Café Rio Shredded Chicken

2 lbs Boneless, skinless chicken breast

8 oz Zesty Italian salad dressing

½ TBS minced garlic

1 pkt ranch dressing mix

½ cup water

½ TBS chili powder

½ TBS ground cumin

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8 hours. When finished cooking remove chicken and shred with two forks. Remove marinade from crock pot and place in medium bowl. Place shredded chicken back in crock pot, pour about 1 cup of marinade back over chicken and serve.

Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup in the Crockpot (Jill Walker)

From the Recipe Shoebox.

The ingredients:
2 cans (14-ounces each) diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
4 cups chicken broth
1  onion, finely diced
1/2 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbs. dried basil
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups half and half, warmed (I used 2% milk)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:
In a large crockpot, combine tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and basil.  Cover and cook on low for 5-7  hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. 

About an hour before serving prepare a roux:  Melt butter and whisk in flour until smooth.  Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup from the slow cooker.  Add another 3 cups soup and stir until smooth. 

Add all back into the slow cooker.  Stir and add Parmesan cheese, warmed half-and-half, salt, and pepper.  Cover and cook on low for another hour until ready to serve.  Serve with fresh hot bread.   Makes about 2 quarts--6-8 servings.

Super Easy Pear Butter - Sandy Sommerfeld

Hey Gals, several Sisters heard me talking about this easy recipe and asked for it.
Here it is to pass on to anyone and everyone. Have a nice day. *>} Sandy

Super Easy Pear Butter

40 to 50 pears (the riper the better)

1-1/2 cups sugar (I cut it to 2/3 cup)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons ground cloves


1. core pears (no need to peel) and puree in blender with sugar and spices

2. fill crock pot with puree

3. cook on high for about 12 hours until reduce to about half

4. cans or freezes well

Crock Pot Recipes

This is an index of LOTS of crock pot recipes. Thanks for the link Margaret!

http://www.50plusfriends.com/cookbook/crockpot/index-5b.html