BS: Slow cooker recipes

Subject: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 03 May 13 - 08:46 AM

Just posted to "Slow cooker... which and why" re my small and my just bought 7 qt Bravetti on sale at Canuck Tire for $35. ooooh aaaah

Let er rip!

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 03 May 13 - 09:07 AM

I don't use my slow cooker but I really should.
I do chilli mole beans with tomatoes, cocoa powder, peppers and sweetcorn slow-cooked on the hob regularly.
I also do veggie style Boston baked beans with beer, spices and mollasses (no bacon) slow-coked on the hob.
I also hear you can bake bread in slow cookers!

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 May 13 - 09:22 AM

Take a medium sized slow cooker and chop him or her into cubes about 1 inch on a side. (Discard all the fatty and nasty parts.)

Put a pound or so of chopped sweet onions, thickly sliced carrots, and some celery in your crock pot. Put the remains of the slow cooker on top.

Pour in some decent red wine and drink whatever's left. Some good beef stock, if you have any, is worth putting on the market right now.

Turn the crock pot temperature to "Auto Shift" and put the lid on. After an hour or so add some salt, pepper, marjoram, cloves, hot curry powder, sweet paprika, allspice, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, anise, cream of tartar's lips, adobe sauce, eye of bat, mole sauce, some powdered Newt, a sprig of bay leaf, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

Stirring constantly, let it simmered, covered, for several more hours. Tell the police that you don't know WHAT happened to the slow cooker.

                        --Jeffrey Dahmer, Friends for Dinner   (Milwaukee:Lector Publishing, 1994).

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 03 May 13 - 11:45 AM

I think most people will share complex recipes here, so I have a simple one. It's to take to a potluck.

Buy frozen sweet corn
Cook it on the stove in a big pot

Just before going to the potluck, transfer the corn to a slow cooker, which is still cool for safe carrying

Put real butter and some black pepper on it
Tape the lid of the slow cooker or tie some elastic over it so it stays put while travelling

Go to the potluck, plug the slow cooker in and turn it on high or low, based on your judgment

You will be amazed at the way the corn disappears. Much faster than the usual raw brocolli, I can promise you that.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 May 13 - 12:06 PM

This subject has come up before. Try crock pot in search. I know I entered a recipe for chili con carne con frijoles (in other words a big pot of pinto or tepara beans, ham, chili powder (pure) and any stray vegetables in the house.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,crazy little woman
Date: 03 May 13 - 01:07 PM

Poke a few holes in some raw bratwurst. Place them in the slow cooker, touching the ceramic.

Add 2 Tbsp water

Rinse a small can of sauerkraut with water, let it drain, put it on top

Sprinkle about a teaspoon of caraway on top of all that.

Cook on low till it's done, maybe just a couple of hours, because the sausage cooks fast.

Serve with mashed or fried potatoes. Or put the sausage on a bun.

Add salad or veg's for balance.

Easy.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 03 May 13 - 02:24 PM

Thanks, Q. I only searched cooker.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 May 13 - 03:31 PM

There was a marvelous recipe in the small booklet in a crock pot we got about 35 years ago that I still make on occasion, though it has been a long time now. I wonder if the ingredients are still available. It's boneless chicken breast (available), cream of mushroom canned soup (ditto), but the trick that makes it so good is the jars we used to get of the dried salted beef, thin slices that came stuffed into the glass jar. I haven't seen that for a long time. Is that chipped beef? Each breast is wrapped in a slice or two of beef and placed in the crockpot, and the un-diluted soup is spooned on top. Cook it on low all day and by evening it tastes wonderful. I would serve it with egg noodles, dished on top so the cooking juices and soup are picked up by the noodles.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: MMario
Date: 03 May 13 - 03:55 PM

The chipped beef is still available in this area at least...(hmmmm, I should pick some up)

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 03 May 13 - 04:25 PM

Hmmmm.... baked beans.

Tasty Thrifty and Easy Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Baked Beans is rated 3.0 / 5 based on 4 votes.
      
