You are here: Home » Food » Crock Pot Recipes

Crock Pot Recipes

Tina | August 31, 2013 | 0 Comments

Looking for ideas on what to make for dinner? Our resident chef has some suggestions for Crock Pot “Dinner-in-a-Pinch” Ideas!

crock pot recipes Most days in my house are filled with school, work, homework, sports, dance class, baths, reading and usually at least one unexpected surprise. I know, just like your house! The crock pot being filled in the morning is the best way to deal with everything which seems to magically fall in the hours between dismissal and bedtime. I cannot tell you how often I have used these quick go-to meal ideas when I just didn’t have it in me to pull dinner together in the morning. When I finally made it home the crock pot had filled my house with welcoming aromas and that was usually enough to inspire me to throw together a salad, a vegetable and maybe even another quick side dish to complement my “slaved all day in the kitchen” meal. Just remember, these meal ideas aren’t fancy, but let’s be honest… most kids aren’t either.

My favorite, super quick, toss in the crock pot on the way out the door ideas:

1 lb chicken with lemon juice and pepper (fresh lemons or the marinade of your choice)
frozen meatballs with teriyaki marinade (or a jar of marinara sauce) serve over pasta or rice
Italian sausage with jar of marinara sauce, onions & green peppers, serve on fresh Italian bread or over pasta
sticky pot roast (1 envelope onion soup mix, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of celery soup)
1 lb beef tips and 1 jar of your favorite gravy, serve over rice (my choice is the boil in a bag rice)

These are my “dinner-in-a-pinch” ideas and as glad as I was that there was a home cooked meal on the table, when I first turned to using these, I must admit that I worried that the lack of effort in making dinner may have cheated my kids somewhat. Well, my kids made their opinion of these dinners quite clear when I recently began the task of meal planning. One of the first things I did to start my meal planning resolution was to ask each of my children to make a list of their five favorite dinners for the dinner rotation… I was quite pleased to find that four out of these five dinner ideas made one (or both) of their lists. Kids are so easy to please. OK, I retract that last sentence. I just lucked out this time!

We also have posted some other wonderful Family Friendly Crock Pot Meals in the past…..

Here is an Entire Crock Pot Meal plan for a week including favorites like