Slow Cooker-ness

now that the moving in business has settled down its time to get my slow cooker back in action. This has to be one of my favorite cooking appliances! not only does it ensure you'll have food ready to go at dinner time with little effort done on your part but it also encourages home-eating, which can get very tricky with a hubby on a retail schedule or me on a school schedule, if you have kids, surprise guests, whatever your situation. I just got a new one back in November because my previous one only had 2 functions- high or low. while thats fine if your schedule is routine its a buren sometimes for us who get side tracked, take one more trip on the way home, have to stay late beecause if it only has 2 settings, you could potentially over cook your food. This new baby i got as a timer and a warmer function! so once the alloted time you set is done the food goes to a warmer function so that it stays warm for when you are ready to eat but its not over-cooking the meal!

all this said, getting it out today made me feel like sharing 3 of my favorite, super easy recipes ive aquired! ive included the actual amounts rec. just for yall cause if you know me i'm not big on exact measurements and often add my own ingredients to things. Feel free to experiment with them (some of these below are my modified versions based on my experiences with the dishes)

1. Easy Italian seasoned chicken (what is cooking in mine right now)

ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts
can of ginger ale
1 packet of italian dressing seasoning

directions:
brown chicken in a little oil. Put browned chicken in crockpot and pour packet of seasoing over it. pour in your can of ginger ale and set on low for 6-8 hrs (or high for 3-4)

VOILA- tasty chicken. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes or give it a side

2. 3 packet roast
This one is also super tasty and super easy!

ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 packet italian dressing seasoning
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1 packet dry brown gravy mix
1 (2-3 lbs) boneless beef chuck roast

Directions:
whisk the water and 3 packets of mixes together in a bowl. place the roast in your slow cooker and pour your "sauce" mixture over it. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. done.

and yummm

#3 Crock pot enchiladas

ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground meat
1/2 an onion
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 large jar of picante sauce/salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 can of corn

directions
brown meat and onions in a pan. Mix soups and picante sauce in a bowl. place layers of beef and onions, soup mixture, cheese, and tortilla strips in the crockpot. repeat layers until you run out. Cook on High for about 1 hr (or low for 3).

i like to have tortilla chips to eat with it and usu some mexican rice! :) OLE!

hope you enjoyed these and maybe give one or two a try for yourself. they are easy, budget friendly, and most often there are left overs for lunches or to freeze for a rainy day (the freezer is another wonderful cooking tool but thatd be a whole other post) :) happy cooking