Slow Cooker Sunday: Crocksgiving 2011

'Tis the season for not having time to blog, but late or not, I wanted to share our week of "Crocking" with you all.

We have the honor of hosting Thanksgiving for our families each year in our home. Usually there is anywhere from 20 to 30 people in attendance. Everyone brings something to contribute, and we use "real" dishes and silverware. In preparing for the meal, side dishes brought early may find themselves cooling prematurely, and though we do have a dishwasher, there is still quite an abundance of pots and pans to wash in addition to the meal dishes. It gets kind of overwhelming and a few of us find ourselves washing dishes for what seems like hours.

So, last year, my mom and I discussed "Crocksgiving 2011." By inviting everyone to bring their sides in a crockpot, we eliminate extra dishes AND keep the food fresh and warm until dinnertime. Genius!

I have to say that it was quite a success! We had so many yummy sides- a green bean/new potato casserole, sweet potatoes, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese- ALL made or at least transferred to a crockpot before arriving.

I was in charge of one of the turkeys, but of course wanted to participate in the Crocking fun, too. So, I found this great recipe for mulled apple cider. Yum! [Though due to a mixed crowd, I did eliminate the brandy. :-)]

That Sunday, I was desperate to get one more meal out of that yummy turkey so I found a recipe for a Turkey and Rice casserole. I tweaked the original recipe in order to use as much of my current food as I could, and I really liked how it turned out.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups of cooked, chopped turkey
3 cups of converted white rice
3 cups of water
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of sliced baby carrots (the recipe called for celery, but I had carrots on hand)
1/2 cup of chopped onion (or you could use 1 tsp of onion powder)
1 tsp of poultry seasoning (I used "Perfect Pinch Rotisserie Chicken.")
2 cups of frozen veggies (I used a bag of Steamfresh Garlic Peas and Mushrooms. GREAT flavor)

Directions:
1. Mix the cream of mushroom soups, seasoning, and the water in the crock pot.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Cook on High 4 hours.