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Slow Cooker Size 3.5L+
Serves: 4
Cooking time: 8 hours LOW heat

Whether with fried eggs, fried potatoes, jacket potatoes, toast, or a sausage roll, baked beans are the perfect accompaniment. And they have plenty of protein and fibre, so they make a great meatless main dish as well. Here is an inexpensive, very easy recipe for this standby favourite.

Ingredients
0.5 lb (220g) small dried white beans
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons molasses
8 tablespoons sugar (brown or white)
0.5 lb (220g) pork or bacon pieces
4 cups cold water

Steps:
Rinse and drain beans.
Mix all ingredients together in slow cooker.
Let cook at medium setting for 8 hours or Low setting for 12 hours. Recipe End

No soaking or pre-boiling? Any comments?

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 03 May 13 - 04:30 PM

Always pre-soak beans Gnu, unless you want to turn into a dirigible (I'll let you look that up)!
No idea if you'd need to pre-cook, I've never cooked beans in a slow-cooker

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 03 May 13 - 08:04 PM

But... if yer cookin em fer yer 12 hours, ain't they soaked? I mean, it IS a BRIT recipe and them Limeies knows how ta cook, right? That's been my experience in discussions. Except for their thing about curry... WTF is that? Curry makes me gag with a spoon, dude. Aggghhh!

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 May 13 - 10:54 PM

Oh, all right.

Make a bunch of meatballs, of whatever size seems appropriate to you (one big one is inappropriate). You can use whatever ground (minced) meat you want, or combine them. DON'T bother seasoning them.

Put them in the slow cooker/crock pot. Pour in equal parts of cheap beer and tomato catsup/ketchup/catchup; the brand choice is yours.

Cook for about six hours, periodically skimming off any grease.

You can serve it as a hot hors d'oevure or over rice or noodles as a main dish.

This is called "Meatballs Bavarian" and it's excellent. Tell everyone that the recipe is an old family secret passed down from mother to son to daughter to son, etc. ad nauseum.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 03 May 13 - 11:35 PM

You decide the proportions for your pot and refer to its manual for safe cooking time.
Lamb (Frenched ribs if possible)
Dried figs with stem ends trimmed
Port wine
An hour before serving, add some mint leaves.
Serve with rice pilaf, couscous, orzo, whatever you want.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 May 13 - 11:53 PM

If you apply steady heat or boil unsoaked beans in water for hours, they will not soften and cook properly. You can boil water for 2 minutes with the beans then turn it off and let them sit for an hour, then cook them.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 04 May 13 - 06:56 AM

Tried me beans at 10 hours on low... mmmmmm... good. Way too watery but cooked almost perfectly. I will let em go the full 12. Next time, I will preboil as per SRS and report tomorrow (as I will reuse the liquid from this batch).

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 04 May 13 - 10:57 AM

The beans are a resounding success. Gonna double the beans and reuse the liquid tonight, adding enough water to reach the initial level of the first try.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Maryrrf
Date: 04 May 13 - 11:33 AM

Any kind of meat (might as well use the tough cuts) goes well in the crockpot. You can brown if you choose, or caramelize onions and add them, but I often don't. Put in the meat and season liberally, add a little liquid (or more if you want a lot of gravy/sauce)and let it simmer. For pork - find a nice lean pork roast, add about 1/2 cup vinegar and a little water, and a dollop of tomato paste or ketchup, and assorted spices (garlic powder, onion powder, BBQ spices, and the like) of your choosing. If you like a 'sweet' barbecue, add a little molasses or brown sugar. Let it cook for several hours till it's shreddable and serve with buns and coleslaw.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 04 May 13 - 12:29 PM

"The beans are a resounding success."

Awesome! Home cooked baked beans are brilliant, great on baked potatoes with a pile of good creamy coleslaw on the side, or even just with a hunk of bread. I think I'll have to get my slow cooker down and try doing some in there, I haven't done baked beans for ages.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Charmion
Date: 04 May 13 - 02:19 PM

Gnu, my go-to beans recipe calls for a pound of beans, four and a half cups of water, molasses amd mustard and various other flavourings, 12 to 14 hours of cooking, and no soaking. I've used it for years and years, and it always works perfectly.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 04 May 13 - 02:42 PM

How about French Onion Soup in a slow cooker, gotta be good!

