My right hand "man" in the kitchen

My right hand "man" when I cook is my crock pot. I LOVE my crock pot and I do not know what I  would do with out it! When my crock pot died 2 years ago, it was a very sad day. It was a few weeks before my birthday, so I asked (begged!) for a new crock pot for my birthday.  Thankfully, I did receive one and my family could continue to eat. :)  I am constantly amazed at what I am able to cook in my crock pot. I love throwing everything in there at once and then when I come home from work, ta da! Dinner is ready! I am constantly looking for new crock pot recipes to fix ( I especially like the recipes that have few ingredients).  Last night I tried a new recipe and I thought I would share it with you.  It is SO easy and was actually very tasty!

Crock pot Sweet & Sour Pork Chops

1- 16oz bag of frozen Oriental vegetables (stir-fry mix)
6 Pork chops
12oz bottle of sweet and sour sauce
1/2 cup water
1  cup frozen pea pods

1. Place oriental vegetables in bottom of crock pot. Arrange pork chops on top.
2. Combine sweet and sour sauce with 1/2 cup water. Pour over chops.
3. Cover. Cook on LOW 7-8 hrs.
4. Turn to HIGH and add pea pods. Cover and cook for 5 more mins.
*** Next time I am going to use chicken instead of pork chops. I think the chicken will be more tender. Depending on your personal taste, you might want to add some salt before serving.  I made some fried rice and there was salt in the soy sauce.  I also served it with a side of pineapple. 


Another great crock pot recipe that I have eaten recently was made by my mom. She made chicken Tetrazzini in the crock pot this past Sunday. It was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! My kids ate it up! Thanks Mom for the recipe!

Crock pot Chicken Tetrazzini

8 oz uncooked spaghetti noodles (I used fettuccine noodles today and I liked the thicker style)

4 cups cooked chicken (I cooked about 1 ½ pounds of chicken and shredded it up)
8 oz container of sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 tsp onion powder
1 ½ cups chicken broth if you are using uncooked noodles (if using cooked noodles you only need about ½ cup)
Shredded mozzarella for the top (about a cup)

 Combine chicken, sour cream, soup, onion powder & broth in large bowl. Break noodles into thirds and fold in with the chicken mixture. It will be hard to stir, but just try to get everything wet and not let the noodles be all clumped up together. If you are not using a crock pot liner, I would spray the interior of the crock pot with cooking spray. Put the whole mix into the crock and cook on low for 4-6 hours—probably can cook longer than that, but noodles might turn to mush. About 15 minutes before serving remove lid and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the mixture and replace lid. Serves 8.

 ***I think if I was going to cook this all day, I would just cook the noodles the night before and put them in a Ziploc in the refrigerator. Then about an hour before serving I would add them to the crock pot to heat up—you could stir them in and then put the mozzarella on top at the same time to keep from taking the lid off the pot too many times.

I hope these recipes help make your life a little less stressful and a little more delicious! Enjoy!