Featured
Soul Warming Recipes!
Big Green Egg
Featured
Hot & Spicy!
K’s Choice
Peppery Chicken Curry
Fonq
FM
Crock-pot
Wait! Don’t start your weekend just yet. I need you for a split moment.
A couple of years back they started selling slow cookers here. Okay, so I admit we were a little late to the party! Suffice to say I bought one (a Kenwood) immediately but really, I was duly unimpressed.
The darn thing got so hot that low and slow seemed like an impossible task. Recipes that were supposed to cook for 10 hours were done in 4 hours. Heck, it even continued to boil the food on the ‘keep warm‘ setting.
Plus, and this was a biggie to me, I felt everything came out tasting the same. Nothing tasted the way it was supposed to be and the food somehow always tasted slightly off. I did like it for certain soups—as long as they did not contain any leeks—bolognese sauce and meat stews.
I got rid of it since it was only collecting dust and taking up space. But when I saw this one the other day I really wanted to give it another try. It’s a Rival sauté crock-pot. Apparently you can put this one on the stove and brown the meat/vegetables in it before you transfer it to the base.
So I ordered one. And now I need a few fool-proof, tried and true recipes so I can give it a test spin over the weekend. Beef recipes, soups, chicken, anything goes. Can I weasel one out of you? Pretty please with a cherry on top!?
We have used the Rival brand and never been disappointed in the cooking time or temperature. It’s a great brand.
Pot Roast!
your favourite cut of roast, with several ‘stabs’ on the top from a sharp knife
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced in half, insterted in to the ‘stabs’
1 cup of water
thickly chopped carrots, onions and potato
Cook for 8-10 hours on low, meat melts in your mouth!
I found this really funny Kay, I just bought one too, for the first time and haven’t used it yet. My wife is rather dubious of it, so I’m hoping someone sends you a really good recipe so I can impress with my crock-pot too!!!
One I plan to try this next week or so:
What You Need
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1stalk celery, sliced
1-1/2lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3cup packed brown sugar
1/3cup CATALINA Dressing (if you can’t get it there – let me know – I will send you some)
1/4cup soy sauce
1tsp. grated gingerroot
1Tbsp. cornstarch
1can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained, liquid reserved
1 each green and red pepper, cut into strips
3 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice
PLACE onions, carrots and celery in slow cooker; top with chicken.
MIX sugar, dressing, soy sauce and ginger; pour over chicken. Cover with lid.
COOK on LOW 4 to 5 hours, increasing heat to HIGH for the last 30 min.
STIR cornstarch into reserved pineapple liquid. Add to slow cooker with pineapple and peppers; stir. Cook, covered, 30 min. or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.
I can’t wait to see how you make my pot roast one better – unless you add mushrooms of course – lol – I just don’t like them at all!
Oh Kay, this is an absolute, hands-down family favorite….
1 lb smoked kielbasa (I use the turkey version, lower in fat!)
1 – 1 1/2 lb boneless center cut pork chops
16oz bag sauerkraut, DO NOT DRAIN (here in the States they sell the bagged version in the meat dept of the supermarket. I have never tried the stuff that comes in a can…always worried it would be too mushy)
Really easy…..
Start with a thin layer of the sauerkraut in the bottom of the crock. Layer the pork chops next, follow by the kielbasa (I cut into 3″ chunks). Top with the remaining sauerkraut, spinkle with some black pepper, and let your crock make it happy in about 6 hrs on low. The result is absolute heaven! I like to serve my grandma’s “browned potatoes” on the side… which is just small boiled potatoes, skin removed and pan sauteed in butter until they get a crispy fried shell all the way around.
Enjoy!
I’m looking for a slow cooker that I can hold about a gallon of raw goats milk with spoonful of yogurt or starter and heat at 90-95 deg for any determined amount of time (not preselected times). This would apply to Kefir as well.
Will your cooker do it?
this website rocks so much I bought the cookbook!
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
I had a cheap crock pot before and hated it. Now I bought a General electric with a timer on it and I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEST PURCHASE EVER!
Have fun with it!
Also, tip in case. When making a stew or somthing in sauce, leave the lid off. Less condensation so the sauce comes out creamier
I must have the same one you originally had and have never had success with crockpot cooking either! So many others do wonders with it so I’m sure you’ll love it soon. I’m looking forward to some good recipes from you and one of these days I’ll get my hands on a good quality slow cooker and try them out! (Perhaps a “going back to work” gift to myself ~ if I go back :)
Here’s an easy one for the crock pot.
Slice one sweet onion, 1 clove garlic minced, 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, 1 can cranberry sauce (not jellied but with the whole cranberries in it), 2 t. Dijon Mustard mixed with a 1/2 cup red wine.
Place food into the crock pot in the above order starting with the onions,
Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours. MAYBE, it depends on the crock pot, just check it after 4 hours with a fork into the chicken.
The cooking time varies, as our chicken are tougher than yours.
Good luck
Chile Verde-
Boneless Pork Roast
1 jar of green chile salsa or homemade (Herdez brand or I make my own, you could substitute tomatillos and green chiles)
Onion, garlic, green pepper, cilantro
White wine
Zest and juice of a lemon
Let it cook until the pork falls apart. Use for burritos or over rice.
There three things I like to cook in the slow cooker (apart from dried beans – which come out great in the slow cooker too!):
Salsa chicken:
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=400947
Slow cooker enchiladas:
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/main-dish/easy-dinner-recipe-slowcooker-black-bean-enchiladas-127016
and overnight oatmeal:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-oatmeal-recipe/index.html
I haven’t made these in a while but now you make me want to!
Handy Ham
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 1.2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 3 pound fully cooked, boneless ham
In a small bowl, combine the marmalade and mustard.
