I asked you guys what types of articles you wanted to see more of in 2020 and, as so many of you guys requested more crockpot recipes. So I’m super excited to be sharing these today and in this article, I’m going to be focusing on dinners.
Specifically now, of course, your prices will vary depending on your location and where you shop, but I was able to find most of these ingredients at either Aldi or Walmart, so that is definitely helping to keep these dinners at just around five dollars each to make. Now, if you guys would like to make any of these recipes yourself, you can find the printable recipes at the family fudge. Calm. Now, don’t forget to give this article a big thumbs up.
If you love it budget-friendly recipes and hit that red subscribe button. If you’re new and without further adieu, let’s get on to these dinner recipes, okay, guys, I’m kicking things off with my delicious white bean, a chicken taco chili. No, no that’s a very long name, but trust me. You guys it is delicious and it is on the lighter side. So you can have a big bowl of this chili and not feel guilty about it.
For this recipe, I’m going to be using about one and a half pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. I’r also going to be using two cans of white beans. Now you could use either great northern beans or you could use a white kidney bean. Also known as cannellini beans today, I’m actually going to be using one can of each. I was able to find these cans of beans for just 49 cents each at Aldi and before I add these into my recipe, I’m definitely going to drain these beans and rinse them for this recipe are also going to need about two cups of chicken broth.
Now you definitely could add more than two cups if you want your chili to be more of a soup. But since I like mine on the thicker side, I’m just using two cups of broth, and to make the broth itself I’m going to be adding some of this better than the boiled chicken base to some water. Now I did the math on this and it comes out to just about 16 cents per cup of chicken broth when I make it like this, so definitely budget-friendly.
Next, I’m also going to be adding in one whole. Onion onions really are an inexpensive way. To add lots of flavor to any dish, of course before I add it into my crockpot, I’m going to go ahead and dice it up now to season up this chicken and chili, and also going to be adding about a quarter cup of this greenness salsa And of course, you can use any kind of green salsa you prefer, but since I want my kids to be eating, this, I’m going to make sure to use a mild.
So it’s not too spicy and then, instead of adding a lot of different spices, I’m going to go ahead and add some taco seasoning in here as well. So it’s kind of your one-stop shop for adding lots of flavors. So now that’s pretty much everything for the chili itself, but of course, if you wanted to, you could also add lots of different toppings. On top, I’m a huge fan of sprinkling just a little bit of cheese on top of my chili.
Basically, anything that would be good on top of a taco would be perfect for topping off this chili. Okay, guys now to put this together. The first thing I’m going to do is spray a little bit of nonstick spray into my crockpot. Now, if you wanted to, you could also use a crockpot liner, which makes cleanup a lot easier and to the bottom of my crockpot. I’m going to go ahead and add all of the chicken.
Now, when I bought this chicken from the store each chicken breast was ginormous, they were so big. So what I decided to do is take each of those gigantic chicken breasts and cut each of them into thirds they’re going to be able to cook all the way through a lot faster, which also means that this chicken breast won’t get all dried out because it Won’t get overcook now at this point, I’m going to go ahead and add some seasoning to the chicken itself, starting with some salt and pepper.
At this point, I don’t normally measure out my salt and pepper. I kind of just eyeball it so once I have all of these salt and pepper on there, I can move on to the taco seasoning, I’m adding this directly to the chicken itself. That way, these spices can really get into that chicken and flavor it as it’s cooking. Next, I’m going to add in that whole onion now, like I said it did, go ahead and chop this up and I’m going to try to evenly spread these onions all over.
The chicken next I’m adding in the green salsa, followed by my rinsed and drained beans, and now the very last thing I’m going to be adding into our chicken chili, is the chicken broth and I’m going to very carefully pour this on top. But try not to spill it. So now I’m going to add my lid and when it comes to cooking this, you could cook it on low for about six to seven hours. But since I was in a hurry, I ended up cooking this on high for between three to four hours.
It actually cooked super fast and as soon as the chicken was cooked, all the way through. I actually took the chicken out and shredded it up and you guys at this shredded so beautifully it came out so tender. You can still actually see all of these spices on the chicken. So you know it has lots of good flavors. So now I’m just going to add all of this shredded chicken back into my crockpot and I’m going to stir it all together.
Disturb this, I had a couple of ladles to my bowl. Add my desired toppings and then it’s time to dig in next up. I’m going to be making my lightened-up version of Toscana soup. Now the soup is definitely inspired by the Zuppa Toscana that you can find at the Olive Garden, restaurants which, if you’ve ever had before you know, is super tasty. But for my recipe and making a few changes for this recipe, you’re going to need 1 pound of Italian sausage today, I’m using turkey sausage for this recipe, I’m also adding in two medium-sized russet potatoes.
