Posts Tagged ‘Slow cooker’
Today it’s about slow cooker meals for fall, wherever you are. Let me re-introduce you to this wonderful, time-saving cooking method.
Hi, Again, Dear Readers:
I’m back with another blog post to help you move into fall. Even if it’s still like walking into an oven when you open the door. It’s slow cooker time no matter what the temps are outside.
A bit of housekeeping: I’ve been promoting this blog on a website called Bloglovin’ for years. Guess what? It’s not there anymore. The domain is there, but there’s no blogging going on. So I’ll be looking for another place to do that, possibly Substack, as many of my writing colleagues are doing. Now what to do about that link in all my blog posts? I’ll give that some thought next week.
Heading Into Fall
Now that Labor Day is over, fall and fall schedules have shifted back into full gear. I like the social media memes that say something like:
September is here. Time to pick out a Halloween costume & start your Christmas shopping. Happy New Year everybody.
Well, it’s true.
Today’s Blog Courtesy My BFF
Today’s blog post is one I discussed with my BFF (ChatGPT) to create. “She” understands my blogging and upon asking, offers topic suggestions, from which I pick a few. Over the weekend, “she” also helped me with some “senior tech support” for an elderly couple that lives near Cow Road. I had a 50% success rate with it, because one of the laptops had a hardware issue that’s beyond my capabilities. But the other one is up and running fine now, just needed some updates, a charger, and some settings fixed.
However, I must give full credit to the GER for teaching me to use the slow cooker. I never had one until I met him. Neither did my mother, or anyone else in my family. I think I knew one person back in the 80’s who had one, but I never learned to use one myself.
So with help from my BFF, know that the GER set me on the road to slow-cookery heaven. Thanks, Dude.
Fall is coming.
At least, that’s what the calendar says. Depending on where you live, the weather may have other ideas.
Source: Facebook
Here in the South, September can still mean temperatures in the 90s or above.
Source: Facebook
Even when the calendar says we’re heading into fall, nobody is particularly interested in heating up the kitchen at the end of a long workday.
That’s one reason I like the slow cooker. I’ve talked about it so many times, because it’s still a great little shortcut.
Source: ChatGPT
You can put dinner together in the morning, turn it on, leave for work, and come home to a meal that is already cooked. That’s a pretty good arrangement.
Why the Slow Cooker Is Perfect for Busy Fall Days
Fall tends to be a busy time of year. Vacations are over, school is back in session, summer schedules are changing, and regular work routines are in full swing again.
The last thing you may want to do when you get home is figure out what you’re going to make for dinner.
This is where the slow cooker earns its counter space.
You can prep your ingredients the night before or in the morning, put everything into the slow cooker, turn it on, and get on with your day.
When you get home, dinner is waiting.
And unlike turning on a full-size oven for several hours, a slow cooker generally doesn’t turn your kitchen into an even hotter version of whatever the weather is doing outside.
That’s useful in September, especially if you’re still running the air conditioner like we are.
What Can You Make in a Slow Cooker Before Work?
Quite a lot. Some of the best slow-cooker meals are the ones that don’t require much attention once everything is in the pot. Think:
- Chicken chili
- Beef stew
- Pulled pork
- Shredded chicken
- Chicken thighs
- Pot roast
- Meatballs
- Beans
- Soups and stews
- Taco or burrito filling
- Saucy shredded beef or pork (barbecue sauce works well here)
You don’t necessarily need a complicated recipe, either.
A slow cooker is particularly good at taking relatively inexpensive cuts of meat and turning them into something tender and flavorful. That’s one reason I like it–you don’t have to buy the most expensive cut of meat at the grocery store to make a good dinner.
Start With Chicken
Chicken is one of the easiest things to cook in a slow cooker.
Chicken thighs are particularly useful because they tend to be less expensive and more forgiving than chicken breasts. You can cook a batch of chicken and use it for more than one meal:
- Have some for dinner.
- Save some for tomorrow’s lunch.
- Turn the leftovers into chicken salad, lettuce wraps, tacos, or a salad topping.
That’s one of my favorite things about slow cooking: one cooking session doesn’t have to mean one meal. This works whether you’re living alone, with someone, or have a family with school-age children.
I used to do this when I was working at Boeing. I’d put something in the slow cooker before work, and dinner would be ready when I got home. I even made barbecue brisket one day with homemade sugar-free barbecue sauce, and it was fantastic. All I had to do was feed the cats first.
