I would love to utilize my Crock-Pot more, but I just can't find anything that isn't pot roast or beef stew to make. Any advice?

Basically, anything that cooks low and slow in moist heat in an oven or on the stovetop can be made in a slow cooker. I think the only rule of thumb is that you don’t want to use any ingredient that’ll disintegrate after hours of cooking, like carrots or rice. I’ve seen recipes that use both, but seriously, they turn to mush when you cook them, even on low, for as long as it takes the other ingredients in a recipe to cook.

There are recipes for everything from appetizers (meatballs, artichoke dip, broccoli-cheese dip) to oatmeal, soups, and smothered pork chops online; you may want to start there. But there are also plenty of cookbooks filled with ideas and recipes for cooking in your Crock-Pot, like Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes for Two by Beth Hensperger and The Everyday Low-Carb Slow Cooker Cookbook by Kitty Broihier and Kimberly Mayone. But, because I’m a Southern girl, I’ll give you my favorite slow cooker recipe for Shrimp Creole.

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients
1-2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped bell pepper

[Nest Note] This trio of veggies, known as the “Holy Trinity” of Southern cooking, can be found all chopped, prepped, and ready to go in the frozen vegetable section of your grocery store. Don’t worry about exact measurements of each vegetable -- just make sure you have about 3 cups of chopped celery, onion, and bell pepper, total.

Directions
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (28-oz.) can whole tomatoes
1 Tbl. chopped garlic
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. Tabasco hot sauce
1-2 lbs. shrimp, cleaned and shelled

Throw everything but the shrimp in the slow cooker and stir to mix. Cook the sauce for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Add shrimp during the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

For extra flavor and flair, serve Shrimp Creole over steamed rice.

-- Colleen Rush

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