Easy Crock Pot, Dump-and-Eat Taco Soup

I could already tell that today was gonna be one of those get-to-5-o-clock-with-no-dinner-plan days unless I took the bull by the horns. 

So I took the easy way out & dumped all these things in the crock pot and plugged it in. Easy. Tasty. No 5 o'clock rush. Win-win-win. 

Dinner will be ready at the time of my choosing and all I'll have to do is pull out the cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream. YUM! 

In the crock pot, dump these ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 pounds of ground beef (or pork) 
• 2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 envelop taco seasoning
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 lb. frozen corn
• 1-2 tsp cumin
• 2 c water or broth.

Set the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with crushed tortilla chips, cornbread, sliced avocado, or shredded cheese, & enjoy!!!

Crock Pot Recipe Round-Up

A few links from around the web that sound like great crock-pot recipes worth trying out:

• Creamy Chicken Enchiladas -- for this tasty recipe, all the sauce/meat/cheesiness cooks in the crockpot, then you spoon it into tortillas & bake 30 minutes before dinner-- so it's a partial-crock-pot recipe.
• Honey Sesame Chicken -- oh goodness, this sounds tasty over rice!
• Chicken Chili -- I normally do beef chili, so this might be worth a try
• Beef Stew -- Sounds simple and tasty, just right for cold weather!
• Crock Pot Salsa Chicken -- the blogger says this can be served as a soup, over tortilla chips and garnished with cheese, or if you strain with a slotted spoon, you can stuff tortillas or taco shells with it for a meal.  Sounds versatile & tasty!
• Chicken Noodle Soup -- the kiddos LOVE chicken noodle soup, so I definitely want to try this one.
• Chicken & Corn Chowder 
• Crock Pot Taco Soup
• French Dip Sandwiches -- YUM!!!
• Pulled Pork Sandwiches -- another YUM!  (Plus, her comments are funny to read.)

I need to be more diligent & efficient & put my crock pot to more frequent use!  Hope this gives you ideas too!

Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 3 1/2 pound pork shoulder, trimmed & cut into 4 pieces

In a 6-quart crock pot, mix all ingredients except pork.  Once combined, add pork, and turn to coat in sauce.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.  Remove pork and shred w/ two forks.  Return pork to crock pot & stir in sauce.  To serve, spoon 1/2 cup onto a sandwich bun.

SOUNDS GOOD!

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas & Crock Pot Pinto Beans

Just wanted to share this recipe that has delighted my family twice in the last 10 days--  it's easy as pie & I've altered it to be completely done in the crock pot.

Here's the link to the original:
Simple Carnitas Recipe

Here's how I've adjusted it:

CROCK POT CARNITAS
Turn your crock pot on high & put in these ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 Oranges, peeled & quartered
• 1-2 Onions, peeled & quartered
• 1 whole head garlic, peeled & chopped
• 1/4 cup salt (kosher/sea salt would be better, but table salt works fine for us)
• 2 Tbsp oregano
• 1 Tbsp pepper
• 2 bay leaves

Add hot water until meat is just covered inside crock.  Cook on high for 4 hours, OR cook on high for 1 hour and then reduce to low & cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the pork; reserve juices in crock pot.  The meat is delightfully tender, so simply use 2 forks to shred the meat.

Use for carnitas tacos/burritos, garnishing with cheese, salsa, beans, lettuce, tomatoes; or use as a tender flavorful meat over mashed potatoes; or for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.  

CROCK POT PINTO BEANS
A great part of doing it this way is that because you removed the pork from the juices, there is a flavorful broth in which to cook your pinto beans.  You can either start right away, or refrigerate the juice overnight and make it the next day.

• Leftover cooking broth from pork carnitas
• 1 pound pinto beans, with any bad beans sorted/removed

All you have to do is pour your 1 pound of beans into the reserved juices from the carnitas, then set your crock pot to high for 3-4 hours, and cook on low an additional 2 or more; OR you can cook on low for 7-8 hours.  The beans are amazingly flavorful; just be sure to use a slotted spoon to remove the orange quarters and large onion slices before serving the beans.

These could be used for bean & cheese nachos, as a side item for Mexican food, in chili, or whatever else you want to use them for.  They are so very tasty!