December 22 2011

December 15 2011

Hosted by Chad.  Below are his notes

1 onion

1 bunch carrots 

1 bunch celery (save leafy parts)

1 cup split peas

5 chicken legs

1 part magic

1 bottle cider

Drop it like it's hot into the crockpot

Top with water

1 hour on high 

8 hours on low 

Remove chicken legs, separate meat from bones, chop meat, return meat to pot

Stir

Eat

December 08 2011

Chicken
2 whole chickens
1/2 cup chicken stock
Seasonings

I have no idea what seasoning Steven put in with the chicken so I will have to get an update on that later.  I cut the breasts, thighs and drumsticks off the bone to put in the slow cooker.  Cook it on high for 3-4 hours.

Carrots
1 bag of carrots
1 Tbsp butter
Drizzle of maple
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel and cut the carrots.  Place in a pot or skillet with about 1/4 cup of water.  Cover and cook on medium until the carrots are almost tender.  Remove the lid and add the rest of the ingredients.  Cook the rest of the way until the carrots are as tender as you like.

Spinach
1 family size bag of frozen spinach
1 Tbsp Garlic Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients and microwave until hot.

Mushrooms
2 packages mushrooms
1 Tbsp garlic butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute the mushrooms in the garlic butter until they are as done as you like or until just hot, up to you.

Socca

Socca is a garbanzo flour flat bread.  This is the recipe I used
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/07/recipe-for-socca-garbanzo-or-chickpea.html

December 01 2011

Beef and Venison
3.5 lbs Beef Roast
1.5 lbs Venison Roast
1 package mushrooms
2 onions
1/4 cup Red Wine
1 Tbsp Tamari Sauce
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Spices
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cube the meat and brown it in a skillet in batches.  In the same skillet cook the sliced mushrooms and onions a bit to cook out some of the water.  Layer the browned meat in the slow cooker with the cooked mushrooms and onions.  Deglaze the skillet with the liquids and add in the spices (I'm not sure what they were, Steven did that part).  Pour the juices in the slow cooker.  We put it in the fridge over night then turned it on high in the morning.  It cooked for 4 hours and turned out great.

Right before serving I made a gravy out of the juices from the slow cooker.  This just involved Arrow Root flour, the juices and a splash of cream.  No additional seasonings were necessary.

Mashed Potatoes
5 lbs Potatoes (It was only 3 potatoes because they were massive)
2 cloves garlic
1 stick butter
Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel and cube the potatoes and put in a pot with enough water to cover them completely and the garlic.  Boil them for roughly 20 minutes or until they are tender.  Drain and put them back in the pot with the butter and probably about 1/4 cup of cream (if you want to use milk go ahead, but I had some cream I needed to use).  Mash to your hearts content adding more cream and the salt and pepper as necessary.  I did this the night before and then reheated the next day in the microwave with a little extra cream because it needed some moisture.

Next time I think 3.5 lbs would be sufficient.  There were too many leftovers.

Sauerkraut and Blaukraut
Both of these were opened from a jar and reheated on the stove.  One day I may attempt to make my own, but for now the jars are tasty enough.

November 17 2011

Frito Pie

Also known as Chili with some Fritos underneath.  Not in the picture, but there was also steamed broccoli and quinoa.  Toppings included sour cream, shredded cheese, green onion and a variety of hot sauces.

In the pot...

2 lbs ground Venison
3 Italian Sausage links
1 Onion, diced
1 Bell Pepper, diced
1 Jalapeno, diced
1 can Black Beans, diced
2 cups chicken stock
1 can Rotel
1 can diced Green Chiles
1 can Tomato Paste
1 Beer, preferably dark (we used Shiner Black)
Seasonings

Brown the meat in a skillet and then toss into the slow cooker with everything else.  Cook on low for as long as you like (overnight for us).  I wish I could get more specific about the seasonings, but I didn't measure them or really pay much attention.  I know there was Chili Powder, Paprika, Cumin, Salt and Pepper, but there are probably others tossed in for the fun of it.

November 10 2011

I forgot to take the picture until I was already eating.  The picture is terrible but the food was awesome.

Pork and Apple Roast
1 Bone-in Pork Roast
3 Apples
Apple Juice
2 Rosemary twigs

Brown the roast and place it in the slow cooker with the rosemary twigs and enough apple juice to come up and 1/3 of the way.  Cook on low overnight.  In the morning remove the roast and transfer the juices to a pot.  Simmer the juices on low until they have reduced by half or more if you are patient.  Put everything back in the slow cooker, including the sliced apples.  Continue to cook on low until lunch.

Mushrooms
2 large packages of Mushrooms (I did one Button and one Portobello)
1/2 cup of wine
1 tsp Mushroom Bullion
1 twig Rosemary

I highly recommend you use the same skillet that you browned the roast in, but that isn't strictly necessary.  Either way toss in all the ingredients, cover and simmer on low for about thirty minutes.  If there is too much liquid at the end take off the lid for a while to let the liquid cook down a bit.  Be sure to remove the twig of rosemary before serving.

Smokey Sweet Potatoes 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/smoky-sweet-potatoes-recipe/index.html

I used less mayonnaise than the recipe called for and subbed in a bit of sour cream.


Losing Recipes
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2011/11/slow-cooker-shredded-korean-beef-tacos.html
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2011/10/sausage-and-lentil-stew-slow-cooker.html
http://www.enjoyyourcooking.com/salads/cabbage-cucumber-salad.html

November 03 2011

Turkey

4 Turkey Thighs
4 Turkey Drumsticks
1/4 cup Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Water

Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker and us enough water to come up about 1/3 of the way up the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Green Beans
1 Large bag of Frozen Green Beans - thawed
Half an Onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute the green beans and onion together for about 5 minutes or until they are tender enough for your taste.

