Recipes, Printable Coupons | $5 Dinners™ » Slow Cooker

Tricia’s Slow Cooker Batch Cooking Navy Beans

Tricia H — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:55:09 +0000

I really love it when my slow cooker can do the work for me. January usually means a freezer and pantry challenge, including rice and beans. So, about once a month I batch cook some beans to tuck away in the freezer. Especially in the winter months, that means navy beans.

Using the slow cooker to batch cook takes only a little pre-planning.

You need to rinse and sort beans the afternoon or evening prior to cooking.
Next, let the beans soak overnight in the slow cooker.
The next morning, strain out the soaking water, rinse your beans and rinse out your slow cooker.
Put your beans back in the slow cooker.
Cover your beans with fresh water – about an inch above your beans.
I season my beans with minced garlic and onion.
Cook at least 10-12 hours on low. If you are in a hurry, you can cook the beans on high for several hours then adjust the setting to low. You’ll just need to test the beans to be sure they are done.

Overnight variation: I have also rinsed and sorted the beans mid day. Let them soak until bedtime. Drain then cook the beans, as mentioned above, in the slow cooker overnight. Cool, bag individually and freeze in meal-sized portions. Then, serve those beans up with other veggies and some cornbread. Or choose from the recipes below:

All of Erin’s bean recipes
Erin’s Batch Cooking Beans the regular way
Erin’s How to Cook Dried Beans
A Southern favorite Senate Navy Bean Soup
You might like my recipe for batch cooking black-eyed peas in the slow cooker.
I love to use my slow cooker for batch cooking. I cook ground turkey in the slow cooker: It’s the Super Supper Saver

There’s no set-in-stone way to batch cook beans in the slow cooker. It takes a while but requires very little supervision. And the investment pays off big on busy weeknights. In our home it helps fill all those hungry tummies the frugal way!

Tricia’s Slow Cooker Batch Cooking Navy Beans was first posted on January 26, 2012 at 4:55 pm.

Shredded Pork with Mushrooms – Give Every Night New Flavor

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I love slow cooker meals.

I love how smoothly my days “run” when I’ve got dinner going in the slow cooker. I love being able to sit on the couch through the “witching hour.” (Who am I kidding…I’m don’t sit on the couch. And just sit.) So I guess, I love being able to get through the witching hour without being in the kitchen and having little people pulling at my knees or tugging on my shirt, asking for a snack.

“Dinner will be ready in 5 minutes…you can wait until then.”

How many times have I uttered that phrase?

Thousands, maybe.

So this meal was a big hit…with all the little men, the big man and I really enjoyed it too. Plates were cleared, stakes were claimed on the leftovers (pulled pork sandwiches for lunch), and we all left the table with full, happy bellies.

The delicious flavors, the ease of the prep and cooking…a winner indeed!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Shredded Pork with Mushrooms
From Give Every Night New Flavor
Yield – 8 servings, 1 cup
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 8 1/4 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into large pieces
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Hunt’s® Diced Tomatoes with Spicy Red Pepper, undrained
1 can (6 oz each) Hunt’s® Tomato Paste
1 pkg (0.87 oz each) pork gravy mix
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 pkg (8 oz each) sliced fresh mushrooms
Directions
Spray inside of 4 to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine remaining ingredients in slow cooker.
Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH 4 to 6 hours or until meat is tender. Separate pork into smaller pieces.

And there’s more!

I want you to try to give every night a new flavor too…so we’re giving away the following this week!

$25 Kroger gift card
Recipe cards
A variety of ConAgra products needed to create the recipes

Enter to win and you’ve got a few meals ready for your family to try!

Giveaway Details – CLOSED! Congrats to Rebecca L…our winner!

1. Contest ends Monday, January 23rd at 9 pm EST. Winners will be announced back here on this post, and notified via email with further instructions.

Entry #1: Visit Give Every Night New Flavor, then share what recipe you think will be your next family favorite.
Entry #2: Like Kroger on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.
Entry #3: Sign up for free email updates, or RSS posts from $5 Dinners.

