Tonight my Mom and I are going to Kansas to visit my great aunt, and I wont be home tonight to cook a meal for my 4 hungry men. I got down the trusty crockpot and I am fixing BBQ chicken that's perfect for a sandwich, plain, or over rice. I have a small crockpot (really only for 2 servings of a meal...I hope santa gives me a bigger one for Christmas) so I put in 2 chicken breasts, BBQ sauce, a couple shakes of rooster sauce, 2 tbs of butter on top and some seasonings. Boom, done. What are some of your busy days meals?
I just got into those Progresso Recipe Starters. I can't eat anything with preservatives, such as canned anything, but my family can. Here's what I do: Crock Pot Beef Roast Progresso Recipe Starters Mushroom flavor 1 packet of dry onion soup mix 1/2 c water 2 1/2 to 3 lbs beef roast Kids and hubby LOOOVE this!
:lol: My thoughts exactly! Must be a regional name for something. Ok, I just googled it and up popped Sriracha (I always thought it was called siracha). Very popular here, you see bottles of it being used on the most random stuff (at least in my opinion). I remember teaching and seeing little kids having it on cucumber slices as part of a "bake sale".
Worcectershire Sauce. Sorry! I can never spell it or say it, so everyone I know calls it rooseter sauce! lol
I have a couple of go to crock pot meals I try to keep the stuff on hand for and toss in when I know I won't be able to cook dinner at dinner time. Tortilla soup (this is what we call it :lol 4 or so frozen chicken breasts a jar of salsa a jar of ragu cheddar cheese a can of black beans some frozen corn (I don't measure at all, I just dump what looks about right) I mix the sauces and beans and corn in a bowl and dump over the chicken in the crock pot. Cook on high or low - depending on what time you got it started. I pull the chicken out at the end and shred it with my kitchen aid, you could shred it with forks too. Mix it back in the sauce. Serve in bowls with tortilla chips. We have also added cooked rice to it before when I didn't have enough chips in the house. That really helped stretch it and it would've been really yummy in a tortilla actually. That's the one I go to most at the last minute. BBQ chicken is another one.
siratcha is a hot sauce. its got a rooster on it I think....... and a green lid......watch foodnetwork and you are bound to see it no matter what show you watch.
spaghetti is my go to meal.. I always have a little hamburger and a can of tomato paste and tomato sauce on hand...... always keep pasta or spaghetti on hand too. I"m starting to keep canned pintos or kidney beans on hand too..... for Chili. I always have frozen chicken (ok usually) so its good for chicken soup, chicken pot pie or chicken and dumplings.-- I take the frozen chicken and boil it (from frozen) I add the spices to the water or chciken broth and strain it...... then I just cut the chicken add the frozen veggies and what ever.....
I'll get roasts when they're B1G1, and put them into an electric roaster. We eat one for dinner, nad I'll "pull" the other, freezing it with a package of "au jus" mix. It defrosts quickly. You can serve as sandwiches, or over potatoes. Two other quick and easy meals: Brown hamburger, and add a can of undiluted vegetable beef soup. A can of chicken (or leftovers!) and a can of undiluted cream of chicken soup. Both of these work good over biscuts!
For years I had the same small kind of crock pot as you. One year for Christmas my Mom gave me a large, oval, programmable one and my life has not been the same since! It is AMAZING! I hope that Santa is good to you this year!
Be careful with the programable ones!!! I was given one. I left it plugged in (but turned off) while we went out of town. Didn't think anything of it; after all, I keep other electrical stuff plugged in! We had a thunderstorm, and somehow a lightening strike or power surge or whatever actually turned it ON HIGH!!! Fortunately, the neighbor how comes in to take care of the dogs noticed it was on, and unplugged it. It had to be trashed, because you couldn't turn it off at all.
Spaghetti is the meal my husband serves if I'm not going to be home for dinner. I am not a fan of spaghetti and red sauce so we don't have it often when I'm the cook though I do occasionally pull it out as a quick last minute dinner. I keep stuff on hand for it all the time. But I generally don't cook dinner if I'm not going to be here. If I'm not going to be here it's on my husband to fend for him and the kids. He's capable enough.
We have a few quicky go too meals. If I have time to cook, but no time/energy to prep it's baked chicken or fish in the oven. Toss it on a pan, sprinkle with lemon pepper and you have dinner when it's done. I usually pair those with a quick microwaved frozen veggie. We also do "Scroodle Noodles" which is a mock beef stroganoff. Ground beef, cream of mush soup and cheese melted in poured over pasta. A nice alternative from spaghetti. In the crockpot I will do a simple pork roast. I get whatever is on sale. Cook all day, then pull it and pour in bbq sauce. I tend to go light on the sauce added to the pot as my youngest doesn't love bbq sauce. Then the rest of us just add to our own sandwich. That usually goes with precut veggies and dip. I do that up ahead of time, so it's just a quick grab from the fridge.