Spaghetti Squash
2 Spaghetti Squash
1/4 cup chopped Parsley
1/4 shredded Cheese (perhaps Parmesan)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Stab the spaghetti squash multiple times all over with a kitchen knife.  This is just to let steam out so you don't have an explosion.  Microwave each squash on high for 5-10 minutes, checking on it every 2.  You will know when it is done when the squash is soft and screaming hot to the touch.  Once cooked and cool enough to handle, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds, which can be discarded.  Then scoop out the tasty innards and place them in a bowl with the parsley, cheese, salt and pepper.  Taste to make sure you have the seasoning right and adjust as necessary.  This can be done a day ahead and reheated in the microwave at lunch time.

October 27 2011

Chicken

The current winner is Orange Chicken with two votes.
http://family.go.com/food/recipe-633405-slow-cooker-orange-chicken-t/

Modifications:
Doubled the recipe
Apricot preserves instead of Orange Marmalade
Added Orange Zest
Tamari sauce instead of Soy Sauce
Whole legs instead of just thighs
Flour replaced with Amaranth Flour

These are the ones that didn't win.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/slow-cooked-oriental-chicken/detail.aspx
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/chinese-lemon-chicken-crockpot-recipe.html
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chickenrecipes/r/crockpot.htm
http://www.food.com/recipe/spicy-chinese-chicken-slow-cooker-427338 (Corn starch step will be omitted)


Bok Choy

http://www.rwood.com/Recipes/Bok_Choy_Slaw.htm

Modifications:
Doubled the recipe
Used more Bok Choy instead of Red Cabbage
Added Sesame Oil

Sugar Snap Peas

1 large bag frozen Sugar Snap Peas

Microwave according to directions.  Add salt to taste.  (Does it get any easier?)

October 20 2011

Beef

There have been two votes for Melt in your Mouth Beef so that is the winner.
http://zestycook.com/melt-in-your-mouth-beef/

A few modifications to the recipe...
The roast cooked overnight and in the morning I removed it, let it cool and sliced.  Meanwhile the juices went into a pot on the stove and simmered for 45 minutes to get some of the water out and thicken it up a bit.  Then everything went back into the crock pot on low until lunch.

This is what the crock pot looked like the night before cooking started.  Now there is a mostly full bottle of wine that someone is going to have to help me drink.








These are the runner ups that did not get selected
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-peppercorn-steak.html
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-hickory-smoked-brisket.html
http://southernfood.about.com/od/beefandbeerrecipes/r/r81224c.htm

Corn

1 Large bag Frozen Corn
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt and Pepper to Taste

This one is easy.  Microwave according to the package directions.  Stir in the butter, salt and pepper at the end.

Brussels Sprouts

1 Large bag fresh Brussels Sprouts
3 strips Pepper Bacon - diced
1 small Onion - diced
1/2 tsp Cider Vinegar
Salt to Taste

Cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet until crispy.  Once done, remove the bacon from the pan leaving the drippings.  If there is too much grease for your comfort left then drain some off, but this is where the flavor will be.  Toss the onion, brussels, salt and pepper into the skillet.  Be careful on the salt since bacon is usually salty. Pop into a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until there is some good caramelization.  Place into a serving dish and top with bacon.  Refrigerate until Thursday lunch, then reheat for about 5 minutes in the microwave.

October 13 2011

Pulled Pork

6 Lbs Pork Roast

1.5 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1.5 Tbsp ground cumin
3 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp salt

Mix the spices together and coat the pork.  Go ahead and put all this in the slow cooker pot to save on dishes.  This part was done on Monday because it was convenient, but can be done right before cooking.  Right before bed on Wednesday place the pot in the slow cooker, add enough water to almost cover the pork and turn it to low.  In the morning remove the pork from the cooker, tearing it apart as you go.  Drain the liquid off into a bowl, not the sink.  Place the pork back into the slow cooker and put some of the reserved cooking liquid back it.  It should be about halfway up the pork, not covering completely.  Turn the cooker to warm.  All you need is a pair of thongs when lunch time comes around.


Carrots

2 Lb bag of carrots
2 Tbsp chopped Parsley
2 Tbsp butter
Salt to taste

Peal and chop the carrots into your favorite shape (I prefer sticks instead of circles).  Simmer the carrots in a pan with about an inch of water in the bottom for 5 minutes or until they reach your preferred tenderness.  Drain the carrots and place them in a serving dish with the butter, parsley and salt.  Stir.  Refrigerate until lunch on Thursday and then reheat in the microwave for about 5 minutes.

Spinach

1 Large bag of Frozen Chopped Spinach
1/2 Onion - diced
3 Garlic Cloves - minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a skillet.  Cook on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is defrosted and onion and garlic are cooked a bit.  Refrigerate until lunch on Thursday and then reheat in the microwave for about 5 minutes.

October 6 2011

BBQ Chicken
2 Whole Chickens - quartered
Half a bottle of Dark Beer (e.g. Spaten)
Half a Jar of BBQ Sauce

Combine the ingredients the night before and refrigerate.  In the morning place in the slower cooker and turn it on high until lunch.  It will be falling off the bone in 4 hours.  Place the chicken on a serving platter and serve with the remaining BBQ sauce.

Green Beans
1 Large bag of Frozen Green Beans - thawed
Half an Onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute the green beans and onion together for about 5 minutes or until they are tender enough for your taste.

Cauliflower Puree

1 Large bag of Frozen Cauliflower
1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the cauliflower according to the package directions.  Place in a blender with the Parmesan and puree until smooth.  If you need some liquid to get the blender going add a little bit of water.  This can be done the night before and reheated in the microwave for about 5 minutes.