Creamy Crockpot Pork Chops

 

 Three-ingredient dinner? And, it's totally hands-off in the crockpot? Sold!

I found this over at Cassie Craves and knew I had to give it a try. We eat late, so I put this on after work, but you could certainly cook on low for longer if you wanted to put it on around lunch.

The sauce had tons of flavor, especially spooned over (not homemade) mashed potatoes. My only issue (as it usually is) was that the pork was a little dry and chewy. I would recommend using bone-in pork chops to keep them juicier.

Printable recipe

1 package pork chops

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

Place pork chops in bottom of slow cooker. Stir together dressing mix and soup and pour over top of pork, spreading to cover chops completely. Cook on high for four hours.

Creamy Chicken Chili

I'm an awards show junkie, and I hate to cook on those nights...so I usually pull out the slow cooker. Yesterday, thanks to Plain Chicken, I threw this together (it's that easy), went to the movies with my mom to see One for the Money, and came home (to a house smelling heavenly) in time for the red-carpet arrivals.

The original recipe calls for shredding the chicken at the end, but I like to do that with about an hour left of cooking, so that the chicken absorbs all of the flavor of the sauce.

This came out thicker than I envisioned...so we ended up eating it more like a dip. Tonight, when I re-heat it on the stove, I think I'm going to add some chicken broth to make it more soupy.

Flavor-wise, though, this was a winner!

Printable recipe

2 chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 8-ounce package cream cheese

Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine next six ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken. Top with brick of cream cheese. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir melted cream cheese into sauce. Shred chicken with two forks. 

Crockpot BBQ Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

 

I love, love, love buffalo wings (hot, please!), but since I try to keep fried food to a minimum, I'm always looking for other ways to replicate the flavor. This recipe comes from the blog Forever Now and Then, and it completely hit the mark.

My chicken breasts were on the small side, so it looked pretty soupy during the cooking process. I was beginning to re-think the addition of chicken stock and wondering if I should drain the chicken before serving. But, after I shredded the chicken and kept it warm in the sauce for a little while longer, to make sure every bite of chicken was coated, it really came together.

I used a bottled sauce from a local BBQ joint, which happened to be a thin, heavy-on-the-vinegar variety. You could certainly use a sweeter, thicker sauce, which would cut the heat. However, I absolutely loved the spice and tang of this chicken. I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese, but I think a few crumbles in this sandwich would have put it over the edge.

Printable recipe

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/4 cup ranch dressing

1 cup chicken broth

Place frozen chicken breasts in crock-pot. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the top. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Shred chicken with two forks and stir. Cook on low until sauce thickens.