Easy Peasy Crock Pot Dinners

Crock pot dinners are wonderful!

For a few reasons;
1) They're easy
2) They're delicious
3) It's great coming home after a long day and having supper waiting for YOU
and 4) I love how they make the whole home smell fabulous!

Last week I made two meals in the crock pot. Both were a success.

My first meal was what I'll title: Italian Bacon Mac-n-Cheese.  

Bacon + Cheese = Duh! Duhh-licious, that is!

The combination of cheese and noodles start off clumpy.  The milk is added to make it creamy and help combine the ingredients.  Don't freak out if your cheese is clumping.  Just add more milk at the end if needed.

 What you need:
(Serves ~4)

2 cups of uncooked Macaroni noodles

1 ½ cups of milk - or as needed to make creamy

2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup shredded Parmesan

A dollop of sour cream

3 slices of cooked bacon

½ cup of diced white onion

Fresh garlic clove - pressed or diced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp of Italian Seasoning

What you do:

• Boil your macaroni noodles until ‘slightly undercooked’ – you don’t want the noodles to get mushy in the crock pot.
• Crumble up your bacon pieces.
• Combine all ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours. 
• Stir occasionally.  Add more milk if needed for a creamy texture and to avoid clumpy cheese. 

The smell of this meal while cooking is heavenly!

The second meal I made last week was, my new personal favorite, Sweet and Spicy Sloppy Joes.  Let me just add that Luke does not care for sloppy joes...never has. 

However, I thought I'd make my own version of sloppy joes - As he does not care for canned or packaged versions.  I grew up on sloppy joes and find them yummy. 

I decided to give my grown up taste buds a new and improved version of sloppy joes - praying Luke's grown up taste buds would appreciate and enjoy them as much as mine.

The outcome?  Success!

He loved them! He even ate the leftovers!!!

[For those of you who do not know my husband, let me enlighten you on this accomplishment...Luke will eat leftovers if it is something he REALLY likes.  If he does not really care for it (but tolerates it for a meal) the leftovers will inevitably get thrown away.]

Mission accomplished!

I think this recipe is 'family reunion' worthy!

What you need:
(Serves ~8-10)

1lb browned burger
1/2 cup diced white onion
1/4 cup diced mushrooms (optional)
1 Tbsp plabano pepper, diced (or jalapeno)
2 garlic cloves, pressed or diced
4 medium tomatoes
3-4 Tbsp of Chili Powder
2 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp of brown sugar
2 tsp of dry mustard
1 tsp of Allspice
1 tsp of Oregano
Cornstarch - as needed
Salt - as desired
Pepper - as desired

What you do:

• Brown the burger and drain
• Place tomatoes in a food processor and process until pureed.
• Combine all ingredients into crock  pot  and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
• Before serving, mix up sloppy joe mix, add a little bit of corn starch and mix in, until desired thickness of sloppy joe mix.

Mmm mmm! Not only does it taste delicious, but it makes the house smell great! The leftovers warm up great in a pan or in the microwave.

For those who don't like it 'sloppy' we like to eat ours on open face sandwiches with a fork.  It's less messy but the same amazing flavor!

(I like to use the crock pot liners with these recipes. It makes clean up a breeze!)

I hope you enjoy these recipes! Let me know what you think!
What's your favorite crock pot recipe?