Rocking the Crockpot for Dinner
By Kristen Howe
@KristenH (33393)
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
January 12, 2017 5:40pm CST
Last summer, my brother asked me if I would love a crockpot for Christmas. I said sure, why not. So I received my first 1.5 quart crockpot on Christmas Eve as my last Christmas list. I believe all of my cooking appliances is complete for my kitchen, since I'm all out of room for it now.
Two Christmases ago, I received a Keurig, since I loved his at his home. I've been using it a lot for hot tea and hot cocoa and iced cocoa. Then the next Christmas, I received my blender, that I've used on and off for smoothies. Before I moved, I've gotten a toaster oven from my dad and a new microwave to make it complete. Now I'm all out of room, since I've placed my crockpot in the middle of the stove.
Since Christmas, I've been pinning easy Crockpot recipes on Pinterest on a board and had also found a website called Recipes that Crock that has a weekly vlog chat on Youtube, and get emails for their weekly meal plans. I also found a couple of other recipes from various websites, too.
Tonight, I've made my first crockpot meal, courtesy of Recipes that Crockpot. Though listed as a side dish, I've made cheesy rotini as a main dish on low for almost two hours. I had to use an extension card, since my cord isn't long enough to reach the one near my nearest outlet. Though it said it wasn't recommended, I had to make do with what I had room for. I also considered an extended surge protector, too.
I also used a slow cooker liner that I brought this weekend and had a coupon though--it was a bit big for my crockpot, but I've made it workable to use.
I also have two cricken recipes on reserve that I got from Pinterest. I'm saving them for church Sundays to cook while I'm out and finish by dinner time. One's Hawaiian Chicken and the other is Creamy Mushroom Chicken. I'll do the second chicken dish on Sunday. (@littletiger, It asked for cream of chicken soup and not of mushroom, when I double-checked this week.)
I wonder if my chicken breast would fit into my pot, or I would have to cut it in half. What easy 7 ingredient recipes do you have to share with your crockpot? 
Do you use liners, too?
Do you use liners, too?27 people like this
25 responses
@just4him (317277)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
13 Jan 17
What is a liner? I love my crock pot. It's about the same size as yours. I've made a roast and boneless ribs in it and a beef dish that I served over rice. It wasn't ground beef and it wasn't stew meat, but finer than stew meat. I'm not sure what it was called. I added onions to it and served over rice, very good.
3 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
13 Jan 17
A liner is like plastic wrap to put over the cooking pot. Underneath and around it. Reynolds makes it in 4, 6 and 8 count. I got mine at Target. The best thing about them, you can toss it when you're done cooking and don't have to worry about doing dishes. I've seen a bunch of pot roast recipes online.
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3 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
12 Jan 17
I was chief cook and cleaner upper when the hubs was working like crazy and the kids were little. Since all the kids moved on to their own lives and the hubs is home most of the time, I let him cook. Yes I used the crock pot and all the things I could to make life easier, in the olden days. If you have them...use them and I'm not sure what liner is so I guess the answer is no.
3 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
13 Jan 17
@KristenH Thanks for the link I understand now what it is. I have a crock pot that I used a lot when our kids were home and I was working...Haven't used it in years but might go look for it again...
2 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
13 Jan 17
@PainsOnSlate No problem. Give it a shot.
2 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
13 Jan 17
Liner is like plastic wrap to place around your bowl before cooking. Easy to throw out and toss. Good for you.
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2 people like this
@shaggin (72278)
• United States
14 Jan 17
I love trying out new recipes and Pinterest is one of my favorite sites! I have a bunch of boards on there and keep track of the recipes I have tried and wether I liked them or disliked them. I have a small board with Crock-Pot recipes. I have made quite a few Crock-Pot recipes over the years. I did test out the Crock-Pot liners and felt they really aren't worth it unless I am making cake then they work great because I can lift the cake out to frost and put on a serving plate.
2 people like this
@OreoBrownie (3755)
• Commerce, Georgia
14 Jan 17
It's always good to get kitchen appliances gorgeous Christmas. I got one 2 years ago. My my crockpot had 3 compartments.
3 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (83103)
• United States
14 Jan 17
My crockpot is my favorite appliance by far Today I had a pork roast in it so we had pulled pork for dinner. I also find its great for spaghetti sauce since it doesn't require constant watching & stirring
3 people like this
@missjessicadawn (3286)
• United States
17 Jan 17
The liners aren't necessary unless you just don't feel like cleaning your crockpot out afterwards. :-) There are sooo many delicious recipes for the crockpot. I found a lasagna one last year that I've saved but haven't tried out yet. :-)
2 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
17 Jan 17
OOo. I found one on Pinterest I've pinned last week. I believe it was a veggie one. That's true about the liners. I was able to dishwash my pot yesterday in my dishwasher as well. I'm game to try a soup next month and maybe a breakfast and/or dessert this spring.