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 04 May 13 - 04:47 PM

Charmion... if ya get time, list the ingrediants and quantities. I followed the recipe as above without salt and it's good but not "traditional" to me. HOWEVER, I cannot find the old family recipe and I am rather upset about it. As soon as I read "mustard" in your post, I had to ask.

Gonna wait on the beans. Gonna go to Sobeys and get me a 2 pack a chickens at $1.99 a pound. It's Sunday on the morrow eh?

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: pdq
Date: 04 May 13 - 07:02 PM

Getting some fresh chicken?

Might try chicken cacciatore in a crockpot...

    * 3 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, skin removed
    * 16 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning (Del Monte)
    * 6 oz. can tomato paste (Contadina)
    * 1 onion, diced (about a cup)
    * 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
    * 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, chopped
    * 1 cup sliced mushrooms
    * 1/2 cup dry red wine
    * 1 cup chicken broth
    * 3 Tbsp. flour (thickener)
SPICES:
    * 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning (Spice Islands)
    * 1/2 tsp. celery powder
    * 1/2 paprika
    * 1/4 tsp. black pepper      
    * 1/4 tsp. red pepper fakes         
    * some fresh basil (two pinches)

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 05 May 13 - 06:35 AM

Here's a french onion soup, slow cooker style that looks good:
http://kitchensimplicity.com/slow-cooker-french-onion-soup/

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 05 May 13 - 06:43 AM

Getting these new cookers may have been poorly thought out. I lost 110 pounds over about 2.5 years. You know where I am going with this. >;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Rapparee
Date: 05 May 13 - 12:10 PM

Do the original slow cooker beens:

Dig a hole and build a fire in it. Put beans, water and seasonings in a Dutch oven. When the fire has died down to a good pile of coals, take out some coals, put in the Dutch oven, cover with the coals you took out, and cover the whole thing with the dirt from the hole.

Wait eight to twelve hours, dig out, open carefully, and enjoy.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 05 May 13 - 12:42 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 05 May 13 - 06:43 AM

Getting these new cookers may have been poorly thought out. I lost 110 pounds over about 2.5 years. You know where I am going with this. >;-)

Make nice big pots of soup and beans in the slow-cooker and you won't go far wrong. You can halve the oil in recipes easily enough. Loads of filling fibre in veggies and beans. Keep the richer stuff for weekends.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Charmion
Date: 05 May 13 - 01:52 PM

gnu, we're on holiday right now, in North Carolina with Fortunato and his missus, so I'll post the slow-cooker beans recipe when I get access to a real computer again. Or I'll PM it to you so you don't miss it.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 05 May 13 - 02:07 PM

Good idea, CS. Thanks. I am trying to find "good"(?) soup recipes but I am a Canuck and, more specifically, a Herring Choker, and more specifically, a good old boy from the fly infested bog country of Kent County so spice means summer savoury. I don't even know how to proounce oregano (you say potatoe, I say spud). Oh, sure, pine gum is used as a spice up country but that's a medicinal thing and I do make a mean cough drop er, ah, er, throat lozenge... yeah, that's what the city folk call it... right? I'll add that we do not consider onion a spice in any way, shape or form. They are a staple and required in every meal. If fried, they must be somewhat burnt or gramma will claw her way out of her grave and smack ya with an iron frying pan. She burned everything just for the sake of consistency.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 05 May 13 - 05:41 PM

Put on what could be called sloppy beans today, a big pot. No set recipe, just add as you go.

-Pinto beans, 4 cans (easier than starting
-2 cans water
-About one pound cured ham, cut up
-3 carrots, chopped
-1 large yellow onion
-Teaspoon or so of garlic (from the little container- the fresh garlic we get here is more of a vegetable, too mild)
-About two cups frozen mixed vegetables- would have used fresh, but found we were out.
-Celery, chopped
-Oregano, teaspoon or two
-teaspoon or two chili powder (pure)
-Bay leaves
-Teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
-1/2 teaspoon cardamon
-(1-2 parsnips if I had them, but I didn't)

Let boil a bit, them cook on low until flavors mix and vegetables soften a bit.

