Summer Crockpot Recipes

Stop using that oven in this heat and grab one of my favorite cooking pieces...the crock pot!

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 2.5 hours
2 lbs precooked frozen meatballs
1 cup apricot or apple jelly
2 cups cocktail sauce or chili sauce

1. Pour the jelly and cocktail sauce into crockpot. Stir well.
2. Stir in the meatballs. Cover with lid and cook 2.5 hours on high.

Serve as meatball subs on hot dog buns or hoagie rolls for dinner or with toothpicks for a party appetizer.

Tangy Crockpot Ribs
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 lbs meaty pork spareribs, cut into 2-3 rib sections

1. Mix brown sugar and flour in medium saucepan. Add water, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, ginger and garlic powder. Cook and stir over medium heat until boiled and thickened.
2. Layer ribs in crockpot, spooning sauce over each layer. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours or on high 5-6 hours until ribs are very tender.

Crockpot Chocolate Fondue
18 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 oz milk chocolate, chopped
13 oz can evaporated milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pound cake pieces, cut up fruit, marshmallows, graham crackers, cookies (try nutter butters) for dipping

1. Combine all ingredients and cook on low for 45 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
2. Cook 15 minutes more if needed to melt all the chocolate. This can be held for another hour on low before serving.

Crockpot Chicken Taco Filling
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
18 oz jar salsa of your choice. Red or Green
1 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder

1. Place all ingredients in crockpot and stir. Cover and cook on low heat 8 hours.
2. Take chicken out and dice or shred. Stir back into crockpot to coat with sauce.

Use to make tacos, burritos, or tostadas. The only other things you need are shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and grated cheese!

If Chili Dogs are a hit with your family, check out this recipe here.

If Chicken and Noodles is something your family likes, check out this recipe here.

Check out the Dinner Recipe #3 of BBQ Chicken previously posted on my blog here. Sub in pork loin or pork butt for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches too!

Recipes found on about.com with some tweaking of my own :)

Cook Once, Eat Twice...Chicken and Summer Vegetables

Cook Once
Grilled Chicken and Summer Vegetables
Serves 4 with 2 chicken breasts leftover

For the Chicken:
2 Tbs vinegar, try balsamic, red wine or apple cider (you could also try lemon juice instead)
3 tsp dried herbs, try thyme, oregano, rosemary, or dried Italian herbs
2 cloves garlic minced fine or 1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 yellow or red onion minced fine or 1 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup olive oil, or try grapeseed or safflower oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 (4 oz each) chicken breasts

For the Vegetables:
2-3 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick slices
2-3 yellow squash, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick slices
1 red or sweet onion, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch-wide strips
1 small eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch-thick slices
2 Tbs olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder

1. Put all chicken ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag. Refrigerate 1 hour at least or up to 12 hours. You could also freeze the chicken with the marinade and then thaw overnight when ready.
2. Brush sliced vegetables with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
3. Remove chicken breasts from bag and grill 4-6 minutes per side on med-high depending on thickness. Grill vegetables alongside 3-5 minutes per side. Enjoy with a baked potato.

Eat Twice
Grilled Chicken and Summer Vegetable Pasta Bowls
8 oz whole wheat pasta; farfalle, rotini, penne or macaroni
1 Tbs olive oil*
1 pint grape tomatoes*
2 leftover chicken breasts from recipe above, cut into cubes
all leftover vegetables from recipe above, chopped
1 Tbs pesto, homemade or store bought (i have a nut-free recipe under "Freeze for the future" blog post)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in grape tomatoes. Cover with lid and simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until most grape tomatoes pop and soften. When 10 minutes is almost up, you can help along the process by smashing some of the tomatoes with the back of a large spoon. Stir in chicken, vegetables, pesto and half of the cheese. Cook 2 minutes to warm the chicken.
3. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Put pasta back in large pot with the stove off. Pour the sauce mixture over pasta. Stir well to coat the noodles. If mixture seems dry, stir in some of the pasta water. Divide into 4 bowls and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

* For an even quicker variation (or if you're not a tomato fan), omit step 2. Put cut up chicken and vegetables in a covered microwave safe container and heat 2 minutes. After you drain the pasta, stir in the pesto, cheese and chicken and vegetable mixture. Increase pesto to 2 Tbs. If you want a less intense flavor, keep the pesto to 1 Tbs.

