4 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes That My Family Is Loving

I will be sharing four delicious, easy, slow cooker recipes that were all new to us.

Every one of them has become a new favorite! Try these recipes for easy family dinners that you'll all love.

1. Olive Garden copycat pasta e fagioli soup

The first thing I did was cook a pound of ground beef. I always like to season mine halfway through the cooking time with some onion, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.

Once it's fully cooked, if you see a lot of excess grease, drain that off.

I got that added to the bottom of my crockpot, and then I grabbed a couple of stalks of celery and peeled a couple of carrots.

You'll also need some oregano.

The recipe calls for two teaspoons, but I was at the bottom of this jar and just wanted to finish it off, so it was maybe a little bit more.

I'll also add in some dried parsley, and then I'll season it pretty heavily with some black pepper and salt. I'll stir that well so all the seasonings aren't floating on top.

I'll put my lid on, then I cook mine on high for four hours. This is something that you can set on low and cook all day, making it perfect if you work outside of the house.

About 30 minutes before your cooking time, you'll want to add one cup of ditalini pasta. As you can see, this is such a beautiful soup. It is fully loaded.

We topped our bowls with some freshly shredded Parmesan cheese and served it with a side of garlic Texas toast, which is the perfect thing to go with this.

2. Cheesy hash brown casserole

Next up, I made a cheesy hash brown casserole with smoked sausage.

I know this recipe has been around for a long time, but this was my first time doing it. I started by spraying my crockpot with some Pam cooking spray, and I'd dump out this whole 32-ounce bag of frozen diced hash browns.

I partially thawed them and seasoned the potatoes.

I just added salt, black pepper, and onion powder. I have my package of smoked sausage. There are so many variations out there. I typically buy what is on sale, but I will thinly slice it up and cut it into little half circles.

I put those on top of the potatoes. Then I shredded an 8-ounce block of some sharp cheddar cheese.

I used about a cup of that and added that to the sausage.

Next, I will grab a can of cream of chicken soup. I'm going to dump that out into a large measuring cup. I'll fill that can up with some milk. I'm using 2% and adding that in with the cream of chicken.

I'll mix those two ingredients well until it is nice and smooth. I poured that over everything, and I'll fold everything together.

I found it easiest to do that with a spatula.

Lastly, I've just sprinkled the remaining half cup of cheese over the top. Then I placed the lid on and set mine on high. It took about two and a half hours for me. This is so creamy and cheesy.

I topped mine with parsley to give it a little color, and I served it with steamed broccoli with some butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. This meal was delicious.

3. Honey garlic chicken thighs

This has very few ingredients and is incredible.

You'll need some boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

I have six big pieces of chicken thighs, so I'll dump all of that into the bottom of my crockpot and get that spread out better.

Next, I'll make the sauce that gets poured over the top.

I'll measure out a third cup of low-sodium soy sauce, a third cup of ketchup, and a third cup of honey.

I'll also add two big tablespoonfuls of minced garlic. You could do fresh minced garlic if you wanted to. Lastly, I added a small splash of apple cider vinegar, and I got that mixed well.

I served this over some white rice.

4. Buffalo chicken sandwiches

I know this is probably the most basic crockpot recipe out there. I have done variations of this. I threw a whole family-size pack of chicken tenderloins in the bottom.

I covered it with a packet of ranch seasoning mix and drizzled on some buffalo sauce.

I wanted to cover the tops because I knew I could add more later if needed. I didn't want to make it overly spicy for my family.

So, I gave that a quick mix, and again, I will cook it on high for two hours.

Once it was done, I shredded it with two forks, tossed it in a couple of tablespoons of butter, and mixed it to let it melt. That bit of butter did make a difference in the flavor.

So, there you have it. It's not pretty, it looks plain Jane and boring, but it is so good.