Back to School!
Summer has already flown by and the new school year is about to begin! We know how busy the beginning of the school year is and how hard it can be to get back into a routine. Getting the kids situated into a new bedtime, making sure homework is complete and school forms are all filled out, it’s hard to find time to cook a meal for the whole family in between! We thought we would share two of our favorite Crockpot recipes to help you through the first week! These recipes are great to have all year round as well. Craig Carver Group is wishing all of you a wonderful 2017-2018 school year!
Slow Cooker Chili Mac
Ingredients
- 1 pound very lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (30 oz) can chili beans in chili sauce or 2 (15-16 oz) cans chili beans in chili sauce
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz elbow macaroni, uncooked
- Desired toppings: cheddar, sour cream, green onions, corn chips….
Instructions
- Place ground beef in the bottom of your slow cooker and break into smaller chunks. Stir in remaining ingredients except for the pasta.
- Cover and cook for 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. In the last 15 minutes of cooking stir in the uncooked pasta and cover. Stir and test to see if pasta is to your liking. However, even with the slow cooker off the pasta will continue to cook just from the heat of the chili and crock itself so unless your pasta is really chewy or crunchy I strongly suggest only cooking it for the last 15 minutes of cook time.
- Serve immediately with desired toppings.
Creamy Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, bone in and skin on (Use 4 lbs if you want less sauce for pasta)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temp cut in cubes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 package Ranch Dressing Mix (You are using the dry mix in this recipe!)
- chives, for garnish
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled for garnish (I forgot to add this!!!!!! Next time for sure!!!)
Instructions
- Lay the chicken in the crockpot.
- Pour in the chicken broth.
- Sprinkle on the ranch dressing mix powder.
- Top with cubes of cream cheese.
- Cook on high 4 hours. I stirred mine every hour or so to help the sauce along and combine the cream cheese into the sauce. Don;t be worried if sauce looks funky, it will come together in the end!
- Remove from sauce and shred chicken, discarding skin/bones.
- Pour sauce over chicken and top with chives and bacon crumbles.