Summer Eating- Part One

As the temperature rises, I want to be in the kitchen less. There are great seafood options in this post because they don't take long to cook. Also included are some summer sides that go with anything, especially things that come off the grill. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Grilled Fish Fillets with Chimichurri

6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion 

1 clove finely chopped garlic

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/8 tsp pepper divided

4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets, or try with salmon, tilapia, tuna, cod, steelhead trout or chicken

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. *Quick Tip- if you don't want to chop all the ingredients separately, put first 6 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until its incorporated; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
 2. Heat a grill pan, counter top grill or an outdoor grill over medium-high heat. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper over fish. Add fish to pan or grill; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with sauce.
3. Pour the leftover sauce into an ice cube tray and freeze. Use it later to top other fish, shrimp, chicken or even grilled beef.

"Go with anything in the Summer" Rice-
Cook 1 cup long-grain brown rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup thawed frozen whole-kernel corn, 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1/2 cup chopped zucchini to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until vegetables are charred. Stir in 1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes or diced tomato; sauté 1 minute or until tomatoes almost wilt. Combine vegetable mixture, rice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

Open Faced Cajun Fish Sandwich
1 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's or other type of Cajun seasoning
4 (6oz) fish fillets- tilapia, catfish, halibut, cod, or any white fish
1 Tbs olive oil
1 bag pre-shredded coleslaw mix with dressing
4 thick slices French or Sourdough bread (or you can even do Texas Toast garlic bread ,YUM!)

1. Sprinkle fish fillets evenly with Tony Chachere's. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbs olive oil.
2. Cook fish fillets about 5-7 minutes per side depending on thickness. Fish will flake easily with a fork when done.
3. Meanwhile, stir the coleslaw and dressing together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. If using French bread, toast each piece. If using Texas Toast, cook according to package directions.
5. To serve, place a piece of toast on each dinner plate. Top with fish fillet and a scoop of coleslaw.

Salmon en Papillote
This may seem fancy, but it is sooo easy and tastes delicious. You're cooking fish in a paper pouch. Try different assortments of veggies too, like fennel, yellow squash, carrot, tomato, olives, capers...the options are endless. If you have it, pour a splash of white wine on top of fish before closing up.
1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly
1 zucchini, sliced very thinly
4 oz mushrooms sliced very thinly
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced very thinly
4 (4-6oz) salmon fillets (halibut or tilapia would work too)
1 lemon, sliced very thinly (you could also use 1 small orange)
salt and pepper
parchment paper (found next to foil at grocery store)

1. Preheat oven to 425. Take 4-15 by 36-inch pieces of parchment paper and fold in 1/2 like a book. Draw a large 1/2 heart on paper with fold of paper being the center of the heart. Cut out heart and open. Lay sliced vegetables on parchment in center to 1 side of fold. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Top each vegetable pile with 1 slice lemon first, then salmon fillet. Liberally salt and pepper each salmon fillet. Divide remaining lemon slices and place over the salmon to cover it.
3. Close each heart of parchment. Starting at the top of each heart, fold the edges over; overlapping each fold with the last to make a tight seal. When you get to the bottom point, fold under. Place each on a baking sheet.
4.  Bake 8 minutes for a fillet less than an inch thick, or 10 minutes for a thick fillet 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick. To serve, carefully transfer the package to a dinner plate and simply unfold or cut the parchment open. If you’d rather remove the package before eating, cut or tear the paper alongside the fillet, and slide the fish right onto the plate.