We put in old yogurt containers and freeze.

Gnu, you should get some oregano. Easy to grow, and the bees love the little lavender flowers. It comes up year after year, and requires little care. We scatter the seed around in the fall.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 05 May 13 - 09:12 PM

Some recipes here, especially those under soups, can be made in a slow cooker.
http://www.rifoodbank.org/Programs/RaisingtheBaronNutrition/tabid/188/Default.aspx

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 May 13 - 10:35 PM

About calories - I cook dishes in the slow cooker, refrigerate them, and pop the fat off the top the next day.

With some cuts, the fat on the meat comes out so soft that it is very easy to discard it before doing step 1. If not, then it's easy to spot on Day 2, because it is solid and very white.

Congrats on the weight loss, gnu. That is a real achievement.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 06 May 13 - 06:45 AM

Thanks, leeneia. Q... I have oregano, just not in a ten pound bag. (That will be understood by anyone who has read my past posts about the cooking habits of one of my relatives.)

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 06 May 13 - 12:10 PM

My first sentence was cut off, but probably filled in mentally by anyone cooking with beans.
add- easier than starting with dried beans.

My wife objected to the frozen vegetables that I added. I would not have used them if I had found sufficient carrots and celery in the fridge.They added bulk, and didn't affect taste one way or the other (typical of frozen store-bought vegetables, they have little taste).

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 13 - 01:20 PM

I've made lasagna in the crock pot. My small 1 quart pot is best for this because I don't want it to be too deep. It cooks at a low enough temperature that if I fill it to within an inch of the top and let it cook all day the lasagna is perfect by evening. I don't do anything different in layering the ingredients in the crock pot lasagna that I would do in a pyrex pan that would go in the oven.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 06 May 13 - 02:30 PM

Well... chicken in the pot at 7AM and vigorouly boiling on low setting at 8AM. Flat chicken at 11AM. I'll be washing up the pot and putting it back in the box this eve. Gonna get me a Hamilton Beach 6 qt fer $5 more and give it a spin. It's got a 1 yr exchange warranty at Chinese Tire. Three customer reviews... one great and two had problems with it shutting off just after a year of use (both of these said they would not buy another; one said do not to buy digital).

Any comments? suggestions?

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: pdq
Date: 06 May 13 - 02:57 PM

Crock-Pot (by Rival) or Hamilton Beech.

Both are very reliable and fairly priced.

One with a removeable pot is essential.

Nuttin' fancier than a good old knob that selects "low" or "high".

You just need a basic cooking tool. Timers and all that fancy stuff leads to reliability problems.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: pdq
Date: 06 May 13 - 03:20 PM

If you want a state-of-the-art timer system, try the Rival SCVC604HSS.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 06 May 13 - 03:51 PM

Thanks!

Of course, it took me several hours of off and on thought to go for the HBeach and now I gotta try to convince myself yet again to "go high-tech". Ah, WTheck! I will at least take it for test drive as I got 30 days to drive it back to the store if it doesn't suit.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 06 May 13 - 04:43 PM

Here's the Beach.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 06 May 13 - 08:35 PM

So what's the deal on cake as mentioned abvove? Anyone do this?

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,MG
Date: 07 May 13 - 02:36 AM

If you h ave something that boils on low i think you have a fire hazard there...i think at least on low they should not be boiling..how could you go away all day and have it be safe? Which is something that would scare me on them anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 13 - 11:04 AM

Wow, gnu, that's pretty fancy fare for a $40 crock pot. With a vent hole it is going to lose moisture all day versus simmering in it's own juices - do you have an option to easily block that vent/thermometer hole if you don't want to use the sensor?

Mary, I set my crock pot on a wooden board to insulate the pot from the countertop below. They do heat up enough underneath that I think the sustained heat can melt the adhesive under my formica countertop. I have an old crock pot of my Dad's that I think he used to cook up a favorite barbecue rib recipe for Song Circle meetings at his house - it gets pretty hot and cooks relatively fast for a crock pot, so I don't leave that one on if I'm going to be away.