2. Winner will be selected by Random.org.

**NOTE: If you receive the email newsletter and wish to enter this giveaway, click on the title of this giveaway to get to the site and leave a comment on the site with your name and email address to be entered!

*Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign on behalf of Kroger and ConAgra foods. Opinions are my own.

Shredded Pork with Mushrooms – Give Every Night New Flavor was first posted on January 20, 2012 at 6:00 pm.

Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage and Peppers – $5 Dinner Challenge

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:30:00 +0000

{You are going to have to image perfectly sliced sausage with a juicy, kickin’ tomato, pepper and onion sauce piled on top. With a side of slide bread. Or the bread served under the sausage and peppers.}

I’m often asked about my “5 minute meals”. Usually by people who know someone who knows me. They get the whole time-dollar thing mixed up. But if I were to start coming up with 5 minute meals, this would be first on the list. Because it takes you less than 5 minutes to get our your slow cooker, get out the ingredients (unless for some strange reason you pantry is on the other side of the house from your kitchen?!?), load the slow cooker and turn in on. In less than 5 minutes. Then the 1-2 minutes you have to spare will be to prepare the bread once meal time rolls around…

5 minutes. That’s what I’m giving this one for prep time.

Enjoy!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage and Peppers
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 5 minutes
Cooking Time – 8-10 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
1 lb. sausage links, sliced ($2, from recent sale with coupon)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.50)
1 10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies ($.19, store brand & store promotion)
2 10 oz. bags frozen pepper and onion blend ($.80×2)
Salt and pepper to taste
Whole wheat bread slices, or sliced french baguette ($.50-$1)
Add this recipe to ZipList!
Directions
Place sausage in the slow cooker. Slice carefully or cut with kitchen shears. Pour the diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chilies, and the 2 bags of frozen pepper and onion blend over the top. Give it a swirl. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare the bread.
Serve Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage and Peppers with sliced bread.
Cost $4.79-$5.29

__________________________________________________

Have a Frugal and Healthy Recipe to share?

Post the recipe on your blog and then add the link below. Other guidelines can be found here. To make it easy for other readers to find your recipe, please leave the link that leads directly to your recipe post. Any links that lead to your homepage will be deleted. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to leave your recipe in the comments section!

Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage and Peppers – $5 Dinner Challenge was first posted on November 28, 2011 at 5:30 pm.

Tricia’s October Potatofest Recipes

Tricia H — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:16:06 +0000

Our feeding the larger family ways will help you feed a crowd and take a break during the holidays!

October is potato month for me for several reasons. Not only are potatoes frugal and can be served in a variety of ways, but October is right up next to November and December. October is the month I pile the potatoes in the freezer – freeing me up at holiday time. Potatoes feed a crowd and fill tummies for the holidays and every day.

I pick one Saturday for what I call a Big Cook. I cook potatoes and oversee the children packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes and making homemade wrapping paper (using designs cut into potatoes, of course!). Everyone is busy.

White potatoes:

It’s a batch cooking session of great poundage. With 20 pounds of white potatoes I make freezer mashed potatoes with these in mind:

Thanksgiving
Sunday family dinners
Christmas gatherings (in my experience the freezer potatoes are perfectly delicious having been saved in the deep freeze. Not grainy at all. Might also be the sour cream!)
Busy weeknights – take a pan to the holiday party

If I plan ahead I prewash all those potatoes on the rinse cycle like Happy Housewife does so I can avoid standing at the sink for so long. I use this recipe for freezer mashed potatoes, boiling the white potatoes on the stove because I’m using the slow cooker for supper. I quadruple the recipe for my 20 pounds, making (8) 8×8 pans or (4) 8×10 or combination thereof.

It’s such a blessing to be able to just pull delicious, homemade mashed potatoes out of the freezer. Because that time of year I’d much rather be baking and enjoying than peeling potatoes and boiling.