Crab Cakes were requested, but I haven't made any in years. Wouldn't remember what recipe I would have used anyway (two pregnancies later)! I found Food & Wine's best 3 crab cake recipes on the web. Check them out here. A secret for getting them to turn out just right is to combine all ingredients EXCEPT crab first. Then gently stir in the crab last. You want chunky crab meat too, as opposed to finely shredded, so there's good meaty bites in there.
Something that caught my eye when I was looking in my books for crab recipes was...
Crab Artichoke Dip courtesy of my Good Friends, Great Tastes cookbook
1 (14oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 cups Hellman's Real Mayonnaise
4 oz fresh lump crab meat
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup white onion, sliced paper thin
2 Tbs melted butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 fresh lemon
Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning

1. Squeeze out moisture from lump crab meat or if using canned, rinse and squeeze out moisture. Mix together first 5 ingredients.
2. Mix melted butter with the bread crumbs in a medium size bowl. Top the crab mixture with the bread crumbs and bake in a pie plate until bubbly (25-35 minutes) at 350 degrees.
3. Squeeze with lemon and sprinkle Tony Chachere's on top when done. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Summer Orzo Primavera courtesy Eat Clean Cookbook
Orzo is a delicious and versatile grain that isn't a grain at all. Orzo is a pasta formed in the shape of rice, but a little larger.
1 cup whole-wheat orzo, dry
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup frozen baby peas and/or edamame, thawed
1 small red pepper, diced small
1 Tbs chopped fresh dill or 3/4 tsp dried dill
2 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Stir in orzo and salt. Return to a boil and cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Grains should be tender but firm when done.
2. Drain and transfer to a colorful serving bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Chill 2 hours before serving.

Another Summer side...
Black Bean and Rice Salad
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs oil of your choice: avocado, canola, olive, grape seed, vegetable
1 1/2 cup corn kernels
1 1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium green zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 cloves garlic, minced fine or pushed through garlic press
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
pinch red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked brown rice
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl combine lemon juice and oil. This is the dressing
2. In large serving bowl combine all remaining ingredients. Toss lightly to distribute ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and toss again.

Roasted Garlic
as many full bulbs of garlic as you like
extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400. Using a sharp knife, cut off the pointed end of the garlic bulb, exposing the flesh. Remove the loose papery skins, but not all the skin. Arrange bulbs in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over each bulb. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until the bulbs appear soft and golden in color.
2. Remove from oven and turn bulbs over, cut side down. Bake 10 more minutes.
To use: Squeeze the garlic out of the skins into a bowl once the bulbs have cooled down.
You can use as a spread on bread instead of butter or instead of mayo on a sandwich.
Stir it into soups, guacamole, salsa, salad dressings, hummus, marinades, mashed potatoes...the possibilities are endless.

Rainbow Couscous (or rice, quinoa, pasta, orzo)
If you have never had couscous, you are missing out! Couscous is a teeny tiny pasta that cooks in 5 minutes and goes with everything. I buy the whole wheat kind, but they have plain and flavored varieties. Pick some up the next time you're in the pasta or rice aisle.
1 Tbs olive oil
1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, depending on your preference
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 small or baby eggplant, chopped
salt and pepper
2 cups cooked couscous, rice, quinoa, pasta or orzo

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Pour olive oil into pan along with bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently about 4 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies. Cook, stirring frequently about 5-8 more minutes, until veggies are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Stir rainbow veggie mix into whatever cooked grain you have chosen. Feel free to omit or add any number of vegetables.

Not a seafood fan? My cousin Lindsay told me about this great summer dinner option Chicken-Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

Freeze for the Future

My friend Lindsey L needs some freezer meal ideas to help prepare for baby on the way. The freezer can be a wonderful tool to use in the kitchen. A lot of people think its a hassle, but who wouldn't want to have some quick things to grab to have dinner ready in 20 minutes??

I will purposely buy double the ingredients for soups, gumbos, stews ,etc. Then I will make a HUGE batch and freeze extras in quart glass jars or large plastic containers. Make sure you don't freeze soups containing rice or pasta. It comes out mushy and absorbs all the liquid. Some things I always make extra to put in the freezer are brown rice, spaghetti meat sauce, casseroles and chilis or stews.

When I make brown rice for dinner, I make the real kind. You can follow the package directions to cook the rice on the stove. Do 2 cups brown rice to 5 cups of water. Simmer 50 minutes. Take off the heat and let sit 10 minutes. To make it easier or to free up the stove, I spray an 8x8 casserole dish with cooking spray. Throw in the rice and water (with usually a minced garlic clove and a 1/2 tsp salt) cover with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Viola, makes 7 servings of rice. Use what you need for dinner then freeze the rest in freezer quart size bags. Lay flat in the freezer for easy stacking. Will warm up in the microwave in about 2 minutes. Pick up or roast your own chicken and heat up a green veggie for a great healthy dinner.

