Dragon's Breath Chili

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
1 large onion, diced
3 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes, divided
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp seasoned pepper
2 4oz cans mushroom pieces
1 28oz can baked beans
2 15oz cans kidney beans with liquid
2 6oz cans tomato paste
1/8 cup sugar
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 jalapeno peppers, diced
1/4 cup beer
hto sauce (to taste)
1/3 cup barbeque sauce

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown meat together with onion, 1 tbsp red pepper flakes, garlic, and seasoned pepper.
Drain off fat, and place mixture into slow cooker.

Stir in mushrooms, baked beans, kidney beans with liquid, tomato paste, sugar, carrots, celery, peppers, beer, and barbeque sauce.
Season with hot sauce and remainder of red pepper flakes.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Slow Cooker Sweet-n-Sour Ribs

Ingredients
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 lbs pork ribs (cut into sections to fit slow cooker)

Whisk together ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper.
Add ribs to slow cooker, bone side up, and pour mixture evenly over the top.
Cook on high heat for 6 hours or low heat for 10 hours.
Serve ribs drizzled with pan juices.
Add additional BBQ sauce, if desired (but you won't have to!)

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Ingredients
i medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 packed brown sugar
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp yellow mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
4 lbs boneless pork shoulder blade roast, cut into 4 pieces
12 sandwich buns

Mix together onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper.
Place pork pieces into slow cooker and pour mixture evenly over the top.
Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.
Remove pork from slow cooker, leaving sauce.
Turn heat setting to high. Cook sauce alone to thicken slightly.
Shred pork and return to slow cooker once sauce is boiling.
Spoon mixture onto sandwich buns and serve.

Whole Crock Pot Chicken

Ingredients
whole chicken (as large as possible that will fit inside crock pot)
carrots
celery
onion
garlic cloves, whole
season salt

Remove package from inside chicken, and rinse chicken inside and out.
Largely chop veggies and place in bottom of crock pot, along with whole garlic cloves.
Rub outside of chicken with season salt.
Place chicken, breast side down, on veggies.
Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.
Serve chicken directly out of crock pot.
Place crockpot sleeve in fridge overnight.

Day 2
Add water into crockpot sleeve until about 2 inches from the rim.
Cook on high heat for 6 hours or low heat for 8-12 hours.
Place strainer over a large bowl. Pour entire contents of crockpot into strainer.
In bowl will be pure chicken stock. Package this and freeze.
(Be sure to skim fat off while frozen before thawing to use in the future.)
Pick through contents of strainer to remove bones.
Package remaining meat and freeze or reuse immediately.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

Ingredients
2-3 frozen chicken breasts
1 jar salsa
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp allspice

Throw everything into crock pot and cook for 3-4 hours on high heat.
Once chicken is cooked, remove from crockpot and shred it.
Return to crockpot and cook for 15-3 0 minutes longer.

Slow-Cooker Minestrone

Ingredients
1 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes (with basil, garlic, and oregano)
2 14oz cans beef broth
1 15oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup dried bowtie pasta
1 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced

In crockpot, combine beef, undrained tomatoes, broth, cannellini beans, kidney beans, carrots, salt, and pepper.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8-9 hours or on high heat for 4-4 1/2 hours.
Add pasta and squash.
Cover and cook 30-45 minutes more or until pasta is tender.