WhAT A CrOCk!!!

Sometimes I get these crazy cool creative ideas in my head. Last fall one of those ideas hit me! I think it was about the time our days were full of school, soccer, dance, more soccer, more dance, soccer games, church, not mention my busy season of painting was in full swing. Quite often, as dinnertime rolled around, I was out of ideas or at least out of time to make a meal at home! It was too easy to just drive through Taco Bueno or Chick-Fil-A.

That's when I realized I needed to be using the crock pot more often. I love cooking in the crock pot, but really only have a couple meals that I use a crock pot for. And is it just me!?!? but there is something about a crock pot that gets my 'Domestic Diva' on! Putting together dinner early in the day somehow just sets everything else up to go smooth the whole day long! Call me crazy!?!? Nah... call me Domestic Diva. I like that much better.

So... it hit me... Crock Pot Party!! I put the idea out there to my friends on Facebook, and lots of them wanted to come! My friends from afar that couldn't come wanted recipes too, and asked me to post them on Facebook. So I came up with the name WhAT A CRoCk ~ ha! ~ and it was a big hit.

Yeah... so it took me until January to host the party, but hey, see what I mean by "BUSY"!

I thought it would be fun to have a prize for the voted "best recipe" and Nicole was the lucky winner with her Italian Beef, made with a specialty sauce from Chicago.

Here are a few of the recipes:



Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta
by Jen Lyness

1 lb. corkscrew pasta - cooked and drained (I use whole wheat)
1.5 lbs. lean ground beef - cooked and drained... See More
1 lb. Italian sausage - cooked and drained. (use sliced, or I prefer ground)
2- 3oz pkgs sliced pepperoni
4- 14oz jars pizza sauce
2- 16oz packages of shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
black olives, chopped
Season to taste with garlic, Italian seasonings, and pepper

In crockpot combine all ingredients. Mix well.
Cook on low 4-6 hours or on high 2 hours. Serves 6-8

"The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind that the discovery of a star"



Drip Beef Sandwiches
from Mandi Everett

3-5 pounds roast
Packet of Au Jus Sauce... See More
Packet of Italian Dressing (dry)
1 can beef broth
1/2 can of water

Mix all of the ingredients together in your crockpot, then add roast

Cook on low for 8 hours

Serve on sandwich rolls or french bread




Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
by Kim Walker

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (17.5 oz) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided... See More
1/2 (1 oz) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 TBSP butter
6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

1. Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the 1/2 pkg of ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

2. Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with 2 forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.



Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff
by Dawn Allen

4 skinless, boneless breast halves, cubed
1/8 c. margarine... See More
1 pkg dry Italian dressing
8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken
1/4 cup sour cream

1. Put chicken, margarine, and dressing in cooker; mix together and cook on low for 5-6 hours

2. Add cream cheese and soup. Mix together and cook on high 30 minutes until heated through.



Cream~Cheesy Chicken and Spaghetti
from the kitchen of Cari Aberle

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ... See More... See More

~ cut into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup water, or 1/2 cup white wine

1 pkg. dry "Garlic and Herb" or "Italian" dressing

~ I used the garlic and herb at the What a Crock party

Place above ingredients in crockpot on low, 6 hrs.

add 1 pkg cream cheese

add 1 can cream of chicken soup

Cook on low for 1 more hour -ish

Break spaghetti noodles into small pieces, boil in sauce pan as directed.

Stir into crockpot, serve! (could be served over rice)

Enjoy!!


AND THE WINNER IS:
Crock Pot Italian Beef
by Nicole Warren


2-3 lb roast (I used chuck)... See More
1 jar Giardinera

Mix together in slow cooker and cook 6-8 hours on high. About 1/2 way through, use forks to shred meat. Serve on rolls.

Giardiniera is an Italian or Italian-American relish of pickled vegetables in vinegar or oil. Giardiniera is available as either mild or hot.

In Chicago, giardiniera is a condiment, typically used as a topping on Italian beef sandwiches. Giardiniera is commonly made with serrano peppers and some combination of other assorted vegetables, such as bell peppers, olives, celery, pimentos, carrots, and cauliflower, and sometimes crushed red pepper flakes, all marinated in vegetable oil, olive oil, soybean oil, or any combination of the three oils.

A 1964 advertisement in the Chicago Tribune offered "Dell'Alpe Imported Italian Giardiniera," consisting of "peppers, celery, onions, capers, and pimento in vegetable oil and wine vinegar. 3 oz jars for $1.

The word giardiniera in Italian literally translates to "female gardener." It is derived from the root giardino, which means "garden."

(Nicole orders her jars of giardiniera from Chicago.)

Here we are with the Cookbooks assembled at the WhAT A CrOcK! party, full of all our recipes from this evening.