Easy Slow Cooker Ham

I had never made ham except for coca cola ham so I wanted to try something different when I found a ham on sale. I found the following recipe at allrecipes.com and it turned out very good and tender. It reminded me of a Christmas ham. I made smashed red potatoes on the side - yum!

Easy Slow Cooker Ham
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 (6 pound) bone-in country ham
30 whole cloves (I used about 5 tbsp minced garlic)
3 cups apple cider, or as needed (I used about 3/4 gallon of apple cider)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon (omitted)
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg (omitted)
2 teaspoons ground ginger (omitted)
2 tablespoons ground cloves
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional) (omitted)
1 orange's peel(omitted)
DIRECTIONS
Press whole cloves into the ham so they are evenly distributed. You may score the ham for easier insertion if you wish. Place the ham in a slow cooker. Pour in apple cider until only about 2 inches of ham is above the surface. Pack the brown sugar on top of the ham, pressing into the cloves. This will get washed away in the next step but any that stays on is a bonus.
Pour the maple syrup over the ham. Season the apple cider with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves and vanilla. Add the orange peel to the pot. Fill the slow cooker as full as you can with apple cider without going over the fill line. Cover and set to Low. Cook for 8 to 10 hours.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Crock Pot Beef Stew
Ingredients:
2 lbs beef stew meat
1 onion, sliced
handful of baby tomatoes (I used one 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes)
celery (1/2 a bunch)
carrots (half a bag of baby carrots and half a bag of shredded carrots I had in the frig)
2 cloves garlic, minced
green beans (I used one can)
mushrooms (omitted but only because I didn't have any fresh or canned)
2 cans beef broth (I used 1 can beef, 1 can chicken because that's what I had on hand)
1/4 cup red wine (I cook with the $3 wine from walmart since my wine of choice from Trader Joe's isn't closeby where I live)
1 t kosher salt
black pepper
1 t seasoning blend (whatever you have on hand for bbqing, stir-frying, etc. I used a grilling seasoning mix but even Seasoned Salt would work.)
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup frozen peas (omitted because peas are not always my thing)
Directions
1. Wash and chop all of your vegetables.
2. Put them into the Crock Pot.
3. Put the flour in a bowl with a little salt and pepper, and toss your meat in it to fully coat.
4. Put the meat into the Crock Pot.
5. Add dry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.
6. Pour in the wine and beef broth.
7. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours.
8. Stir in the peas just before serving.

Georgia-style Brunswick stew

This is a Georgia-style Brunswick stew and was adapted from about.com, southern recipes and a recipe from a co-worker. Below are my adjustments. Yummy and simply southern tasting.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 pounds chicken or pork, or a combination, cooked and diced (omitted)

2 cans beef in bbq sauce (vietti brand available at walmart)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (omitted)
1 or 2 tablespoons dried minced onion, optional (I used one small onion, diced and cooked with turkey)
3 to 4 tablespoons bacon drippings (I used 2 cans of chicken broth)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce, your favorite (I used a bit less than a small bottle)
1 1/2 cups ketchup (I used a small bottle)
2 to 3 cups diced potatoes, cooked (maybe next time, omitted this time because I didn't feel up to dicing and cooking them)

1 large can of crushed tomatoes (added)

3 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) cream-style corn (omitted, we aren't really corn fans)
Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Cover and simmer until hot and bubbly. Taste and adjust seasonings with more salt and hot sauce, as desired. I cooked on h.igh in crock pot for about 2 hours.
Serves 6 to 8. Related Recipes

Crock pot Coca Cola ham

When I found a 2 pound ham on sale, I remembered my mom making this when I was a kid. I never buy coke but had 2 bottles from a recent trip to the Coca Cola Museum so I figured that would be a good excuse to use them. I googled the recipe and just made adjustments to this one (my adjustments are in italics.) I stopped at the bakery for onion rolls to serve with this and made a veggie as well. Super easy dinner and good, too!

Slow Cooker Cola Ham
from About.com

This easy crock pot ham recipe is very popular, made with fully cooked ham, brown sugar and mustard, and cola.

Cook Time: 8 hours (I did 6 hours because I had only 2 pounds of ham)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar (I only used a 1/4 cup)
1 tsp dry mustard (I used just about 1 tsp. of boar's head honey mustard)
1/4 cup cola (Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, etc.) (1 bottle of Coca Cola)
3 to 4 pound pre-cooked ham (2 pounds)

Preparation: Combine brown sugar and mustard. Moisten with just enough cola to make a smooth paste. Reserve remaining cola. Score the ham with shallow slashes in a diamond pattern. Rub ham with paste mixture. Place ham in slow cooker/Crock Pot and add remaining cola. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then turn to low and cook for 6 to 7 hours. Serves 9 to 12.
A 5 pound ham could be cooked in a larger slow cooker. Cook for 1 hour on high, then 8 to 10 hours on low.

Crock pot beef stroganoff

EASY BEEF STROGANOFF

1 1/2 lb. round steak (I used stew meat)
2 tbsp. flour
Salt & pepper to taste
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can of mushrooms
1 packet onion soup mix
1 sm. onion
sour cream (optional)
egg noodles

Tenderize and cut meat into serving pieces. Salt, pepper and dredge meat in flour. Place onions in bottom of crock pot, then add meat. Combine mixture of mushroom soup, canned mushrooms and onion soup mix and spread over meat. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours.
Before serving I mixed about 1/4 cup of sour cream throughout the stroganoff for added flavor.
Serve over egg noodles.

Salsa Crock pot cornbread

I made this with a pot of chili and it was something different and good. I'd never had anything like it before. I cut this recipe in half.

Salsa Crockpot Cornbread
INGREDIENTS:
2 boxes corn muffin mix, (8 oz each)
1 can creamed corn, (15 ounce)
2 eggs 1/2 cup sour cream
1 can chopped green chiles, (4 ounces) undrained
2 tablespoons soft butter
3 to 4 tablespoons chunky salsa

PREPARATION:
In a medium bowl, combine creamed corn, eggs, sour cream, chiles, and margarine. Whisk together until well combined. Add corn muffin mix, stirring well to combine. Generously grease a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker/Crock Pot with margarine or butter Pour batter into the slow cooker/Crock Pot. Spoon salsa over the top and cut into the batter. Cover and cook on high for about 2 1/2 hours. Turn heat off and let cool with lid ajar, for about 15 minutes. Loosen sides with a knife and invert onto a large plate. If a little of the top sticks to the bottom of the pot, dollop a little salsa on the top, or decorate with sour cream and chopped green onion. Delicious side dish! Serves 6 to 8.

Crock Pot chicken with black beans and cream cheese

This was an easy Southwest chicken recipe and has a good flavor! I only used 2 large chicken breasts. It's so easy cause you can put them in the crock pot frozen!

Crock-Pot Chicken w/Black Beans & Cream Cheese

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can corn
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa, any kind
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (you can use Fat Free)
White or brown rice

Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock-pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained. Keep in crock-pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. You can shred the chicken or leave it whole if you like. Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 30 minutes to an hour. Mix and serve over white rice or brown rice.