DeDivahDeals

Fashion and Fun after Fifty

Posts Tagged ‘Crockpot’

Slow Cooked Chili with Jennie-O Lean Ground Turkey

Happy Crocktober!

Cooking in the fall is fabulous especially when you use a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot.

Last weekend I made a Slow Cooked Turkey Chili using Jennie-O lean Ground Turkey.  This is one of the easiest weekend or weekday meals to prepare. The next day leftovers are equally good so make sure you make enough to have some!

I love any recipe that you can dump into the Crock Pot in the morning then come home to a fully cooked meal…and of course a kitchen that smell delicious!

Jennie-O Ground Turkey

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz package of Jennie-O Lean Ground Turkey

  • 14.4 oz package of frozen peppers and onions or Pepper Stir Fry

  • 14.5 oz can of Diced Tomatoes

  • 15.5 oz can of Black Beans rinsed in cold water

  • 10 oz package of frozen corn

  • 1 package of low sodium Chili Mix

  • Optional Ingredients: Cilantro, Green Onions, Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, and of course a little of Hot Sauce!

Jennie-O Ground Turkey Chili

You can brown the Ground Turkey first in a little Olive Oil before placing in the Crock Pot, however, I prefer to use frozen Ground Turkey which allows it to thaw as it cooks with the other ingredients.  If you brown the ground turkey first, cook on high for 2 hours, otherwise, on low for 4 hours.

 This Turkey Chili can be topped with shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream and of course a little hot sauce.  Hubby loves cornbread and served over rice.

What is your favorite Crocktober meal?


No Bake Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

By now, most of you know that I am a self-proclaimed “Crock Pot Queen” and very seldom do I do any baking.  I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and most of my cakes have been flops.  However, this week I decided to try a no-bake Cheesecake and I must admit that it was easy breezy good!  

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of mini Ready Crust Graham Cracker Crusts
  • 1 – 8 oz package of cream cheese – softened
  • 1 – 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1 can cherry pie filling

 

Ingredients for no bake cheese cake

I had hubby take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator several hours before I got home to ensure it was room temperature soft. Put the cream cheese in a bowl along with the sweetened condensed milk and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.

Beat softened cream cheese with condensed milk

Stir in 1/3 cup of lemon juice

Add 1/3 cup of lemon juice

 

Spoon Cream Cheese mixture into Graham Cracker Crusts

Spoon mixture into crust and top with cherry filling

Chill at least 3 hours and enjoy

Chill at least 3 hours in the refrigerator, then enjoy!  Didn’t I tell you it was easy breezy!

Enjoy!

What is your favorite no-bake dessert, and no, Oreo cookies don’t count!


Slow Cooked Rosemary Lemon Chicken

Hello Friends and Happy Slow Cooker Saturday

I hope you all had a fantabulous Friday and are now enjoying a super Saturday. Slow Cooked Rosemary Lemon Chicken is perfect for a Sunday dinner so you can relax after church and not have to spend the afternoon in the kitchen.

Slow Cooked Rosemary Lemon Chicken

 With just a few ingredients this is the makings for an easy peasy, cheapie meal. You will need 1 lemon, sliced into rings, a few sprigs of Rosemary and a small to medium chicken rinsed and patted dry.

Remove and discard the neck and giblets or you can freeze them to be used in another recipe.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken

 

Using a sharp knife cut slits into breast and thighs of chicken then stuff in a few Rosemary leaves.  Put lemon slices inside bird’s cavity and two under the skin covering the breast.  You can add onion, garlic and a few more sprigs of Rosemary if you wish then place into the Crockpot.

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 Pour in 1 cup of chicken broth, I didn’t have any broth so I used two bouillon cubes dissolved in hot water.

 

Pour 1 cup of broth over chicken

 

 

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Cover and slow cook for 6 hours, after which you can remove and place in a baking dish.  Place chicken in a preheated oven on 350~ for an additional 15-20 minutes if you want to brown the skin.

Browning the chicken is cosmetic only, you can simply remove the skin, slice and serve.

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Chicken is falling-off-the bone tender and can be served with rice or pasta and vegetables.

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 Slow Cooked Rosemary Lemon Chicken

Stay Blessed – No Stress in 2014!

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Friday Foodie Feature

Hello Friends and Happy Fri-Yay!

I’ve decided to add something new to the blog – drumroll please…..

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You know that I love to cook and in some circles am considered a Crock Pot Queen (sike), no really I just like sharing food finds on Instagram so decided to bring it to my blog.

Today’s 1st Friday Foodie Feature is

Mama Mae’s Lean Mean Collard Greens

 

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On Sundays when I was growing up my grandmother would always cook a big pot of fresh collardskale, or mustard greens, a tradition that I have continued with my own family.  Collards were always the chosen green but I have since discovered kale which is healthier has a sweeter taste and is good when used in a breakfast smoothie.  The tradition of having vegetables with dinner also hasn’t changed but when I don’t feel like cooking fresh I’ll use canned or frozen.

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I like trying new products especially if they are within my budget which was the case with the Mama Mae’s items at Shoprite.  The good thing about Mama Mae’s Lean Mean Collard Greens is that they can be cooked in the microwave, on top of the stove or in the oven but the best thing about Mama Mae’s greens are the ingredients.

  • collards
  • water
  • onions
  • garlic
  • sugar
  • dried turkey stock
  • roasted turkey juices/fat
  • yeast extract
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • liquid smoke

They tasted homemade because they basically use the same ingredients as I and contain no hard-to-pronounce artificial flavors or seasoning.  The box states there are approximately 2 1/2 servings per package which was accurate, they are also low in fat and 50 calories per serving.

