CrockToberFest.

Up until about a month ago, I had never heard of CrockTober, or CrockToberFest. One of my neighbors told me about this type of get-together, where neighbors, friends, and family gather to eat, drink, and share crockpot/slow-cooker recipes. Every person or family shows up to the CrockToberFest get-together with a crockpot/slow-cooker dish to share. Guests can also print out their crockpot recipe on cards for others to take home.

This week, I was back on The Jason Show with a couple crockpot recipes, that you can make for your next CrockToberFest get-together!

The first recipe was given to me by another mom, who makes this dish for her husband's work pot-lucks all the time. This Buffalo Chicken Chili is a two-time cook-off winner at her husband's office! I tweaked it a little bit, to make it work for me.

CROCKPOT BUFFALO CHICKEN CHILI

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chicken
15 oz. can of white navy beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cups chicken broth
14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes (drained)
3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
1 pkg of ranch dressing mix
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese

Toppings:

Blue cheese crumbles
Chopped cilantro

Combine all of the ingredients in the slow-cooker (except the toppings and cream cheese) and cook on low for 6 hours. Make sure to mince the ground chicken up with a fork before you turn the crockpot on. Otherwise, you'll have a big block of cooked ground chicken in your chili. Once the chicken is cooked through (about 4-5 hours), toss in the cream cheese and let it melt. Stir often until everything is creamy and blended (about 6 hours total). Serve in bowls, and top with blue cheese crumbles and cilantro.


SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

Ingredients:

1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated/shredded)
6 oz Neufchatel cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
14 oz. can of artichoke hearts
1 clove of garlic
2 cups fresh spinach leaves (chopped)
1 tsp black pepper (ground)

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix well. Then dump into a crockpot, and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Turn crockpot down to "warm", and serve with crackers, ciabatta bread, or veggies.


AUTUMN VEUVE CLIQUOT SPRITZER

Ingredients:

Ice
Lime zest
Fresh cranberries
Veuve Cliquot Rose Champagne

Fill a large wine glass with 5-6 ice cubes, lime zest, a handful of cranberries, and champagne. If you want the best champagne, always go with the Veuve. Another one of our go-to's when it comes to wine: Black Box. My number one wine choice is always a beautiful bottle of a Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, such as Matua or Grey Rock. But a glass of Black Box Red Blend on a fall evening is pretty darn good! Plus, one Black Box holds 4 regular-size bottles of wine. Yes, please!