For the longest time, I hated my crockpot. I did. I’m not even sure how I originally became a crockpot owner. Probably something my mom gave me. Anyway, I never had success. How is that even possible? I was like some sort of slow cooking idiot or something.
Eventually I graduated from a ’Slow Cooking for Dummies’ course (not really) and now I’m good-to-go. I use my crockpot successfully all the time (so amazing, I know).
Here are a couple of my tried & true favorites:
1. Crazy Good Coffee Pot Roast
Yes, this is my own recipe. I may very well be biased, but this is might be the best pot roast ever. TRY IT!
This is so, so good. YOU MUST MAKE THE GRAVY or you will be missing out… it’s phenominal. That is not an over statement. TRY IT!
My own recipe… again. This is the second best pot roast ever. It used to be my favorite… before the discovery of the coffee pot roast. TRY IT!
4. Lemon Basil Crockpot Chicken
Yes, it’s my own… again, again. You’ll get over it. TRY IT!
And here are a few that I’m jonesing to try:
Because who doesn’t like Tex Mex?
2. Easy Chicken Curry with Peppers and Cabbage
Key Words: curry and easy.
I’m pretty sure that everything she makes is fan-freakin-tastic… so this will be no exception.
So, tell me… what are your favorite slow cooker recipes??? I don’t want to miss out!
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I’ve always loved my crockpot from my first Rival at my Wedding shower 35 years ago to my lovely easy to clean and travel with secure lid one now. I’ve done 1-4 and can vouch they are keepers as easy, tasty recipes. My fav is still the tomato balsamic roast.
I may not have started with the love… but I’ve got it now!
Love my crockpot! I use it for beef roast, chicken (whole or cut up) & ribs of any kind. It’s my lazy way of making sure dinner is ready when I know I will have a busy weekend day. If I use it during the week my husband calls it torture the dogs day
Poor dogs are home while we are at work and the whole house smells delicious when we get home!
Nothing wrong with cooking the
lazyeasy way! Poor dogs…Slow cookers are wonderful! We bought one after we butchered a very tough steer, it was the only way to get through 250kg of tough beef, but it made it edible. Now I use it for roasts in summer (so you don’t heat up the whole house with the oven) and for 24 hour stock (rather than worrying about the gas flame blowing out on the stove top). I probably use it at least once a week. My casserole recipe is similar to your tomato balsamic roast. You can’t go wrong if you add stock, herbs, wine and tomatoes to anything I reckon
That’s the only way I make stock these days… too easy! And, you’re right, it’s perfect for summer cooking.
I am a vegetarian, so unfortunately I don’t use my slow-cooker to make the most of cheap cuts of meat. I have made a few things in the slow-cooker though, it’s good for cooking dried beans, veggie stews and soups. I would love it if anyone can help me out with some vegetarian slow-cooker recipes
With a little adapting (as in homemade stock instead of canned, etc.), a couple of these recipes look pretty good.
http://www.bhg.com/recipes/vegetarian/ideas/10-slow-cooker-vegetarian-favorites/#page=6
I might try the vegetable curry!
I have a recipe that is easily adaptable for the crock pot. http://realfoodfreaks.com/2011/07/17/sprouted-mung-bean-and-shrimp-optional/
Instead of cooking in a pot on the stove you could cook low and slow in a crock pot using all of the ingredients except the carrots, kale, and coconut milk which you can add at the very end after using a stick blender to puree the beans. Leave out the shrimp at the end. I often make it without shrimp if for some reason my hubs is not eating it. I actually prefer this recipe without meat as it is plenty hearty on it’s own.
For great vegetarian slow cooker recipes try The Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla. It’s not exclusively vegetarian, but there’s lots of great legume recipes and an awesome take on veggie soup!
Question on the Crazy Good Coffee Pot Roast……Can you taste the coffee? I love coffee (don’t speak to me until I’ve had a cup in the morning kind of love) but my husband is not a fan.
You cannot taste the coffee. My husband doesn’t like coffee either (wierdo
), but he loves this roast! It just enhances the flavor. Hope you give it a try!
I use my crockpot every week for my weekly whole chicken mostly in the warm months of the year when I don’t wanna roast it in the oven
It’s so fast and most of the time I put it in at bedtime and debone in the morning so the chicken is ready for cold salads or sandwiches at lunch or add-in for dinner stir fry or something. And I also use it weekly for stock making – as I’m deboning the bones and carcass go back into the juices left in the crock and I just fill it back up with water, add some ACV, and let it go for a day or 2. So mine is going 2-3 days per week 
I do love a good pot roast in the crockpot so I’ll haveta try your coffee roast – I remember seeing that last year.
One of my favourite crockpot recipes is Sweet & Sour Beans.
http://www.bisonbasics.com/recipes/ground_bison/sweet_n_sour_bison_beans.html
You can substitute grass-fed beef for the bison.
I had the 1st version of this recipe back in 1997 at a community Hunters Banquet in the Madawaska Highlands village of Quadeville on a clear, cold November evening. At that time we used ground venison as the meat ingredient.
THANK YOU for posting this. I have been in a serious food rut lately. I’ve lost all inspiration for dinners. This is quite helpful!
I’ve been there… You’ll come out of it!
Thanks!!! I love our slow cooker and don’t use it near enough!! I am going to share this on my Facebook fan page.
Hope you enjoy the recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Made the Crazy Good Coffe Pot Roast today! Soooo yummy! Thank you for the recipe. I will definitely use it again. Next on the list….Tomato Balsamic Pot Roast. We have a side of beef in the freezer
So glad you liked it Marsha!
I am definitely going to try your recipes above, what a useful post! I have a crock pot and it seems like everything I make it in tastes the same (operator error I am sure) so maybe this will pull me out of that funk! Great post.
Try them out Linda… you’ll love them!
These recipes look great! I’m especially excited to try the curry.
[...] Must Try Slow Cooker Treats from Real Food Freaks. This was a very popular post with some good ideas! [...]
Love, love, love my slow cooker! I actually have a series of (vegetarian) recipes I call Slow Cooker Savvy that features many of my favorites. Apple butter and Granola have wow’d me recently! http://soulicious.net/veggie-delights/
The start of your post made me laugh — I’ve always been anti-crockpot too but recently started using it for applesauce and beef stew. What an interesting suprise when I accidentally left the crockpot on low overnight (after already cooking most of the day) and found the broth the next morning was seriously intense and rich!