Source: Finding Joy in My Kitchen, who adapted from An Oregon Cottage

I made this recipe almost on accident. I was going through my Google Reader when I noticed that I had all of these ingredients on hand, including half a pound of sausage left over from another recipe earlier in the week. Rather than let anything go to waste, I decided to bump this onto our menu plan.

Oh. My. Goodness. I am so glad I did. This soup was so. good. Way better than I would have ever dreamed it would be. It really seemed to get better the more I ate of it, too. It was so flavorful and so delicious and (even better) chock full of veggies. I can’t wait to make it again!

My only complaint was that while this soup filled me up, it didn’t hold me over for a super long time. For example, I ate leftovers one day for lunch at around 11:30. My the time I left work at 4:30, my stomach was starting to growl.  But, that’s a small price to pay. Next time, I’ll just bring an extra afternoon snack!

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
4 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. minced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
4 oz. fresh mushrooms (or more, but 4 oz. was all I had left)
1 large handful baby carrots
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup macaroni, uncooked

Directions:
Cook the sausage in a medium pan. Once completely brown, add to your crockpot. Pour in the beef broth, then add the garlic, onion, mushrooms, frozen veggies, carrots, and tomatoes, including their juice. Add the Italian seasoning and stir to mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

About 45 minutes before serving, turn the crockpot to high and add the pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, serve and enjoy!

Monday: Pumpkin Chili
Tuesday: Curried Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Salsa Chicken Pasta
Friday: Skillet penne with chicken sausage and spinach

Find more menu ideas at Menu Plan Mondays.

This is the 4th full year in existence for Crockpot Tuesdays. I started this blog at the very end of 2008, and since then I’ve created a nice little collection of recipes and menu plans. While I certainly don’t claim to be the best blog out there, I’m proud of what my blog has turned into. Sometimes, it downright amazes me.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to make 2012 the year of my “comeback.” I know I never went anywhere, but my recipe posts grew few and far between last year. I’m lucky enough to have kept (and gained) a lot of readers last year, so this year, I want to thank you for sticking around.

I came up with the name Crockpot Tuesdays when, back in 2008, it always seemed like I was making crockpot recipes on Tuesdays. (I’m not really sure why. Maybe it just worked out that way. But, it does have a nice ring to it.) So, in order to make my blog’s name significant again, my goal is to post a new crockpot recipe every Tuesday in 2012!

I’m not saying this is going to be easy. I use my crockpot a lot, but I’ve been struggling to find new crockpot recipes that I want to try. That’s where I need your help! Please comment on this post with your favorite crockpot recipes! I’m sure there are plenty out there, it’s just a matter of finding them.

So for today, on the third Tuesday of 2012, is my third recipe post of the year: Crockpot Bolognese. I found this recipe on one of my new favorite blogs, Plain Chicken. The sauce turned out great. It was very flavorful, and I loved the Italian sausage! I even was able to freeze some for easy dinners down the road.

Crockpot Bolognese
1 lb. Italian sausage
3 tbsp. minced onion flakes (I used Tastefully Simple’s Onion Onion because it’s what I had on hand)
4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 cup water
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. basil
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Cook sausage in large skillet until browned. Transfer to crockpot. Stir in all remaining ingredients and mix well. Cook on low for 8 hours and serve with your favorite pasta.

This makes about 8 servings, and freezes great!

Source: Food.com

Way back in the fall of 2008, I decided to teach myself how to cook. Growing up, I never really learned to cook much of anything, but soon after I got married, I figured I’d better start learning.

My first baby steps into the kitchen were through my crockpot. It seemed like a good place to start, seeing as how you just need to dump everything in and let it cook all day. Once I gained more confidence with crockpot cooking, I ventured out into other areas. To this day, I tell people that I learned how to cook by using my crockpot, and that’s why it still holds a special place in my heart.

Anyway, this recipe for mac and cheese was one of the first recipes I had saved. And now, more than three years later, is the first time I’m getting around to making it! This recipe is really good, and tastes just like traditional mac and cheese. I would recommend going to this recipe when you’re entertaining or making food for a crowd. Throw this in the crockpot and it’s one less thing you have to worry about!

Paula Deen’s Crockpot Mac and Cheese
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 tbsp. butter
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs (I used two)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:
On the stovetop, boil the macaroni for six minutes. Drain.

In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.

In your crockpot, add the cheese mixture, eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard, and pepper. Add the  macaroni and stir. Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally (I stirred about every 45 minutes to an hour). Enjoy!

