Chili

There are just some days where nothing beats chili. Around here, we love frito chili pies and chili baked potatoes.

1 lb ground meat
8 oz can tomato sauce
medium onion
1t comino seeds
2T chili powder
1 can Ranch Style beans
salt/pepper to taste
2T flour
1/2t garlic powder
2c boiling water
jalapeno-seeds removed

Brown meat and onion; add everything else; simmer til ready to eat!

Black Bean Soup

This is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Another great recipe from the SL forums.

1 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
14.5 oz. can vegetable broth
2 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. peeled, diced potato
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. cumin
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 – 1/2 t. hot pepper sauce
2 green onions, sliced
1T. olive oil

In a saucepan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Stir in the beans, potato, thyme, cumin and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in tomatoes and hot pepper sauce; heat through. Sprinkle with green onions.

I usually add a second can of broth because I like it soupier and it stretches it out a bit. Also, substituting a sweet potato for the regular potato adds a nice twist.

Super Easy Sloppy Joes

Or as my mother calls them - Juicy Pigs


1 pound ground beef, browned
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup tomato sauce
2T brown sugar

I didn't have tomato sauce, so I used a cup of jarred spaghetti sauce and will do that again. Just mix this all together and simmer until you're ready to eat. Really, really good. We use hoagie buns rather than hamburger buns just for a change. And of course, potato chips and pickles and cheese.

Preacher's Delight

Wonderful Sunday lunch dessert


21-oz can pie filling, flavor of choice
1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Pour pie filling in a 4-qt crock pot. Combine butter with cake mix until crumbly; sprinkle over pie filling; sprinkle walnuts on top. Cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours. Serve with ice cream, of course.

Turkey Bean Soup

Another favorite, healthy, easy and delicious


4-6 cups water
1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans navy beans
1 can pinto beans
1/3 cup dry lentils
1/3 cup dry split peas
14oz ground turkey, cooked
1 onion diced
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in crock pot, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Great served with cornbread. This is another recipe to play with. I use Rotel tomatoes instead of plain. You can also mix up your variety of canned beans - just make sure you have three cans total.

Creamy Aztac Chicken

This is a great meal served over rice or a great dip with tortilla chips


2-3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, undrained
jar of salsa
8 oz cream cheese, quartered

Place all except cream cheese in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, remove chicken (it may fall apart - just do the best you can); add the cream cheese; stir. Cook about 30 more minutes. Either place chicken over rice and use the sauce like gravy, or mix the chicken back into the sauce and use as a dip.

Angel Chicken

From the Sonlight forums


1-1/2 lb chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1/4 c butter
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
10 oz can golden condensed mushroom soup
1/2 c dry white wine (or chicken broth)
4 oz cream cheese
angel hair pasta

Melt together all ingredients except chicken and pasta. Place chicken in the crock pot; pour all the rest over the chicken. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve over angel-hair pasta. For some reason, this is SO much better with angel hair than regular spaghetti. People claim this to be the best crock pot meal they've ever eaten.

Pot Roast with Vegetables

This really is the best roast and veggies I've ever had


Roast (specific cut and size to preference)
red potatoes
baby carrots
onions, quartered
cherry tomatoes, whole is fine
fresh green beans, snapped (NOT canned or frozen)
envelope onion soup mix

Layer in the crock pot (or roaster) potatoes, then carrots and green beans, then cherry tomatoes and onions. Top with meat; sprinkle soup mix all over and pour about 2/3 cup water. The layering is important - you want the meat juice to mingle with the onions and tomatoes, then that flavor will mingle with the veggies. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I have no idea how to time a roaster since I've never used one. These green beans will be the most awesome you've ever tasted. The cherry tomatoes will disolve and the juice dispersed. Oh my it's yummy!

Beef Tips with Rice

One of our favorites and oh so easy


1 1/2 lbs stew beef (or leftover roast)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can French onion soup
Cooked rice

Combine meat and soups in crock pot; cook low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Serve over rice.

This is one of our Sunday lunches. We time the bread maker to be finished at noon. One kid opens and washes a bag of salad; one sets the table and fixes drinks; I fix the rice and open a can of green beans. Really nice meal in no time.

Hearty Minestrone

This is my all-time favorite cold-weather soup


1-2 pounds ground beef
2 15.5 oz cans Ranch Style beans
4 10.5 oz cans minestrone soup
1 10 oz can tomatoes with green chilies
1/2 onion chopped
3-4 soup-cans of water

Brown ground beef with onion until cooked. Combine beef and onion with all the rest of the ingredients into crock pot or soup kettle. Crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or simmer on stove top low for 1 hour.