I am officially in love with my slow cooker.
It completes me.
I’ve been trying to cook more and become a little more skilled in the kitchen. I also wanted to start mixing up what I make for my week night meals, so I asked Santa to bring me a slow cooker. And he did!!
And then, per usual, I didn’t do anything with it for a few weeks.
But I finally started digging around for recipes and with some help from Jenn, I found one on Taste of Home that seemed pretty easy. I didn’t want to go too far out of my comfort zone, considering this could have been a disaster. Or the slow cooker could have exploded and set my house on fire.
You never know.
So I stayed home while it was cooking and the smell was amazing. Seriously, I didn’t want to wait for it to finish because I was hungry right away.
But I let it finish and I give myself an A because it turned out great and took minimal time to prep.
I present to you all, my first slow cooker success story: Herbed Chicken and Tomatoes.
Taste of Home Recipe:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
- 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Italian diced tomatoes
- 1 envelope savory herb with garlic soup mix
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- Hot cooked pasta
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the chicken, tomatoes, soup mix and sugar. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve with pasta; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Seriously it is that easy.
I added more chicken to mine and used some whole grain pasta with it and it was insanely delicious. Slow cooked chicken is probably my new favorite thing. It is so flavorful and tender, love love love.
I’m looking for more slow cooker recipes too so if you have one pass it along! Do you own a slow cooker? If so, what do you love making in it?
This is 3 times now that i’ve landed on your website in the last two days when searching Yahoo for absolutely unrelated things. Kinda weird. Keep up the good blogging!
Nothing I ever make with my slow cooker comes out tasting as good as it smells. It’s always such a letdown! However, this dish looks awesome so I will have to give it a try!
This looks delicious! And I absolutely ADORE my slow cooker. (I have for years!)
One of my favorite things to make is a pot roast, courtesy of one of my friends who can’t really cook. For whatever reason, it is absolutely wonderful and simple and the best tasting roast I’ve ever had. If you’d like, I can totally send you the recipe!
Slow cooker success with beef stew! Can’t wait to try and roast a chicken in it and make ribs. Yum! Me, a non-cook (i.e. no patience to stand by and watch thing cook) has found then perfect way to stop eating out all the time :-)
Slow cookers are the greatest. You can throw anything in there. Italian beef is good, cook for 4-5 hours. Toss in a couple of garlic cloves, bell peppers, and your choice of seasoning.
I’m all about the slow cooker and I don’t call it a C.P. or crock pot.
It’s so easy and simple and you can’t mess it up. I haven’t yet! We like pulled pork, chili and italian braised chicken in there. I threw it over pasta and it was delicious.
It’s seriously idiot proof.
I love my slow cooker! Lately I’ve taken to making taco meat in it — a 2 lb. pork roast of some sort (usually pork butt) with a packet of taco seasoning and some water (whatever amount the seasoning packet calls for). Cook on low for about eight hours or until you can easily shred the meat. You can also use the same cut of meat and add store-bought marinade (you can usually find different ones in the salad dressing aisle at the grocery store) and cook on low for eight hours.
my slow cooker doubles as a deep fryer, which I am ashamed to say gets way more use than the slow cook setting.
Gord got one for a wedding gift with his first wife. He got rid of her but kept the slow cooker. I love it!
i use my slow cooker for everything from beef and pork roast to chili, stews and soups and casseroles!!
they have slowcooker themed cookbooks -you love yours as much as i do you’ll want to invest in a few! definitely worth it :)
here’s the link to a few crockpot dishes on my site…i love our crockpot as well and this chicken dish sounds delish!
http://www.thesweetslife.com/search/label/crockpot
oh that sounds delicious, nicely done!
I always tell Big Man I want one but he laughs because he doesnt think i’ll actually use it.
i have a slow cooker and have yet to use it. my 8 year old brother got me a recipe book for it for christmas so i’ve got to use it soon! plus, i figure it will be perfect for when i get a full-time job…hot meals when i get home!