As you can see, I already peeled and diced these for the soup. I like to keep my potatoes on the larger side, just so that they don’t turn into mashed potatoes in my soup. Also in this recipe are going to want about 6 cups of chicken broth to save on time. Today, again, I’m just using this better than bullion chicken base. Next comes the kale you’re only going to need about 2 cups of kale for this recipe.
No guys don’t be scared. If you don’t like kale honestly, I don’t really taste the kale very much in this soup, because the sausage is such a strong flavor. But if you really really don’t want to use the kale, you could definitely use fresh spinach leaves instead now that’s right. Zippy, I’m also using 1 10 ounces can of evaporated milk and then to season this up. I’m also adding some good old salt and pepper, and then this next part is optional.
You could also add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes. Now I’m actually a huge fan of red pepper flakes, but my kids not so much so I’m just going to be adding, maybe 1 a little pinch. So now that I have all of the ingredients assembled – and I also have my potatoes ready to go – I do have two more steps to do before. I can add everything into my crockpot. First, I’m going to go ahead and get the sausage all the way cooked.
You do not want to add this raw to your crockpot. Definitely pre-cook your sausage. Now the turkey sausage that I’m using is on the lean side, so I don’t need to drain the grease at all. I don’t know if you guys can see this very well, but I let some of this sausage get extra dark on it’s not burned by any means, and it’s really an easy way to add more flavor to your soup overall and then the next thing I need to do is prepare the kale now like I said, you only need two cups of kale for this recipe and if you wanted to, you could go ahead and just chop the whole thing up, but personally, I’m not a big fan of the stems of the Kale, I find them a little bit tough, so I’m going to go ahead and rip the leaves off of the stem.
Just like is this, and now once I have all of the stems removed, I can go ahead and just chop up this kale. I recommend cutting this pretty small that way it just mixes into the soup a lot better. So now that we have those steps done, we can finally put the soup together so to the bottom of my crockpot. I’r going to add all of that: precooked Turkey, Italian sausage. Next, I’m adding in the diced potatoes, followed by some salt and pepper, and I’m not going to go crazy with the salt and pepper.
There is a good amount of salt in the sausage already, but since I am adding a good amount of potatoes in here, I want to make sure those are nice and seasoned next, I’m adding in a pinch of red, pepper flakes. Of course, you could add more if you want to, then I’m going to top it all off with the kale now I know this looks like a lot of kale, but it’s definitely going to cook down next, I’m adding in my entire can of evaporated milk, and You guys make sure that you get evaporated milk, not sweetened, condensed, milk, that would probably not taste very good.
And, lastly, I’m going to finish this off with the chicken broth. This is six full cups. I want to have a lot of broth in my soup because it’s one of my favorite parts. Now I’m just going to go ahead and stir this all together. I want to kind of push down that kale to make sure it is not floating on the top and getting all dry now to cook this, I’m going to go ahead and add on the lid. Now you could cook this on low for six to eight hours or on high for three to four hours.
Now, when this is done, I’m going to add some to my bowl and as you can see, this is a lightened-up version of the soup. The broth overall is not thick or gloppy at all, and that’s pretty much because we didn’t add any extra flour or cream or butter or anything like that. It still has a really good flavor. The potatoes are nice and tender now, just like at the Olive Garden. I’m going to finish off the soup with a little bit of Parmesan cheese, and then the soup is good to go.
You know I like to eat this, just as is, but you could also add some garlic, bread, maybe a little side salad to do. That would be delicious next, I’m going to be making my chicken and marinara subs. So this recipe is a lot like a meatball sub, but instead of using meatballs, I’m going to be using more of that boneless skinless chicken breast. This is actually the other half of the pack of chicken I used in my chicken a chili recipe, I’m using about one and a half to two pounds total for this recipe, you’re also going to need an entire 24-ounce jar of your favorite, pasta or marinara.
Sauce, you can use whatever brand you prefer. I just happen to have this kind in my pantry already. So that’s what I’m using I’m. Also using some garlic powder and dried oregano, some salt, and pepper some dinner rolls you can use any kind you want. I was able to pick these ones up at all, be for just about $ 2. If you wanted to, you could even use hot dogs, buns, or hamburger buns. Those are usually less expensive and if you wanted to, you could skip the bread altogether and serve this over.