Saturday: L: baked potatoes; D: Chicken caesar sandwiches w/ fries
Sunday: L: out; D: Sausage and pumpkin pasta
Monday: Southwestern Corn Soup w/ french bread
Tuesday: Pulled pork sandwiches w/fries
Wednesday: Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: BBQ pizza

Find more menu ideas at Menu Plan Mondays.

So without further ado, my top 5 recipes (in no particular order) of 2011 are:

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Chicken Pot Pie

Zuppa Toscana

Chicken Tacos

How many of these recipes have you made? What are your favorite crockpot recipes this year? Any recommendations on what I should try in 2012?

For more of the Best Crockpot Recipes of 2011, visit Finding Joy in My Kitchen!

Source: Finding Joy in My Kitchen

I’m always a little hesitant to try crockpot recipe that involved pasta. Sometimes, if you cook the pasta too long, it can get a little funky. However, after a long day of running errands on Sunday, I knew that we would love to have a crockpot recipe that was ready whenever we were. I came across this recipe for Crockpot Ziti on my one of my favorite blogs, Finding Joy in My Kitchen, and decided to give it a try. SnoWhite, the blogger behind Finding Joy in My Kitchen, has never let me down before, so I know that if she said it was good, then I could trust that it was!

This recipe turned out great! There definitely wasn’t anything funky with the pasta, and it was so nice to have an easy recipe ready and waiting for us in the crockpot. I’ll definitely make this recipe again!

Crockpot Ziti
8 oz. penne noodles, uncooked
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
12 oz. cottage cheese
4-5 oz. fresh spinach
6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place the cottage cheese in a blender and puree until smooth. Then, add in the spinach and blend.

Spread 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a lightly greased crockpot. Top with a few noodles. Then, spread about 1/3 of the spinach/cheese mixture over the top of the noodles. Sprinkle on some shredded mozzarella, then add more sauce and repeat the layers. I repeated the layers 3 times. End with spaghetti sauce on the top and cover with cheese.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Just before serving, top with Parmesan cheese and allow the cheese to melt. Enjoy!

Serves 4–5. I used a 3 1/2 qt. crockpot for this recipe. For step-by-step pictures, visit Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

Source: Lemons and Love

Holiday Party #2: check.
Meatball recipe #2: check.

As I mentioned in my previous post, last week I had two holiday parties to attend. The second one was my company holiday party, and I decided to contribute these Manhattan meatballs to the festivities.

These meatballs were a hit! My boss’s boss told me TWICE that he really liked them, and another person carried on about them as well. That made me feel pretty good (although, honestly, there’s not much to this recipe. But they don’t need to know that.)

So, what’s the verdict? Between the Manhattan Meatballs and the Party Meatballs, which recipe wound up on top? Well, Rick and I both agree that these Manhattan Meatballs are the stronger of the two. The biggest advantage, in my opinion, is that the sauce is thicker in these meatballs. But, try them both for yourself and see which one you like better!

Manhattan Meatballs
2 lb. frozen meatballs
10 oz. jar apricot preserves (I used about 5 oz.)
1/2 cup bbq sauce (I used abut 3/4 cup)

Directions:
Place frozen meatballs in your crockpot. Add the apricot preserves and the bbq, stirring gently to combine as best you can. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours until heated through. Enjoy!

Shared eat Eat at Home Cook’s Ingredient Spotlight: Jams and Jellies

Source: allrecipes.com

As the holiday season approaches, so do the holiday get togethers. Already last week, I had two parties to attend! The first party was book club, so that’s not holiday related, but the second was my company’s holiday luncheon. I decided, to make things easy on myself, I would buy a big bag of frozen meatballs (shhh!), find two different party meatball recipes, and call it a day.

I decided to make this recipe for my book club girls, and to save the Manhattan Meatball recipe for my holiday party at work, so look for that recipe coming soon (along with a comparison between the two)!

Party Meatballs
2 lb. frozen meatballs
1/2 cup white grape juice
1/2 cup apple jelly
1/2 cup ketchup
4 oz. tomato sauce

Directions:
Place meatballs in the crockpot. In a small saucepan, heat the grape juice, jelly, ketchup, and tomato sauce over medium heat until jelly is melted. Pour over the meatballs in your crockpot and gently stir to combine. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours until heated through. Enjoy!

Shared eat Eat at Home Cook’s Ingredient Spotlight: Jams and Jellies