help! what should i cook in my crock-pot?
So, this Christmas my Rival crock-pot officially turned one-year old. But I’ve only used it a couple of times since then. Mostly it sits on an out-of-reach shelf looking lonely and begging to be put to good use. I have a recipe book (Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooking) but I am uninspired (perhaps ’cause there’s no photos in the book). Does anyone have any good suggestions for slow cooker recipes? I love the idea of starting a meal before I go to work and finding it done when I get back nine hours later. Besides chili, what else is there? Help! — Angela M.
February 23rd, 2007 at 7:32 am
Split Pea Soup seems to work very well in my crockpot. There’s a bang-up recipe in (of all places) “Slow Cookers for Dummies.” Essentially, chop up an onion, carrot, and potato. Add 1 lb. split peas and some ham (unfortunately for vegetarians, the soup is no good without the ham, but if it’s ok with your veggie style you can chop it extra big and fish out the chunks when you’re ready to eat.) Add 6-8 cups of water or stock (stock is yummier) and a teaspoon of marjoram. Salt and pepper it to your liking, and turn it on low all day.
For some reason, anything acidic (like tomatoes or even a splash of lemon juice) turns my crockpot recipes nasty. Any thoughts?
February 23rd, 2007 at 8:31 am
the little booklet that came with my slow cooker has an excellent meatloaf recipe. Also has a great onion pot roast recipe.
I am looking buy this cookbook for slow cookers
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Vegetarian-Slow-Cooker-Recipes/dp/0778801047/sr=8-1/qid=1172248210/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4746954-7998447?ie=UTF8&s=books
it has some amazing sounding recipes
February 23rd, 2007 at 8:52 am
Corned beef and cabbage. It will make your life smell like corned beef and cabbage for a couple of days, but it is totally worth it.
Also, I tried out a recipe for pulled pork from Andrea’s Recipe Box (link below). It was pretty good, although I’m not a huge fan of sweet BBQ sauce.
http://www.andreasrecipes.com/2007/01/29/slow-cooker-pulled-pork-with-chipotle-bbq-sauce/
February 23rd, 2007 at 9:06 am
BBQ Chicken! Put in 6 chicken breasts and a bottle of bbq sauce (sometimes I add a little water if it doesn’t cover the chicken). I turn mine on at lunch time and by 6 its perfect. The chicken is so soft that it falls falls apart.
February 23rd, 2007 at 9:36 am
I love my rival crock and I use it quite a bit. Here are a couple of recipes I love to make.
simple tuscan white bean stew:
essentially you take a pound or so of dry white beans, chopped garlic, chicken broth or veggie broth, chopped proscuitto if desired, 1/2 cup of white wine and fresh rosemarry sprigs. season with salt and pepper and turn it on high or low. it takes about 6 hours on low and 4 on high.
moroccan chicken with lentils:
brown chicken thighs and legs in oil in a pan. pour it into the crock pot.
add to pot:
minced garlic, onion, cinammon stick, bay leaf, cumin seeds, star anise, orange peel and cloves.
big jar of crushed tomato
water or broth
pitted green olives
pitted prunes.
let it go all day on low. it will melt off the bone!
February 23rd, 2007 at 10:21 am
I am a HUGE fan of making black beans in my crock pot and having them ready when I get home.
It takes all of 20 minutes to make rice (or sooner depending on what kind of rice you use) and you have a fantastic dinner, that you will be eating for a week!
Rinse a bag of black beans and soak them overnight, make sure they are covered with water!
Put them in the corckpot in the morning with 2 finely chopped onions, a chopped bunch of cilantro, 1 whole plastic lime, and two cloves of chopped garlic.
Put it on high, and let it go!
Make some rice, or some steaks on the grill to cube up while your rice is cooking, and you will have leftovers that are envious of everyone!
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:12 am
I love pulled pork, place a pork shoulder/butt in the slow cooker surrounded by sliced onions a few cloves and cover 2/3 with water. cook on low till done, around 8-10 hours, then remove pork, throw away the water/onions/cloves. Then pull the pork with two forks and place back in the slow cooker with ur favorite bbq sauce and some water if needed, heat till your ready to eat. Leaftovers are perfect for freezing. Its great with some tangy cole slaw on a toasted bun.
Also a roast with heardy vegatables are great, and adding a can of cream of mushroom soup to the slow cooker makes it even better
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:27 am
OMG What was life before the slow cooker? I have to watch chicken closely so it doesn’t overcook and dry out, but here’s my 2 favorite recipes for the slow-cooker. A word to the wise: cooking time varies depending on the brand of your cooker, I’ve found that my meals cook quicker than the recipe says that they will sometimes. And I also have a Rival Crock Pot.
Smoky Tex-Mex Stew
http://www.womansday.com/recipes/5670/smoky-tex-mex-stew.html
Green Chile-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotchicken/r/bl109c3.htm
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:35 am
Chili verde! Does not count as chili, b/c – no beans. But so so so delicious.
February 23rd, 2007 at 1:33 pm
go easy! chuck some turkey legs in there. rub with olive oil and salt and pepper and let em go! i do this about once a week and it’s always good. they are also excellent with some bbq sauce (i make my own with some tomato sauce, liquid smoke, vinegar and spices). boneless pork ribs work great too. it’s also very easy to “roast” a chicken. crumple up a few pieces of tinfoil and put them in the bottom of the pot (to keep the chicken from poaching), rub your chicken with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika (you want the paprika as the chicken won’t really brown and when you look in the pot all you see is nekkid, unappetizing chicken) BUT when you take it out…moist and lovely and falling off the bone.
just remember, you don’t need to immerse your meats in liquid, they stay pretty moist from just a little bit as the crock pot will create steam from the moisture already in the meats.