Um…I need a slowcooker. I love this beer cheese soup recipe that my mom used to always make. Not very healthy, but insanely delicious. But you should know that coming from Wisconsin, right!?
Good work Jess!
I am a slow-cooking failure. Tip: do not attempt meatloaf in the slow cooker. Vomit-inducing.
Part of the problem is that I need things that can cook for 12 hours. There aren’t a lot of those. In fact, the only one I’ve found is Italian Beef (this one). So, pretty much my slow cooker has become an Italian Beef cooker.
I am infatuated with my slow cooker!!! So far I’ve made Thai Curry Chicken, Cheeseburger Soup, and Sweet Potato Chili. This week I’m making Shredded Chicken Tacos.
I get a lot of recipes from my Better Homes & Gardens The Ultimate Slow Cooker Book, and from this blog I found called A Year of Slow Cooking
Um, this looks and sounds delicious! And right up my alley. Slow cooker needed, pronto!
Yay! It looks fantastic! You really can’t beat slow cooking and the way it lets the juices get all seeped into things and soft and tender and mmmmm sounds so good!
Yay! I’m so glad it worked out for you. Slow cooker chicken is definitely one of the best things in the entire world. My slow cooker makes me feel like a top chef when in reality – I suck! :)
omg, you reinspired me. i got a crockpot for xmas and i’ve only tried cheesy broccoli casserole and it was a fail. i need to try something again and this recipe looks fantastic! i’m totally going to try it!
I just got one yesterday and will be trying it out today! Hope for success like you.
I never grew up with a slow cooker, so the kinds of foods you’d make in one aren’t necessarily what I’m drawn to. That said, you can’t beat the convenience of cooking food while you’re at work and coming home to a warm meal. Sweets and I purchased one last year. We’ve made pulled pork tacos and chilli in ours as well as chicken cacciatore. Taste of Home is a good resource for some basic recipes. I think Williams Sonoma has some more complicated (and tastier???) recipes online and in their cookbook.
Yay! I am so glad that the slow cooker was a success for you. I love it and seriously use it 2 or 3 times a week or make 2 or 3 different things over the weekend so there’s food all wekk. I make everything from soup, to chili, to various meat dishes. Its just so easy to throw it together, go to work and then come home to a dinner that both smells delicious and is delicious!! I’ll send some recipes your way this weeken.
i’ve never owned or used a slow cooker. i just don’t think those fly in the greek cooking world, but more and more i’m thinking that i need one.
Um…EVERYTHING in the slow cooker is delicious. Chili, pot roast, mac and cheese…seriously anything you can think of is better in the cooker.
I like to do pot roast a lot with a good, dark beer. Guinness or Negro Modelo are both good. Add potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and about 1/2 a cup of red wine. And lots of garlic and onion. Plus a few cans of the beer. Soooooo tasty.
I don’t have a slow cooker, but we just got a George Foreman Grill and I love that bastard. Grilled eggplant with everything makes me happy.
Oh that looks great!! I don’t have a slow cooker, but your post totally made me want to get one – looking forward to more recipe!!!
I’m a big fan of my slow cooker- I just find that there’s SO much prep involved! But now that Im cooking more meat for Mister this could be more useful… pull pork maybe?
Hm… Thanks for reminding me about this!
P.S. I forgot to tell you that your recipe looks delicious and I’m totally going to try it!
I have a slow cooker! I got it for Christmas and I LOVE IT. I’ve made two dishes. The chili was amazing, and the pot roast turned into mush. :(
I can send you the chili recipe if you want! It uses turkey meat so it’s a little healthier.
Maybe this will break my kitchen disaster curse, Jess! I usually made a mess if I tried to cook. Your food looks really yummy.
o.O that sounds awesome! I have a great slow cooker chili recipe that is amazing and incredibly easy, I’ll dig it up and send it your way :)
Will have to give this one a try soon!!