Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

One of the best comfort foods is spaghetti with meat sauce, in my opinion! But, it is made even better with homemade pasta sauce instead of the canned, pre-made stuff. Now, in the middle of winter you may have to rely on canned tomatoes to make this (unless you have a bunch canned from your garden last summer), but I still think it tastes better then the jarred sauce. And I am most definitely going to grow more tomatoes this year to make my own garden-fresh sauce! I made a double batch of this a few weeks ago and froze most of it to enjoy yet this winter. It's very versatile to use in other ways, too, like for lasagne or manicotti. Also, I did a mixture of italian sausage and ground turkey to cut the calories a bit. Tweak as you wish, as always!

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

• 1-1/2 lbs bulk italian sausage
• 1 cup diced onions (about 2 medium)
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
• 2 cans (8oz) tomato sauce
• 2 cans (6oz) tomato paste

Brown up the italian sausage, drain, and pour into slow cooker. Then add all remaining ingredients. Use at least a 4 qt slow cooker. I doubled it and it fit fine into my 6 qt cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Crock Pot Cowboy Casserole

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-27-14**

One of the nice things about a slow cooker is how you can make a complete meal in it, with all the fixin’s! This week’s recipe is just that, a full meal in your crock pot, Crock Pot Cowboy Casserole! Casseroles aren’t just for your oven! This one is full of potatoes, veggies, meat, beans, and of course, CHEESE! All the cowboys and cowgirls in your house will love it.

CROCK POT COWBOY CASSEROLE

1 onion, chopped

1 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained

6 medium potatoes, sliced (I used about 10 red potatoes)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can corn (drained) or 1 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 (16 oz.) can low sodium kidney bean, with the juices

1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with the juice

1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

This recipe needs a 6qt crock pot. Mix all ingredients together EXCEPT the cheese in the crock. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-ish. Then sprinkle cheese on top and continue to cook for another half hour to an hour.  Scoop out to serve.

(Originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 11-18-13)

This week’s recipe is a new one I tried over the weekend, and WOW! It’s DELICIOUS!! Definitely going to be made again in our house! It’s Crock Pot Lasagna Soup, and you will love it. Lasagna isn’t an ideal weeknight meal because of prep and bake time. Even prepping it ahead of time doesn’t always help because you need 45 minutes to an hour to bake it, which isn’t always possible with busy schedules. Here is the solution! It’s like lasagna in a bowl! Top it with some fresh mozzarella cheese, and you have the perfect meal for your family on a chilly evening.

Crock Pot Lasagna Soup

• 1- 20oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 lb ground beef (you can brown it first or just put it in the crock…depends on if you want to drain fat off the meat)
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 cup V8 vegetable juice
• 4-5 cloves minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 cups uncooked small shell pasta
• 1 cup water
• shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Combine together diced tomatoes and tomato paste in the crock pot. Add in beef, broth, V8, garlic, parsley, basil, onion, salt & pepper. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-6. After that cooking time, add in the uncooked pasta and cup of water, and cook for an additional 30 minutes. When serving, you can top with shredded mozzarella.  Serves 6-8.

Bell Pepper Stew with Ground Turkey

(originally posted on WGLR.com on 3-18-13)

Hard to believe this is my last Crock of the Week for the season (You’ll still get one next week, BUT it will be the winning recipe from “The Crock of the Week Crock Pot Giveaway!”).

So, remember, I told you at the New Year that you would be getting some healthier crock pot recipes because the Jacobs’ household was making an effort to get healthy? I am happy to say we have stuck to the resolution, haha! This soup is one I have made a few times for us in the last few months. It is delicious AND healthy, and works great for The Husband and I to take to work for lunches. Make a double batch, and you’ll have lunch at work for a week for you and another person.

So now, let’s talk ground turkey. Some love it, some hate it. It is a healthier option than ground beef, BUT I have to say I am not a fan of a regular old boring turkey burger. However, I am a HUGE fan of it in combination recipes. It works awesome for Mexican dishes like tacos, and also in Italian dishes like lasagna. So, if you aren’t usually a fan of ground turkey, give it a chance in this recipe. You won’t be disappointed. Don’t let the recipe name scare you away! This tastes like stuffed peppers in a soup, it really does! And a 1 cup serving is only 140 calories!!! For real!