Red potatoes:

On the same Saturday I’m mashing, I’m also serving. Over in the slow cooker I put together our supper. Homemade potato soup for that night. Because after peeling 20 pounds of potatoes I’m not much going to relish fixing supper. So I leave the peels on these red potatoes. And I’ll sure appreciate comfort food in savory potato soup for supper. Plus, I double this recipe so it makes enough for all of us and leftovers for another meal.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Tricia’s Potato Soup
Yield – 6-8 servings
Preparation Time – 15 minutes
Cooking Time – 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 med. onion, chopped (or equiv. frozen chopped onion)
2 T margarine, melted
6 med potatoes, peeled and cubed (1/2 a 5 lb bag = $1.98. For our family $3.97)
2 carrots, sliced
3 cups water
5 chicken bullion cubes (I use chicken broth pulled from the freezer (free!) or one can chicken broth)
3/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
dash garlic, pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Add this recipe to ZipList!
Directions
Slow cooker: can skip cooking the celery and onion in butter.
Put all but last two ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low 5-7 hrs.
Mash vegetables until a smooth but a bit chunky texture.
Add last two ingredients before serving.
Stove top: Saute celery and onion in butter in large Dutch oven.
Add next 9 ingredients.
Cover and simmer about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, mash vegetables with potato masher.
Add milk and cheese.
Cook, stirring, until cheese is melted.
Cost $2.50 – doubled for our family approximately $5.00

::: Download the FREE $5 Dinners Toolbar – never miss a recipe, coupon, deal or meal plan! Learn more. :::

Frugal and celebratory. Cheap and filling.

Join me for an October Potatofest?

Tricia’s October Potatofest Recipes was first posted on October 27, 2011 at 5:16 pm.

Apple Crisp – Freezer, Slow Cooker, Oven and Campfire {Guest Post}

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Fall reminds us of beautiful leaves, carving pumpkins, apple orchards and hay rides. Visiting an apple orchard is great way to buy in bulk and save money. If you can’t use a whole bushel (which is usually cheaper), consider splitting with a neighbor or friend. Or have a sign-up sheet at work and offer to buy in bulk when you make your purchase. Visit your local farmer’s or tailgate market. You can often barter with smaller, local road side stands or farmers when you buy two or more bushels.

If you find yourself with a bushel of fresh apples to store, here are some handy tips to keep them from spoiling quickly:

Don’t wash until ready to eat
Sort through any bruised ones and use them first
Store as many as possible in the refrigerator
Store the rest in a cool storage area, such as a basement, cellar or crawl space

You may find yourself eating a variety of fresh apples and making many apple recipes, which brings up preservation. How can you preserve a fresh apple if they’re getting softer?

Some like canning, but I’m a freezer queen. I’ve created a freezer apple crisp kit which saves time, money and energy via cooking in the crock pot, basic oven or fire pit. I like to make several kits in batches and freeze the crumb topping with it. This is a fantastic way to preserve the “not so perfect apple” and prevent waste. Plus I’m saving time and energy by doubling or tripling the recipe. In the long run, I will be able to cook three ways without any prep work.

Freezer cooking is a money, time and energy saving way to cook!

Jackie Brown is a mom on a mission creating wholesome freezer meals for her family while providing for the poor and needy in her church and community. She’s been freezer cooking for eleven years and shares her passion through local classes and speaking engagements.

Apple Crisp – Freezer, Slow Cooker, Oven and Campfire {Guest Post} was first posted on October 26, 2011 at 5:00 pm.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken – $5 Dinner Challenge

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0000

Lazy.

This is me…being lazy.

I’ve been wanting to make some orange chicken for a while…recently had a conversation with a friend about it…and couldn’t put it off any longer. She shared a recipe with me and we decided that it would work with frozen vegetables too.

And the result was lovely fake-out take-out meal.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
Inspired by Orange Chicken in a Crock Pot
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 8 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) ($2.82)
8 oz. OJ concentrate ($1.34)
1 12 oz. package stir-fry vegetable mix ($.80)
1/3 cup brown sugar ($.05)
2 teaspoons ground ginger ($.10)
1 teaspoon garlic powder ($.05)
1-2 teaspoons corn starch ($.05)
Noodles or brown rice ($.40 – $.50)
Crushed red pepper, optional
Add this recipe to ZipList!
Directions
Cut up the chicken into bite size pieces.
In the base of the slow cooker, whisk together the OJ concentrate and the brown sugar, ginger, and garlic powder. Stir in the chicken pieces and vegetables into the sauce.
Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours.
Just before serving, whisk in the cornstarch into the sauce. Let sit for 10 minutes with the slow cooker on warm.
Prepare noodles and brown rice.
Serve Slow Cooker Orange Chicken over the rice or noodles with crushed red pepper.
Cost $5.61

::: Download the FREE $5 Dinners Toolbar – never miss a recipe, coupon, deal or meal plan! Learn more. :::

__________________________________________________

Have a Frugal and Healthy Recipe to share?

