Apple Coconut Crisp Delight

Total Cooktime: 2 1/2-3 hours


What you will need:

• 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled & coarsely sliced (about 4 cups)
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butterscotch or caramel ice cream topping (fat-free is fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup quick rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Here's a tip:  If you dread peeling, coring and slicing apples like I used to you may be interested in an Hand Crank Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer . This brilliant kitchen tool has saved me countless hours peeling apples by hand!

In a 1 1/2-quart baking casserole dish (or one that fits in your crockpot), combine apples, coconut, 1 tablespoon flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle your favorite ice cream topping over the top of the mixture.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly and sprinkle over the top of your apple mixture. Cover your crockpot and cook on high for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours or just until your apples are tender.

Serve warm with vanilia ice cream or whipped topping.

Family Verdict:  We really liked this recipe!  We have tried some new things such as adding raisins and walnuts which we all really love. Something to think about...if you like your apples a little firmer, start checking on your apple coconut crisp closer to 2 1/2 hours into the cooking process otherwise your apples could turn out to be too mushy.

Diabeticly Friendly Version:  If you want to make this recipe a little more diabetically friendly you could do the following:

• Consider leaving out the coconut all-together
• Substitute Splenda brown sugar for regular brown sugar
• Use a fat free / sugar free ice cream topping
• Substitute a cholesterol friendly margarine for the butter

I would love to hear your experiences with this recipe including anything you have done to alter it to suit your family's tastes!

Enjoy!

Superbowl Crockpot Chicken Wings

Total Cooktime: 7-8 hours


What you will need:

• 12-18 chicken wings
• 1/3 c soy sauce
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 green onions minced
• 1 TBS honey
• 2 tsp. oil

Easy instructions for this crockpot recipe! Just combine all the ingredients in your crockpot, cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Make sure you stir your wings every now and then to make sure each piece is completely covered in sauce.

We ended up tripling our batch and I'm glad I did! These were a hit at our Superbowl party and these were the first thing to go. I found using boneless chicken wings worked well with this recipe. It also prevented me from having to clean up the bones that are usually left over.

Make sure you have some wet-naps around as your guests hands will get a little sticky. A good suggestion would be to serve these with toothpicks for less mess.




I would love to hear your experiences with this recipe including anything you have done to alter it to suit your family's tastes!

Enjoy!

Best Zucchini Bread Recipe

Total Cooktime: 3 1/2 - 4 hours


What you will need:

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 c. vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 c. zucchini, peeled and grated
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 to 1 c. chopped nuts

Use a grater and grate your zucchini. You can also use a food processor to do this if you have one available. I use a Microplane 34006 4-Sided Box Grater.  I got this for Chirstmas last year and it really makes grating zucchini and cheeses easy.


Put aside. Grease and flour a 2 quart metal baking pan. You can substitute a 2 pound coffee can if you don't have one that will fit inside your crockpot.

Using a mixer beat your eggs until they are foamy and light. Add oil, sugar, grated zucchini and vanilla to the eggs and mix well.  In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingrediants including the nuts. Add the dry ingrediants to your egg mixture a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix on medium for 2-3 minutes until fully incorporated. Pour into your baking pan.

Place the zucchini bread recipe into your crockpot.  Take 8 paper towels and cover the top of your pan. Cover your crockpot and bake on high for approximately 3 1/2 to 4 hours. To determine if your bread is ready, insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean your zucchini bread is done. Let stand for 5 minutes before turning out onto a baking rack for cooling.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap and keep in the fridge or freezer.

One important thing I will tell you is that you DO NOT want to check or remove the crockpot cover until the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Doing so too early will cause your zucchini bread to fall and you will end up with a mushy mess. I learned this one the hard way.


Make it Healthy:  In order to make this healthier you may want to substitute egg beaters for the eggs, splenda baking sugar substitute for the sugar and applesauce for the oil. These suggestions also work well to make this zucchini bread recipe diabetically friendly.

I would love to hear your experiences with this recipe including anything you have done to alter it to suit your family's tastes!

Enjoy!

If you are a veggie lover then this crockpot zucchini casserole is for you!

My sister was born with a green thumb. Every year she grows the most amazing zucchini and tomatoes in her backyard and I get the benefits of her hard work (thanks Lin!). Freshly picked zucchini and tomatoes in this crockpot recipe are divine!

If you have a brown thumb (like me) you can get these fresh from your supermarket or from fresh vegetable growers who sell to the general public. 

This would be be good at any time of year but especially during the summer months when vegetables are fresh.



Zucchini Casserole Crock Pot Recipe

Total Cooktime: 4 1/2 hours
Serves: 6

What you will need:

1 red onion, sliced
1 green pepper, cut in thin strips
4 med. zucchini, sliced & unpeeled
1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. basil
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all of the ingredients into your crockpot or slow cooker except the butter and cheese. Set your crockpot temperature to low and cook for approximately 3 hours covered. After 3 hours is up dot the casserole with the butter and sprinkle the freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top and cook covered for an additional 1 1/2 hours on low. 

