My Favorite Crock Pot Recipes (Volume 1)

So every Sunday until the end of the summer, i will be sharing 2 awesome crock pot recipes. At the end of this post i will list a few possible recipes to share for the next week, and the two that get the most requests will be featured. Simple and sweet, and something fun to keep up with. We could live out of our crock pot, and it gets enough use that i even invest in those crock pot liners that sound like a joke, but i swear, make life SO much easier.

So for this week our recipes are baked pasta, and stuffed pork chops. Both are crazy yummy, and oh so easy.

Crock Pot Baked Pasta:
1 pound pasta
1 pound ground beef/turkey/kielbasa/Italian sausage/veggie option*
your favorite pasta sauce (about 32 ounces)
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
8 ounces ricotta
1.5 cups mozzarella
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
1 TBSP garlic

*This is awesome with zucchini, yellow squash, peppers,mushrooms etc, and i imagine eggplant.

First things first if you are making a homemade sauce start that first so that it has time to simmer together and develop a little flavor a half hour ahead of time should do since it will keep cooking in the crock pot. Then in a frying pan, cook your protein (skip this step if you are making this vegetarian), until cooked through and golden brown. Set aside. Chop your bell pepper, and mushroom, set aside. Next mix together the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, Italian seasoning, and garlic until combined and smooth, set aside. Now that you have all your elements, layer it up. Sauce on the bottom, then pasta, then half of the meat and veggies, then sauce, then pasta, then cheese mixture, then sauce, then pasta, then the rest of the meat, then sauce, then pasta, top with the remaining sauce covering well. You want all the layers to be very saucy because this is what is going to cook the pasta, so i know it will seem like too much at first, but that pasta will drink it all up, i promise. Set your crock pot to lo for about 5 hours, or high for 4. When it is done, cover with remaining mozzarella, turn off the crock pot, and let sit for about 10 minutes with the lid off while the cheese melts down. Serve and enjoy!


As for the stuffed pork chops

You'll need:
2 pork chops, butterflied and pounded
1 apple
1/2 onion
1 stalk celery
1.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup ricotta
1 cup bread crumbs (italian or corn bread)
salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika to taste
1 cup Mushrooms
3 TBSPs Butter
1 TBSP flour
.5 cup cream

Dice the apple, onion, and celery into small pieces and saute in a frying pan until tender, add ricotta and blend well, then add half of a cup of chicken broth, seasonings, and the bread crumbs, stirring well, cook on low until the crumbs have absorbed the broth and started to darken. Let cool for ten minutes or so. Pound out your butterflied chops until there are about half an in inch in thickness, season well. With some olive oil grease the bottom of your crock pot. On half the the pork chop load stuffing, you will probably be left with a little in the end, i usually refrigerate it and use it the next day in something. Fold there rest of the chop over the filling, so you have it folded in half around your stuffed. They will be thick, and a bit messy, but oh so worth it. Put in your crock pot, set it to low, and cook 6 to 8 hours.) When you are a half hour out, slice your mushrooms, and saute with one TBSP butter. Remove and set aside when browned. In that same pan, put in the other 2 TBSPs of butter, and sprinkle in 1 TBSP flour, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Slowly add in the rest of the chicken broth, simmer for 5 minutes or until the consistency you want it, add cream, continue to simmer another 2 minutes, add seasoning, then add the mushrooms back in. Serve over your pork chops. Goes well with mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, whipped sweet potatoes, and green bean, corn, or broccoli casserole.

So this is it for this week. Up next week i can do, Crock Pot Chili, Crock Pot Lo Mein, Crock Pot Whole Citrus Chicken, or Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole. Vote for the two you want to see in the comments, and i'll be here same time next week. Happy cooking!