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.