GROUND TURKEY BELL PEPPER STEW

1.5 lbs lean ground turkey

1 onion, diced

salt & pepper

paprika

1 tsp minced garlic

30 oz canned diced tomatoes (you can use no-salt if you’d like)

32 oz chicken or turkey broth (I use low-sodium)

Two bell peppers, diced (you can use green, red or yellow. I use one green and one red)

4 oz uncooked brown rice

curry

Brown the turkey in a skillet with the onion, garlic, some dashes of salt & pepper and paprika. transfer mixture to the crock pot and add all the remaining ingredients. You can throw in some more salt & pepper and curry to taste if you would like once everything is mixed together.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.5 hours. Serve with some shredded mozzarella cheese if you would like.

This week's recipe is something that you may have prepared before in your oven, but honestly, you should make them in your slow cooker! STUFFED PEPPERS! They made our house smell REALLY good! And everybody feels special with their own little pepper on their own little plate :)

This recipe made 5 peppers and they fit well in my 6 quart crock pot (I took one out to cool down for my 3 year old before I remembered to take a photo, oops!). I probably could have fit a 6th one in too if I had to, but I used all the filling in 5 peppers. Look for wide & fat peppers with straight bottoms, as opposed to tall and skinny ones. The fat ones will sit in the crock better.

***TIP!! Traditionally, stuffed pepper recipes call for COOKED rice, but save yourself some time and use uncooked minute rice in the mixture! Works like a charm and saves you a dirty dish/pan too!

SLOW COOKER STUFFED PEPPERS

- 5-6 green peppers (yellow or red work too!)

- 1 lb ground beef

- 1 cup cooked rice or 3/4 cup uncooked minute rice

- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

- 2 T ketchup

- 1 tsp black pepper

- 1 tsp salt

-1/3 cup water

Wash peppers and slice the tops off, save tops. Scrape out the center/seeds. Mix the ground beef, rice, Worcestershire sauce,  ketchup, and salt & pepper together in a medium bowl. Generously fill each pepper with the meat mixture, and place in the crock pot. Set the tops back on each pepper. Pour the water into the bottom of the crock.

Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high. Serve each pepper whole! Yum!

Crock Pot Chili

Hi all! I apologize for the late posting of the Crock of the Week this week, I enjoyed a few days off with my family for my birthday! This week, I am giving you a traditional recipe that you can easily throw together in your crock pot. For years, I used a dutch oven on the stovetop for making chili, but the crock pot is a great way to make it too, since you don't have to pay as much attention to it once you throw it together.

Crock Pot Chili

- 2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
- 1 green or yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 15-oz cans diced tomatoes (I use the chili-ready kind, but plain is fine too)
- 1 15-oz can of tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 2-3 15-oz cans pre-cooked pinto beans, light red kidney beans, or dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

In a large skillet, saute onion until soft. Add in the ground beef and brown that up. Drain, and then transfer mixture to the crock pot. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, stir. Mix in diced peppers and spices. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6. Then add your beans (I use 3 cans because my 2 year old son LOVES beans! I use 1 can of each of the beans listed in the ingredients to make the chili pretty, haha!), and cook on high for another hour or low for another 2.

Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream when serrving, and I also enjoy some cornbread with chili. YUM! Freezes well and leftovers taste even better, in my opinion.

This week, I decided to do a photo of my son's chili plate :)

First Crock of the Week! Taco Soup!

Here was the very first recipe for Julie Jacobs' "Crock of the Week" on 97.7 WGLR. I post a new recipe every week at www.wglr.com, and then archive the previous week's recipe here on this blog.

TACO SOUP

1 lb ground turkey or beef, browned and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
2 (15oz) cans kidney beans (I use one light red and one dark red)
2 (15oz) cans pinto beans
2 (15oz) cans corn with their juices
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes with their juices
1 (14oz) can tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel) with their juices
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch dressing mix
sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese for garnishing

Place the meat and onion in your crock pot. Rinse and drain the beans and add to the pot. Add corn and tomatoes with their juices, and then add the seasoning packets.
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

When serving, add a handful of cheese and a dollop of sour cream to each bowl. I also like to throw on some crushed up tortilla chips. Cornbread is also a nice friend with this soup. It is very filling, and freezes well if you want to save some for later!