16 Nutritious, Easy Crockpot Recipes for Cluttered Kitchens

January 23, 2009 · Posted in Cook at Home, Eat Dinner at the Table, Friday Fun, Plan Meals and Shop

I was reminiscing lately about the old days when my kitchen was a mess, and the lack of homecooked meals as a result. I hardly ever cooked because the counters, table and sink were so cluttered all the time that I couldn’t really begin to think about putting together a meal. So we ate a lot of junky takeout food. Today I was thinking that it would not have been that hard to combine a few ingredients in the crockpot for a hot meal later in the day.

The Tweaks System is all about one little step at a time. You don’t have to start cooking three-course meals at home. Here are some simple, good-for-you homecooked meals that you can just throw together in a crockpot — so much cheaper and healthier than pizza or fast food. The majority of these recipes use no more than five ingredients:

Pot Roast This is a flexible recipe; it uses potatoes and carrots, but you can add chunks of any root veggies you have in the fridge — turnip, rutabaga, parsnips, celeriac.
Italian Pot Roast This is great with Italian bread and a green salad.
Chicken Taco Meat Super easy way to prepare taco meat for now or for the freezer.
Roasted Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic There’s no reason why you couldn’t substitute dried rosemary for the fresh rosemary in this recipe.
Turkey Breast Get turkey breast on sale and use this easy method to cook it for sandwiches and salads.
Green Chili Beef Great on burritos with a little cheese and some quacamole or sour cream. This makes lots of leftovers that you can freeze or use for lunches.
Refried Beans Simple, healthy and very economical.
Mexican Pork Gives pork and beans a whole new spin — spicy black beans with lean pork loin cubes.
Italian Sausage Try this with whole wheat spaghetti or multigrain rolls. It’s safe to skip the boil-in-a-pot step at the beginning of the recipe.
Swiss Steak A nice small recipe for two servings.
Tomato Chicken A whole chicken and a jar of spaghetti sauce. What could be easier? Try throwing in some halved potatoes halfway through and some cubed zucchini in the final hour for a full meal.
Chicken Fajitas So much cheaper than restaurant fajitas, and healthier than Taco Bell!
Oatmeal Porridge Have kids? This is a great way to wake them up with a hot breakfast on hectic mornings. Just put oatmeal, water and a pinch of salt in the crockpot right before bed.
Aztec Black Beans Vegetarian, cheap, healthy and delicious. A real winner.
Curried Chicken Legs I’d throw in some baby carrots or cubed carrots for the final couple of hours and then serve this over rice.
Sloppy Joe Lentils Another non-meat recipe. This makes a big batch so you can freeze half for microwaving later.