This zucchini casserole recipe can be eaten alone or try serving it over spaghetti noodles for a complete meal. I would also save some extra parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the top just before serving. Also, some people are not crazy about eating unpeeled zucchini. Then go ahead and peel your zucchini before you slice it. It won't harm the recipe.

Make it Healthy:  To make this recipe more healthy you can use fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones for a really amazingly fresh taste. You can also substitute margarine for the butter. As for the parmesan cheese, you can cut this down (or out for that matter) if you wish but it really helps pull everything together.

I would love to hear your experiences with this recipe including anything you have done to alter it to suit your family's tastes!

Enjoy!

So after searching I came across this gem!  It takes quite a long time to make but I promise you, the results are absolutely worth it!  And, it was so EASY!  The canning?  Well...let's just say it was NOT so easy :)

If you aren't a canner - don't fret. The good news with this recipe is that you can make up a batch and keep it in your fridge. I wouldn't feel safe keeping it longer than 7 days.

Apple Butter Crock Pot Recipe

Total Cooktime: 8-11 hours

What you will need:

• 4 qts. unsweetened applesauce
• 7 C. granulated sugar
• 1-1/3 C. brown sugar
• 5-1/3 T. cider vinegar
• 5-1/3 T. lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon. cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon. allspice
• 1 teaspoon. ground cloves

Family Verdict: I really liked this recipe but you really need to make sure that you don't cook all of the moisture completely out of the apple butter or you'll have something that doesn't spread or taste very good.

You can use just about any applesauce you want. If you want to make this more diabetically friendly, replace the sugar with Splenda, the brown sugar with Splenda brown sugar and the regular apple sauce with no sugar added or homemade applesauce.

Now if you really don't want to drag out the cooking, you CAN use a *gulp* roasting pan and your oven and cook your mixture for about 3-5 hours instead. But, why heat up the house if you don't have to, right?

*wink*
I would love to hear your experiences with this recipe including anything you have done to alter it to suit your family's tastes!

Enjoy!

Looking for a great-tasting Apple Brown Betty recipe?  Look no further!

My mother was a fabulous cook!  She was a stay-at-home Mom (in those days MOST mothers were) and she would take great pride in preparing a meal for us from scratch. When my father got home from work she would have a beautifully prepared meal ready and waiting on the kitchen table for him.

One thing we could always look forward to was desert. My Mom made a point to surprise us with something every night. One of my favorites was when she would make Apple Brown Betty. So, when I saw this recipe I knew I had to give it a try.

Apple Brown Betty

Total Cooktime: 2-4 hours

What you will need:

• 3 lbs. cooking apples (Macintosh or Granny Smith)
• 10 slices of bread, cubed (about 4 cups)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted

Spray your crockpot with a little Pam or other non-stick cooking spray.  Peel, core and slice your apples into eighths and place them in the bottom of the crockpot.

Honestly - this is the best tip I can give you. Get yourself an Apple Peeler / Corer / Slicer.  It attaches to your countertop with with suction. With the turn of a crank you not only peel the outside of the apple but you core and slice the apple into 1/4" slices!  I got one of these for our annual apple picking pie making day one year and I swear this has got to be the most useful tool I own! We pull it out any time we are making potatoes too.

Back to the recipe!  Combine the bread cubes, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, sugar and butter. Toss together until coated. Place on top of the apples and cover.

Cook on low for about 2 to 4 hours.


We like to make this one after going to the apple orchards in the early fall. There is nothing better than using freshly picked apples! If you can't wait until fall, any good cooking apple will do - the tarter the better!

Family Verdict:  We really liked this recipe and how well the bread made a topping for this brown betty. I was actually surprised because at first I had some reservations about how it would turn out. We like to add raisins to our recipe and serve this with vanilla ice cream for a special treat!

I'd love to hear how your batch went and what alterations you make to this recipe!

Enjoy!

The best crockpot recipes feed the cheese lovers in your house!

If you have a little mouse-in-training in our house like I do, mac and cheese is probably a staple in your household too! My 4 yr old Jack LOVES cheese! So, the first time I saw this recipe I new that I had to give it a try.

Parts of me were worried about the "all day" part of the recipe. I worried about burning the cheese and ruining my hard work and all day wait. But I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe!


This is a great easy side dish recipe although you could also consider it a meal (Jack sure does!). If you do you should probably double up the recipe depending on how large your family (or your appetite) is. You can add or delete from the recipe depending on your family’s taste.

