1 Beef Roast 3-5 lbs
1 packet Italian dressing mix
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
1 packet Brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1 chopped onion (optional)

Mix packets with water. Add roast to crockpot and then pour the water over the top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Baste the roast several times with the drippings. You can serve with the au jus or thicken it in a sauce pan with some butter/flour/cornstarch to make gravy.

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Commentary: this is the first time I've made this, so I'm using the actual packets they've shown. It's pretty ridiculous, though, to pay $2.50 for a paltry packet of spices. The others are no better; see the bill below. The Kroger brand equivalents cost about a third of the price of the brand names. If this works out well this time, I'll try the cheaper version next time. Of course, sometimes you do get what you pay for.

I didn't know what kind of roast to buy. The butcher said that if it's going in a crock pot, then it should be a chuck roast. I asked why. He said other roasts have too little fat, so they won't shred nicely at the end. Memorize that, Donald.

I used my Fry's card, which means my roast, which was priced at $21.39, only cost me $13.74. Can you believe that there is an essentially $8 penalty for not letting them track your data? It's ridiculous.

Source of recipe: Crock Pot Heaven.

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Results: this turned out okay. No great shakes. I will eat it again when I'm hungry, and I wouldn't be ashamed to serve it to guests. But frankly the taste is just ok. The juice left over in the crockpot is tasty. I ran it through the blender to get rid of the onion chunks. Very good on both the meat and potatoes.

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2013-11-21: Y'know, my first impression of this recipe is that it was entirely mediocre and white trash. But in reheating when you are desperate for something to eat, it is entirely tasty. I think that this means it is time to try the recipe again with generic equivalents of the packets.

Today I'm trying a recipe found at SimplyRecipes.com.

The Rub:

• 4 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Scant pinch of ground cloves

The roast:

• 3 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

1. Whisk together the rub ingredients in a small bowl.
2. If the roast is tied up with butcher string, untie it. Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mix into the roast all over, reserving any leftover spice mix for later. Marinate in the rub at least one hour or overnight.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. (If you are using a slow cooker with a removable container that can be used on the stovetop, use that, otherwise use a separate pan.) Place the roast in the pan and brown on all sides.
4. Place the roast in a slow cooker, and add any reserved spice rub. Cook on the low setting for 6 to 10 hours, until the pork is fall apart tender.
5. Remove the roast from the slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Cut into large chunks. Then use two forks to pull the meat apart into bite sized shreds. Return the shreds to the slow cooker and toss to coat with the juice from the roast.

The original recipe is here.

Ingredients

• 3-4 lbs pork
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 large onion, chopped

Procedure

1. Put everything in crockpot. Cook on low for ten hours.
2. Remove meat. Shred. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce. Run the sauce through a strainer to remove the peppercorns. Recombine the sauce with the meat.

Results

This turned out okay. Next time I would put the peppercorns in cheese cloth so that they can be removed more easily. The original recipe adds some pepper and salt. I forgot them, but the recipe was quite salty enough as is. It's not my favorite recipe ever, but it is certainly edible.

Ingredients

Boneless skinless frozen chicken breasts, 4	840
Green chiles, 4 oz can	40
1 med onion, chopped	60
Total:	940

Divided into four portions, that's about 235 calories per serving, but bear in mind that the package of chicken breasts assumes that each breast is 7 oz.

Procedure

1. Put onions and then chicken in crockpot. Mix these spices

   • 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
   • 2 tsp garlic powder
   • 2 tsp onion powder
   • 1 tsp ground cumin
   • ½ tsp red pepper

   with ½ cup of water. Pour over chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours on the porch.

2. Add green chiles. Cook for another hour (maybe two) on low

This came out pretty tasty. Next time I think I'll add half a teaspoon or a teaspoon of salt.

Ingredients

Chicken breasts 4	840
Cream cheese 8 oz	800
Cream of chicken soup 1 can	275
Mushrooms, 4 oz can, drained	60
Green chiles, 4 oz can	40
Total:	2015

Divided into four portions, that's about 500 calories per serving. Not something you can eat much of if you are trying to lose weight, but okay at normal weight if you are getting your other carbs from non-starchy fruits and vegetables.

