I grew up eating shepherd’s pie and still enjoy making it. It’s a cheap, filling meal that can be a complete meal in one dish. Today I’m showing you how I made it in my crock pot (although I often make it in the oven).

Ingredients:

  • Mashed Potatoes – This is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes!
  • 1 lb. hamburger meat
  • Veggies washed and cut into pieces – You can do all kinds of veggies, but my favorite are carrots, onions, celery and corn.
  • 1 10.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt, pepper and garlic powder
  • Cheese – optional

Cook your meat, drain and put it in the bottom of the crock. Splash with some Worcestershire and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. The next layer is the veggies, then mix the milk and cream of mushroom soup and pour it on. The last layer is the mashed potatoes. Cook for on high for 4 hours (or less if your crock pot cooks really hot like mine). If you want you can sprinkle some cheese on top towards the end.

Variation: Sometimes I make it like a recipe in my Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook called Supper-In-a-Dish. Instead of using mashed potatoes, just slice the potatoes and pour the milk/cream of mushroom mix on top, but Cameron and I have decided we like the mashed potato version better.

Crock Pot Tip: Move the crock out of the kitchen! Even though a crock pot doesn’t heat up the house as much as the oven, in our little home, I can still feel the temperature rise when the crock pot’s on. A couple of times I’ve moved the crock pot out to our shed to cook. This not only keeps the house cool, but also frees up more counter space.

This post is linked at Tammy’s Recipes for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays.

 

I have a crock pot recipe again today! Sorry my Crock Pot Tuesdays haven’t been as frequent as I had originally planned, but I have one today!

When I saw this super-simple rotisserie style chicken recipe for the crock pot I knew I wanted to try it! All you have to do is:

  1. Rinse and pat dry a whole chicken.
  2. Rub chicken with a seasoning  salt (I used a combination of Creole seasoning and my own seasoning mix).
  3. Wrap the entire chicken in aluminum foil and place in your slow cooker
  4. Cook on high 5 hours until temperature reaches 175-180 Fahrenheit.
Results – I didn’t think it tasted exactly like the rotisserie chicken you get in the stores, especially the skin. BUT minus the skin I thought the chicken was still good. Compared to my other chicken in the crock pot recipe, this chicken was less wet and slimy, so it’s better in sandwiches. I think I’ll keep making this recipe for sandwiches.
I spent about $4 on the chicken (sometimes I can find them for even less if I hit a good sale) and it made 4-5 cups of chicken. That means about $1 a cup. A nice (preservative-free) alternative to sandwich meats. Plus this would freeze great and of course you could use it in all kinds of recipes!
Crock Pot Tip – I’ve always heard NOT to open the lid during crock pot cooking. Because of the heat loss it adds more cooking time, but if I’m honest….I do this way to often. :)

I LOVE baked potatoes! We usually top them with chili, but I really like them with just some sour cream, salt and pepper too. Yesterday I tried “baking” the potatoes in my crock and they turned out fantastic, and just as easy as making them in the oven!

  1. Scrub and pat dry your potatoes
  2. Poke a few holes in them with a  fork.
  3. Rub in oil (I used olive oil) and salt.
  4. Wrap in aluminium foil and put in your crock pot. I cooked 6 potatoes on low for 7 hours, but you may need to vary the cooking time, based on the size and number of potatoes and your crock pot.
  5. Enjoy with your favorite toppings!

Crock Pot Tip: A crock pot uses about 8 cents of electricity in 7 hours, whereas an oven uses between 16-24 cents per hour of use. I know the savings is small, but crock pots also keep your house cooler in the summer! Information from Michael Bluejay, a.k.a Mr. Electricity.

This post is shared at Tammy’s Recipes for Kitchen Tip Tuesday.

Today I have another economical crock pot recipe! This was the first time I’ve ever added broccoli to my potato soup. I had some potato and broccoli soup at a restaurant the other day and loved it so much, I thought I’d try it at home!

