Italian Meatball Soup

my kids really loved this!

1 lb frozen meatballs
6oz frozen spinach
2T tomato paste
3t minced garlic
1/4 t thyme
1/2 t basin
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4t salt
6c chicken broth
1/2 c small dried pasta (ditalini or shells)

add all the ingredients (except the pasta) to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add pasta last 30 minutes of cook time.

cinammon cream cheese cinnamon rolls in the crockpot!

cinammon rolls

pulled pork bbq sandwiches

from ten dollar dinners
bbq

burrito bowl with slow cooked carnitas and pico de gallo

from ten dollar dinners
burritobowl with carnitas and pico

citrus glazed pork roast

from kathi lipp's blog
pork lion roast

Homemade Yogurt in the slowcooker

I've researched several recipes for homemade yogurt, experimented a tiny bit, and developed a recipe that I like:
you will need
1 crockpot (mine are around 2 1/2-3 quart)
1/2 gallon milk
1/2 cup yogurt with active cultures
1/4 cup powdered milk (to aid in thickening)

pour milk  and powdered milk into crockpot and turn it on low. Set timer for 2 1/2 hours.
When the timer beeps, unplug the crockpot, set timer for 3 hours.
when the timer beeps, scoop approx. 2 cups of the warm milk into a large bowl and mix in 1/2 cup yogurt. I use a wisk to make sure it is mixed well. Then return the milk mixture to crockpot. At this point the recipes suggested wrapping the crockpot in a towel to insulate....I've had awesome luck putting the crockpot in my oven with JUST the light on. Set the timer for 8 hours. When the timer beeps (usually around bedtime around here) I put the crockpot into the fridge to chill. The yogurt is still a bit thin, perfect to use in smoothies, but We like our yogurt pretty thick so the next morning I start straining the yogurt using a colander lined with 2 paper towels. I usually let it strain until dinner time or so. We love this thick yogurt mixed with homemade granola with a healthy squirt of honey.
yields alittle more than 1 quart yogurt,  a little less than 1 quart whey

Helpful hints:
*in order for the yogurt to be done by bedtime (10pm around here) it needs to be started by 8:30 am. However, this means that I can't use my oven in the evening which can be an inconvenience.
*In order for the yogurt to be ready to "culture" overnight, it has to be started by 4:30pm, then put into the lighted  but cool oven at 10 pm and taken out to be chilled around 6am (it can be left in a little longer, it will just be more tangy!)
*obviously, you have to plan ahead and know that you wont be using your oven for dinner if you use it to insulate, so if the oven will be occupied, you can use beach towel insulation method, but when I did that, the yogurt was much looser, and when strained it yielded much less yogurt and much more whey. I think the warmer it is insulated, the more actual yogurt is able to culture.
*there are many websites suggesting what to do with whey (just google it)....I've been diluting it and using it in my garden on acid loving veggies like potatoes and radishes., I've also heard it is awesome to put on blueberries...I'm also trying to get my mom to use it on her hydrangeas for more brilliant color. It is also said it can be used in baking and to wash face and hair too!
*Yogurtcan also be used very nicely as a substitute for sour cream...as long as it isnt cooked....I've tried it as a sub for sour cream in a cheesecake and in beef stroganoff with less than stellar results...but as a sub in dips, or as a condiment, YUM!

polenta

from $10 dinners
polenta

crockpot potato soup

from cookeville mops blog
soup

uses for whey

I've made 2 batches of homemade yogurt in my slow cooker with pretty good success! I learned to add about a 1/2 cup of powdered milk in order to thicken it up a little bit, and the consistency was great for smoothies, but still too runny for straight up eating for me....so I tried straining it...and was left with some nice thick looking yogurt, and a LOT of whey. I've been researching ways to use whey:
whey cool
livestrong.com's advice
I think it's pretty cool that I could try to make ricotta cheese from it....hm.....might try that. :)

mexican brisket

from week in a day
brisket
I bet this would be good in a slow cooker as well, since I probably dont have a pan big enough to cook this in the oven! the slaw idea sounds intriguing too

slow cooker yogurt

we are using a lot of yogurt and noticing that the ingredients of store bought flavored yogurt include sugar as the #2 and hfcs as the #4....so we are looking into saving money by making our own....it's supposed to be cheaper too....we'll see....
from food.com
this one uses a thermos, which we dont have....hm....
this one initially calls for sf pudding mix, which I am NOT a fan of...but later says you can use dry milk
this one is basically the same recipe as the one above, but gives more details and has some updates...turns out a lot of the other crockpot yogurt recipes are based off this one....hm.....it doesnt use specific temps, so no need for a thermometer...might be the recipe I use FIRST!
Mckmama has gotten on the yogurt bandwagon and has posted a basic recipe and several updates: greek yogurt, yogurt troubleshooting tips, even thicker yogurt here...her recipes call for specific temperature management

chicken tacos

from my friend Rachel
Chicken Tacos from Skinny Crockpot

3 lbs of chicken
3 pkg of taco seasoning (I make my own... see below)
1 can of corn (I use frozen corn or leave it out)
1 quart of homemade salsa (could also buy)

If I'm using chicken with bones, I put the chicken and cover with the taco seasoning mixed with 1/3 cup of water in the crockpot on low for 4 hours. Then, I pull the chicken off the bone, discard the bones, and put the chicken back in with the salsa and corn and cook for another 2-4 hours on low. If you're using boneless chicken, you can probably just throw it all in at the same time. Shred chicken a bit and put the mixture in tortillas.

Taco Seasoning:
2 T Chili Powder (I use way less (1.5 tsp) because Chinese chili powder is strong... not sure about American)
2 T Flour
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder (I leave this out because you can't get it here)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (can't this either, so I leave it out)

I usually just use 1.5 - 2 pounds of chicken and half the amount of salsa and we can still eat it for two dinners.

cuban beans and rice

from cheapskate cook
cuban beans and rice

beans, rice and some spice

cheap easy meal!
from cheapskate cook
rice and beans, beans and rice

korean beef tacos

my husband will LOVE this!
from crockpot 365
korean tacos ala slow cooker

sausage and lentil stew

from crockpot365
stew

pw's perfect pot roast

from pioneer woman
pot roast

soy and cola braised pork shoulder

from cooking light.com
pork shoulder
the magazine suggests serving on a bin or a roll or to stuff it into tortillas for asian style tacos

potato soup

from crockpotalooza #173
potato soup

Hawaiian Chicken

from crockpotalooza #165
hawaiian chicken