Warm stews and soups make a great addition to your slow cooker during the winter. Plus, we’re all running around everywhere. Wouldn’t it be great if you could dump some ingredients in the slow cooker before you left for work in the morning? When you get home, dinner will be ready?
After a long day, there’s nothing better than coming home to the smell of dinner all cooked and ready to eat. Check out these five crockpot recipes if you’re looking for great ways to use your crockpot this winter.
Crockpot Chicken and Rice
A good, warm, hearty dish for winter that’s great cooked in the crockpot. With a few basic ingredients, you can have a great dish for dinner – all cooked in one pot.
1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
4 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups of rice
Frozen broccoli
Water
Pour two cans of cream chicken soup into the bottom of the crockpot. Add the chicken breast on top. Try not to overlap too much. Pour the rest of the cream of chicken soup over the chicken. Pour in the rice; add about 2 or 3 cans of water. Stir a little. Pour in the frozen broccoli. Put the top on the crockpot and set it to low for 4 hours. Break up the chicken in the pot and mix it all together and serve.
Crockpot Beef Stew
Beef stew is a must-have during the winter months. And since stews are better the longer they marinate in their own flavours, using the crockpot is the perfect way to make beef stew. Here’s a way to do it.
2 pounds of beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, cubed
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
Place meat in the slow cooker. Mix the flour, salt, and black pepper in a separate bowl and pour it over the meat in the crockpot. Mix it up with the meat to coat the meat in this flour mixture. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
Cover and cook on low for 10–12 hours or high for 4–6 hours.
Crockpot Ranch Chicken
Chicken cooked in ranch dressing! You couldn’t ask for anything better. Try doing this in your crockpot.
1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
2 packages of ranch dressing mix
1 16-ounce bottle of ranch dressing
½ cup milk
Split the chicken breast and sprinkle with ranch dressing. Season both sides of the chicken.
Pour some ranch dressing into the bottom of the crockpot. Place your seasoned chicken breast into the crockpot. Add ranch dressing until the chicken is completely covered. Mix about ½ cup of milk into the ranch dressing bottle and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle any remaining ranch dressing mix over the top. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
For the sides, make some egg noodles and a vegetable.
Crockpot Pot Roast
This meal was just meant for the crockpot. Everything in one pot roasts all day long. It will be so moist and flavorful you won’t ever want to make a pot roast any other way again.
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 ¼ cups water
5 ½ pounds pot roast
Mix cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, and water right in the crockpot. Place the pot roast in the crockpot and coat the meat with the sauce.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8-9 hours.
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Nothing makes you feel better when you’re feeling under the weather than chicken noodle soup. So making some in the crockpot and freezing it for a sick day might be just what the doctor ordered.
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
6 cups water
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (12-ounce) package of frozen egg noodles
Place all of the ingredients but the egg noodles into the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
When the chicken is tender, remove it from the crockpot and shred it. Set aside in a dish to keep warm. Turn the slow cooker up to high and add the egg noodles. Cook until the noodles are soft and add the chicken back to the broth. Add more seasoning as needed.
These are some classic winter dishes you can enjoy in your crockpot. What are your favourite dishes to make in the crockpot in the winter?