Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This one is great because you can just throw a bunch of stuff in the crock-pot and whatever you don't use store in a freezer baggie to use a month later.

3 lbs Pork Roast (at Costco this is about 12 dollars, which is a steal!)
5-6 cloves garlic (don't forget that when you smash them with a knife to pull the stem out so that you don't get bad breath-its attached to the root at the bottom)

1 yellow onion chopped small

1 TBSP dried rosemary
2 cups water

You can trim the fat off the roasts before or after you cook it. I prefer after because it gives it some good flavor. Place everything in the crock pot and cook 8-12 hours on low.

Pull the roasts out of the crock pot leaving the juices and cloves. Shred the pork and remove any fat. Pour Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce and a little A-1, salt and pepper to taste.

This is best on hard rolls with Baked Beans

Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 14oz cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 28 0z can crushed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
3 (10 ounce) cans beef stock
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons pepper
5 teaspoons parsley
1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces salad pasta

In a little bit of butter saute carrots, celery, garlic, and onions. Brown meat. Combine all other ingredients except the pasta in a crock pot. Add meat and sauteed veggies. About an hour before you are ready to eat add dry pasta. Cook on low 4 hours total.

Tip: I didn't like how the pasta made the soup really thick so I cooked the pasta separately and then added it before I served it.

Yummy! Tastes just like Olive Garden!

Crock Pot Beef Stew

I've never been an enthusiastic cook before, but I've decided that I better start, for the benefit of my family and my pocket book :) I'm really happy to say that this one turned out really good. I found it here. Nick said it's the best homemade stew he's every eaten. That's the best compliment I've ever received from him about my cooking :)

2 lbs. stew meat in 1" cubes
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic or chopped onion (I did both, mmm)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. paprika
4 sliced carrots
3 diced potatoes
1 stalk celery, diced

Put meat in crock pot, Mix flour, salt and pepper and add to meat. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours or on High for 4 to 6 hours. Stir well before serving.

I like my stew gravy a little bit thicker than this recipe made, so I added some thickening at the end and let it finish cooking for the last hour.

Cream Cheese Chicken

Cream Cheese Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 pkg. Italian Seasoning Dressing Mix
8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup

Put chicken and butter in crock pot, then sprinkle Italian seasoning mix over chicken and cook on high for 2 and 1/2 hours. Beat together cream cheese and soup and pour over top of chicken. Cook on high for another 1/2 hour. Stir when done. This is great over rice!

This is my husband's favorite dish. If you want to make it a little healthier, you can do 1/4 cup butter and the reduced-fat cream cheese. Sometimes I just cook it over the stove by opening two cans of canned chicken and heating all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Yummy!