Slow Cooker Applesauce

I saw this recipe come up in my Google Reader from Seconds for Satisfaction.  It looked easy and like it was a good way to use up some of the apples from my mother in law's tree!  I popped it in the slow cooker around 10 AM and it was done by 4 (I turned it on low around 2 PM). 

And I didn't until JUST NOW realize I was supposed to cook it on low the whole time! Oops. Also, I didn't have any lemons so that was left out, but it was still good!!

Delicious! Although it's darker than store-bought applesauce, and my son didn't really love it, which surprised me.  He LOVES applesauce, but not so much this stuff - it must be a different texture for him.  Ah well, I guess I'll have to eat it all :-)

4 large apples, skinned, cored, and cut in quarters
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Instructions:
Skin, core, and cut your apples into quarters. Add them to your slow cooker. Mix the lemon juice and the water and pour over apples. Pour in the vanilla, and add the cinnamon and brown sugar. Give it all a toss to make sure the apples are coated in liquid.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When the apples are tender, mash with a potato masher or large fork.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

I'm not feeling so hot today, I have my son's awesome cold that he decided to share. 

So I stayed home from work, sent my son to daycare and napped the morning away. This afternoon, oatmeal was calling my name, so I decided to give this recipe from Lauren's Kitchen a try.  It was very good, especially with the loads of sugar and cinnamon I added to it! 

Ingredients:

1 cup of oats
2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla
pinch of salt
1 chopped apple

Add oats, chopped apple and milk to stoneware, and then put in brown sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt; stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 2-3. Check consistency of oatmeal and add milk as needed; garnish with cinnamon

Cocktail Meatballs

From Allrecipes.com

I made these for my son's birthday party and received lots of compliments on them.  I also triped the recipe and it fit in my big crockpot. 

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons minced onion

1 (8 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
3/4 cup chili sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, water, bread crumbs, and minced onion. Roll into small meatballs.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.
4.In a slow cooker or large saucepan over low heat, blend the cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Add meatballs, and simmer for 1 hour before serving.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

From Crockpot Tuesday's.  I like her recipes, they are easy prep work, not a lot of ingredients, and very tasty.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 stalks of celery, chopped (omitted)
half of a large onion, chopped (omitted)
1 cup carrots, chopped (I used three large)
Rosemary and parsley, to taste (or whatever seasonings you like)
8 oz. egg noodles (I used 6 oz)

Directions:
Place everything in the crockpot except the egg noodles. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. At end of cook time, shred the chicken. Add egg noodles; cover and cook on high for about 30 minutes.

Mine was VERY thick, it was basically chicken and noodles.  I even added about 3/4 of a cup of water when I added the noodles.  It was good, though, and very easy!  The chicken shreds very nicely after being in a crockpot all day, and the noodles are very tasty on top of it.  If only it were healthy...

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

I made this delicious crock pot meal yesterday from Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes. I modified it a bit, and we ate it as tacos instead of on rice. Very easy and good flavor.

Ingredients:

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast (I used 3 large chicken breasts)
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro - skipped
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped - skipped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste

Directions:

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. We ate as tacos; you can also serve over rice.