On of the best things about fall is pumpkin spice everything and I love how versatile pumpkin can be in a bunch of different recipes. I once attended a cooking class where they taught how to make a pumpkin stew with chicken and when I started brainstorming what kind of recipe I wanted to make for Halloween night, this variation of chili came to mind. The pumpkin in this recipe gives the chili a subtle sweetness and the cinnamon is just enough of a reminder that fall is here.
This is the perfect recipe for whipping up quickly before trick or treaters start arriving and leaving to slow cook as you hand out candy. In just a couple of hours the flavors have fully combined and it’s ready to serve.
Ingredients
1.) This dish start off by sautéing a cup of yellow onion in olive oil. Once the onion is translucent, add in the ground sirloin and allow it to brown. I used an 80 / 20 blend so before putting into the crockpot I drained off the grease. If you use a leaner cut of meat you might not need to do that.
2.) In the Crockpot add the beef and onions, bell peppers, canned tomatoes, kidney beans (optional) and pumpkin puree. Mix it together well.
3.) Add all the dry seasonings and mix well. At this stage the recipe will be very thick. Add in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and stir until combined.
4.) Place the on high and allow to simmer for 2 hours. When done, serve topped with Avocado and cheese.
Fall wouldn’t be complete without a hearty beef stew. CrockPots are practically made for beef. I am way too impatient to properly cook roast or stews using my stove. CrockPot meals using beef allows the meat to tenderize and absorb the flavors of the dish. I like to make a big batch of this stew on Monday morning and enjoy it for lunch all week long!
Ingredients
The key to really locking in the flavor of this dish is starting the beef off right. Put the flour, salt pepper and garlic powder into a 1 gallon ziplock bag and mix it together. Add the beef and shake it around to completely coat with flour.
Using a small amount of olive oil, brown the beef in a hot pan. Remove when fully seared and place into the bottom of the crock pot. With the remaining oil in the pan, saute the onion and garlic. When done, add that to the crock pot.
Add rest of the ingredients (carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, broth, Worcestershire, Thyme, beer) to the pot and leave on low for 8 hours. Depending on the heat of your crock pot, the dish may be done or you may want to thicken it some more. To thicken, add 2 tbs tomato paste and stir in 30 minutes before you intend to serve. Move the heat up to high to finish cooking.
[tasty-recipe id=”2731″]
When given the option between flavors, I’ll choose buffalo every single time. Buffalo chicken pizza, buffalo chicken wraps, buffalo chicken salad, you get the picture. I love buffalo (except the CU one). The first time I made a buffalo chicken used chicken breasts that had been marinated overnight in Frans Red Hot and baked them in the oven.
After a bit of experimenting I’ve found that I prefer using the CrockPot because it requires less patience and the texture is perfect for shredding the chicken so it can be used as a base in a wide variety of dishes.
I like to make a big pot and use it for sandwiches, salads and on top of sweet potatoes over the course of a week. This is a very easy recipe to master and it’s the perfect weekend meal prep!
Start off by placing three chicken breasts into the bottom of the crock pot. This is approximately 1 pound of meat.
In a separate bowl, mix together two cups of Franks Red Hot and 1 tsp Dill, 1 tsp Parsley, 1 tsp minced onion and 1 tsp garlic powder. This is virtually adding a pre-made Ranch Dressing powder to the mix. I get headaches from MSG so I can’t use the pre-made recipes in my dishes, but if you don’t have problems with MSG you could save some time and go that route.
Salt and pepper to your preference and mix the seasonings into the sauce.
Pour the mix over the top of the chicken breasts and set the CrockPot on low for 8 hours, or high for 3. The chicken is done when it is easy to shred with a fork.
My two favorite ways to serve this is on top of a bun with coleslaw as a side, topped with blue cheese crumbles and ranch dressing. Coleslaw is the perfect side or can be added to the top of the sandwich for a bit of a crunch. If you want a lighter meal, heat up a sweet potato and serve the same way.
Interested in more ways you can CrockPot? Check out my CrockPot Tortilla Soup Recipe!
When I was doing Whole30 a coworker introduced me to a chicken coconut curry recipe. I loved it, but I am terrible at keeping a wide variety of spices on hand and I usually have ground turkey in my freezer so this variation of the original recipe allows me to prep meals in advance and prepare it in the crockpot instead of stovetop.
What I love about this Thai Meatballs recipe is the flexibility to serve it as either an appetizer at a party or a dinner at the end of the day. This is perfect for when you are craving takeout, but want to eat healthy instead. I recommend doubling the meatball recipe and baking two batches at a time so one set is served for dinner tonight and the other is in the freezer for your next quick dinner.
The first step for this recipe is preparing the meatballs. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and toss the carrots, onion, cilantro, ginger, soy sauce, salt and pepper together in a bowl. I really love using fresh cilantro and ginger because it adds a crisp taste that I don’t feel you get from dried options.
Ginger root is pretty easy to find in the store, but preparing it can be a bit of a bear. A small amount goes a long way. Use a potato peeler to remove the skin and a grater or microplane to grind up the appropriate amount for the recipe. If you don’t have a grater on hand you could dice the ginger but make sure to keep the pieces small to prevent having too much ginger in any one meatball.
Mix all the ingredients together and shape into 1″ meat balls. Place about 1″ apart on a foil lined cookie sheet. Cook for 30 minutes turning halfway through. While the meatballs cook, start the sauce in the crockpot.
Place the Crockpot on high and add one can of coconut milk. If you like more sauce, you could put 2 cans.
Next add 3 tbs of red curry paste. If you use the Thai Kitchen Curry it is about 1/2 the jar.
Once the meatballs are cooked, pull them out of the oven and put them into the crockpot to cook for 3 hours. When the sauce has thickened it is ready to serve. I like cooking up a double batch of meatballs and freezing half for later. If you are cooking from frozen, use the same recipe for the sauce but place the Crockpot on low for 8 hours instead.
Serve on top of white rice or cauliflower rice if you are doing Whole 30. If you are using as an appetizer at a party, serve with toothpicks instead.
[tasty-recipe id=”2702″]Interested in other crockpot recipes? Check out my Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe.