Procedure

1. Put chicken in crockpot. Mix these spices

   • 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
   • 2 tsp garlic powder
   • 2 tsp onion powder
   • 1 tsp ground cumin
   • ½ tsp red pepper

   with ½ cup of water. Pour over chicken. Cook on high for 2 hours.

2. Mix cream cheese, mushrooms, green chiles, and chicken soup. Pour over chicken. Cook for an hour

Ohmigosh, but this stuff is good! I was wondering how to decrease the fat. Maybe use Neufchatel cheese instead?

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Second attempt — Sept 2011. This time I used six chicken breasts. Came out way too watery. Next time I'll try it without the chicken soup. Or maybe I'll used a tablespoon of vegetarian chicken broth for add'l flavoring.

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Third attempt — Sept 2011

Ingredients

• Frozen chicken breasts 6-7 (one of the frozen bags from Fry's
• Sour cream 8 oz.
• One large onion, chopped
• One can of chopped green chiles, 4 oz.
• 1 tbsp vegetarian “chicken broth” powder
• 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
• 2 tsp onion powder (didn't have this time)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• ½ cup of water

Procedure

Put frozen chicken in crockpot. Pour onions on top. Mix spices and broth powder. Mix with water. Pour over chicken. Cook in crock pot on high for 3 hours. Mix sour cream and green chiles. Mix with contents of crock pot. Cook on high for another hour.

It turned out okay. Sour cream left the juice much less creamy, so next time cream cheese. And next time I'll add a teaspon of salt.

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Fourth attempt — Sept 2012

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts, 3 lbs (one of the frozen bags from Fry's
• Cream cheese 8 oz.
• 3/4 large onion, chopped (didn't have a whole one
• One can of chopped green chiles, 4 oz.
• 1 tbsp Mexican “chicken broth” powder
• 1 tbsp mixed Italian spices
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• ½ cup of water

Procedure

Put frozen chicken in crockpot. Pour onions on top. Mix spices and broth powder. Mix with water. Pour over chicken. Cook in crock pot on high for 3 hours. Mix cream cheese and green chiles. Mix with contents of crock pot. Cook on high for another hour.

Turned out good.

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Fifth attempt: original recipe, although only three chicken breasts because they were quite large

In my quest to eat more greens and also to find recipes that don't heat the house in the summer, I'm experimenting with crockpot collard greens. I took two bunches of collards, cut off the think stems, and chopped the leaves. In the crock pot I threw some coconut milk along with 1 tbsp of hot curry powder. I used a wire whisk to mix the coconut milk and curry powder evenly. Then I threw in the collards. Then I set the crockpot outside on the porch, plugged it in, and set it to low. The amount of liquid in the pot is minimal, which concerns me, but I really don't want a mess of pot liquor. I added 4 oz of water just in case. I'm hoping that four hours will do it. The calorie significant parts are:

13 oz collard greens	104
8 oz coconut milk	341
Total:	445

Divided up into four servings, that should be about 111 calories per serving.

I ended up letting it cook 4 hours on low. Added a bit of salt. Then I stirred it. Then let it cook another hour. The amount of time was enough to cook the collards without turning them into a stringy mess. The taste was mediocre. It probably is a mistake to make collards without adding some decently sauteed onions and garlic. Or maybe just a tablespoon of sugar.

Today I'm trying the recipe for “creamy Italian chicken” from p. 214 of “Taste of Home Slow Cooker Classics.” The calorie heavy ingredients are:

4 chicken breasts	840
cream cheese 8 oz	800
cream of chicken soup, 1 can	275
Total:	1915

Assuming four servings, that will come to about 480 calories per serving. That's okay for a main dish, if the sides are low calorie.

The recipe called for a packet of Italian dressing. Way too pricey. I substitued a mixture of:

• 1 tbsp mixed Italian herbs
• ½ tbsp onion powder
• ½ tbsp garlic powder

That worked well.

The dish turned out fine. It's simple. Definitely a repeater. I put the crock pot outside as it cooked, so this is a “cool house” recipe.