Yesterday, I made chili with chicken for the first time. It turned out delicious and I was left with NO leftovers. I am definitely going to make this again. If you like chicken and you like chili, be sure to try this chicken crock pot recipe too!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped white onions
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped in pieces
• 4 Roma Tomatoes (cut and diced)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbs cornmeal
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 3 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 lbs  boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 jar (16 oz) salsa (medium)
• 1 can (15oz)  pinto beans (drained and rinsed)

Directions:

1. In your crock pot, mix bell peppers, onions and garlic
2. In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, chili powder, oregano, cumin and salt. Once mixed, add chicken and toss to coat. Pour chicken mixture into crock pot.
3. Stir in salsa, beans and tomatoes
4. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours
5. Serve with cornbread and enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Betty Crocker’s Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Chili!

Last week I made a dessert in my crock pot for the first time. While I have been using a crock pot to make stews and other dinner related dishes, I had NEVER thought of cooking anything sweet in it. Then I seen a recipe and I knew I had to try it. Below is my recipe for Crock Pot Apple Cake………..

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 large apples – peeled and chopped in small cubes/pieces (I used 3 different types of apples)
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the peeled & diced apples and coat with flour mixture.
2. In a small bowl mix the eggs and vanilla. Once mixed, add to apple mixture. Your mixture will be thick.
3. Cook in crock pot on high for 2 hours. Cake will be done when toothpick comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Finding Joy In My Kitchen.

Yesterday was the first time I have ever made tamale pie. Better yet, in my crock pot which is one of my FAVORITE kitchen appliances. The recipe is quite easy and good too! Check out my Crock Pot Tamale Pie Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup diced onion (white or yellow)
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 small can green chilies diced
• 2 large tomatoes, cut and diced (around 2 cups)
• 1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
• 1 package (10 oz) corn bread mix
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown meat until no longer pink. Drain and add to crock pot.
2. Add cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder to meat and stir.
3. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, chilies and enchilada sauce and stir.
4. Cover and cook 5 to 6 hours on low.
5. In a small bowl stir corn bread mix and eggs. Add to top of mixture in crock pot and cook an additional hour.
6. Enjoy!

Want to see where I found this recipe? Check out Simple Being Mommy’s version of this recipe.

I love BBQ sauce + pork. Those two just go hand in hand for me. When we BBQ at home, I love when we make boneless pork ribs! I just recently found a way to make one of my favorite dishes at home and in my crockpot that includes PORK. Did I mention, my crockpot is one of my favorite ways to cook!  Anyhow, I love pulled pork sandwiches and want to share with you my new recipe!

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of boneless pork shoulder
• 2 TBS vegetable oil
• 2 TBS brown sugar (can omit)
• 1/4 of a 2-liter of A&W Root Beer
• Salt and pepper
• Your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:

1. Wash and cut boneless pork into large chunks
2. In a bowl add pork and top with salt and pepper (to your likings).
3. Mix and toss the pork so the salt and pepper is spread throughout all of your pieces.
4. In a large skillet or pot, sear each chunk of pork over medium heat until each side is browned and caramelized
5. Place pork into crock pot, add root beer and sprinkle top with brown sugar
6. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours
7. To serve, take a fork and shred pieces of pork. Add to your favorite bread with lots of BBQ sauce
8. Enjoy your sloppy sandwich!

I have been wanting to try out a new crock pot recipe for a weeks now. With the kids being on summer vacation, my schedule didn’t have much time for testing out any new recipes. The kids are back in school and I am now back into cooking mode,  looking for new recipes to try out with my husband and kids. I found a recipe on the Betty Crocker website  a few days ago and made my own modifications…. and here we have my recipe for Slow Cooker Chile-Chicken Taco Filling (that kinda rhymes)….

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

1 package taco seasoning

1 tbs brown sugar

1 cup petite sweet corn (I used frozen)

1 can (4.5oz) chopped green chiles

1 can black beans

1 can (10 oz ) enchilada sauce

1 package of soft flour tortillas

For Garnish:

(optional) shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions

Directions:

1) Place chicken in the bottom of crock pot

2) Sprinkle with taco seasoning and brown sugar and toss to coat

3) Add corn, black beans, chiles and enchilada sauce and stir to mix

4) Cook on low heat for 6 to 7 hours

5) Take chicken breast from slow cooker and use 2 forks to pull the chicken into shreds. Put shredded chicken back into to slow cooker and cook on low heat for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

6) Serve chicken mixture into warm tortillas and add your favorite garnishes

This picture serves the meal no justice, but hey its a picture!

If you ever thought you could not make lasagna in the crock pot, you are WRONG. My husband was teasing me yesterday telling me that I could not make lasagna in the crock pot and I proved him wrong. Everyone loved the dish and I took the leftovers over to my cousin. Felt good feeding my family as well as hers.

Here goes the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 package lasagna noodles – uncooked
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage – cooked and drained
• 1 pound ground beef – cooked and drained
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2  cup water
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce – large

Directions:

1. Line the bottom of your crock pot with a few layers of uncooked lasagna noodles.
2. In a pot, mix your spaghetti sauce, ground beef and sausage.
3. Use about half of your sauce mixture and cover the layer of noodles in crock pot.
4. Now spread half of the cottage cheese over the top of the sauce mixture/noodles .
5. Slowly pour the 1/2 cup water on top
6. Now sprinkle 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese on top.
7. Repeat the above steps 1-6, to create a second layer of lasagna but OMIT the water.
8. Put on the lid and let cook on low for 4 to 6 hours

Enjoy!