February 23rd, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I got some great answers when I asked this question a while ago over at Ask Metafilter:
http://ask.metafilter.com/33315/I-want-a-man-with-a-slow-cooker
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I’ve cooked a beef post roast from this recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31429,00.html
And it was mmmm good!
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:57 pm
In general i’ve had good luck with traditional recipes of anything that needs to simmer slowly for a couple of hours or more.
Stews and beans are good. They are also a good way to make stock. Minestone soup has always turned out well. I use Hazan’s recipe and then transfer to the crock pot for the final simmer.
Tradtional bolognese meat sauce would also be a good fit with the long simmer.
Like big meaty ragu? Google “Sunday gravy” and pick one of the recipes. After the browning, transfer to the crock pot for the simmer.
February 24th, 2007 at 8:02 am
mac and cheese:
http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2005/08/slow-cooker-macaroni-and-cheese.html
pulled pork:
http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2005/10/pulled-pork-in-slow-cooker.html
Pork Abobada:
http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2006/02/pork-adobada-in-slow-cooker.html
February 24th, 2007 at 8:57 am
I cook turkey breast in my slow cooker. I buy the whole frozen Jennie-O. I defrost it in the fridge overnight and the next morning put it in the pot with a can of chicken broth. Cook it on low for about 5 hours and you’ll have really moist turkey.
February 24th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Any of the slow cooker cookbooks by Judith Finlayson are great. I use the 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes book A LOT and love it. I recommend the rice pudding, Italian style meatloaf with sage, and sausage pie with polenta crust. These are not always the “chuck in a few cans of cream of mushroom soup and forget it” kinds of recipes, but I often do the prep in the morning and come home to a gourmet meal. There are not a lot of photos, but take my word for it, the food is GOOD.
February 24th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Pork chops and saurkraut
From “Crock-It” by Barbara M. Murray.
Add the following in layers: Saurkraut, sliced onion, pork chops. I sprinkle on a little bit of a creole seasoning blend, and then just let it cook all day.
Very simple, and very tasty.
February 25th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
can anyone recommend a good crock-pot? i have been wanting to get one forever but there are too many choices and hear others are better than rival.
thoughts?
thanks
ananda
February 25th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
i use the ceramic insert of my crock pot to make mark bittman’s no knead bread. mine is a hand-me-down from my mom, probably from the 80s. it gives me a nice rise/crust, and everyone thinks i’m fancy for making my own bread.
February 26th, 2007 at 5:47 am
my mom makes a southwestern style stew by combining a can of corn, a can of black beans (red beans would work too), a turkey kielbasa cut into 1/4″ slices, and a jar of chunky salsa. it sounds a little lowbrow but it’s as easy as recipes come- you just plunk it all in there in the morning, set your crockpot to low and have a surprisingly yummy, stick-to-your-ribs meal when you get home. i like to serve it over white rice.
February 26th, 2007 at 6:52 am
I’ve never posted to a blog, so I don’t know if the below link will work:
http://food.southernliving.com/southern/recipefinder.dyn?action=browseResults&PREP+%26+EQUIPMENT=Slow+Cook&subCatsListed=false
But, go to http://www.southernliving.com and browse the menus section. You can go into the equipment category and find all recipes related to slow cookers. They’re fabulous. I’ve made the potato soup–super easy and delicious.
I love my crock pot. As I type, there is a delicious roast waiting in it–a can of cream of mushroom soup, a packet of dried onion soup, lots of fresh herbs, garlic and spices and a splash of beer. Cooks on low until after lunch, then I go home and add veggies–especially mushrooms. It continues to cook until I get home from work. I serve it over brown rice if I’m lazy and over mashed potatoes or polenta if I’m feeling saucy.
Enjoy!
February 26th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
This post reminded me that I needed to get out the crock pot before my eggplant went bad! I put the recipe on my blog but it’s super easy. 1 chopped and peeled eggplant, 2 cans of tomatoes (1 ital/1 chili) some capers, onion, garlic, wine, olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, salt and pepper and cook for 4 hours. Lots of veggies and great on pasta.
February 27th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
I am crockpotting right now. It’s lazyfood. 2 pork blade stakes. A questionable cut, as they aren’t tender and are fatting. I trimmed the fat and dumped some mango salsa on top. I’ll take out the bone when I get home and use in tacos.
February 27th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
To Sabrina: where are the lentils in your Moroccan recipe? Do you cook them separate?
To Amanda: I am not sure of the maker (maybe Rival) but my inlaws just got a crockpot that has a lid that locks down and even has an insulated carrier. This is extremely handy if you need to take your finished dish somewhere. And, of course, the ceramic dish lifts out for easy filling and cleaning.
February 27th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I remember my dad used to make chicken soup a lot in the crockpot. Just throw some chicken in, some diced carrots, celery, and onions (this was the only time we ever used a food processor), water, salt and pepper, and vodka (and this is when I discovered we even owned vodka), and let it cook. Tasty every time.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Thanks for all these amazing ideas! I will definitely try one of these in the next week!
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Nita, Honey… a crockpot is a good idea when you go back to school and learn how to spell.
May 2nd, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Ugh, we had the same problem in our house. So my wife started her own website to encouarge herself to find great recipes! http://crockpotmagic.com
May 8th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I absolutely adore roast beef on Sundays cooked all day long so the family can enjoy the aroma. It is especially wonderful on cold winter days. I just use my regular roast beef recipe, only I reduce the liquid slightly. When cooking with a slow cooker, liquids do not boil away because you must leave the lid on all through the cooking times.