Place the ham in the slow cooker and spoon the marmalade mixture on top.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Allow to stand for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
You can substitute apricot preserves or peach preserves for the marmalade and a horseradish mustard for the Dijon. Actually, I have used any jam or jelly I happen to have and it always tastes fine.
Pork Chops and Potatoes
2 T. vegetable oil
2 Pork Chops about 1/4 inch thick
2 T. flour
2 T. dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
2 large russet potatoes sliced
1/2 large onion, sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Layer potatoes and onions. Brown chops on each side. In the skillet, whisk in the flour and onion soup mix and cook 1 minute. Whisk in water and bring to a boil, stirring until gravy thickens and comes to a boil. Pour over chops and potatoes in the crock-pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
In a big crock, you could double recipe.
http://punchfork.com/search/slow-cooker
:)
oddly enough the thing I have used my slow cooker for the most is making apple butter.
This is an easy soup but really tasty. Try the chicken version first. I think it is best. If you make the crockpot version, brown the chicken and onion in a pan first. Enjoy!
Taco Soup
1 lb. hamburger or diced chicken breast
1 onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn with liquid
1 small can diced green chilies
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
2 cups beef or chicken broth (or more)
Sauté hamburger or chicken and onion in large pot. Add all other ingredients. Cook at least 20 minutes. May be cooked in crock pot. Add more broth as need to get desired consistency.
This is another vote for crockpot meals, http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Here is my crock pot chili recipe.
Chili1lb ground meat2 15 oz cans tomato sauce1 15 oz can diced tomatoes2 cans chili beans1 pkg chili seasoning1 small onion chopped finegarlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.Brown burger with onionDrain off greaseadd all ingredients to crock potcook on low 8 to 10 hours
That didn’t copy paste well. try again?
Chili1lb ground meat2 15 oz cans tomato sauce1 15 oz can diced tomatoes2 cans chili beans1 pkg chili seasoning1 small onion chopped finegarlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.Brown burger with onionDrain off greaseadd all ingredients to crock potcook on low 8 to 10 hours
phooey
sorry for the double bad post.
BBQ Chicken & Vegetables!
Add to crock pot:
About 2 lbs chicken thighs or drums
1 chopped zucchini
1 onion chopped
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
1-2 chopped jalepenos (optional)
1-2 skinless and chopped sweet potatoes
1 tspn salt
Add to crock pot
Cook for 6- 8 hours in low… Delish, enjoy!
Well you have a lot of recipes, the 365 days of crock pot cooking is great. You must have had “the original Crockpot” before, they are horrible, I dumped my BRAND NEW one and got a rival. Haven’t seen this one yet though. Need to check it out.
I love making a pot roast with potatoes and carrots and a touch of beef broth and just cooking it for about 7 hours on low. Thicken the juice for a yummy gravy and you are good to go
I like to slow-cook a pork butt (pork shoulder) for shredded pork. Season with peanut butter/soy sauce/sugar/green onions or vinegar/hot sauce or barbeque sauce, or ….
On of my favorite things to make in a crock pot is the morning oatmeal. The ratio is easy: 4 cups liquid to 1 cup steel cut oatmeal.
Put all your ingredients for the oatmeal the night before. The oatmeal will fill your kitchen with a wonderful inviting aroma in the morning and will be wonderfully creamy. I have assembled it as late as 11 pm and it has been ready to serve by 6:30 am.
4 cups liquid (milk or water, or water plus powder milk (Which is what I use))
1 cup steel cut oatmeal*
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/2 vanilla
1/2 salt
1/2** cup brown sugar or white sugar (or in my case – blue agave syrup -my husband is type II diabetic )
Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.***
Optional additions: 1 cup raisins or 1 cup dried cranberries or 1 cup chopped nuts, or anything you can think of. Our family has even use cocoa powder and smashed up bananas and finely chopped almonds (the kids really love this). Basically add what your imagination comes up with.
If adding fresh fruit, wait till just before serving, it helps to avoid the off flavors of the overcooked ripe fruits. You can put dried fruit and nuts the night before.
* steel cut oats work the best, instant or old fashioned come out to mushy.
** sweeten to your liking (our family doesn’t like it too sweet)
***Plan to cook no more than 8 to 9 hour on low – or it tends to overcook and get crusty on the sides.
We cook ours in a smaller 2 quart crock pot but the recipe will cook the same in a 3 to 4 quart crock pot. You didn’t say the size of your crock pot. I am not sure that this serving size would work in a 5 to 6 quart crock pot
Hope you enjoy!
Cynthia
oh, and by the way, I believe that it is true that the old crock pots had a much lower “low” setting, and the newer models have been “improved” to lessen the risk of illness due to failure to bring ingredients up to temperature quickly enough. So, you need to watch out if the recipe you are using is developed for an older crock pot — the new ones will cook it much faster.
It came in the mail today and I’ve quickly whipped up a basic chili. So far it’s going great, after 2 hours it’s simmering exactly like it should. The Kenwood would’ve boiled by now!
This recipe is yummy, if you like — and can get — Italian sausage. I can send you the YummySoup! file if you email me.
Italian Sausage
4 pounds Italian sausage links, halved
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
5 bell peppers, seeded and sliced into strips (I use red and yellow peppers)
1 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with onions & garlic
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place sausage, wine, and 1/4 cup olive oil in a large baking pan. Cover and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a Dutch oven on medium heat; add peppers and fry, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer vegetable mixture and sausage to crock pot. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Cook on low setting in crock pot for several hours; the longer they cook, the more tender the sausage becomes. Serve on rolls.
As long as you can put your new crock pot on the stove with a medium heat, you should be able to stir fry the veggies in it. Just add the baked sausage, tomatoes, and seasoning to the veggies.