Sometimes I make my own spaghetti sauce, but lately I have been buying jars of it. I like to use light bulk sausage in my spaghetti instead of hamburger. It has sooo much more flavor. My grandma likes half hamburger, half sausage in hers, but if you haven't tried spaghetti with sausage, please do so! I will brown up a few pounds of meat (sausage, hamburger, turkey or even ground chicken) with a diced onion. Sometimes I throw in a grated carrot or grated zucchini, diced bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, black olives, or baby spinach. I've even stirred in 1/2 cup pumpkin puree without anyone even noticing. Pour in about 28 oz sauce, whether its crushed tomatoes or jarred spaghetti sauce, per pound of meat. I usually drain one can (per pound of meat) of diced tomatoes and throw that in too. Let simmer 10-20 minutes. Add a teaspoon or two of dried Italian seasoning per pound of meat if using crushed tomatoes. Pour into glass quart jars. Cool and then freeze. These can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator and warmed up for dinner or cooked in the microwave on 50% power for about 8 minutes until you can pour it into a sauce pan and warm thoroughly. Boil noodles and open a bag of salad for a very fast dinner.

Another good idea is to freeze pesto. We have nut allergies in my house, so I have to make my own. I will make a huge batch and freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, I pop out the cubes and store in a quart size freezer bag ready to top a variety of things.

Nut-free Pesto
4 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, roast if you want a milder flavor
few pinches of salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine basil, cheese, garlic and a few pinches of salt in food processor. While running, pour in the olive oil. Pulse until a smooth paste forms.

Serving Ideas for pesto:
- Spread on a sandwich instead of mayo.

- Spread it on any thin cut of meat or fish, then coat with bread crumbs and bake or saute.

- Mix with extra olive oil or mayonnaise to make a salad dressing. It is especially good on pasta salads.

- Stir into rice, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or hot vegetables.

- Toss with hot cooked pasta and the heat will bring out the flavours of the basil, garlic, and cheese. To make a vegetarian meal, add a drained can of white or cannelini beans to the pasta.

- Drizzle over grilled meats or vegetables.

-put a spoonful over tomato soup, potato soup, or vegetable soup like minestrone for extra flavor.

Grilled Flank Steak courtesy of The Frozen Gourmet cookbook by Kathi Lipp
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb flank steak

1. Prepare: Mix all the above ingredients and pour over the flank steak in a gallon freezer bag.
2. Freeze: Double bag the flank steak. Freeze lying down.
3. Serve: Defrost in refrigerator overnight. Grill steak on hot grill 5-10 minutes per side. Slice thinly across the grain. Serves 4.

Flank steak is an affordable, very lean cut, which benefits from quick cooking. Since it does not have extensive marbling, cooking to medium rare or medium, and slicing thinly against the grain, will result in the most tender texture.

Serve on top of rice and steamed broccoli for a fast dinner. This also can be used as fajita meat or sliced and put on top of a salad. Or try these smothered steak sandwiches from Clean Eating.

Chicken Manicotti courtesy of The Frozen Gourmet cookbook by Kathi Lipp
3 cups cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 cups low fat Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping.
1 tsp dried Parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups tomato or pasta sauce
14 Manicotti shells, par boiled, still slightly firm

1. Prepare: Mix chicken, both cheese, spices and eggs. Cover the bottom of your pan with tomato sauce. Stuff the manicotti shells with the chicken mixture and place in pan, sides touching. Cover with remaining sauce.
2. Freeze: cover pan with foil and freeze
3. Serve: thaw overnight in refrigerator. Sprinkle Manicotti with extra parmesan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.
I would double this and make 2 at a time. Use one the day you make it, and freeze the other for later use.

Paula Deen's Taco Soup- the BEST taco soup I have found by a mile. This makes sooo much and its one of our favorite freezer meals. I have made it with ground turkey and its just as good. Usually I add an extra can of beans. I've even used only 1 lb of meat with 2 extra cans of beans.

Please feel free to leave any of your freezer tips by clicking on comments below.