slow cooker soups

Here's some good looking soups from pillsbury.com.  Will you be making soup?

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Cheesy Chorizo Chili

Two Bean Minestrone

Cheesy Potato Soup

Crock Pot Chicken

I found a neat article on Babble about 12 must try crock-pot chicken recipes.  I thought I'd give them a try and let you know how it goes.  Here's a preview of things to come:

Better Butter Chicken in the Crock Pot by The Family Kitchen

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches by The Family Kitchen

Crock Pot Chicken Santa Fe by In Good Taste

Slow Cooker Chicken and Stuffing by Mommy Hates Cooking

Crock Pot Chicken a la Criolla by Skinny Taste

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken by Very Culinary

Chicken Gyros by Mommy Hates Cooking

Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken and Spicy Slaw by Aggie's Kitchen

Slow cooker Orange Chicken by The Meltaways

Black Bean, corn, and salsa chicken with cilantro-lime rice by Mommy's Kitchen

Thai Chicken Thighs by the family kitchen

Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker by the little kitchen

I'll get at least one a week, so check back in and see what I've been up to!

Meatless Monday

Well, last Monday went well.  So well in fact, the guys didn't miss the meat at all very much.  We were able to follow the menu.  I think that the breakfasts and dinners are kinda easy to work around, it's the lunches that are going to be more difficult.  It's so easy to have a sandwich or a hot dog or even chicken nuggets.  We'll need to do some brainstorming to figure out some quick and easy options the kiddo likes.  For now though, we'll make it easy.

Here's our Round Two.
Breakfast: Peach Pancakes

 I've got some peaches hanging out in the freezer that will work really well for this.  I took them out the night before so they had a chance to thaw a bit before putting them into the batter.  I also left the eggs out overnight so they would get a chance to come to room temp.  As long as you don't leave them out too long (like a whole day or more), eggs won't go bad on the counter.  This is a really great tip if you've got some baking to do and need room temp ingredients.  Take them out before you go to bed and do your baking in the morning.  I also mixed up the dry ingredients, so everything would be super easy for me in the morning.

Lunch:  Bean and cheese burritos
Whole wheat tortillas, cheese and vegetarian re-fried beans.  Right now, beans are going to be my go-to protein.  I know everyone will eat them, and they are always in my pantry!  Maybe soon we'll try tofu... baby steps...

Dinner: Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup, bread and spinach salad

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

I am really excited to try this soup out.  First off it sounds amazing.  Second, it's done in the crock pot.  If it tastes as good as I'm imagining it will, it will definitely be added to the rotation.  Added benefit: it is loaded with veggies (carrots, celery, fresh basil, and tomato) that I'll puree in the end, so no one (ie- the veggie phobes) will be able to pick out "the good stuff"!

I'll let you know how it all goes down, but I'm expecting to pass with flying colors!

Day 31

My final day in the 31 Day Challenge was great.  Again, I used someone else's recipe so I won't actually write it out.  I highly recommend checking it out though, it was tasty and totally awesome because it was made in the slow cooker!  It was a meal inspired by the fast food joint Panda Express.  I served my chicken over brown rice with a couple of pot stickers on the side.  Chinese "Take-In"!

Orange Chicken

Recipe and directions here

Well, I'm finished.  I'm kind of going through withdrawls.  I spent the last 31 days really thinking about what I was putting in front of my family.  It was fun and challenging.  Was it tough?  Yeah, but I'd totally do it again.  Maybe you'll join me next year?

Day 28

Today's dish was both a success and a failure.  The failure was that the dish was supposed to look like this:

recipe and picture here

 instead it looked like this:

So instead of getting stuffed baked apples, I got applesauce.  Good thing it tasted amazing!  Another bonus, it made the house smell very fall-ish.  Like I had been baking all day :)

Slow Cooker Applesauce

Ingredients...

6 small McIntosh apples
1/4 cup backed brown sugar
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons raisins (I used golden raisins and currents)
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water

Directions...

Core apples, leaving bottom intact, with a paring knife.
Place apples in a single layer in slow cooker
Stir together all the other ingredients, minus water and orange juice and spoon into cored apples.
Pour orange juice and water over apples
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours. 
If your apples completely fall apart, like mine did, stir well and pull out the whole skins (or just mash them up too if you like the texture).
Enjoy!

Day 26

Here's another great slow cooker meal.  I didn't cut the chicken before putting it in the slow cooker.  Right before serving, I used the back of a spoon and broke the chicken apart.  This makes enough food to feed a crowd, or for freezing for a later date.

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients...

2 pounds chicken breasts
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
15 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
15 ounce can tomato sauce
6 ounce tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions...

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Serve over pasta.

Day 25

This recipe came straight off of pillsbury.com.  I am not much of a pork chop fan, and I never really understood the whole ''pork chops and applesauce'' thing, but I am definitely a fan of this meal.  The chops and appples were so tender, you could cut them with your fork.  The cranberries added a hint of tang, and the cayenne and cinnamon added just a hint of heat in the back of your throat.  It was by far the best meal we've had this month!  And to make it even better, it was done in the slow cooker!  We are planning on repeating this as one of our holiday meals.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Apple Chutney 

Ingredients...

4 center-cut bone-in pork loin chops, 1 inch thick (about 2 lb)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

2 medium baking apples, peeled, chopped (2 cups)

 

Directions...

