BBQ Sausage & Rice

2 cups uncooked brown rice
4 cups water
1 pound kielbasa sausage, thinly sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 Tbs. brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 (10 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup barbeque sauce

Add all to crock-pot and cook on LOW 4-6 hours.

Split Pea Soup w/ Drop Biscuits

This is super easy and delicious. You're going to love me for how simple this is to make!

1 lb. bag split peas
8 cups water
1 heaping Tbs. salt
1 tsp. (at least) pepper
1 bay leaf
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks chopped celery (but only if you're in the mood; they're not necessary)

Add all to crock-pot and set to low for 6 hours. Then add:

1 small bag frozen peas & carrots (because sometimes you just don't wanna chop any more veggies!)

Cook for another hour or two. Use immersion blender to pulverize about half of those poor peas. I put it straight into my crock-pot and whirl away.

Make drop biscuits per instructions on a box of Bisquick. Use melon-baller to make tablespoon-sized biscuits. Cook 8 minutes in 450* oven. Drop a handful into each bowl of soup. Yum!

Honey Ham w/ Spicy Veggies

1 C. orange juice
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1/2 C. honey
1 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 tsp. each: salt & pepper
1/2 C. chicken stock
3 Tbs. EVOO
1 large red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 poblano pepper, diced
4 zucchini, sliced
2 C. frozen corn kernels
2 lbs. cubed ham
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
zest & juice of 1 lime
1/4 C. fresh parsley

Add all to crock-pot and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Serve with jasmine rice.

This recipe was crock-pot converted from this cookbook:

Neil Diamond Chicken

She got the way to move me, Cherry

She got the way to groove me. Cherry baby.

3 Tbs. EVOO
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 Tbs. thyme
1/2 tsp. each: salt & pepper
1 red onion, finely chopped
5 celery ribs, diced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 C. dry white wine
4 C. chicken stock
2 C. brown rice

Add all to crock-pot and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. Then add:

1 C. dried cherries

Set to warm for an hour or more.

This recipe was scrock-pot converted from this cookbook:

Homemade Yogurt

1/4 cup full fat plain yogurt
8 cups whole milk (NOT ultra pasteurized)

Step 1: Pour 8 cups milk into crock-pot. Cook on LOW, covered, for 2 1/2 hours.

Step 2: Turn crock-pot off, leave lid on. Leave alone for 3 hours.

Step 3: Remove 1-2 cups of warm milk from crock-pot and mix in 1/4 cup of yogurt.

Step 4: Stir milk/yogurt mix back into crock-pot.

Step 5: Put lid back on the crock-pot, then cover with a heavy towel to insulate remaining heat. Leave overnight.

Store your homemade yogurt in refrigerator and enjoy when cool!
Remember, this is plain yogurt, not sweetened. Add fruit and honey or a bit of sugar to sweeten to taste. It will be a bit thinner than store-bought yogurt, but you'll be so happy about all the money you're saving, you won't mind!

Turkey Corn Quiche

2 Tbs. red palm oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans cream-style corn
8 eggs
1 C. evaporated milk
2/3 C. flour
4 cups diced cooked turkey
2 C. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
salt & pepper to taste

Sweat onion in red palm oil about 5 minutes. Set aside. Whisk corn, eggs, milk, flour, salt & pepper, then add in onion. Stir in turkey. Transfer to lightly greased crock-pot.
Cover and cook on HIGH 3 hours, or until knife inserted comes out clean. Turn crock-pot off.

Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and allow cheese to melt. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

Note: I use red palm oil because it's full of Vitamin E and so good for you! I buy it here:

Vegetarian Burritos

First, make the spice mix:

1/4 cup chili powder
4 tsp. oregano
1 Tbs. cumin

Then layer these ingredients in the crock-pot in the following order:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can black beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
half of spice mix
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I substitute poblano)
1 bell pepper, any, chopped
remaining half of spice mix
2 cups frozen corn

Cover and cook on LOW 5 hours or until sweet potato is tender. Turn off, and stir in:

1/3 cup lime juice
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro

Spoon 1 cup of filling into softened burrito-size tortillas. Top with:

2 Tbs. Monterrey Jack cheese before folding all four sides to close the burrito.

Serve with sour cream, if desired.

Serves 8