**Crazy Crock-pot pictures updated 9/25/13.
Slow Cooker Saturdays
The slow cooker is truly a gift from God! It allows you to multitask while it works at slowly heating and melding flavors together. If I were to go through college again knowing what I know now, I would have used the crock-pot for almost all of my cooking.
We often think the only things the crock-pot is good for is making soups, stews, chillies, and roasts. In honor of the last week of 2012, I thought I would post 12 unusual foods to consider making in the crock-pot. These foods are totally worth trying in the slow cooker. And in a lot of cases, in my humble opinion, they are easier to make in the crock-pot.
So as 2012 whittles away and we enter the new year, you may want to consider making some of these 12 foods in the slow cooker.
1. Ridiculously-Easy Apple Sauce
With slow cooker apple sauce, instead of mashing the apples, lots of stirring and standing over a hot stove, you just stir the apples when they are soften to your likeness, and within a minute you end up with a naturally sweet treat.
2. Crock-pot or Not Blackberry Apple Crisp, Gluten Free Option
I love making double batches of crisp in the crock-pot. It’s also nice to have it cooking in the crock-pot while I have dinner in the oven.
3. Crock-Pot Steel Cut Oats Recipe
Steel cut oats are sturdy and do very well in the crock-pot over night. The beauty of this recipe is that as you sleep, breakfast is being made for you, and when you are ready to eat, there it is!
4. Crock-pot Risotto with Citrus Prawns, Asparagus, & Bell Pepper Recipe
Some people may have scoffed at this idea :), but you really can make a great risotto in the crock-pot. Plus, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, that you don’t have to stand over the hot stove, stirring and stirring and stirring until it’s done. This recipe is so tasty and is a time saver!!!
5. Crock-pot or Not Lower Carb Peanut Butter Granola
I especially love this recipe in the hot summer months when I don’t want to keep opening and closing my oven to stir the granola. I now make my oatmeal granola almost exclusively in the crock-pot too, because it also cuts out the part about cleaning an extra bowl. I mix a double batch of the ingredients in the crock-pot and then cook it, so I only have one dish to clean. Efficient, effective, and almost effortless. Love it!
6. Crock-Pot or Not Homemade & Healthified Red Robin French Fries
Red Robin is the kids’ restaurant of choice, so we go there about three times a year since we have three kids. It’s a special treat to go, so we don’t eat their fries too often. We make our own instead!
7. Crock-Pot Corn on the Cob
Corn on the cob can totally be cooked in the slow cooker! Can you believe it? And it turns out great!! As I am writing this now (in October), my girls just finished shucking a wad of corn, and now I am going to prepare it for the crock-pot to cook tomorrow while I am at church to bring to a potluck. The interest in this post surprised me, as people must have been “googling” “crock-pot corn on the cob” on the internet a lot this summer.
Did you know you can use regular uncooked lasagna noodles (that aren’t even designated as no cook noodles) and put them in the crock-pot, and when the crock-pot lasagna is done, the noodles are perfectly cooked?? Have you ever used the no boil noodles? They are kind of strange, thin and disintegrate easily. I love that making the lasagna in the crock-pot saves the step of boiling and handling the hot noodles! I learned this idea a few years ago when my awesome friend, Jolie, brought a crock-pot lasagna to a potluck.
9. Pumpkin Bread Recipe in the Crock-Pot or Not
I’ll be honest with you; I do prefer oven-baked breads, but the point is, you can cook a bread in the crock-pot. It’s great when your oven is otherwise occupied or it’s just plain too hot in your house to bake in the oven. ***Updated 9/25/13: Now I don’t have a preference taste-wise. It’s great and more frugal to make in the crock-pot.
We have had four successful years cooking a turkey in the crock-pot at Thanksgiving. The first year I thought about doing it, I had made so many whole chickens, it just seemed like a natural extension to do the same thing with a turkey. It was an immense success, so moist and tender! Even if you get a big bird, you can ask the butcher to cut it into sections to put in your crock-pot. I used a seven quart crock-pot and a smaller bird, so I have never had my turkey cut professionally. I always bake another turkey in the oven while my crock-pot is going so I can end up with lots of leftovers for my family and extended family.
11. Homemade Crock-Pot Yogurt Recipe
I pretty much have this on hand all of the time. The first time I made crock-pot yogurt, I felt like I was doing a science experiment to see if this would actually work. Would milk actually turn into yogurt with a little heat, a little yogurt start, and a little time? Yes!!! Plus this recipe saves SO MUCH MONEY!!! For the cost of a half gallon and may be 4 ounces of yogurt, you can have two quarts of yogurt!!!