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Mama Mae’s products are manufactured locally in Englewood Cliffs, NJ and if you like greens, I highly recommend trying them.  I look forward to trying some of the other Mama Mae’s items.

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Disclosure Statement
I was not financially compensated for this post.  I purchased product with my own money.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

Buffalo Bleu Crockpot Meal

On Saturday I purchased three seasoning packs from Sugar Spice and Everything Nice: Buffalo Bleu, Cracked Crab and Habanero & Green Chile. On the back of each label is a recipe for making a Dip but I decided to use the Buffalo Bleu as a seasoning for a crockpot meal.

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Ingredients:
Frozen chicken thighs
Package Buffalo Bleu seasoning
1 cup water
Jasmine Rice
Mandarin Oranges (optional)

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Spray Crockpot with cooking spray or use a Slow Cooker liner for easy clean up

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Mixed seasoning with 1 cup water – could have used less but didn’t want dry chicken

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Place frozen chicken thighs in crockpot, cover with seasoning mix, cook on low

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Returned home to a kitchen smelling wonderful!
Cooked rice according to instructions, warmed oranges in microwave for a few seconds

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Chicken and rice was served with a small salad and was delicious.  The seasoning did not make the chicken overly spicy nor salty as I expected, I used drippings over rice.  My men and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and am looking forward to using the Habanero & Chile seasoning as a dip.

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Paired extremely well with a glass (or two) of Liberty Creek Sweet Red Wine !


Easy Breezy Crockpot Meal – Chicken Tenderloins

Hello friends, I hope you are winding down from a very productive yet peaceful day. I am still tired and will be heading to bed shortly, I may even miss my favorite show, “Real Husbands of Hollywood”.

Tonight’s easy breezy crockpot meal ingredients were: chicken tenders, diced tomatoes, frozen veggies, rice, and black beans

Spray crockpot with cooking spray, layer chicken, frozen veggies and top with diced tomatoes, no other liquid is needed.

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Cover, set to low and cook for 6 hours

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I added a can of black beans and instant brown rice and let cook an additional 15 minutes

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Top with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of mint leaves which gave it a unique flavor

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Have a good night – Smooches!


Easy Breezy Crockpot Meal – Chicken Cacciatore

Hello Friends, I hope you are winding down from a very productive day. Tonight’s easy breezy crockpot meal was Chicken Cacciatore and it was perfect because I was tired and hungry when I got home at 7:30. I went to the Exton Mall at lunch looking for a pair of red shoes which I found at The Shoe Dept, but wanted to check other stores after work. I stopped at Marshall’s, Rainbow Shops and Ross but didn’t find any, disappointed I finally went home to a fully cooked meal!

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts, fresh or can/jar mushrooms, salsa, and seasoning, I added 2 fresh tomatoes that were in the freezer. Instead of throwing away soft tomatoes I put them in the freezer to be used later in the crock pot or added to spaghetti sauce/gravy.

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Spray crockpot with cooking oil or use crockpot liner. Rinse, pat dry and season chicken breasts or you can use thighs or legs.

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Put chicken in crockpot and cover with mushrooms, if fresh, wash thoroughly, then add the jar of salsa

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Add a jar of water, cover and set to low for 8 hours

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Before serving you can add a cup of Instant Rice and continue cooking for 15 mins, otherwise, just dish out and enjoy.

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Have a fantabulous night – Smooches!


Easy Breezy Crockpot Meal – Beef Stew

Hello Friends, I hope you are winding down from a very productive day. Tonight’s dinner was an easy breezy crockpot meal – beef stew.

Ingredients:
Beef (any cut); carrots; potatoes; onion; McCormick Slow Cooker seasoning, water, cooking spray

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Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray or use a crockpot liner; place in beef, you can cube cut it but it becomes so tender it falls apart

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Cut carrots, potatoes and onions then place on top of beef

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Mix seasoning into 1 1/3 cup of warm water and pour over veggies and beef

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I set my crockpot to low, allowing 8 hours of cooking time, placed cover on crockpot and went to work

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Returned home to a fully cooked meal and clean up was a breeze (my men did it)!

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Have a fantabulous night – Smooches


Crock Pot Soup

In our house cold weather signals the time for a hardy and healthy winter soup!  My grandmother (RIP Mama), used to make the best homemade vegetable soups, I can still taste the seasoned carrots, tomatoes, onions, celery and of course the soup bone with marrow.  I was looking for new recipes and came across one that included kale which is my favorite vegetable.

ImageIngredients:

kale, soup beans, canned tomatoes, garlic, frozen veggies and soup stock.

I was going to use the smoked turkey necks but there wasn’t enough room in the pot.  I had to use a larger crock pot because the bag of beans which had soaked overnight really expanded and I didn’t want to discard any of them.  After spraying the crock pot with cooking spray I poured in the frozen veggies, beans, tomatoes, a spoonful of garlic and then topped with handfuls of kale.  One packet of the homestyle stock was dissolved in warm water enough to cover the beans.

Cooked on low for 8-10 hours.

I came home to a house smelling GOOD and a fully prepared dinner!  This soup was healthy, delicious and very filling, hubby topped his with a little Goat Cheese and I added a piece of brown bread (carbs are my down fall) and hot sauce!

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Easy Breezy Crockpot Meal

Tonight’s easy breezy crockpot meal contained only 5 ingredients

Chicken legs w thighs// mushrooms // stewed tomatoes // tomato paste // McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning

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I used a crockpot liner to make clean up easier then put chicken and mushrooms into crockpot.

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Mixed seasoning, tomatoes, and paste.

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Poured mixture over the chicken and mushrooms, covered and cooked on high for 4 hours. I was home today but if I had gone to work I would have set it on low to cook for 8 hours.

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Dinner is served!

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Don’t forget to recycle.

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