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This month’s Facebook Slow Cooker Chat was a great success. Several of you shared your favorite crock-pot recipes and asked for cooking tips from our associate food editor Michael Tyrrell. It’s clear that many of you are embracing the change of season and colder weather by making lots of slow cooker stews and soups. For slow cooker recipes ideas and inspiration, take a look at what happened during the chat this week:

Family Circle: Welcome to our Slow Cooker Chat with associate food editor and slow cooking expert, Michael Tyrrell. He’s here to answer all of your questions, share recipes and give slow cooking tips. Please feel free to post your questions for Michael onto our Facebook wall.

Let’s start with: What did you make in your slow cooker this week? How did it turn out?

Joy: Pulled pork. Delicious.
Michael Tyrrell: Hey Joy, pulled pork is everyone’s favorite in the slow cooker. Let us give you a link to a recent cover recipe of ours for pulled pork.
Family Circle: Hi Joy, here is our recipe for Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich.

Diana: Pot Roast always yummy in slow cooker!
Michael Tyrrell: Diana, pot roast always a sure bet. We did a pot roast 5 way story last year. Let us give you a link to it.
Family Circle: Hi Diana, here is our recipe for pot roast.

Beth: Chicken taco soup, it’s yummy!!
Michael Tyrrell: Beth, taco soup is a crowd pleaser and so easy. That’s the great thing about slow cooking- easy prep and little fusing.

Peggy: I made a spaghetti dish with marinara sauce and cream cheese. The kids did not like it,LOL.
Michael Tyrrell: Peggy, Italian recipes usually work out well. Let us give you a link to a lasagna recipe which people liked a lot.
Family Circle: Hi Peggy, here are some of our pasta recipes.

Chris: How do you make a beef roast that is fork tender? Mine seem to end up boiling. I just put a little beef broth in the bottom, maybe it’s too much? Should the roast be thawed before putting in to cook?
Michael Tyrrell: Chris, for a roast use a fatty cut like chuck and always thaw first. It’s a safety matter. Also watch the amount of liquid.
Michael Tyrrell: Chris, I love corned beef. Great for Ruebens the next day. Do you add cabbage toward the end of cooking time?

Adrianne: BBQ Chicken…shredded like pulled pork. Put it on rolls with cheese & onions. Yummy!
Michael Tyrrell: Adrainne, shredded chicken is great to have on hand for a quick second meal.

Cleaver: An apple plum crisp.
Michael Tyrrell: Cleaver, welcome back to the chat. Tell us more about your crisp.
Family Circle: Hi Cleaver, here are some of our dessert recipes.

Kim: Stew and pulled pork. Delicious!!!!
Michael Tyrrell: Kim, stews usually are a win. What kind did you make?

Diana: Pork chops with apples and stuffing, Mmmmmm mmm good!
Michael Tyrrell: Diana, your pork chops and apples and stuffing, give us more detail please. Sounds good and easy.
Family Circle: Hi Diana, here are some of our pork recipe.
Diana: Beef and Bean Bake- 1 can baked beans undrained, 1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained, 2 lbs browned ground chuck, 1 onion, chopped, 1 Tblsp. Chili powder, 1 bottle Chili Sauce, 2 Tblsp. Brown sugar, optional. Mix all and pour into slow cooker. Cook 4 hours on high. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar if desired. Great with cornbread!

Janiel: I chopped some chicken breast, added mushrooms, onions, soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Then I topped it off with cream of chicken soup and chicken broth. Family loved it.
Michael Tyrrell: Janiel, your chicken recipe sound good. What did you serve it with, rice?

Carol: I made a pot roast with carrots and potatoes!
Leslie: Pork chops marinated in teriyaki.
Deni: It was my first time using a slow cooker! I made a pot roast, very simple carrots, onions, celery & potatoes. Cooked for 10 hrs, so delicious! Does anyone have a novice level recipe for slow cooking? I’d love to get some more skills under my belt. Trying to take the cooking reigns over in my house!

Margie: Pork, sauerkraut & hot-dogs , turn out great as always.
Michael Tyrrell: Margie, pork and kraut is a fave of mine. I love coming home to that smell on a cold day.

