Crockpot Yogurt

A few friends of mine had mentioned months ago that they made their own yogurt at home in their crockpots of all places! I was intrigued so went online and did a search. The recipe I am posting is a result of that search. I've been making this for months now. Yeah I know - I could just as easily buy it - but I found it's much cheaper and cost effective to make it myself. I use this in place of sour cream or buttermilk in my baking recipes.

Crockpot Yogurt
You need at least a 4 quart crockpot

1. Turn on your crockpot to low. Pour in 1/2 gallon of milk. (8 cups)
2. Keep on low for exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes.
3. When the 2 hours and 30 minutes passes - turn off the crockpot and unplug it. Let the milk cool with the lid on for 3 hours.
4. After 3 hours passes - remove 2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures** and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the crockpot. Whisk thoroughly.
6. Place the lid back on the crockpot and wrap the entire pot in a thick bath towel.
7. Let it culture overnight.
8. In the morning - stir yogurt if desired and place in a container of your choice. This does make 1/2 gallon of yogurt so you will need a good size container.

**On the yogurt with active cultures - when I first start - I just use one of the 6 oz containers of store bought PLAIN yogurt. After the first batch of yogurt is made you can simply set aside 1/2 cup of this yogurt to make your next batch.

This is not a sweet yogurt. To sweeten - add favorite fruit and some honey. This is really good mixed in with granola. We also use it in fruit smoothies. I only add the fruit/honey to the little bit I will be using at that time - not to the whole batch.

Freezer jam would also work as a sweetener.

Sunday Roast Chicken

Sorry - no pictures on this one! It went too fast!
I found the recipe in a cookbook called Fix-It and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining. There was just enough chicken picked off the carcass to make a gravy for another meal. It went over really, really well. We had this with mashed potatoes and veggies.

Sunday Roast Chicken
Seasoning Mix:
1 TBSP salt
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp savory (I have no idea what savory is so I used Beau Monde instead)

Combine seasoning mix in small bowl.

2 TBSP butter or margarine
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 roasting chicken (mine was almost 5 lbs)
1/4 cup flour
1-2 cups chicken stock

Saute onions and celery in butter over high heat until onions are golden brown. Add in 3 TBSP seasoning mix. Mix well and let veggies cool.
Stuff bird with cooled vegetables.
Sprinkle outside of chicken with remaining seasoning mix. Rub in well.
Place chicken in large slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low for 6 hours.
Empty juices into saucepan. Whisk in flour and 1 cup chicken stock. Cook over high heat until thickened. Add more stock if you prefer a thinner gravy.

Tortilla Stack

I found this recipe while we lived in Arizona. Money was super tight for groceries. I think at this time we had roughly $20/week for groceries. Thank goodness for food storage I tell you! I found this recipe in a book from the library called The Crockery Cook.

Tortilla Stack
1 1/2 lb uncooked lean ground beef
1 pint pinto or black beans
8 corn tortillas, each cut into 6 wedges
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1 pkg taco seasoning
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
sour cream
shredded lettuce
chopped green onion
chopped red bell pepper
sliced olives
peeled and chopped avocado
grated cheddar cheese

Combine soup and taco mix. Set aside.

Spray crockpot with veggie spray. Crumble 1/4 of ground beef into bottom of crockpot Top with 1/4 of beans. Top with 1/4 of tortilla wedges. Spread 1/4 soup mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/4 tomatoes. Repeat layers until all beef, beans, tortilla wedges, soup mixture and tomatoes are in crockpot. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours. Spoon onto individual plates. Top with sour cream, lettuce, green onion, bell pepper, olives or avocado if desired. Additional cheddar cheese may also be used.

Crockpot Chocolate Candies

As Nephi would say...it's "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!" I chose this recipe from my teammate Chef1MOM~Connie from East Aurora, NY. If you like nuts (any combination) and chocolate - you will definitely like these.

Crockpot Chocolate Candies
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
12 oz white chocolate chips
2 - 2 1/2 cups roasted nuts (your favorite combination)

Put all ingredients in a crockpot. Turn on high for 15 minutes. Stir. Turn to low. Stir after an additional 15 minutes. Stir one more time 15 minutes later for a total of 45 minutes. Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper or alumimum foil sprayed with veggie spray. Let cool. Enjoy!

Savory Meatball Soup

Oh my goodness gracious! This was a perfect cold weather day dinner. I chose this recipe from my teammate Baby Kato in the March 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap on recipezaar.com. She hails from Ontario, Canada. Everyone really enjoyed this soup. It's a keeper at my house! I served this with homemade french bread. Perfect in every way! Don't let the long list of ingredients make you run the other way.

Savory Meatball Soup
2 TBSP butter or margarine
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot OR small onion finely chopped
1 zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 cups beef broth
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme (I just threw in some dried thyme)
1 tsp fresh oregano (I used dried)
1/2 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
24 small meatballs, frozen (you can also use homemade)
3 large red potatoes, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Fry onion, garlic and shallots in butter or margarine for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and bell pepper. Fry an additional 5 minutes.
Pour into large crockpot. Add remaining ingredients except cheese. Cook on low all day. Serve with parmesan cheese garnish and your favorite crusty bread.

