Best crockpot dinner recipes

The Best Crockpot Easter Dinner Meal Plan Round Up

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The Best Crock Easter RecipeRound Up
I have a little confession – I love to cook. I love good food but, if I can find an easier way to spend less time in the kitchen I am soooo there! And, I may have a slight obsession with my crockpot.

This year we will be changing things up a bit for Easter dinner. We are having friends over for a brunch and Easter egg hunt in the morning {thinking I will be making an egg bake breakfast casserole and my caramel french toast bake.}

But, what about dinner?

I was racking my brain trying to figure out how I could entertain in the morning and still pull off a somewhat traditional Easter dinner for my family and then, it hit me – my trusty old crockpot. Yep, I am pretty much over the moon excited we are going to have the best crockpot dinner ever and guess what, it’s going to be cooking while I hang out with our friends and family. Everybody wins!

{Oh, and if you only have one crockpot I highly recommend getting a second as it’s worth it’s weight in gold. We have 3 different sizes and I love them all!}

So, here’s the scoop for;

The Best Ever Easter Dinner Crockpot Meal Plan





The Best Crockpot Easter Dinner Meal Plan Round Up-maple-brown-sugar-ham-crockpot-green beans- corn dip- homemade apple sauce- home cooking goodness with less time in the kitchen

I am excited to try Life in the Loft House‘s Crock Pot Maple Brown Sugar Ham recipe – we are big maple syrup fans so this just sounds divine. A brown sugar rub, with a maple syrup and pineapple glaze cooked on low while I play with the kids – yep, I think I can do this.

Moms with Crock pots shared an awesome looking green bean casserole recipe – we will not being using bouillon cubes as most are not gluten free. But, we will sub them out with Better than Bouillon. *We will not be adding our bacon until the end as soggy bacon bits get me every time {gah}.

If you have never made crockpot brown sugar carrots you are missing out – they are so easy!

 

The Best Crockpot Easter Dinner Meal Plan Round Up




LifeCurrents Crockpot Corn Dip  looks like the perfect side dish or maybe even pre-dinner appetizer. Surely, I know my children can not be the only ones that insist on eating the entire hour before we sit down to a meal, right?!? Frozen corn, cream cheese, cheese, a zip of jalapeño, and spices slow cooked and served with organic corn chips should hold the littles over.

No Easter Dinner would be complete with out some homestead applesauce  and I’m thinking these easy au gratin potatoes inspired by Chelsea’s Messy Apron should do the trick…

Easy-Slow-Cooker-Potatoes-Au-Gratin-a-perfect-Easter-side-dish-save-room-in-the-oven-with-this-easy-dish-Plus-a-secret-tip-to-get-the-potatoes-crispy

And, if there is room for dessert after all that food I am thinking a scoop of ice cream from the local dairy farm should do the trick.

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Homestead Crock Pot Whole Chicken and Overnight Chicken Stock Recipe

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Gluten-free, recipe, slow cooker, homemade, easy recipe, simple dinners

 

Homestead Crock-pot Whole Chicken and Overnight Chicken Stock Recipe

Over Night Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

I have certainly tried my share of chicken recipes over the years and this one seriously does not get any easier. Especially when using the bones from the “Homestead Crockpot Whole Chicken” (see below) -once all the meat is removed leave all other remains in the crock pot (skin, bones, juices, absolutely everything). Our crockpot is nothing fancy it very similar to this.



 

Add the following;

 

2 stalks of celery

 

1 peeled and loosely chopped onion

 

1 carrot roughly chopped

 

2 bay leafs,

 

A dash of thyme and rosemary

Fill the crock pot with water covering all bones, skins, and veggies (leaving approximately 1/2-1 inch from the top of the crockpot). Put the crockpot on low (cooking 8-10 hours) overnight. In the morning  using a soup ladle or slotted spoon scoop out and discard all the bones, cooked veggies, etc. Once only the broth remains I like to place it in the fridge for a day so that the fat solidifies on top. Skim the fat, discard, and sieve to catch any remaining herbs and skin.

Using a liquid measuring cup, and a freezer zip lock bag- freeze in 2-3 C. portions for future use. I like to freeze the bags flat to make the best use of our freezer space. Ice Cube trays are perfect for freezing small cubes of stock for those “just need a bit” moments.

Homestead Crockpot Whole Chicken Recipe

Ingredients;

2 T Minced Garlic

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper

1/2 Tsp. Rosemary

1 Onion

1 Lemon

1/4 C. of Water

1 Large Chicken

Instructions;

  • Combine all of the dried spices in a bowl.
  • Add water and roughly chopped onion in the bottom of the crockpot.
  • Prepare chicken; remove the giblets. Place chicken in crockpot (on top of the onions) and squeeze lemon juice on top. Throw the lemon in the bottom of the crockpot once finished.
  • Gently rub chicken with minced garlic and the dried spices until evenly coated. Using a kitchen glove you can loosen the skin of the chicken for easy seasoning of the meat.
  • Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours (based on a 3-4 lb chicken) cook until internal temperature is 160+, juices run clear- or if your like me when the meat is falling off the bone.
  • Let rest 5-10 minutes and serve. Leave bones, skin, onion, and lemon in the crock pot for a yummy overnight chicken stock (see above)

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