Beat the heat with summer slow cooker recipes

I use my crock pot at least 3 times a week, every week from main meals to hot desserts (mostly in winter though). I never "prep" my meat by browning first, to me it tastes the same anyway when I did a couple times. My crock pot is my meal savior most days, I love that foods cook themselves with no babysitting and done when we are ready to eat.

Hmm, I seldom use crock pot recipes that use tomatoes, unless I am making soup.

My favorite way of making a whole chicken is in the crock pot. I cut off as much skin as possible, plop it in crock pot, season it, and use about 1/4 cup water and simmer on low for 6-8 hours, meat falls off the bone.

— Anonymous

Cooking for one is a drag so when I use my slow cooker I always prepare something I can serve in meal-size portions to stow in the freeze. Two of my favorites winter or summer are chicken paprika using either chicken wingettes or chicken drumettes sliced mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup, golden mushroom soup. I rinse and pat dry the wingettes, put them in the slow cooker on a bed of diced onion, liberally layering the chicken and mushrooms. wisk the 2 soups together, adding whatever herbs and spices tickle my fancy, then pour the soup mixture over everything else in the crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over whole grain pasta - wide noodles, shells or rotini -- with a seasonal fruit salad.

My other favorite is what I call gringo chile. I brown about 1/2 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey) with diced onion and minced garlic, seasoned with sea salt and pepper. When meat mixture is no longer pink, I remove it to the slow cooker with a slotted spoon, and add 1 undrained can of Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, 2/3-3/4 cup (to taste) of mid to hot chopped green chile and 1 undrained can of Green Giant Southwestern style whole kernel corn with black beans. Cook for 6 hours on high. Serve garnished with either shredded jack cheese or a dollop of sour cream, warm tortillas or corn muffins.

— Anonymous

I bought a name brand slow cooker at a good price off the TV. they went on and on about it. when I actually decided to use the thing, I was looking for recipes, and was surprised and a little disappointed to find that most of the recipes called for prepping some of the food first - browning meats and other things. HMMM. So, I have only one or two things that I use it for, and don't see what all the fuss is about....

— Anonymous