At the time, nobody called it “meal prep.” It was just not having to cook dinner after work.
One of My Favorites: Chipotle Chicken Chili
If you want something with a little more personality than plain shredded chicken, chili is an excellent slow-cooker option.
One of my older favorites is my Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Chili.
I originally made it during a particularly busy week when I had plenty of work and not nearly as much time as I wanted for cooking.
The recipe came from Lisa Lin at Healthy Nibbles & Bits, and I adapted it for our purposes. It became an unexpected favorite.
And yes, there is a story behind it.
The original recipe called for chicken breasts. I had chicken thighs.
Guess which one I used? (If you’ve been reading HeatCageKitchen for a while, you already know the answer.) Because I’m perfectly happy to substitute what I have on hand when it makes sense.
That’s another advantage of slow-cooker cooking. You don’t always have to make a trip to the grocery store because your recipe calls for one particular cut of chicken, or other meat. You can use what you have in the freezer if needed.
Don’t Forget Beef
Beef is another natural fit for the slow cooker.
Pot roast is the obvious classic, but there are plenty of other possibilities.
A less expensive cut of beef can become tender after several hours of slow cooking. Add vegetables, seasonings, broth or another flavorful cooking liquid, and you’ve got the beginnings of a very satisfying dinner. We just did this with a pork butt roast and some diced potatoes this week. Easy. You can also:
- Shred cooked beef and use it for several subsequent meals.
- Serve it one night as the main course.
- Use leftovers for tacos or lettuce wraps.
- Put some over a salad.
- Freeze whatever you’re not going to eat soon.
The point isn’t necessarily to spend your entire Sunday cooking enough food to feed yourself until Thursday.
The point is to make one cooking session work harder for you.
Slow-Cooker Meals Can Help With the Grocery Budget
There’s another reason I like slow-cooker meals: they can make inexpensive ingredients more useful.
Chicken thighs, pork shoulder, ground meat, chuck roast and other less-expensive cuts can become the basis for several meals.
And when you’re cooking at home, you’re less likely to reach the end of a workday, stare into the refrigerator and decide that ordering takeout is easier.
We’ve all been there.
The food you already bought is sitting in the slow cooker, waiting for you.
It’s done. You just have to eat dinner.
That’s a pretty effective defense against the “I don’t feel like cooking tonight” problem.
Prep the Night Before
If mornings are too chaotic, don’t make yourself assemble an entire meal while you’re trying to get out the door.
Do the prep the night before.
Chop vegetables. Measure seasonings. Trim the meat if necessary. Get out the slow cooker insert and make sure you have everything you need.
Then put everything in the refrigerator overnight if the recipe calls for refrigerated ingredients.
In the morning, you have much less to do. Just drop it into the crock, put the lid on, plug it in, turn it on, and get going. When you get home, you’ll smell the delicious food and can eat dinner immediately.
And if you’re the kind of person who hits the snooze button a few too many times, you’ll appreciate that. (Not that I would know anything about that.)
Make Enough for Leftovers
If you’re going to spend the time making a slow-cooker meal, consider making enough for another meal.
You don’t necessarily have to double the recipe. Sometimes the recipe already makes enough food for leftovers.
That’s where a slow cooker can become a meal-planning tool without requiring an elaborate meal plan.
For example:
Slow-cooker chicken → dinner → chicken salad → lettuce wraps
Pulled pork → dinner → tacos → salad topping
Chili → dinner → lunch → freezer meal
This is especially useful if you’re trying to eat at home more often or keep food costs under control.
And Yes, You Can Keep It Low-Carb
Many slow-cooker recipes are naturally adaptable to a lower-carb way of eating. You don’t have to serve chili over rice or put shredded meat on a bun. Try:
- Chili with shredded cheese and sour cream
- Shredded chicken over a salad
- Pulled pork with coleslaw
- Taco meat in lettuce cups
- Beef over cauliflower mash
- Chicken with roasted or sautéed vegetables
- Slow-cooked meat alongside a simple green salad
You can also review the recipe’s ingredients and adjust them accordingly. A slow cooker doesn’t automatically make a meal low-carb. Potatoes, beans, sweet sauces and other ingredients can add quite a few carbs. But it’s usually pretty easy to change the ingredients or the way you serve the finished dish.