Heather: Country Style Ribs. They turned out o.k.
Michael Tyrrell: Heather, what seasoning/sauce did you use for your country style ribs?
Heather: I just salt and peppered the ribs and used famous Dave’s sweet and sassy BBQ sauce. I think my problem was that I should have cooked them longer. They were done but I thought they needed to be more tender. I love to use baby back ribs in the crock-pot. Do you guys have a recipe for ribs?

Brenda: Sweet and Sour meatballs.
Michael Tyrrell: Brenda, tell us more about you sweet and sour meatballs. What did you serve them with?

Catherine: Beef stroganoff!
Michael Tyrrell: Catherine, beef stroganoff sounds good. What cut of beef did you use?

Leah: Chili!
Michael Tyrrell: Leah, let us give you a link to our chili slideshow for some inspiration.
Family Circle: Hi Leah, try our chili recipes.

Angel: Shredded barbecue chicken. My daughters’ friends liked it so much they asked if I could make it again in a few days!
Michael Tyrrell: Angel, Shredded BBQ anything works and kids generally love it. Great leftovers for easy lunches too.

Lisa: Beef tips with tomatoes and veggies. Delicious and tender. The meat was thawed, then slightly browned on stovetop, then placed in crock-pot!
Family Circle: Hi Lisa, here are some of our beef recipes to try.
Michael Tyrrell: Lisa, for your beef tips try not browning to make it even easier and I bet it’s still tasty.

Jamie: Has anyone done a whole chicken or large turkey breast in the slow cooker? How did you cook it?
Holly: Chicken tetrazzini, pretty yummy! Jamie, I do whole chickens in the crock pot all the time and they’re delicious! Throw in some carrots, pour about a 1/4 cup of wine on top of the bird along w/ some salt & pepper and cook on low all day. Lots of juices for gravy that you could put on mashed potatoes, stuffing, or both!
Jennifer : Jamie,  I do chickens all the time, bit of bouillon (or your own mix of seasonings) bit of water/broth and I usually put in some onions, carrots, celery and potatoes, turns out great – if you have a smaller crock you can just toss in a quartered onion for flavor. The leftover chicken and juice make a great soup too!
Heather: Jamie, I have done a whole chicken in the crock-pot. I turned out wonderful.
Dawn: First time I ever did this: take whole chicken, rinse, season inside n out, and put breast side down in crock, cover, set on low, leave for 8-10 hrs. Remove chicken, debone, throw bones back in crock with juice, add 5 cups water, set on low overnight, go eat ur dinner, in the morning, strain bones out of broth, put in fridge for a few hrs. to separate fat, skim fat and wala, fresh broth.
Dawn: Best moist chicken I ever ate!
Michael Tyrrell: Jamie, I personally don’t do whole chickens. I find they don’t cook uniformly. Turkey breast works well but not for extended cooking times since it’s so lean.
Michael Tyrrell: Holly, when you do a whole chicken does the breast meat get dry before dark meat done?

Katherine: Pork Roast with my own seasoning blend, some onion and a little bit of coffee in the bottom of the pan for the liquid.
Michael Tyrrell: Katherine, I think coffee is a great addition to a slow cooked roast. Sauce is so tasty.

Debbi: I’ve got corned beef with potatoes in the crock-pot right now. Can’t wait for dinner!
Michael Tyrrell: Debi, download our free slow cooker cookbook for some easy recipes.
Family Circle: You can download our Slow Cooker Cookbook PDF in the tabs above. The tab is located underneath the large image. It’s a brown box that says ’15 Slow Cooker Favorites’ with the text ‘Free Cookbook’ under it. To download the PDF, please make sure your PDF software is up to date and you turn off your pop up blockers. The link.
Debbi: If you were talking to me about the corned beef, right now it’s with potatoes and I usually add cabbage towards the end. I also usually have carrots in there as well, but not today. I actually added too many potatoes so the cabbage will be cooked separately. We’re looking forward to corned beef hash in the morning (I’m the only one who will eat ruebens).

Vanessa: I am planning to use a slow cooker for the first time this Thanksgiving. Found several recipes for turkey but all say “in bone.” I feel like I’d be able to fit a lot more meat without the bone, so how important is it to have the bone in for slow cooking?
Family Circle: Hi Vanessa, here are some holiday slow cooker recipes you can try.
Michael Tyrrell: Vanessa, boneless turkey breast works out fine, just cut the cooking time down.

