Bacon-Potato Soup

from 101 More Things To Do With A Slow Cooker

6 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
5 cups water
2 cups chopped onions
4 chicken bouillon cubes*
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Combine potatoes, water, onions, and bouillon cubes in a greased 5 to 7 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender. Stir in crumbled bacon, milk, and gated cheese. Cover and cook and additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes 10-12 servings.

Serve with hot biscuits and garnish soup with fresh chopped parsley.

VARIATION: Add 1/2 cup diced celery and 1/2 cup chopped carrots with potatoes at the beginning of cook time.

* 4 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules can be substituted.

Easy Taco Soup (AKA the easiest meal you will ever fix)

posted by Traci from 101 Things To Do With a Slow Cooker

1 can (15 ounces) chili with beans and meat (I like to use Hormel Turkey Chili 98% fat free)

1 can (15 ounces) whole kernel corn, with liquid

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, with liquid

1 1/2 to 3 tablespoons dry taco seasoning mix

Combine all ingredients in greased 3 1/2 to 4 1/2-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours. Makes 4-6 servings.

Serve with quesadillas.

All you need is a can opener and a tablespoon. I love how easy this meal is, and it tastes great!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

by Traci

*Note: I made up this recipe for the most part and when I make up a recipe I don't always measure. So some of the listed ingredients (the ones with stars by them) are estimates. Also, I have only made this twice, so I will likely tweak it in the future. Feel free to do the same.
P.S. I know pretty much nothing about seasonings/spices so I pretty much guessed which spices would be good in this recipe based off of other pizza recipes and what I had in my cupboard.

Crust

*1 tbs sugar or honey

1 cup warm water

1 package or 2 1/4 tsp yeast

2 tbs oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

2 1/4 cup flour

oil or grease

cornmeal (I would say this is optional)

Toppings

*1 cup Alfredo sauce (I used a four cheese Alfredo sauce)

1-2 Roma tomatoes

chicken (I used leftover Cafe Rio chicken see recipe below. This made the pizza extra tasty)

*1 cup mozzarella cheese (you don't need to entirely cover the sauce like a regular pizza)

pepper

crushed basil

Put sugar or honey in the bottom of a medium bowl. Pour in warm water. Add yeast (don't stir) and let sit for 5-10 min. Then add oil, salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Stir. Then stir in flour with vigorous strokes until blended. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prep pizza pan by greasing with oil, crisco, or whatever you have on hand. Sprinkle cornmeal on pan if desired. Turn dough out onto pan. Using a rolling pin or glass, roll dough out to edges. Be sure to have plenty of flour on hand to prevent your rolling device from sticking. Once the dough is rolled out you can either put it in the oven right away, or let it rise for a thicker, fluffier crust. I usually don't have time to let it rise so I just put it in right away. Bake crust for 8-10 min. In the mean time, chop the tomatoes.

After you have removed the baked crust from the oven, spread the Alfredo sauce on. Then sprinkle the cheese over the sauce. Add the chicken and tomatoes. Finally sprinkle pepper and basil over the pizza. Return to the oven for 10-12 min. Enjoy!

Variation: The first time I made this pizza, I omitted the garlic powder from the crust. When I took the crust out of the oven, I coated it with melted butter and then sprinkled garlic salt on top of the butter. The Alfredo sauce then went on over the butter/garlic layer. That was actually very yummy, but the next time I omitted the butter to make the pizza slightly less unhealthy.

Cafe Rio Chicken

contributed by Traci

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
5 lbs chicken breast

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours (low for 8 hours). Shred chicken, then cook for additional hour.

Traci's note: I usually half this recipe and it makes plenty. We usually have burritos or tacos from the chicken the first night and then I use the leftover chicken all week in other meals that require cooked chicken such as casseroles and on pizza.

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

contributed by Traci
from 101 More Things To Do With A Slow Cooker

12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 jars (16 ounces each) Alfredo sauce
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
1 carton (16 ounces) ricotta or cottage cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Break 4 noodles to fit in the bottom of greased 6 to 7 quart slow cooker. Layer a third of Alfredo sauce, half of water, and half of chicken over noodles. Spread half of ricotta or cottage cheese and sprinkle a third of mozzarella over meat layer. Add another layer of noodles. Layer a third of Alfredo sauce, remaining chicken, water, and ricotta or cottage cheese. Sprinkle second third of mozzarella. Layer remaining noodles, sauce, and mozzarella. Cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours. Do not cook more than 5 hours. Makes 10-12 servings.

Serve with hot garlic bread.

Variation: Add a small can (2.25 ounces) of sliced olives between layers.

Carrie's Creamy Cheesy Casserole

Ok, so this picture may not look all that appetizing, but trust me, this casserole is good! I made it with items we happened to have in the pantry.

3 cups rice (cooked)
2 chicken breasts (cooked and cut into strips)
1 cup (approximately)grated cheese
1 can green beans
1 can cream of potato soup (or mushroom, or chicken...whatever... we only had potato in the house)
Pepper
Dried Bread Crumbs
Dried onions

Place rice at bottom of pan. Mix in can of soup. Add as much pepper to mixture as desired. Add desired amount of onions. Mix together. Add green beans, chicken, and cover with bread crumbs. Cover mixture with desired amount of grated cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Potato Cheese Soup

(From Mom's Recipe Collection)

Boil:

6 c.chicken broth
1 Tbsp. dried onion
4 cups peeled and diced potatoes.

Add:

8 Tbsp. margarine 4 c. milk
8 Tbsp. flour 2 to 3 c. grated cheese
1 tsp salt

Boil first 4 ingredients together until done, then sort of mash up potatoes with potato masher.

In saucepan, add last 4 ingredients and make a white sauce to thicken. Add to broth mixture. If too thick, add milk; if too runny, and potato pearls or any instant potatoes.

Add 2 to 3 cups grated cheese, a little bit at a time. Can garnish with some of the grated cheese.

Tater-Tot Casserole

contributed by Traci
from 101 Things to do with a Slow Cooker

1 bag (32 ounces) frozen tater tots
1 can (8 ounces) chicken, drained* (I just boil a chicken breast or two and cut it up)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (14 ½ ounces) green beans, drained
1 can (10 ¾ ounces) cream of mushroom soup, condensed (I use cream of chicken)
1 tablespoon dried onion
½ cup milk
½ cup cheddar cheese, grated

Pour bag of frozen tater tots on bottom of greased 4 ½ to 6 quart slow cooker. In separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients except cheese and pour over potatoes. Cover and cook on high heat 3 hours or on low heat 4 ½ - 5 hours. Half an hour before serving, sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Makes 4-6 servings.

*Tuna may be substituted.