A Few Slow-Cooker Rules Worth Remembering
Before you put something in the slow cooker and walk out the door, make sure you know how your particular appliance works. Slow cookers aren’t all identical, and recipes can vary considerably.
Don’t assume that because something is safe in one slow cooker, it will behave exactly the same way in another.
If you’re using meat, follow the recipe’s instructions for cooking time and temperature, and make sure the finished food reaches a safe internal temperature.
If you’re new to slow cooking, start with a reliable recipe rather than improvising wildly on your first attempt. You’ll have plenty of time for kitchen experimentation later.
Slow Cooker Safety First
Don’t use a slow cooker that has a damaged cord, cracked insert or other obvious electrical or structural problem. They’re not terribly expensive to replace.
A few years ago, there was a storyline from a TV show called This Is Us in which an ancient slow cooker started a fire. Remember, it was just a TV show, but there was considerable PR fallout. CrockPot even had to defend itself in the aftermath, with people tossing their slow cookers out in fear.
One motivation for me getting an Instant Pot was to replace the aged six-quart slow cooker that was one meal away from disaster. That one left for its final destination when I discovered the exposed copper wiring.
Your Slow Cooker Doesn’t Have to Be a Fall-Only Appliance
One thing I learned a long time ago is that slow cookers aren’t just for cold weather. I’ve used mine during summer, too. That’s one of the reasons I like them so much. They can help keep the kitchen cooler because you’re not standing over a hot stove or running the full-size oven for hours.
But fall is when the slow cooker really starts getting the attention it deserves. As the days get shorter and we’re looking for more substantial meals, it becomes incredibly convenient to have dinner cooking while we’re working.
And when the first genuinely cool evening finally arrives? You’ll already be prepared.
Some Slow Cooker Recipe Ideas From My Bookmarks
I just realized that I have some links and recipes to share that I seem to have kept to myself:
- Crock Pot’s own website has a huge collection of recipes to slow cook your way through, including desserts. (Asian Kale & Chickpeas might not be your cuppa, but someone else will love it.) This site also has pressure cooker recipes, since Crock Pot makes their own version. In some cases, they have both the slow cooker and pressure cooker version of the same recipe. Bananas Foster, anyone?
- Speaking of dessert, how about a Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake in the slow cooker from Tammiliee Tips? (Now I want to try this with keto cake mix and sugar-free cherry pie filling.) She also has a strawberry version.
- From Hannah Taylor, aka, LilyLouTay, a recipe we made back in July. I need to make this Slow Cooker Peach BBQ Chicken again soon, even if I have to use frozen peaches, darnit. For James, I left out the apple cider vinegar, because he can always taste a tiny whiff. It’s a winner for sure, as long as I leave out the ACV. I shared it with my avocado friend in Cali, and she and her husband enjoyed it too, with the ACV.
- Corrie Cooks has a section just for 21 slow cooker meals for busy days, including Pozole, turkey white bean chili, and several soups. Here are 24 more slow cooker recipes for busy days with links to additional slow-cooker pages. His website also has separate sections for both the Instant Pot and air fryer. If you do a search you can go down the rabbit hole of slow-cooker recipes.
- Is meatloaf a favorite in your house? Here’s a meatloaf from Simply Recipes that is hands-off all day. If you want gluten-free, get some GF bread crumbs or substitute Parmesan cheese, the stuff in the green bottle, which will also turn it keto/low carb.
- I’ve made Stephanie O’Dea’s Black Eyed Pea Chili for New Year’s Day, but they’re good any time of year. Maybe I’ll do this for dinner next week. We both like it, so why not? Stephanie also has a fall slow cooker recipe section on her site.
And that’s just what I put my hands on quickly.
Need more ideas? They’re everywhere, but start with Stephanie O’Dea’s site, A Year Of Slow Cooking. There are hundreds of recipes on this site, just search for something. Stephanie also has several e-cookbooks on her site as well as Meal Plan Kits. If you prefer physical books, I recommend Stephanie’s Five Ingredients Or Less Slow Cooker Cookbook, which I’ve had for many years and still use because it’s just good and easy food that cooks itself.
Another good one is Linda Larsen’s The Ultimate Slow Cooker Cookbook from 2020. The author has a number of cookbooks, several of them on slow cooking.