Jack's Favorite All Day Mac and Cheese

Total Cooktime: 5-6 hours

What you will need:

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
• 4 cups(16 ounces) shredded sharp Chedder Cheese
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cook the macaroni noodles until they are al dente. (al dente is just a fancy word that means cook the noodles until they are firm but not hard). This is important - you do not want to overcook the noodles too much because we want them to soak in the cheezy goodness! Drain the macaroni and put aside.

Spray down your crockpot with Pam or some other non-stick cooking spray.   In your crockpot combine the all of the ingredients except 1C of the cheese and mix well.

Sprinkle the remaining 1C of cheese over the top and then cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until the mixture is firm and golden around the edges.

This recipe is almost like a crockpot bake because you do not stir or lift the lid for the entire 5 to 6 hour time period.


Family Verdict: This was a good recipe but it lacked some of the true cheezy quality that we love so much about mac and cheese. This is why I have altered the recipe that we use at home to include about 3/4C of Velveeta cheese. We also like to add crumbled turkey bacon and cooked polish sausage to create a complete meal.

I would love to hear your experiences with this recipe including anything you have done to alter it to suit your family's tastes!

Enjoy!

Today we are estimated to get a foot of snow here in northern Illinois. Not what I wanted to hear but that is what I get for choosing to live near Chicago!  Since I'm expecting a snow day tomorrow, it is the perfect time for today's recipe: Beef Stew Delight.

My husband will be thrilled because this is his absolute favorite crockpot recipe that I make on a regular basis. Momma always said the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and Momma was always right!

Don't worry - it cooks down so that your kids won't get tipsy :)

This is a slow cook recipe which takes all day to cook. I typically set the timer to start cooking around 10:00 in the morning. It is the perfect crock pot recipe for chilly winter days. It takes a little extra effort but you'll see that it's completely worth it! You can delete or add from the recipe depending on your family's taste.

Beef Stew Delight

Total Cooktime: 6-8 hours

What you will need:

•  2-3 lbs. boneless chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 c. beer
• 1/4 c. flour

Fill a ziplock bag with 1/2 cup of flour. Dump in the beef cubes and coat thoroughly.

Get out a saute pan and melt the butter. Brown the beef cubes just until all sides have been seared. Drain off the excess fat.

In your crockpot combine the meat, onion, salt, pepper, garlic and beer. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours (all day) until the meat is tender.

Crank the crockpot up to high. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup flour in a small amount of water (about 4T). Stir into the crockpot and cook on high for an additional 30-40 minutes.

Complete the meal by serving this over egg noodles or rice.

Family Verdict:  My husband loves this recipe! The meat turns out so tender it practically is falling apart when you lift it on the fork. One thing we tend to do with the recipe is to add 3/4 C. baby carrots, 5 peeled and cubed potatoes and 4C. of beef broth. This really gives you more of a beef stew consistency that our family just loves. It's really up to you - cooking is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Add the ingredients you like and odds are you'll have a winner!

As for the type of beer you should choose: get creative!  Try a wide variety of beers from light beer to Guinness. A good rule of thumb is if you would drink it - it will taste good to you when you cook it. I'd love to hear how your batch went!

Enjoy!

The best crockpot recipes can save you loads of time. In our house we are always running!  Between tutors, music lessons and Scouts it has always been a challenge to get everything ready and hot when the family is ready to sit down and eat together. This is probably why I started crockpot cooking in the first place.

Back the the recipe :)

This is a great easy soup recipe for a quick dinner but it is also great for a pot luck. You might want to add or delete from the recipe depending on your family’s taste. This recipe freezes GREAT and that is good news for those (like me) who love to freezer cook!  It is always helpful to have this on hand for those nights when you don't have time to cook.



Total Cooktime: 5 hours

What you will need:

• 1 package 16 Bean Soup (any bean soup mixture will do)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon crushed oregano
• 2 cans no-fat chicken stock
• Additional water to cover
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 3 carrots diced
• 1 large onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic sliced
• 1 pound turkey Italian sausage sliced
• 2 cans stewed (or diced) tomatoes

Put together the first 5 ingredients ınside your crockpot. The liquid ought to cover the mixture by about 1"-2". Cook on high for 2 hours.

Add the remaining ingredients and set your slow cooker to low. Cook for additional 3 hours.

If your family is like mine and you prefer more of a kick to your meals, add cayenne or crushed red pepper when adding second set of ingredients.

Serve as complete meal or over rice or noodles.

Just to clear something up that someone e-mailed me about. The 16 bean soup mixture can be found in the dried bean section of your grocery store. If your store does not carry it - no worries. Just get any multi-bean mix and you should be good to go!

Family Verdict:  This was definitely a hit in my house!  Not only did my husband enjoy it, but surprisingly enough the kids did too and THAT is a huge feat in itself. We served it over brown rice and I have to say it was filling and bursting full of flavor. The only drawback was that my son Jackson didn't care for some of the beans that were included in the 16 bean mix. But he is only 4 so I didn't expect him to rave over it!