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken – $5 Dinner Challenge was first posted on October 24, 2011 at 5:30 pm.

Homemade Pumpkin in the Slow Cooker

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Alright…for those of you were wondering about cooking your own pumpkins…here you go.

Couple things you should know before you embark into the land of homemade pumpkin puree:

You have to use a certain kind of pumpkin. The kind that you get for carving…yay, those won’t work. *bitter
Look in your store for the “pie pumpkins”…they will be on sale and super cheap over the next few weeks.
Easiest, no fuss way to make your own pumpkin…in your slow cooker. How to Cook a Pumpkin in your slow cooker…Toni’s got your covered!
You can cook it in the oven as well…I prefer this method of steam-baking. Cut into wedges, then follow the “steam-bake” directions, scoop out flesh once cooked, puree, let cool and freeze.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments…we’ll help you out!

Homemade Pumpkin in the Slow Cooker was first posted on October 20, 2011 at 9:00 am.

Savory Slow Cooker Chicken and Butternut Squash – Grow. Eat. $ave.

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:31:00 +0000

So this isn’t pumpkin…but it’s close!

We’ve been enjoying lots of butternut squash lately, after buying some at Kroger, then more at Aldi the next week for just $.59 each!

We’ve had this…a beef stew with butternut (recipe coming Monday on One Dish Dinners!)…and I made the same beef stew mix for the guys to enjoy while I’m out of town this week.

(And sorry about the lighting…it was already dark. And dark outside kitchen light does not bode well when photographing food! This is a peek inside the slow cooker, minutes after I took off the lid to serve dinner.)

(And I should add…I had grandiose plans for all the acorn squash that I had growing my little garden. That is, until the squirrels ate them. Sigh.)

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Savory Slow Cooker Chicken and Butternut Squash
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 8 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
3 small chicken breasts (about 1 1/3 lb.) ($2.50)
2 tsps red wine vinegar ($.05)
Salt and pepper
1/2 bag baby carrots, or 4-5 peeled carrots sticks ($.67)
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced ($.59)
2 tsp Italian seasonings ($.10)
Whole wheat dinner rolls or toast with butter ($.75)
Add this recipe to ZipList!
Directions
Place the chicken breasts in the base of the slow cooker and splash the vinegar over the top. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the baby carrots and butternut squash around and on top of the chicken. Season with the Italian seasonings and more salt and pepper if you like.
Set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.
Prepare bread or toast.
Serve Savory Slow Cooker Chicken and Butternut Squash with carrots and toast.
Cost $4.66

::: Download the FREE $5 Dinners Toolbar – never miss a recipe, coupon, deal or meal plan! Learn more. :::

If you’d like to learn more about Square Foot Gardening, please check out the Square Foot Gardening books by Mel Bartholemew.

Do you have a recipe that uses Butternut, Acorn Squash or Pumpkin that you’d like to share this week?! Link ‘er up!

Savory Slow Cooker Chicken and Butternut Squash – Grow. Eat. $ave. was first posted on October 19, 2011 at 5:31 pm.

Recipe for Slow Cooker Orange-Cranberry Pork Roast & The Meals I’m Leaving Behind…

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:00:00 +0000

So I’m gone almost 6 full days this week. A new record for me!

In an attempt to keep my guys from having to go out to eat every night while I’m gone, I’ve put together some meal options for them.

