Winter meals made easy with a crock pot

For a full-time mom, church secretary and student, Tracey Tripp of Cape Girardeau needs every time saver she can use in keeping the family meals prepared. She finds that her crock pot is a big help year-round, but especially in the winter. She also uses her crock pot to prepare recipes when they entertain as a family.

Tracey is sharing a few of her favorite recipes with us today that would be good to serve for your Super Bowl get together coming up in a couple of weeks.

Over the weekend I had someone remind me there were no holidays coming up to have to plan a menu for. I quickly reminded them that Super Bowl is the second-largest food consumption day in America, second only to Thanksgiving. The football game is of no importance to me. Being with our family and a few close friends, watching the commercials and, of course, enjoying good food is what Super Bowl is all about to me. So try these recipes as starters for your game day festivities.

Bandito Chili Dogs

1 pound hot dogs

2 (15-ounce) cans chili, with or without beans

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies

10 hot dog buns

1 medium onion, chopped

1 to 2 cups corn chips, coarsely crushed

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Place hot dogs in slow cooker. Combine chili, soup and green chilies. Pour over hot dogs. Cover. Cook on low 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Serve hot dogs in buns. Top with chili mixture, onion, corn chips and cheese.

Hickory-Smoked Brisket

3 to 4 pounds beef brisket

1/4 cup liquid smoke

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Place beef on piece of foil. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Wrap foil securely around beef. Place in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low 8 to 12 hours. Serve warm with juice ladled over each slice.

Machaca Beef

2 to 3 pounds beef roast

1 large onion, sliced

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup salsa

Combine all ingredients except salsa in slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover. Cover cooker and cook on low 10 to 12 hours, or until beef is tender. Drain and reserve liquid. Shred beef using two forks to pull it apart. Combine beef, salsa, and enough of the reserved liquid to make desired consistency.

Tracey puts this out with hard taco shells, soft tortillas, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, etc. and lets people make it up as they please. She also added that this would work well with chicken.

Navy Bean and Bacon Chowder

1 1/2 cups dried navy beans

2 cups cold water

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 rib celery, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 (46-ounce) can chicken broth

1 cup milk

Soak beans in 2 cups cold water for 8 hours. After beans have soaked, drain, if necessary, and place in slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients, except milk, to slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low 7 to 9 hours, or until beans are crisp-tender. Place 2 cups cooked bean mixture into blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Return to slow cooker. Add milk. Cover and heat on high 10 minutes. Serve with crusty French bread and additional herbs and seasonings for diners to add as they wish.

We do have one request this week from Shannon Barrett of Cape Girardeau. Shannon would like recipes for fried pickles. She has enjoyed them a couple of times while eating out and would like to be able to make them at home, maybe for the Super Bowl? If you have a recipe for fried pickles, please send that in so I can share those with everyone.

Have a fabulous week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.