2 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
17 Jan 17
@missjessicadawn Ooo I would love that. I think I have pinned a recipe for that in Pinterest.
2 people like this
@missjessicadawn (3286)
• United States
17 Jan 17
@KristenH I've seen people make brownies in a crockpot! That should be fun! :-)
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
16 Jan 17
never used one - sounds great though - hope you get some terrific meals from it
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
18 Jan 17
@KristenH most of my meals are very basic - I tend to heat up food rather than cooking food
2 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
19 Jan 17
@arthurchappell Same here Arthur. I try to make easy meals for dinner.
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15727)
• Canada
15 Jan 17
I hardly ever use the crockpot... I think that I'm going to have to see what recipes I can find. And have never used liners. When I do use it, it is just popped into the dishwasher, but it does take a lot of space!!
2 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
19 Jan 17
Liners might contain chemicals we would not want in our food, so no.
We make soups mainly in our crockpots (we have 2 now). We don't eat animal products, so no recipes to offer other than chili and soup!
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
13 Jan 17
roast! rump roast, 1 package each of powdered ranch dressing mix, 1 of gravy mix, and 1 of italian dressing mix, dump it all in, cook for about 4 hours!
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
14 Jan 17
@KristenH J did a ham in the crockpot a bit ago, she mixed mustard and brownsugar and some water and added that on a ham in the crock pot!
2 people like this
@Gita17112016 (3611)
• Trinidad And Tobago
15 Jan 17
You do seem to know your way in the kitchen. What's a crockpot? First I am hearing of it.And you do seem to have yourself well sorted out...for all the dinners ahead.
2 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
15 Jan 17
Not exactly. A crockpot or a slow cooker is a pot that you can cook low and slow for 4-6 hours or high for 4 hours, depending on the recipe. Well that's how I planned to do my big shopping list every month and plan ahead. I'm doing the creamy mushroom chicken meal in my crockpot tonight--one hour left to cook--for an easy dinner meal. They also come in different quart sizes.
2 people like this
@Gita17112016 (3611)
• Trinidad And Tobago
16 Jan 17
@KristenH This pot is good for streaming things then. Wish you had posted a pic...it would have help. We have our pressure cooker, that we also use as an ordinary pot if you want a slow cook. Or we use big iron pot for slow or fast cooking.
When you are cooking chicken do you 'saute' first? I can't imagine how this chicken will cook unless you are chopping into small pieces and then leave to simmer?
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
12 Jan 17
I love my crockpot! I know what you mean by running out of space, though. When I owned my own house back east I found a 3-tier utility cart at a thrift store. My mom used to have one like that and she loved it. It has electrical outlets and a cord to plug into the wall. Anyway, I had limited counter space even though the kitchen was fairly large. I put my small appliances on the utility cart and rolled it into the corner out of the way. When I wanted the crockpot, the electric skillet, the toaster, or blender or any other small appliance I just got it from the cart or rolled it to where I wanted it. I only paid $5 for it!
2 people like this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
13 Jan 17
Not a bad deal. I have an old end table to place my toaster oven. That's about it. I did look at microwave carts two years ago. I don't think I have room for that cart, either.
@lyanhnan (151)
• Thrissur, India
13 Jan 17
@KristenH just noticed that Crockpot is actually a trademark now used generically. Here we have a rice cooker which cooks the rice in its own heat. Just bring the rice to boil, remove and close it in the rice cooker off flame. The rice cooks in about 3-4 hours. A huge energy saver.
1 person likes this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
22 Jan 17
@simone10 Me too. And we can print it out or store it into our recipe box like at AllRecipes.com, if we wanted to. I have 3 recipes lined up to do next month. I do have leftover ingredients to make my rotini dish again, if I need another pasta night.
@Tampa_girl7 (50541)
• United States
15 Jan 17
I have heard of the crockpot liners, but never used one.
2 people like this
@melissa1024 (2456)
• Beckley, West Virginia
13 Jan 17
Glad you are enjoying your Crockpot. They are so handy. I use mine for soups, beans, pot roast, home made spaghetti sauce, fresh green beans and potatoes. I saw a recipe on Facebook I am thinking about trying for Crockpot chicken and dumplings, it looked really good.
1 person likes this
@KristenH (33393)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
13 Jan 17
@melissa1024 Yep. I think I'm pretty good for recipes for now and for the winter. I'm going to average 3 crockpot dinners (might have some leftovers) a month. Perfect for this season too.
1 person likes this
@melissa1024 (2456)
• Beckley, West Virginia
13 Jan 17
@KristenH I have saw several you have pinned and shared on Facebook.
1 person likes this
