I love to turn to my crockpot for help in the summer. Not only does it keep me from heating up the kitchen (and the entire house), using my slow cooker is the best way I’ve found to serve decent meals in the summer since we usually get in from the pool right before dinnertime.
Here are some of our favorite slow cooker recipes:
Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Round Steak with Gravy (Great over rice or mashed potatoes)
Crockpot Enchiladas from LifeAsMom.com
And my standby for feeding a crowd the minute we get home:
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--Nony
Good ideas for the crock pot. I’d have never thought to do taco salad for a crowd, but it’s going in my recipe box. Glad to see I’m not the only one who uses beans for taco meat. Until I had to give up gluten, I used Brooks Chili Hot beans for tacos, but now I have to use Bush’s. I think they taste great…and make a ‘fast food’ meal healthier.
I don’t have a quick recipe for crowds, but I do have one casserole I take to all pot lucks and reunions. I peel, rinse, slice and soak 10# of potatoes the night before, along with chopping up a pound of smoked sausage. The day of, I make about two quarts of cheese sauce…cheddar added to milk thickened with corn starch. I also add two sticks of butter to the sauce. Mix it all in a roaster pan, cover with lid or foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 90 minutes…or until done. The potatoes take the most time, but with a food processor, slicing goes pretty fast.
To REALLY keep the heat out of my kitchen, I set my tempered glass cutting board (going for super fire-proof here) on a sturdy shelf next to an electrical outlet in the garage. Load the crockpot and plug it in! The kitchen collects NO extra heat and the garage smells great when you get home! 😉