taco mix
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix

Brown ground beef, then drain well. Put beef into a crock pot, then add remaining ingredients, blending well. Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours.Serve over tortilla chips with shredded cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.

Boston Baked Beans

4 cups dried navy beans
8 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound salt pork, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp dry mustard

1. Rinse and sort beans. Place beans, water, salt, onion and pork in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or until beans are tender.
2. Drain beans, reserving 2 cups of the liquid. Return beans to cooking pot. In bowl combine reserved liquid with remaining ingredients. Pour over beans and stir to blend. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Cheesy Potato Soup

1 (32 oz) bag frozen southern-style diced hash browns potatoes, thawed
1 chopped onion
1 medium stalk celery, diced
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup water
3 tbls flour
1 cup milk
1 bag (8 oz) american-cheddar cheese blend (shredded, 2 cups)
1/4 cup real bacon pieces
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

In slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, celery, brother, and water.
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
In small bowl, mix flour into milk. Stir into potato mixture. Increase heat to high. Cover and cook an additional 20-30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon pieces and green onion. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Makes 6 - 1 1/2 cup servings.

Chili Verde

5 lbs boneless pork (Center cut pork chops-ask your butcher to cube)
½ cup oil
4 T flour
5 cups beef broth
1 chopped onion
6 cloves garlic
32 oz diced green chilies, drained
2 T ground cumin
Fresh or bottles Jalapeno peppers to taste
4 tsp chili powder
3 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried oregano

Sauté pork and onion in oil to brown.

Puree broth with garlic, green chilies, jalapenos and flour. Add pork

Add cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and oregano to pork mixture and simmer on low heat until pork is tender, about 4-6 hours.

(I put mine in the crock-pot on high for 5 hours)

Split Pea Soup

2 tbls olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 ham hock (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 lb green split peas, rinsed and picked over
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

In a skillet, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat.

Place ham hock in center of slow cooker and spread peas around it. Add the onion and garlic, carrots and celery. Then pour in broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH 4-5 hours.

Finish soup by removing ham hock. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the meat from the bone and stir back into the soup (discard bone). Stir in parsley and serve.

Serves 6-8

Enchilda Casserole

1 can tomatoes (do not drain)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb ground beef or turkey, browned in a pan
12 white corn tortillas
8 oz shredded cheese (I use half Monterrey jack and half cheddar)
8 oz sour cream
1 pkg or about 2 tbls Taco Seasoning

Place first 3 ingredients in blender and puree. Pour mixture into sauce pan and add tomato paste and seasonings. Bring to a boil and simmer about 5 minutes. Place 1/3 of the tortillas in bottom of slow cooker, followed by 1/3 of the meat, 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the shredded cheese, continue all layers. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

For topping, stir taco seasoning into sour cream.

Makes about 6 servings.

This was such a hit with the kids and it's fairly nutritious!! You can serve this on a bed of lettuce to make it into a salad. Also, it's not good to look at, but it sure is tasty!!

Sour Cream Pork Chops

6 pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1/2 cup flour
1 large onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 cups boiling water
2 tbls flour
1 (8 oz) tub sour cream

Season pork with salt, pepper, adn garlic powder, and then dredge in 1/2 cup flour. In a skillet, brown chops in oil.

Place chops in slow cooker and top with onion slices. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water and pour over chops. Cover, and cook on LOW 7-8 hours.

After chops have cooked, remove meat only and put in warm over to keep warm. Be careful, they will fall apart.

In a bowl, blend 2 tbls flour with the sour cream. Mix into meat juices. Cook in slow cooker on HIGH for 15-30 minutes or until suace in thickened slightly. Serve sauce over chops and noodles or rice (our favorite is egg noodles).

Lemon Chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can of milk
2 tbls butter
1/2 pkt lemon herb seasoning (about 1 - 1 1/2 tbls)
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients (except chicken) in a bowl. Mix well.

Brown chicken. Place chicken in slow cooker and cover with sauce. Cook on HIGH 3-4 hours or on LOW 4-5 hours.

Sweet-Hot Jalapeno Ribs

2 (16 oz) cans pinto beans, drained
3 lbs country-style pork ribs, trimmed
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (10.5 oz) jar red jalapeno jelly
1 (5 oz) bottle steak sauce
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

Place pinto beans in slow cooker.

Cut ribs apart if necessary, sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Broil ribs in over for 18-20 minutes or until well browned, turning once. Place ribs in slow cooker and top with onions.

Combine jelly, steak sauce and chopped pepper in a saucepan; cook over low heat until jelly melts. Pour over ribs and stir gently.

Cook on High 5-6 hours or cook on High 1 hour and reduce to Low for 8-9 hours. Remove ribs and skim off fat. Cook sauce with beans uncovered on High for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add ribs just before serving to reheat.

**this recipe came with my Corningware Slow Cooker. It's become a family favorite. It's not spicy if you don't put in the jalapenos. For just a little kick, add only one. If you like it spicy, add both peppers.

Cinnamon Apples

6-7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut

1 tbls lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbls flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

6 tbls melted butter

Vanilla ice cream

Oatmeal, Ginger snap, or Vanilla wafer cookies

Place apples in slow cooker and drizzle with lemon juice.

In a bowl, mix sugars, flour, and spices. Sprinkle mixture over apples and stir gently to coat apples. Drizzle with butter.

Cook on low for 3 hours or on high for 2 hours.

Serve over ice cream and top with crumbled cookies.

I like to use my cookies as a scoop, so I leave them whole.... enjoy!!

Red and White Chili

6 cups cubed chicken (cooked)
2 cans navy or great northern beans (drained)
1 cup chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon chili powder

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker or crockpot. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours until hot and sauce thickens.

This is SOOOOO YUMMY and easy. It’s also very healthy. Don’t let the peppers fool you; it’s really not that spicy. My 3 yr-old downed it like it was Spaghettio’s!!