BTW: you can also bake potatoes in a crock pot. Wrap each in foil and depending on how soon they're needed, start it on low or high. I would only do a single layer of potatoes, to be sure they're all cooked about equally, and I might find a small wire rack to put in the bottom to keep them off of the ceramic, or you'll have one side of each potato baked hard. If you're home you could simply turn them over at the half-way point to avoid needing a rack or the hard baked place on the tuber.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 May 13 - 01:16 PM

A fast cooker recipe- digression!

Quick baked potato-

Coat with olive oil, prick, place on small plate, nuke on high in yer microwave for 3 or so minutes on each side (depends on potato size).

Then cut, butter and salt etc., and enjoy.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 13 - 10:31 PM

I nuke potatoes sometimes, but the consistency isn't as nice as in the oven. A Russet potato won't come out "fluffy" from the microwave like it will from baking an hour at 400 in the regular oven.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 08 May 13 - 06:02 AM

SRS... vent hole. Yup. It's sold separate at the checkout. I like Wrigley's Spearmint the best. But, no need because the lid fits pretty tightly. In Scookers without a "vent hole" there are two slots in the cookware and they have a slightly "undersized" lid on accounta SOME steam has gotta be let off. The vent is just another way of doing it and it allows the use of the probe.

I filled it 2/3 full with water and took the temp at 1.5h on low. 140F. Turned it to high and the temp was 140F after another hour. Since I didn't plug the vent, it appears to me that it will work properly when cooking food.

Now, how long do you cook spuds in the Scooker? Hmmmm. I must get the wattage and do some calculations on energy consumption. In the summer, it's gonna get a lot of use. In the winter... it will depend on various factors, energy consumption being one as I have forced air electric heating.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 08 May 13 - 06:24 AM

I just look at the manual for recipes for this rig. None? But, even more odd is that there is a chart for "probe cooking" and it says two strange (to me) things. 3# beef roast, 145F, 4h low, 1.5h high. Based un USDA guidelines. I went there and it does say 145F. Even says 145F for lamb? Health Canada says 160F and so do most recipes that I have read (or close to it). Now, only 4h on low and 1.5h on high? WTF?

Field tests begins today. Sirloin tip is on sale for $2.99 a pound.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 08 May 13 - 08:05 AM

Not that I would even think of doing this, but here is what I just read...

"I wasn't able to follow this recipe, since I didn't have the soup and onion mix. But I wanted to add a tip that makes cooking in a crockpot SO much easier. Line the crockpot with a Reynold's oven cooking bag, Turkey size, or smaller depending on the size of your crockpot. Cooking time is the same. Then the best part, clean up. Just remove the ingredients, lift out the bag, and your done! The crockpot remains clean."

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 May 13 - 12:09 PM

To use gnu's eloquent English(?,) why use a cooker at all with the bag? Just throw the bag into yor oven and Bob's yor Aunt Emma.


See directions here:
http://ovenbags.digital-day.com/how-to-use.asps

(Or just hire an old bag to do yor cookin'.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 08 May 13 - 12:23 PM

Gnu, some cookbooks say that if you are going to use a slow-cooker on low, then chicken should be frozen when you put it in. I think this would apply especially to white meat.

I don't bother, but then I rarely put white meat in the slow cooker.

I like to use the Reyholds slow cooker bags because they make clean-up a lot nicer. I've decided that after years of cooking at home, having no TV and driving small, used cars I have saved enough money to spoil myself by buying cooking bags.

Same goes for disposable gloves to avoid touching icky stuff and parchment paper to cut down on grease.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 08 May 13 - 03:09 PM

Q... I communicate in spoken and written English eloquently and I am fluent in a number of dialects and styles including Queen's, Canuck, Yank, modern business, technical, Herring Choker, Albert County, Kent County, Shaques, Newfie (bot' yer Townie and yer Bayman b'y), Labradorian (which is a bloodofabitchtapickdabonesutta), and a specialty of mine... pissed off profanity. Plus, I make up a lot of my own when I mix em all up. Good nuff fer da girls I goes wit.

leeeia... NEVER cook foul from frozen! No matter who says so. Sally Minellie is not invited for a scoff at my house EVER!

