Great Slow Cooker Recipes For Tailgating

Its football season and whether youre off to the college game, heading to the pro stadium or just having friends over for Sunday afternoon, theres always a need for good snacks. You can use your slow cooker to branch out from the traditional wings and pizza.

The benefit to using a slow cooker is to get the ingredients in quickly and then have time to walk away for last minute cleaning, preparing other items or watching the pre-game show.

So, for the near-perfect tailgate, give these recipes a try:

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Ingredients
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes w/chilies
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 lime
Salt and pepper
3 or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Garnish
1 package shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream (optional)
Cilantro

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, and mix well. Cover and cook on low (approximately 10 hours) or high (approximately 8 hours). After cooking, use two forks to shred chicken, and stir well. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro, if desired. Serve it up with some warm cornbread muffins.

Tailgate slow-cooker honey-maple ribs
Ingredients

1 10.5 oz. can of beef broth
3 Tbsp. honey-mustard
cup honey
cup water
cup honey-flavored barbecue sauce
cup soy sauce
cup maple syrup
3 lb. split baby back ribs

Mix the broth, mustard, honey, water barbecue sauce, soy sauce and maple syrup together in your slow cooker. Make sure your ribs are sliced into sections before you place them in the slow cooker. The sauce should cover the ribs. Cover and cook for five hours.

Pulled Pork

Ingredients

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. kosher salt, more as needed
teaspoon ground cumin
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 4 to 5 lb. boneless or bone-in pork shoulder
2 cups barbecue sauce (optional)

Layer the onions and garlic on the bottom of the slow cooker and pour in the stock or broth. Combine the sugar, chili powder, salt, cumin and cinnamon. Pat the pork dry and rub the mixture all over the pork. Place the meat in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the pork is tender. About 6-8 hours on high, or 8-10 hours on low. Strain the liquid from the pork. Debone the pork if necessary and return the solids to the slow cooker. Add either the barbecue sauce or strain the fat from the cooking liquid and add cup at a time just until the pork is moistened.

Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 3 lb. beef chuck pot roast
1 large onion, sliced
3 bay leaves
teaspoon salt
teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup cider vinegar
8 French rolls, or large buns
Spinach or lettuce leaves (optional)

Trim the fat from the meat. Place the meat and onion into the slow cooker. Add bay leaves, salt, garlic and cloves. Pour the vinegar over the meat. Cover and cook on low heat for 11-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Remove the meat from the cooker, discard the bay leaves. Use forks to shred the meat, discarding any bones or fat. Strain the juices and take off the fat. Return the meat and broth to the slow cooker. Heat for about two hours on high heat.

These easy recipes will make your tailgate party a hit. And in the midst of cheering for your team, you can bask in the compliments from your family and guests.