I tried the original recipe in the Fix-It and Forget-It cookbook, found it very bland, and spiced it up with garlic. That helped make it edible for my family and I. If I were to make this meal again, I would experiment with sun-dried tomatoes and substitute the cream cheese with ricotta or another soft Italian cheese.

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix
1/4 cup water
8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
14.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
3-cheese Parmesan blend

Directions

1. Place the chicken in the slow cooker.
2. Combine salad dressing mix and water. Then pour over chicken and cook on Low for 3 hours.
3. Combine the cheese and soup until well blended. Add the mushrooms before pouring over chicken.
4. Cook on Low for one hour, or until chicken juices run clear.
5. Serve with egg noodles fettucine. Garnish with 3-cheese blend.

This is a great meal for either lunch or dinner. You can serve it plain, or you can dress it up with as much produce as you’d like.

Ingredients

2-3 lbs. thinly sliced roast beef
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 pkg. Sandwich rolls

Directions

1. Pour about a quarter of the sauce in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the meat, then more sauce, layering until all the meat and sauce is in the slow cooker.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. The meat should shred at the touch of a fork when fully cooked.

Ingredients

1 pound navy beans, soaked
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
8 ounces chopped green chiles
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
14 ounces chicken broth
1 cup water

Directions

1. Put beans in medium pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and allow to simmer 20 minutes. Discard water. Variation: To save time, you can subsitute the navy beans by buying canned white beans. Make sure to drain them.

2. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces.

3. Put all ingredients in your slow cooker and mix thoroughly.

4. Cook on low 10-12 hours or high 5-6 hours.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dry red wine
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dry minced onion
1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 to 4 pounds lean stew beef, cut in 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 to 8 slices bacon, diced
18 small white onions, thawed if frozen
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 to 16 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced or quartered

Directions

1. Combine wine, olive oil, minced onion, thyme, parsley flakes, bay leaf, and pepper. Add beef and marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours minimum. Marinating overnight will maximize the flavor of the beef.

2. Drain meat reserving 1 cup of marinade. Place meat in 4 to 5-quart slow cooker.

3. Sprinkle with flour and salt and toss to coat meat.

4. Fry the bacon. Then add the onions and fry until slightly browned. Add garlic and fry for a few seconds more. Remove onions, garlic and bacon with slotted spoon and add to meat.

5. Saute mushrooms in remaining bacon fat. Remove mushrooms with slotted spoon and add to meat-onion mixture. Pour reserved 1 cup of marinade over the meat mixture. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours.

Serves 8.