So I’m cauliflower rice as well, and then last but not least, you’re also going to want some cheese. Today, I’m using just a couple of slices of provolone cheese, but if you’re not a fan of provolone cheese, you could also use mozzarella or parmesan. Both of those choices would be delicious. So now that I have all of the ingredients together, the first thing I’m going to do to make this recipe is adding in the chicken, and you guys just like with my chicken and chili recipe.
I took these big chicken breast pieces and I cut them each into thirds that way they would cook a lot faster and a lot more evenly now to my chicken and also going to add a little bit of salt and pepper. Of course, this is to your taste preferences. Next, I’m adding in about half a teaspoon of garlic powder and unless you guys, I’m not actually going to measure this out, I’m just going to eyeball it and the same thing goes for the dried oregano.
It comes to about half a teaspoon, but I’m pretty much just eyeballing it too, and then you guys, I don’t think I mentioned just how easy this recipe is because the only other thing I needed to add at this point is that entire jar of marinara sauce, I’m just carefully pouring it all over the chicken try not to splattered everywhere. Next, I’m going to add on the lid – and you could cook this on low for six to eight hours or on high for four hours, but basically when the chicken is cooked.
All the way through and it shreds easily it’s ready to go so once I have all of my chicken shredded up, I’m going to go ahead and leave it on warm. While I go ahead and prepare the bread now, if you’re in a hurry, you doubly could skip this part. But personally, I think it makes us so much better. I’m just adding a little bit of butter to each of these rolls and then I’m going to pop them into the oven until they’re lightly browned.
This not only adds a delicious crunch to the outside of the bread. It also helps the sandwich not get too soggy. As well so to this bread, I’m going to add a good amount of the chicken and I’m going to top that off with just one slice of provolone cheese. Of course, you could add extra cheese if you wanted to, and then I’m going to pop this back in the oven until the cheese is melted now seriously guys if this sandwich is so good and it was really very, very easy, I give it two thumbs up.
Okay, guys next up, I’m sharing another money-saving, dinner idea which is actually to make breakfast. Now you guys I’m a huge fan of breakfast. It’s usually quick and easy, and, most importantly, it’s usually pretty economical, especially if you can find a good deal on your eggs. I was able to get this entire dozen of eggs for just 99 cents at Aldi, although sometimes they even have a dozen eggs on sale for just 49 cents.
For this recipe, I’m also going to be using two cups of chopped ham. Now, this would be an excellent way to use up any leftover ham that you might have had for dinner, but for today’s recipe, I’m actually using a ham steak. I really like to sear each side of my ham steak before I chop it up, I’m really just adding a little bit of color and caramelization to the outside. This really adds a lot of flavor without adding extra cost.
It just takes a little bit of time and also using some this quick baking mix. It’s not a sweet baking mix and you really could have skipped this ingredient. If you want I’ve made this recipe both with the baking mix and without, and they both come out really tasty, but basically this baking mix gives this breakfast casserole more of a souffle texture versus just like an omelet texture for this recipe, I’m also using one cup Of milk, 1/3 cup sour cream, one small onion finely diced about 1 to 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, and you can use any kind of cheese that you prefer I’m just using cheddar today.
Finally, you’re also going to need some salt and pepper, and then this part is optional, but if you have some green onions, these are great to sprinkle. On the top of this breakfast casserole itself. To make this recipe, I’m going to start by cracking 8 eggs into a large bowl to this, I’m going to be adding in all of the milk, the baking mix, the sour cream, the salt, and the pepper, and then, at this point, I’m going to whisk this.
All together next, I’m going to spray a good amount of this nonstick spray to my crackpot, I’m making sure to get all of the sides very well because I do not want this to stick to the bottom of my crock pot. I’m going to go ahead and add all of that delicious cubed ham, followed by the onions. Now, if you have time, I totally recommend pre-cooking these onions just a little bit before you put them in the crockpot.
I have made this dish before where the onions were a little bit crunchy. When I was done, and now all I have to do is pour the egg mixture directly. On top of now, I’m going to go ahead and stir this up just a little bit, and then I’m going to top it with the cheese and a few pieces of the green onion. Next, I’m going to add the lid on top and I’m going to cook this on low for about three to four hours or until the eggs are all the way set in in the middle.
Now, as you guys can see, the edges on this do get a little bit dark and crispy, but I actually really like that part. I think it’s really tasty. I’m just going to go ahead and add a scoop of this to my bowl and now you could serve this with a little bit of hot sauce or salsa, but for today I’m just going to squirt a little bit of ketchup on the top and it’s ready To go now if you enjoy this article today, please give it a big thumbs up subscribe if you’re new.
Thank you guys so much for reading and I’ll see you in my next article