Crockpot Mexican lasagna (recipe).

This is an adaptation of a recipe that my mom used to make when I was younger (actually, I think she still makes it, I just haven't had the chance to eat her version in many years). Of course, since she's a vegetarian, her version doesn't have meat in it, and she makes it in the oven instead of the crock pot, but the idea is the same. I made this last week when I was trying to figure out what to do with all of the corn tortillas and beans that I had bought on my last shopping trip. At the time, I couldn't remember what my mom called the dish, so I couldn't find a recipe online. I decided to make one up as I went along. I'm happy to say that it came out delicious.

This is a very hearty dish, and this recipe makes a lot. It makes delicious leftovers, and I was happy to eat this for lunch for several days after making it. It's also quite versatile, I used steak, but you could easily substitute pork, chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, or even leave the meat out. You could also throw more veggies in (I think corn would be a great addition). Use whatever size tortillas you have on hand (you would even use flour tortillas), just make sure there's a complete layer each time. Think of this recipe as a basic outline for you to add your own twist to!

Shredded beef from the crock pot (recipe).

This is another simple and easy recipe for meat in the crockpot. I love throwing beef or chicken into the slow cooker in the morning even if I have no idea what I'm going to make with it later on. It's versatile, and it makes putting dinner together so easy. We ate this shredded beef on sandwiches the first night, the second night I used some in a breakfast casserole, and the third night I added a little extra spice & put it in tacos. It was delicious all three ways, and it was so convenient to have this already prepared to use each night.

Crockpot dulce de leche (testing Pinterest).

I've seen so many versions of this slow cooker Dulce de Leche on Pinterest, and I finally had to give it a try. I actually made this a few months ago (it just took me a really long time to get around to editing the photos), and I as I sit writing this post I'm wishing I had some to indulge in right now (there would be a can of condensed milk in my crock pot right now, if it wasn't already full of beef). 

Buffalo pulled chicken (slow cooker recipe).

I found this fabulous recipe for Buffalo Chicken Sliders over at Theresa'a Mixed Nuts, and I knew I had to make it. This chicken was honestly the easiest slow cooker recipe I have ever made; there are only 5 ingredients, and one of them is water! I had everything I needed to make the meat, so I tossed it into the crock pot as soon as I finished reading the recipe. I didn't have rolls to make sliders with, so we piled the chicken on top of some criss-cut french fries - Delicious!

It was just the two of us eating that night, so I made two chicken breasts, and we had some left over for lunch the next day. This can easily be doubled (or even tripled) if your cooking for a crowd though!

Easy crock pot chili (recipe).

This is a very simple and fast chili recipe that will give you a hearty dinner on a day when you don't have much time to spend preparing dinner. Simply brown the beef, onion, and garlic, then add everything else to the slow cooker in the morning; at the end of the day all you have to do is dish it out and sprinkle some cheese on top.

Crock pot buffalo chicken dip (recipe).

I'm still here! I must apologize for not posting regularly this week. It's been a busy one! March is going to be a busy month too, so I might have to drop down to two posts a week for a while. Please forgive me!

I've still been cooking, so I have lots of recipes in store for you this next month... Here's what we ate at book club last weekend.

This buffalo chicken dip was amazing! Everyone raved about how tasty this was. It's so easy to make too - I based the recipe on this one, but added my own twist to it. My recipe is at the bottom of the post. Even though there is a lot of hot sauce in the recipe, the end result was not overly spicy. Trust me... the cream cheese and ranch really mellow out the heat.

Crock pot chicken and black bean burritos (recipe).

After about a month of playing with my crock pot, I've learned a lot, and I've gained a lot of confidence using my slow cooker. In fact, I'm proud to give you my very first completely original crock pot recipe! I pretty much made this up as I went, and I am so happy with the results.

This recipe makes 4 to 6 servings, depending on how hungry everyone is. I love that it only requires a few minutes of labor at the beginning and end of cooking. I let it cook for 10 hours, but I'm sure that you could use the high setting to speed up the process.

Crock pot sweet and spicy meatloaf (recipe).

This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe given to me by my sweet friend Amanda from back home (I miss you Amanda! Please come visit again soon ❤). Cooking the meatloaf in the crock pot means you can come home to a completely finished dish, and it keeps it moist (even if it cooks a little longer than it should...).

This makes a lot - about 8 servings, but I wanted to have enough to cover the entire bottom of the crock pot. Good thing it makes delicious leftovers. You can also make this in the oven; bake covered for one hour at 350 degrees F.

Crock pot teriyaki chicken (recipe).

I received a crock pot for Christmas, and I absolutely love it! It's wonderful to have an almost finished meal ready and waiting for us when I get home at the end of the day. I've never had a slow cooker before, so I am planning on trying at least one new recipe with it every week (last week I made a chuck roast - it was so tender it literally fell apart when I tried to pick it up). This week's recipe is Teriyaki Chicken.

I based my recipe on this one from Lake Lure Cottage Chicken (there are lots of other mouth watering recipes on this blog too - check it out!). I made a small batch, since it was just the two of us last night, but you could easily double it (or even triple if you have a big enough crock pot).