A Crockpot Kinda Day

It's a rainy day....   a day with appointments to keep

and time to save! A perfect day to try one tried and true

and a brand new (to me) recipe....Have you ever made

Crockpot Lasagna?

No, well me either until today.

Ingredient list:

Spagetti sauce  (I used one can Hunt's, one jar of

home made and 1 can of paste)

Sweet sausage & grond beef

Package of frozen cheese ravioli

Fresh baby spinach  (optional)

Shredded cheese 

Crock Pot

(size depending on quantity you want to make!)

Directions:

Cook the sweet sausage and ground beef then

add the sauce to make a nice thick spagetti sauce. 

(I also added about 2 TBsp of my frozen pesto for added flavor)

I sprayed the inside of the crockpot with an

olive oil spray to keep things from sticking...

this is totally optional.

Put a little bit of sauce on the bottom then start layering:

frozen ravioli  (enough to cover the sauce)

a little fresh spinach

a little shredded cheese

top with sauce

Repeat until you've used up your ingredients... top with cheese!

Turn the crock pot on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4.

Serve hot with garlic bread... DELICIOUS!

Now for desert, how about a little  APPLE CRISP

with vanilla ice cream.... yummy!! 

 I can hardly wait to come home and smell this all cooking!

Peel and cut up 6-8 good sized apples 

(enough for 6-8 cups) put into a large bowl add

3/4 Cup brown sugar

1/2 Cup flour

2TBsp water

1 Cup oats

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 TBsp butter   (cut up)

Mix all of this together and put into a 4 quart crock pot

(Previously sprayed with olive oil so it won't stick).

Cook on low for a few hours!! 

Seriously, most crock pot recipes are very forgiving... 

 if you cook it a LITTLE bit longer or

shorter length of time it will be ok.

You can also USUALLY cook on high for

almost half of the time.

EASY Christmas Crockpot Treats!!

You can't get much easier then this! Christmas gifts or family treats... either way, I bet that these recipes will make the list again next year! I've been looking at recipes over the past few weeks, I'm not sure where I found these, either All Recipes or A Year of Slow Cooking or Mennonite Girls Can Cook . These are some of my favorite places to go looking for recipes!

Crockpot Rocky Road Treats

You'll Need:

24 oz. bag of chocolate chips (I used semi sweet)

mini marshmellows  (1/2 of a 10.5 oz. bag)

chopped walnuts  (or any nuts you prefer... approx. 8 oz)

crockpot

waxed paper

cooking spray

 Directions:

Spray the inside of the crock with cooking spray. Pour the whole bag of chocolate chips into the crockpot. Turn on high and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Stir and then cook another 15-30 minutes until the chocolate is all melted and mixes smoothly. Remove the crock from the pot (heating elements). Pour in the nuts and mix well then add the marshmellows and stir. I did it the other way around adding the marshmellows first and they all melted into the chocolate... so, be sure to add the nuts and stir it ... it will kinda cool the chocolate a little then add the marshmellows! Using spoons, drop in serving sizes onto waxed paper or release foil lined cookie sheets. Place them in the refrigerator to cool and harden! Package them up to give away or store in a lidded container for your family! Now, wasn't that EASY!!

Crockpot Peanut Clusters  (Makes approx. 150 clusters)

You'll Need:

48 oz.  lightly salted roasted peanuts

8 oz.  box German Baker's Chocolate (I bought two 4oz.)

8 oz. box UNsweetened Baker's Chocolate

24 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

Large Crockpot

Baking spray

waxed paper

Spray the inside of the large crock with cooking spray. Unwrap and place all of the baker's chocolate on the bottom of the crock. Add all of the peanuts next and then pour the bag of chocolate chips on top. Measure out and add the vanilla... (you can see the dark spot in the middle of the picture!). Put the lid on and cook on low for 3 hours or on high for 1 1/2 hours. When the time has past, stir the mixture well and determine if it needs a little more time to melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and drop by spoonfuls (in serving size quantities) onto waxed paper lined cookie sheets to cool. You may place them in the refrigerator to cool faster! BE CAREFUL IF YOU TASTE TEST... these will be hot for a while!  When cooled ... package up to store or give away! ANOTHER EASY, EASY recipe!!  (PS. This recipe would be very easy to cut in half so you don't end up with soooo many of them!)

                                         
  I LOVE MY CROCKPOTS!