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 May 13 - 03:28 PM

gnu, tell M and M that. Their cook from frozen "jumbo chicken wings" are right good.

We knowed yew was fluent, but it pays to clean out yer flues tho.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 09 May 13 - 06:29 AM

Hehehee. As for M&M, read the ingrediants. I dare say it would take a gentleman of your education to easily pronounce all of the chemical kinda words. My gramma LeBlanc used to say, "Read the ingrediants. If you do not know what any of them are, cook your own." I would add that yer talkin chicken wings an I'm talkin *A* chicken. A might fair difference.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 09 May 13 - 11:18 AM

"Well... chicken in the pot at 7AM and vigorouly boiling on low setting at 8AM."

Gnu, there may have been something wrong with your pot, but let me say that slow cookers are supposed to come to a boil, then get cooler, then come to a boil again.

I have two Rival Crock Pots, one small and one big. They have served me well for many years, and I expect them to keep going for many more.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 May 13 - 12:11 PM

Our Crockpot ("the original slow cooker") is programable with High settings for 4 and 8 hours, and Low settings (8 hours and another- I haven't gone to the kitchen and looked).
The High is a slow boil.
Other models, my daughter's, has a high and low setting, but no timer.
Ours is several years old and works well.

At our ages (90 and 89) we don't do chickens from scratch any more. We usually get a baked (barbecued?) one at the market and when the best meat is gone, the carcase goes into the pot and is boiled until the meat is ready to fall off. It is stripped and then the meat is made up into stew, soup, with spices, rice and vegetables or whatever. We don't bother with the crockpot for this.

But we often buy quick meals, M&M or the many kinds available in our markets so all we have to do is heat and serve.These may have the extra ingredients (preservatives, etc.) that gnu mentions, but the convenience is paramount.

The Crockpot is used to make out chili, which takes time, but it is something we can't do without. None of the prepared chili con carne con frijoles in the markets is edible.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 09 May 13 - 01:33 PM

SRS... vent hole for probe.

Slow cookers aren't the only way to save time.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 09 May 13 - 02:07 PM

leeneia... ideally, it should heat to 205F to 210F and never to 212F. A slow cooker is supposed to "maintain" such a temperature to avoid any boiling - IDEALLY. Of course, it depends what is in the cooker. Right now, I have bubbles in the liquid but it is not bubbling and it's 2:45h now, on high.

Q.... no doubt that convenience is a major factor. Given your ages, it's safe to assume high blood prssure is not a consideration. As well, I have noted that the offerings by M&M have a lower salt content than the stuff in big grocery chains. If yer gonna buy yer frozen prepared food, M&M delivers the best quality, at least around here. Mum used to shop there a lot until I bought the house next door to her about ten years ago and started cooking almost every lunch and supper she eats. I don't need to cook fruit and cereal for her breakfast.

Exception - Sal's Pizza once in a while. Sal's I can hit with a sling shot from where I live and it's deeeeelicious and unbelievably cheap... all fresh ingrediants and I can by U-Bake but I'd rather support the business and buy it cooked. I buy U-Bake Vito's (local family business) lasagna BUT I gotta buy it at Costco on accounta over half of the last 6 lasagnas I bought directly from Vito's had hardly any sauce! Costco requires that each lasagna made for them has EACH ingrediant weighed and if they get any complaints about quality... the axe. Sad but true.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 09 May 13 - 02:44 PM

Chef's Log. Slow Cooker Hamilton Beach. Entry: 2013.05.09.3.30

NEVER... NEVER... NEVER... EVER plug the vent hole! You'll burn the green beans above the fluid level. Yech!

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 09 May 13 - 03:01 PM

Oh dear... at 3:50h in the internal temp is 194F. I will never plug the vent hole again. Apparently, the Beach knows how to cook.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 20 Jan 16 - 06:44 PM

I need more recipes!