Cynthia: White Chicken Chili in crock-pot right now.
Michael Tyrrell: Cynthia, White chicken chili, yum. I made it yesterday and added hominy in for last 15 minutes.

Nykki: Split pea soup with ham, YUM!!!!!!!!!
Michael Tyrrell: Nykki, pea soup is so easy and so delish. Let us give you a link to a soup sideshow on our website.
Family Circle: Hi Nykki, here are some soup and stew recipes you can try.

Marg: Coq au vin … A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!!
Michael Tyrrell: Marg, tell us more about your Coq au vin.

Amanda: French Dipped Beef Sandwichs. They were delicious!
Michael Tyrrell: Amanda, French Dip sounds good. Let us give you a link to a slow cooker sandwich story we did recently.

Julie: Speaking of the slow cooker…I better get my roast on!
Izzy: Beef stew and it was ok.
Heather: Izzy, I have a great stew recipe would you like it?
Michael Tyrrell: Izzy, let us give you a link to some of our stew recipes.
Family Circle: Hi Izzy, here are some of our stew recipes.

Elizabeth: Cheesy Chicken which always turns out fine it’s Royal Round Steak the kids want though but every time I get home from work it’s burned and I end up cutting out the film and using a ton of milk to smooth it back out.
Michael Tyrrell: Elizabeth, tell us what Royal Round Steak is. A cut? Or a recipe?

Kate: My sister and I are planning to make Mexican the night before Thanksgiving. Have a good queso dip or another kind if dip for the crockpot to go with our theme?
Michael Tyrrell: Kate, I think we have a slideshow of Mexican recipes. Let us try and get you a link.
Family Circle: Hi Kate, here are some of our Mexican-inspired recipes.

Christie: I find that my cooker cooks faster than recipes recommend. A lot of times it all turns very mushy, could that be due to the temperature or would it be something else?
Michael Tyrrell: Christie, slow cookers are cooker at higher temps than in the past. You just have to get used to the one you are using. Try doing same time but on LOW. If still a burning prob start cutting down on time.

Helen: Got pulled pork in my crock-pot right now. Super fast to prep on a Wednesday. I’ve made the recipe from the link given above, but found it a bit too “complicated”, especially if I have to prep everything in the morning, “on the go…”. I’m making my pulled pork with only a few ingredients. Learned it from a friend. I place the pork shoulder in the pot with 1/2 c bbq sauce and 2 c of root bear. Then half way through the cooking, I rotate it, and add more bbq sauce with some minced onions. After it’s shredded, I season it, and more BBQ sauce on top. Yummy and easy.
Family Circle: Hi Helen, here is a link to some of our rib recipes.
Helen: Ooh, awesome! I might try them one of these days!

Shelby: I have always wanted to try crock-pot lasagna but have been scared. Any beginner tips and is it as good as the oven version?
Michael Tyrrell: Shelby, lasagne is a real family pleaser in the slow cooker. We’ll get you a link to some of our lasagna recipes. Our readers love them all.
Family Circle: Hi Shelby, here are some of our pasta recipes.

Joanne: I did bone in chicken thighs with onion soup mix and Russian dressing and apricot jam mixed together. Yummy!!!!
Michael Tyrrell: Joanne, your chicken thigh recipe sounds good. Thighs are the best cut of chicken for slow cooking in my opinion.

Kelly: Made ribs for the family last night, even though I don’t eat meat myself. I made a sauce with crushed pineapple, ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce and vinegar. They just had to cook some rice and veggies while I was working. They LOVED them!
Michael Tyrrell: Kelly, your rib sauce sounds good. Prob work well for chicken thighs as well. Check out our website for meatless recipes. We have lots.
Family Circle: Hi Kelly, here are some of our vegetarian recipes.
Kelly: Thanks, I will definitely have a peek. So convenient to have supper ready for the clan when I am working nights, so they don’t just eat a bowl of cereal. This time of year it gets a lot of use.

Check out these links for more Slow Cooker Recipes:

Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes

Slow Cooker Soups and Stews

Slow Cooker Pork Recipes

Jennifer Moncayo is a web assistant at FamilyCircle.com.

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