Applesauce Apple Butter

I liked this recipe because you use a crockpot. If you have ever made apple butter - it's a time consuming stove top project. It cooks for a really long time. I would imagine this recipe could use regular applesauce with the sugar/cinnamon already added. This recipe comes from my teammate weekend cooker who hails from Northwest Indiana.

Applesauce Apple Butter
1 qt unsweetened applesauce

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

dash of ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cover and cook on high 8 - 10 hours. Remove lid during last 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

This tastes great on toast or in a PBJ sandwich.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken

Creamy Crockpot Chicken
I am part of the March 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. This means I make at least one recipe from each of my team mates. Chef Buggsy Mate from the East Coast, USA has this recipe and I picked it to make. Her original recipe calls for only 4-6 chicken breasts but I used a whole bag of frozen chicken breasts as I wanted leftovers on purpose.

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used a whole bag)
3 (10 3/4 oz ) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 oz) envelope dry onion soup mix
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 cup sliced mushrooms, canned or fresh
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken stock
2 TBSP parsley flakes for garnish

Grease the inside of a large slow cooker. Place chicken in first. Combine the remaining ingredients except parsley in a medium pot and heat on medium high. Stir occasionally until cream cheese is incorporated. Pour sauce over chicken in crockpot and heat on low approximately 4 hours. I put my chicken in frozen and let it cook on low from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sprinkle with parsley flakes. I obviously forgot to do this. Oh well. It tasted wonderful anyway. Serve over pasta, egg noodles or rice. We had this over rice.

Italian Style Bean Soup (Mix)

Italian Style Bean Soup (Mix)
I chose this recipe as part of the March 2009 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. Then our ward Scouts put on an Italian dinner for the ward. I made this soup to take and it was a HUGE hit! The original recipe says this would make an excellent mix. PaulaG from El Paso, TX gets the credit for sharing this wonderful recipe! She got it from Gifts from a Jar Soups, Chiles and More.

Mix
1 3/4 cups dried great northern beans or navy beans
1 TBSP dried onion flakes
2 tsp dried basil
2 chicken bouillon cubes, unwrapped
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp instant minced garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups uncooked medium pasta shells

Soup
5-6 cups water
1 cup prepared pasta sauce
2 oz baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

To make the mix: layer the beans in a 1 qt jar with tight fitting lid. Combine the onion, basil, bouillon cubes, parsley, garlic and pepper in a small food storage bag. Close bag. Place the seasoning bag over the beans, spreading out bag to cover beans; add pasta shells.
Place lid on jar. May cover with fabric or raffia. Attach gift tag. Attach directions for preparing soup to jar.

Soup Directions (to be placed with jar)
Remove the pasta and seasoning packet from jar; set aside. Place the beans in a large bowl; cover with water and soak for 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain beans, discarding the water. Combine the soaked beans, water, pasts sauce and contents of seasoning packet in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover. Reduce heat and simmer 2 - 2 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Add the pasta and spinach; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Season to taste, serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

This is what I did:
I skipped filling the jar. I went right to the soaking of the beans and added all the seasonings and everything else except the pasta and spinach. I let it simmer for a couple hours then put it in the fridge overnight. The next day I added 8 oz spinach, 1 pound of cooked ground sausage and a large package of Three Cheese Tortellini. I made this for a crowd. The tortellini did expand and were nice and plump. Probably 4 times as big as they were when in the package. I will make this again using other "Italian" style pastas like ravioli. :) We served this with grated Parmesan cheese and croutons. There was also french bread for people who like to dunk bread with their soup.

Lasagna Soup

I was on the prowl for a tasty soup/stew I could make in the crockpot that we haven't had before. My father-in-law and brother-in-law were over working on Russell's car and I had cub scouts to do. I needed something that I could make during the day and leave for a few hours to simmer. I've seen this recipe several times on recipezaar's Aussie/NZ recipe swap and the pictures people took were so outstanding! The chef is Seasoned Cook from Eastern North Carolina.
Just before we served this tasty soup.
Christopher said this soup was Amazing! Michael took it to school for lunch the next day.

Lasagna Soup

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

28 oz chicken broth (I used my homecanned chicken broth)

28 oz diced tomatoes (I used my homecanned tomatoes)

15 oz tomato sauce (I ran a pint jar of tomatoes through the blender to make sauce)

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (I only had the non-grated kind)

1 1/2 cups lasagna noodles, broken (I used the kind that don't have to cook first)

2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In large 5 qt saucepan - brown meat and onion. Drain. Put in 5-6 quart crockpot. Add remaining ingredients except lasagna noodles and mozzarella cheese. Two hours before serving add broken lasagna noodles. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. We loved this with garlic bread.

**This makes awesome leftovers! I bet it would freeze well too. There wasn't any left to find out.