I’m leaving spaghetti for them to have tonight. And here’s what I’ve left for the rest of the week. (I even organized it neatly into the freezer door to make things even easier for our sitter and for my husband, as he plays Mr. Mom while I’m gone.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry (in the middle of the freezer door)
Beef Stew with Potatoes, Butternut and Carrots (in the “seasoned stew beef” bag, recipe coming next week on One Dish Dinners)
Slow Cooker Orange-Cranberry Pork Roast (recipe below) with Steamers Broccoli
Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough (at far end of freezer door, after school snack option)
Whole Wheat Pancakes (breakfast, lunch or snack)
Pizza with dairy free Daiya cheese for the boys with fruit
Out to dinner one of the nights

So now my husband’s job as Mr. Mom will hopefully be a little easier while I’m away!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Slow Cooker Orange-Cranberry Pork Roast
Yield – 6-8 servings
Preparation Time – 5 minutes
Cooking Time – 8 hours in slow cooker minutes
Ingredients
1.5 – 2 lb. pork roast or tenderloin ($3.49)
1 15 oz. can cranberry sauce (or homemade cranberry sauce) ($.59)
Zest and juice from 1 orange ($.33)
1 teaspoon cinnamon ($.05)
Dash nutmeg and cloves ($.02)
Salt and pepper
Steamers broccoli ($1.25)
1 cup brown rice ($.40)
Add this recipe to ZipList!
Directions
Place the pork roast in the base of a slow cooker.
In a small bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce, juice and zest from the orange, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Pour over the roast in the slow cooker.
Prepare broccoli or other vegetables.
Prepare brown rice as directed.
Serve Orange-Cranberry Pork Roast with broccoli and rice.
Cost $6.13 (and serves 6-8!)

::: Download the FREE $5 Dinners Toolbar – never miss a recipe, coupon, deal or meal plan! Learn more. :::

Recipe for Slow Cooker Orange-Cranberry Pork Roast & The Meals I’m Leaving Behind… was first posted on October 18, 2011 at 4:00 pm.

Slow Cooker Maple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes – $5 Dinner Challenge

Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:45:15 +0000

Dear Chairman of the Kid Food Hall of Fame Committee,
I’d like to nominate this recipe to be inducted in the class of 2011 for Best Kid Friendly recipe for the following reasons.
1. All 3 children finished their entire plates in record time.
2. All 3 children asked for seconds and ate them all.
3. And we didn’t have to rush home from swim practice to get dinner ready…it was ready when we got home!
Thanks for the consideration-
A Happy Mom of Kids with Full Bellies

Seriously…we’ll be making this again before the winter hits! The sweet potatoes were perfectly delicious…almost like they were “maple steamed”…the chicken was perfect (we prefer chicken thighs in the slow cooker over chicken breasts, but if you don’t like chicken thighs, this will totally work with chicken breasts.) The carrots also had a sweeter flavor…and all 3 kids ate them willingly without being prodded. (Carrots are not their favorite veggie…but they really liked these.)

If you don’t want to purchase expensive maple syrup, try Crystal’s Homemade Maple Syrup. We used to make it this way when we lived in the Dominican Republic. Or, you can do as I do, and buy maple syrup from Amazon using Swagbucks credits.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Slow Cooker Maple Chicken and Sweet Potatoes
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 8 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
1 pkg (about 1.5 lbs.) boneless skinless chicken thighs ($2.82) $1.88/lb sale last week
Salt and pepper
About 3 Tbsp maple syrup, drizzled over chicken (free from Amazon, or $.50)
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed ($1.25)
About 1/2 lb. baby carrots (or 4-5 peeled carrots sticks) ($.67)
1 small red onion ($.40)
Salt and pepper over the top
Add this recipe to ZipList!
Directions
Place the chicken the base of the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the maple syrup all over the chicken.
Place the cubed sweet potatoes, baby carrots or carrot sticks and chopped red onion over the top. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper over it all.
Set the slow cooker on low and let cook for 8 hours.
Serve Slow Cooker Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Baby Carrots.
(If you don’t like chicken thighs, use 3 chicken breasts.)
Cost $5.64

::: Download the FREE $5 Dinners Toolbar – never miss a recipe, coupon, deal or meal plan! Learn more. :::

__________________________________________________

Have a Frugal and Healthy Recipe to share?

Slow Cooker Maple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes – $5 Dinner Challenge was first posted on October 10, 2011 at 5:45 pm.