Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Crock Pot Meals

I'm on a bit of a crock pot meal craze lately. I realized very quickly after baby #3 arrived that cooking dinner at dinner time was going to be pretty much impossible. Especially now that school has started and I have a 1st grader coming home from school in the afternoon with homework. And let's not forget that adorable, freckle-faced 4 year old who can be quite demanding of my time and attention. So I decided to make a menu of meals for a while all made in the crock pot. I have a cookbook called Fix It & Forget It and it's chock full of easy meals you can put in a crock pot early in the day and let it cook until dinner. I tried out the first one of these meals the other night and I thought it was super easy and delicious. So I thought I'd share. You're welcome. Now, if you're one who cooks only healthy meals, buys strictly organic, & gets your milk straight from the cow, you might want to skip this one. It's good. It's easy. It's not healthy or organic. But what meal that comes out of a crock pot really is? Anyway, back to the recipe. Here it is:


Ingredients:
  • 28 oz. Jar Spaghetti Sauce (I couldn't find 28 oz., only 26 oz but it still worked ok)
  • 12 oz Rigatoni, Cooked
  • 1 lb Ground Beef, Browned (I used Lean Ground Beef, since the recipe also calls for pepperoni. You could also use Ground Turkey)
  • 3 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1/2 lb Pepperoni Slices (I cut these in half, so they wouldn't be so big.)
  • sliced mushrooms (optional) (I did not add these...not a mushroom fan)
  • sliced onions (optional) (I also did not add these...not a big onion fan either)
  1. In 4 quart crock pot layer half of each ingredient in order listed. Repeat.
  2. Cover. Cook on Low for 4-5 hours.
I mean, could it GET any easier than that? Love it. It really was very good. Bon Appetite!

2 comments:

Lacey said...

You crack me up. I just bought a new crockpot after trying to cook with my old one on the stove. It cracked after 6 hours of cooking. Anyway, recipe sounds yummy. I cook almost all my soups in a crock...they always taste better when cooked slow. I'll have to send you some recipes. :)

Jill Smythe-Shaw said...

YUM-O!! Keep these yummy recipes coming!! I am going to try this one ASAP!! Thanks!