5 Kids Meals in a Crock Pot

 Crock Pot Pizza

from crockpotofgold.com

• 1 pkg wide noodles (penne is best)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 jar Spaghetti sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 pkg. sliced pepperoni
• 3 cups shredded mozerella
• 3 cups shredded cheddar
• 1 pkg. mixed veggies (optional)

1. Cook noodles.

2. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion; drain.

3. Stir in spaghetti sauce, italian seasoning and veggies.

4. Drain noodles.

5. In crock pot coated with non-stick spray,

6. spread a third of the meat sauce.

7. Cover with a third of the noodles and pepperoni.

8. Sprinkle with a third of the cheeses.

9. Repeat layers twice.

10. Cook and cover on low 3 to 4 hours or

until heated through and cheese is melted.

  One-Pot Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

Cooking oil spray

2 cups skim milk

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups pre-shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

Spray the pot of the slow cooker or if using a liner bag, spray the bag well. In a mixing bowl whisk together milk, evaporated milk, egg, salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture into the crockpot. Add cheese and uncooked macaroni. Stir gently to mix.

Turn slow cooker on low and cook 3-4 hours, or until the custard is set and the macaroni is tender. (Do not cook more than 4 hours, or the sides will begin to dry out). Serve at once.

Jans tips: between the 3-4 hour mark on low, the edges start to get that crispy, cheesey edge. My kids love that part, but if yours don't you'll want to make this when you know you can cut it to warm or serve it at about the three hour mark.

Recipe from: http://tipgarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/one-pot-mac-and-cheese.html

    Crockpot Spaghetti-O's

Ingredients:

2 handfuls spaghetti pasta broken into pieces (or any shape you choose will do!)
26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
20 frozen fully cooked meatballs (optional)
1 cup water

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in 3-4 qt. slow cooker and mix to combine, making sure pasta is submerged in spaghetti sauce. Cover crockpot and cook on low 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. Pasta should be tender and meatballs heated through, Stir once during cooking time if possible.

Jan's tip: Cooking it on low and slow will give more of a canned pasta taste and cooking it on high for less time will keep the taste more like fresh made spaghetti. But either way is very yummy.

Recipe from: http://tipgarden.blogspot.com/

 Crock Pot Hot Dogs

Stand hotdogs on end if you're trying to cram in 60. If not, you can just dump them in. There's no need to add water. This is for two reasons: 1, the hotdogs will release moisture all on their own, and 2, if you have a crockpot full of hot dog water it'll just be kind of gross to dig through the water to pick them out. and 3 (I lied, there are 3 reasons) if the hotdogs hang out in hot water for too long they'll end up splitting on you.

Cover, and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for about 2 hours--check to make sure the ones in the middle are fully hot before serving. Serve with tongs into buns and top with desired fixens'.

Your dogs can stay on the "warm" setting for an awfully long time.

Recipe From: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

 Baked Oatmeal

Check out this post for specific directions on how to bake this:

http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2009/01/overnight-crock-pot-oatmeal.html

Overnight Crock Pot Oatmeal

1 - cup steel cut oats
4 - cups water
(if using a slow cooker liner decrease the water to 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 - cup half and half or milk
1 - cup dried fruit of choice, optional
(apples, raisins, cranberries, apricots etc)
1/4 - cup brown sugar
1 - tablespoon butter
1/2 - teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

First off find a bowl that will hold four cups of liquid, and fit inside your crock pot with the lid on. Measure out one cup of Steele cut oats. Pour that into the inner bowl. Add the four cups of water, milk or half and half, brown sugar, vanilla, butter and cinnamon sugar. If you would like to add dried fruit or a cut up apple the add it as well. Fill the crock with water to about halfway. (I use a small crock pot bowl)

Set the inner bowl in the crock and see how high the water rises. Add more water in the crock if necessary. Try to match it so that the water reaches about the same height on the outside of the oats bowl or just below the bowl. Place the lid on your crock pot. Set on low and go to bed. When you get up the next morning your oatmeal should be cooked perfectly in that steamy water bath.

Toppings to add before serving:
Butter, sugar, honey, splenda,
cinnamon, nuts, raisins, fresh diced apples
chocolate chips, pancake syrup
or anything else you like!

I don't like to add my raisins to the oatmeal while it cooks, not everyone in my house loves raisins. To solve that problem I just let the raisins sit in a cup of hot water the next morning for about 5 minutes. Then drain and they are nice and plump and ready to be used.

Another version not overnight:

The Ingredients:

--1 cup of oats

--2 cups of milk

--2 tablespoons of brown sugar

--1 tablespoon of vanilla (I have no idea where my vanilla went in that picture)

--pinch of salt

--1 chopped apple (there are 2 pictured, but after chopping up the green one I thought it was plenty of apple. I was right.)

The Directions:

--add oats, chopped apple and milk to stoneware

--put in brown sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt

--mix with finger. or a spoon. whatever.

--cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 2-3.

--check consistency of oats--some people like to chew, some people don't.

--garnish with some cinnamon

I cooked this batch on high for 1:15 hrs. It was creamy and milky; the kids and I really enjoyed it and ate it all up ourselves. I would probably double or at least increase the ingredients by 50% next time--especially if Adam was home.

Here is an extra recipe for breakfast cereal or snack:

Granola

The Ingredients.

- 5 cups oats- 1/4 cup honey * (see note below)
- 1/4 cup melted butter * (see note below)
- 1 T flax seeds
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries)

The Directions.
Put all the dry ingredients into your crockpot. You'll need at least a 4 quart.
Melt the butter in the microwave, and add. Add the honey. Toss well.
*note: if you add this amount of honey and butter, the granola will be cereal-like, and not trail-mix like. If you'd rather the granola clump together in pieces, you'll need to add more honey and butter. I tried it with the honey and butter doubled (1/2 cup each) and it still didn't clump much--so if you'd prefer your granola that way, you'll need to add at least 3/4 cup of honey. I didn't want that much sugar, and my kids are cool with eating it like this.
Cover, but vent with a chopstick. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring every so often.
If you can smell the granola cooking, go stir. It will burn if you don't keep an eye on it. But it won't burn as quickly as it does in the oven!

Dump out on some parchment paper and let cool. Eat with milk like cereal, warmed with milk like oatmeal, or as is. Seal well in an air-tight container or in a ziplock. Granola freezes well.
Recipe from: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/11/crockpot-granola-recipe.html

5 on Friday

Enjoy~

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