Spray 3- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. 

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker.  

In small bowl, mix brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper and cranberries. 

Spoon over pork in cooker and top with apples.  

Cover and cook on Low heat setting 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes.

 We served ours with a dollop of mashed potatoes, but you could have yours with roasted root veggies, sweet potatoes or a corn dish.  Enjoy!

Day 17

I don't think I can tell you enough how much I love my slow-cooker.  It is truly an essential tool in my kitchen, and I would recommend it to anyone.  The prep, clean up, and effort for most slow-cooker meals is minimal and the final product tastes amazing.

Today's meal: 

there's no way to make this look pretty, but trust me... it's good!

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Ingredients...

1 pound chicken breasts, cubed
3 cups chicken broth (plus extra)
3/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
4 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
1 bay leaf
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

Directions...

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on low for 6 hours, adding more chicken broth as needed

Day 12

I think that it is safe to say that fall is officially here.  The days are consistently cooler, and the nights are cold enough to need an extra blanket on the bed.  In my opinion, this means perfect soup weather.  And what would make it even better than to be able to spend all day cooking it without actually having to spend all day cooking it.  Of course what I mean by that, is using the slow-cooker.  All the aromas without the work!

Tonight's dinner was found on here. 

Cheesy Potato Soup

Ingredients...

1 32 ounce bag of frozen diced hashbrowns (thawed)
1 32 ounce container of chicken broth
1 medium stalk of celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
bacon
scallions, chopped

Directions...

In a slow-cooker, combine thawed hashbrowns, chicken broth, celery and onion. 
Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.
Using a potato masher, slightly mash potatoes to a creamier consistency.
Mix flour and milk in a small bowl.  Stir into soup.  Set heat to high for 30 minutes.
Melt in cheese, stirring continuously.
Garnish with chopped scallions and bacon.
Enjoy!

Adventures in Slow-Cooking

I found the best unexpected slow-cooker recipe yet... Apple Butter! 

We have some friends that are part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and every month they get a box of farm fresh produce- what ever happens to be in season that month.  They were going to England to celebrate Christmas with family, and offered us their box for December.  In it were three types of winter squash, two bags of mixed greens, some cilantro (don't know how that was in season, but whatever), dried thyme, two bunches of carrots, and about half a dozen of red delicious apples.  Everything got picked off one by one until all that was left were the apples.  Don't ask me how they got left behind, lost in the shuffle I guess, but they started to soften a bit and I started going through the mental list of what to make with them.  Apple bread or muffins?  Apple sauce?  and then it hit me... Apple Butter!  Now, I love apple butter, but I am the only one in my house to eat the stuff so I usually don't buy it.  But I got a new canning pot (and utensils) on mega clearance this fall and took that as the perfect opportunity to try it all out.

The recipe made 8 1/2 pints (17 cups) of butter that is now canned and awaiting its ultimate purpose.  Some of it will go back to the couple that gave us the box.  The recipe is below!

All Day Apple Butter

found on www.allrecipes.com

5 1/2 pounds of apples peeled cored and finely chopped

4 cups white sugar*

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.  Place all ingredients in a slow cooker, mix well, and set to cook on high covered for 1 hour.

2.  Turn cooker to low and cook for 9 to 11 hours (I went with 11 and did this overnight).

3.  Uncover and cook on low for another hour.

4.  Blend until desired consistency.

5.  Spoon into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze.  

* if your apples are super sweet you won't need nearly that amount of sugar.  My apples were a combo of red delicious, fugi, and galas, all pretty sweet apples so I cut the amount back to 3 cups and it was plenty sweet.  You can put in half the amount in and check it and added it as you feel need be. 

Crock Pot Dinner

Monday night is family dinner night and I decided that I was going to make it "Crock Pot Night"


We had Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore, which happens to be my favorite Italian meal. This variation was pretty good. It made a huge amount of food that served 5 adults with about three more servings as left-overs. Sorry there's no ''real life'' picture. We'll just say that it didn't look like the picture above, despite how tasty it was.

I happen to be a huge fan of the crock pot. Some may think that it is a bit old fashioned or confusing but they just don't understand. If you still aren't sold on the joys of slow-cooking, here are some reasons why I love it!

1- It takes about 15 minutes of prep work. Wash, chop, stir, open a can or two and that's it!

2- It can cook all day- which in turn means that all the flavors get a chance to really mingle with one another, making dinner taste like you slaved away all day. Example? Cook a pot roast while you're spending the day out picking apples this fall and come home to a hot, delicious meal!

3- It can cook in less than a day. Most slow cooker recipes give you the option of a faster cook time (ie 3-4 hours rather than the 6-7 hours for a slow cook), so even if you don't get a chance to get started until the afternoon you still have the option of having a meal ready when dinner time rolls around.

4- Clean up is a breeze! You can literally have your entire meal from a single pot, and since you did your prep hours before, chances are that stuff's already been cleaned up and put away!

5- Makes for great left overs. You can cook large portions of food that can be frozen or packed away for lunch during the week.

6- There is a plethora of information, recipes, and cookbooks available out there, so you never have to work very hard to get some good ideas or recipes.

7- You can do dessert too! No kidding! But I will save that for another day...

happy eating!