What you’ll need:

  • 6 potatoes Peel and cut them or leave the skins on, scrub and then cut. If you don’t have a potato scrubber click here to see how you can make one yourself.
  • 2 celery stalks diced and feel free to cut up the leaves for the soup too.
  • Quarter of an onion diced
  • 2 cups of washed and cut broccoli – I used raw, but frozen would probably work fine too.
  • 2 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon. This is optional but I think just a little bacon adds a lot of flavor.
  • 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
  • Cheese for topping
  • Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Add all the ingredients, except the evaporated milk and cheese. Put enough water in the crock to just cover the veggies. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Before serving add the evaporated milk and serve with cheese on top or mixed in.

Crock Pot Tip: “Milk products such as cream, milk, and sour cream can curdle and separate when cooked for a long period. Add them during the last 10 minutes if cooking on High, or during the last 20-30 minutes if cooking on Low.” – Mrs. J.E. Barthold and Marilyn Yoder from my Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook

The only way I have ever cooked a roast has been in the crock pot. It’s so easy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 roast – I used a beef rump roast
  • 6 medium potatoes – If you’re trying to stretch your roast, add extra potatoes and carrots.
  • 4 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic – If you forgot to put the garlic in (like me), you can always throw some garlic powder in at the end.
  • 1 envelope of onion soup mix
  • Salt and pepper

Peel and cut your carrots into big pieces. You can peel your potatoes or scrub them and leave the skins on, then chop into big chunks. Cut your onion into big pieces too. For the garlic just peel it, you can leave it whole. Put all your veggies in the bottom of your crock.

Heat up a small amount of oil in a pan and sear each side of the roast. Once it’s browned on all sides place it on top of the veggies and add the soup mix, salt and pepper. Pour water into the crock until covering the veggies. If you’re planning on making this into a stew later, make sure to have plenty of water in there. Cook your roast on low for 10-12 hours. The meat should just fall apart!

To make some gravy to go along with your meal just mix some COLD water (hot will make it lumpy, trust me I learned the hard way!) with some cornstarch (I didn’t measure). Then mix it in a pot with some of the broth from your roast. If you want it thicker you can add more cornstarch, just make sure to mix it with some cold water before adding it to the hot gravy. Stir and simmer it until it’s the thickness you want. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the leftover roast into a lovely stew, cut up the meat and veggies into bit size pieces, (this should be extremely easy as everything is so tender from the crock pot). Mix the gravy into the broth and add any other veggies you have on hand. I like to add corn. And voila! You have a super easy second meal of stew!

Crock Pot Tip: Here’s a tip I found in my Fix-It and Forget-It Cook Book: “When cooking meats and vegetables together, especially when cooking on Low, place the vegetables on the bottom where they will be kept moist. – Roseann Wilson”

This seems like a very humble lowly meal, but it’s actually pretty delicious! You can serve it with cornbread or corn chips, but I usually just serve it with cheese and crackers. I usually serve it as the main dish, but it also makes a great side dish.

Ingredients:

  • Pinto beans – I have to admit I didn’t measure them, but it was probably about 1 bag worth.
  • 2 slices of cooked bacon – I’ve done this recipe plenty of times without bacon, but adding just a couple of bacon slices and maybe even a drizzle of the bacon grease really adds amazing flavor!
  • Seasonings – Salt, pepper, dried minced onion (or onion powder), garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne and paprika.

Soak and cook your beans. You can do this in the crock pot or stove top. Go here for more details on bean cooking. Once they’re completely soft, crumble the bacon and add them to the beans. To add a little more flavor you can even drizzle some of the grease in, but of course if you’re watching your fat intake you can skip that step. Then add the seasonings. Since everything is already cooked, I just used my crock pot to keep them warm while helping all the seasonings to meld together, and so when I got home it was all ready and hot for us. You’ll feel like a cowboy eating this meal!

Crock pot tip: I got this idea from Ruthie. If you have a lid on your crock pot that doesn’t fit just perfect (like if you’re using a regular pot lid, because the crock one broke like mine), then you can put a big piece of aluminum foil on the crock pot before putting the lid on. It should help keep the heat in and seal it, and you can even wipe the foil off and save it for next time! Thanks Ruthie!

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