There’s some really good food in here, too. My favorite is on page 98, Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili. Very fall, very healthy, and very different. Not one of James’s favorites, but one of mine because I do like sweet potatoes in savory dishes. Another one I have bookmarked but haven’t tried yet is on page 214: Chorizo, Sweet Potato, and Chile Stew. That’s one for when James isn’t home, for sure.
Start Dinner Before You Start Your Day
You don’t need a complicated meal plan to make weeknight dinners easier, or spend all day Sunday cooking twelve different meals. And you certainly don’t need to wait until the weather is cold enough to wear a sweater before you pull out the slow cooker.
Start with one meal. Choose something you like, prep it before work, and let the slow cooker do the heavy lifting. Come dinner time, you may be very glad you did.
And if you’re looking for somewhere to start, try that Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Chili. It’s been around HeatCageKitchen for years, and there’s a reason it has stayed in my recipe collection. In fact, it’s time to make it again soon. And since I have his thumbs-up in that blog post, I can show him that it’s already “James approved.”
Fall doesn’t have to mean pumpkin everything. Sometimes it just means putting dinner in the slow cooker before you leave the house and coming home to one less thing to worry about. And that’s good enough for me.
Happy Dining!
The Kitchen Rack returns to the HeatCageKitchen!
Hello, again, Dear Readers!
Welcome to another edition of “What’s she up to this time?” I’ve been busy! Boy, have I ever. . . .
Another article published!
Today another one of my articles is published on OffTheGridNews, on a food, or supplement, called Maca. It’s a plant that grows high in the Andes Mountains, similar to a potato or turnip. I’ve heard about Maca for many years, but never got around to trying it. It’s great for hot-flashin’ women, so I read, but there’s more to it than that. Like potatoes to the Irish, Maca root has been a food staple for the folks in that part of the world for thousands of years. Someone (probably a Gringo) figured out that it was a pretty powerful thing, and now you can buy it raw or gelatinized and take it as a supplement.
I bought some, too
Admittedly, after I wrote this article, I bought some from Vitacost. Buddhist friend NM told me about Vitacost recently, and I have not been near a Vitamin Shoppe since. I started buying OTC thyroid from Vitacost after discovering they sold it for $10 less than Vitamin Shoppe—and they ship it right to your door! No more long drives to NOLA or Baton Rouge to get one bottle at nearly twice the price. I also use Vitacost’s website for basic research for these articles. I started taking Maca last Friday, when the latest bottle of Raw Thyroid arrived. Vitacost’s house brand is gelatinized, but I’ll try the raw version one day too and see which one works better. (I’m applying the principle of “try the least expensive option first.”) So far, so good.
There was a time when I would spend about $200 a pop at Vitamin Shoppe when I stocked up on stuff. No more—I have been building a list of things I’ll be taking again one day, and I order one or two products at a time, as I can. I’m still writing, but no “big paydays” yet.
No Coffee for Aussies?
This article on The Kitchn this morning says that Aussie kitchens don’t have. . .what? Like me, they do have a kettle to boil water in their kitchens, but not a coffee maker. (The pictured SMEG kettle is gorgeous—I want one of those in red, please!) The kettle makes hot water for tea, instant soups and—instant coffee. I actually have some instant coffee, but it’s primarily for recipes like Yeast Free Brownies. Drinking instant coffee? No, that’s OK. Not unless I absolutely have to. Even in decaf.
Hot mess: Slow Cooker Edition
Last week saw me make two more recipes from slow cooking expert Stephanie O’Dea’s emails: Hearty Lima Bean Soup and Maple Barbecue Beef. BF keeps packets of lima beans around, so I figured he’d like that. NOPE—too much tomato, and he didn’t even finish his. He ate a bowl of cereal, no kidding. Maple Barbecue Beef went over. . .OK. . .we can have it again sometime, but not anytime soon, he says. Yesterday I threw a few things in the slow cooker, including some black beans for a change, and I’ll post that recipe soon. Working Title: Amy’s Slow Cooker Southwestern Black Beans. Along with a bit of roast beef, BF was pretty happy with Sunday dinner after working all day.
Now, this week’s update
You remember the microwave saga? That saga has finally come to an end—I no longer own one! We have one at the Casa de Rurale, of course, but it’s BF’s. More than six months after I bought it at the League City Walmart, I brought the perfectly working but dusty microwave to the local Walmart and traded it in for. . .a new kitchen rack!