12. Crock-pot Homemade (Sourdough) Bread Recipe
By far this ended up being the most popular post on our blog this year, surprisingly being pinned thousands of times. I, feeling fluent in crock-pot, didn’t even try to make real bread in the slow cooker until this past summer. I am so shocked at how amazingly well it turns out. I have made the same recipe in my 2 quart and my 7 quart slow cookers. It’s flatter in my 7 quart, but it still works. I like making bread in the crock-pot when it is too hot in the house to use the oven.
What are some foods that you make in the crock-pot that might be considered odd?
Have you ever done crock-pot freezer cooking? Here are 10 meals for $5.64 each.
Follow our Cookin’ with the Crock-pot Board on Pinterest by clicking below:
Ok, I’m intrigued enough to hunt down my crockpot, probably in the deepest, scariest recesses of my kitchen cabinets! Yogurt is #1 on my list, but I’ve been forgoing bread making until I learn how to make sourdough… you make it sound possible, if not easy (& I only say that because of my 2 previous epic failures so far). Thanks for all the work you’ve obviously put into this very informative & supportive website. I’m sure to be back!
I hope you find some crock-pot recipes you grow to love and find ease in the recipes! Blessings, and thanks for sharing!
These look great! I adore my crockpot and use it for anything I can get away with cooking in it! Thanks for these!
Thanks, Abby. I understand the adoration of the crock-pot!
These rock! I’m going to have to do the applesauce! I was just about to do the “over-the-stove” version, so thank you for saving me! I am totally featuring this at our blog hop tonight!
Hi Kristina, Thanks so much and thanks for the feature!
Thanks for sharing. I would have never thought to cut up a turkey to get it to fit in the crock pot.
Hi Cassidy. Yep! You can do almost anything in the crock-pot. They truly are versatile. Thank you for sharing!
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p>I just discovered the awesome-ness of the crock pot! Now I just cook tons of chicken at the beginning of the week in the crock pot and am set for the week 🙂 But these are awesome and I had no clue you could use the crock pot for these!!
Hi Gracie. The crock-pot is truly an amazing tool! Keep it up! It’s so fun to learn the different things you can make in the crock-pot!
We also make what we call “midnight oats” in the crock pot for breakfast and also use the warm setting instead of low so the oatmeal doesn’t stick so much. And, we make yogurt in the crock pot but in a different way – heating the milk on the stove and then making the yogurt in mason jars, which stay warm in a water bath in the crock pot (pre-warmed then covered and shut off). But, granola? I’ve gotta try it! And the fries! But they probably don’t get crispy unless you do them in the oven, right?
These recipes look so good! Especially the lasagne! Love it! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Rebecca! You are welcome. Thanks for visiting!
I LOVE my crockpot. Seriously, it’s a major blessing. It’s almost all we ever use anymore. I need to try some of these recipes asap. I’m always looking for delicious new slow cooker meals. And applesauce in a crockpot?! Crazy! Who knew?
Hi Rachel, The first time I ever made applesauce in the crock-pot, I was SO amazed with how easy the process is. AND stirring is so easy. No hanging over a hot stove stirring! Thanks for visiting!
We only use the crock pot for lasagne now. It’s my 9 yr old’s favorite thing to make himself. I have been meaning to use it for granola too. I need to use mine more…thanks for the recipes!
Hi Sarah, Thanks so much for sharing. That’s so awesome that your son makes lasagna, and in the crock-pot!!! I want my kids to grow up being equipped to feed their families, unlike I was. It was Hamburger Helper when I got married. Uck! You are welcome. Hope you use your crock-pot more:)! Blessings!
I love making yogurt in my crockpot too… and THANKS for the reminder to put steel cuts oats on. My son just asked for the “special breakfast” this morning–special because I rarely remember to start it the night before. 🙂
Thanks for linking up with us!
Hi Anna, You are welcome. I love crock-pot steel cut oats. In fact, I don’t even know how to make them on the stove top. Blessings!
The only thing I do on your list is make yogurt in the crockpot. That’s it. Time to try some new ideas!
Hi Barb, It’s so fun to try new recipes. I hope you enjoy!!
Thank you so much for stopping in and sharing your inspirational recipe with our Crafty Showcase last week! You rock!
We can’t wait for you to stop in and share more of your ideas with us. The Crafty Showcase is open from Friday midnight until Thursday noon! http://bowdabrablog.com/2013/01/12/saturday-showcase-craft-project-linky-15/
Thanks for the inspiration! Susie @Bowdabra
So creative. These look delicious! Thanks for joining Healthy 2Day Wednesday 🙂
love these! i have two crockpots now because they are so versatile!
I’m using my slow cooker more than ever and I loved this post. You have a lot of great ideas that I’m planning on trying. Pinning as we speak. Thanks so much for linking to the Weekend Potluck!
I have done a few of those. I love my croockpot!
I love this list of slow cooker favorites! I’m off to check out the granola and a few other things yum!