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: GUEST,#
Date: 20 Jan 16 - 08:39 PM

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/slow-cooker-favorites

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: gnu
Date: 20 Jan 16 - 08:59 PM

Thanks, #. I'll have a boo on the morrow.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Janie
Date: 20 Jan 16 - 10:37 PM

Don't know if you are fond of Texas Chili, but this a good recipe.    Served it up one pre-Getaway to Dani, Amos and Abby Sale to rave reviews. (and these folks are always polite, but not prone to rave unless they really, really like it - I know because I have also fed them when the results were not so agreeable to their palates:>)

Recipe: Slow Cooker Texas Red Chili


Inspired By: International Chili Society winning recipes (between 1989 and 1993)

Cooking time: 10 hours
Equipment:

    6 quart or larger slow cooker (Crock Pot brand is fine, but I like my fancy one from All-Clad)

Ingredients

Beef

    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    5 pounds boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
    2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
    1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Aromatics

    2 medium onions, minced
    6 cloves garlic, minced
    1/3 cup tomato paste (half of a 6 ounce can)
    1 teaspoon kosher salt

1st batch of spices

    1/2 cup chili powder
    1 tablespoon ground cumin
    1 tablespoon ground coriander
    1 tablespoon dried oregano
    1 tablespoon chipotle en adobo puree

Liquids

    1/2 cup beer (preferably an amber ale – use the rest of the bottle to fortify the cook)
    16 ounce can tomato sauce
    2 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade)

2nd batch of spices

    1 tablespoons chili powder
    1 teaspoon ground cumin
    1 teaspoon brown sugar
    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    1 teaspoon chipotle en adobo puree
    Juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Brown the beef
Season the beef with 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt and the pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Split the beef into two batches, and put one batch into the slow cooker crock. Put the second batch of beef in the fry pan in a single, loose layer, and put any pieces that don't fit into the slow cooker. Let the beef in the fry pan sit until it is well browned on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned beef into the slow cooker pot with the rest of the beef.
        

2. Saute the aromatics and toast the spices
Add the onions, garlic, and tomato paste to the fry pan, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt, and saute until the onions soften and the tomato paste darkens, about 5 minutes. Make a hole in the middle of the onions and add the first batch of spices. Cook until you smell the spices toasting, about 1 minute, then stir the spices into the onions. Add the onions and spices to the crock pot, and stir to coat the beef. Put the fry pan back on the stove, turn the heat to high, and pour in the beer. Bring the beer to a simmer and use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits loose from the bottom of the pan. Pour the beer into the slow cooker crock, add the tomato sauce and chicken broth, and stir to coat the beef.
        
        

3. Slow cook the chili
Cover the slow cooker and cook the chili on low for 10 hours or high for 5 hours.

4. Finish the chili
1/2 hour before serving the chili, stir in the second batch of spices. Put the lid back on and let the spices simmer. When the chili is done, taste for seasoning, and add more salt or lime juice if needed. Serve.
        

Notes:

    Stove top safe crock instructions: As you can see in the pictures, my All-Clad slow cooker has a stove top safe crock. I do all the browning, sauteing, and boiling steps directly in the crock. The only change to the instructions is, in step 1, move the beef to a bowl after it is brown, and in step 2, stir it back into the crock when the onions and spices are done toasting.
    "I'm in a hurry" instructions: Skip step 1 – browning the beef – and put it straight into the crock. Saute the onions and toast the spices, then rinse the pan out with beer and pour everything in the slow cooker. Skip the second batch of spices, but make sure to add extra salt if it's needed when you taste for seasoning. You won't get the same depth of flavor, but you cut a lot of the active time out of the cooking
    No slow cooker? No worries. Here is the stove top version of the recipe.

Subject: RE: BS: Slow cooker recipes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jan 16 - 12:26 AM

That may be chili, but it isn't Texas chili, not with chicken stock and beer and such. (Don't feel bad, you should see what my Norwegian mother called "chili.)

Terlingua (Texas) spice mixes from various winners.

Texas chili from an Esquire article

Chili cookoff winning recipe from 2014 (contest held in Reno)

Chili in its most basic form doesn't have meat or beans.