The Crock Pot: A Busy Woman's Best Friend

I cannot take credit for the title of today's post.  It was something my friend, Leann, told me not so long ago.  She and another of my pals, Jeanne, are fighting over the title of "crockpot queen."  I don't care who wins, they both have given me great recipes.

Mind you, I've tried quite a number of crock pot recipes over the years (and have at least three crock pot recipe books), but everything tended to come out pretty tasteless and not at all satisfying.  I knew that there were people who swore by cooking in the darn things, so I asked my chums to help me out.  Boy did they.

Leann told me to get some round steak (or roast--which can be cut into little steaks), toss in a can of stewed tomatoes (she recommends DelMonte original), 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoona dried mustard, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce.  Add onions and/or green pepper (your call).  Serve over rice or noodles and it is divine.

Jeanne gave me the recipe for a pseudo-Mexican recipe she made up one day (she says she likes to just toss stuff in the crockpot).  No definable amounts here, just toss in some chicken breasts (I prefer thighs), an onion, a can of green chilies, a can of (or frozen) corn, a jar of salsa and, if you like it hot, some jalapenos.  Throw it all in the crock post and cook for 8+ hours.  Oooooh!  Is this ever GOOD.  (We've made it twice--and scarfed up all the leftovers.  Yum!)

Another Leann suggestion we like is a chuck roast (or pork chops), over three sliced onions, with a can of mushroom soup (cut with a little milk) dumped over the top.  Again, 8+ hours later, you have one fine meal.

I really don't like to cook, but with these easy, essentially one-pot, meals I could get very used to several crockpot treats a week.

Extra bonus:  very little clean up. Now that's my kind of dinner!

Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe to share?