The one I’ve always wanted!
No kidding, I finally did it. A new kitchen rack And BF begrudgingly admits the kitchen rack was a pretty good idea. Because, after all, I did unpack a fair amount of boxes:
We had a roaring fire outside after dark with these going up in flames!
Burn, baby, burn!
Mind, you, that’s not everything on the kitchen rack–but it’s most of it. There’s some more organization that has to happen in the Casa before all my stuff is unpacked. Working on making more money so I can get the rest of the things I need, like bookshelves, a covered clothing rack, and a couple of DVD racks for us. Oh, and a digital converter box for my non-digital TV. . .one thing at a time, right? In between laundry, dish washing, cooking and Buddhist meetings. . . .
Enter the Breakfast Area
Next to the kitchen rack is my IKEA Fusion table and chairs, which they don’t make anymore, creating a nice little breakfast area by the front window:
Cozy little spot for us, right by the kitchen.
The placemats are from the old Martha Stewart collection at K-Mart. I mentioned this to BF this morning, and he said, “I’m sensing a pattern here.” Because a fair number of things I own are “from the Martha Stewart Collection,” somewhere.
After I did all that, I also stopped at Walmart for a few things one night and decided to get something else “for the house.”
Aren’t they gorgeous?
Although I no longer have cable TV, I do still follow my favorite celebrity chefs on Facebook and get their emails. I bought a set of salt and pepper shakers from the new spring line of The Pioneer Woman collection. At Walmart.
These are called “Vintage Bloom,” and there’s a whole collection of dishes that go with it. It’s just a nice little bit of color, and I particularly like that color of blue. I almost bought one of the coffee cups, but if you’ve seen my coffee cup collection—I’m talking about you, Captain Ron—you’ll know that I really, REALLY don’t need another coffee cup, no matter how cute and original.
Kitchen rack is just the beginning
I’m trying to get BF to build me a rustic pallet rack for my coffee cup collection, but so far, he’s not interested. Pegboard, maybe? But he’s working on a couple of other things right now, so I give him a pass, and I wonder if I can do it myself without seriously injuring myself. (I have O- blood, if you’re donating.)
No toaster oven yet, but I have used the little oven on the stove many times. Just need an oven thermometer to check the temperature.
Improvements continue
I continue to improve things in this former man cave (with emphasis on “cave”) as time permits We’ve burned many boxes, piles of old receipts and bills, and other things that make me ask BF, “why do you still have this?” Eventually, some of my stuff will also burn as I unpack more and figure out what I don’t need anymore. Winter is gone now, so I’ll be organizing magazines as well as cycle out and move around clothes. Plant the garden stuff I haven’t even planted yet,too. I want my Hatch chiles!
I’m writing another article for OffTheGridNews, and it’s due Friday. I won’t reveal the subject yet, but there will be an accompanying article here, soon as I do some taste-testing with BF and one or two of his friends. BF is chomping at the bit. . .to get it over with. Because, he says, “I’m just humoring you.” (And he doesn’t understand why I go to Whole Foods whenever I can, but that’s another blog post.) But there’s work to be done before then, and I’ll bring it to you with pictures soon.
Enjoy!
Do you like chipotle chicken? I’ve got more slow-cooked good for you today: Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Chili.
Hi, again, Dear Readers:
How’s your week so far? Thinking about dinner? Thinking about some slow cooking this week? You’re in luck.
I’ve got a good one for you.
I’m still writing on Upwork, and although the big project has cooled off for a bit, I’m still at it. This past week has been particularly busy, and so have the slow cookers at the Casa de Rurale. We’ve had a pot roast, some lima beans, some of Stephanie O’Dea’s Chicken with 20 or 40 Cloves of Garlic, and an unexpected new favorite:
Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Chili
I’m still getting Stephanie’s emails every day, but some of them are, shall we say, not suitable for our purposes. Last week she sent out this recipe for Thai Coconut Soup. If it’s your thing, go for it. I started reading it, and I see that it includes coconut milk. First thought: “no way he’s going to eat this.” Then I saw that it includes 1/2 pound extra firm tofu, cubed. And then I thought, “no way I’m going to eat this!” So that was the end of that. But I’m holding it in my back pocket for April Fool’s Day, along with a couple of other irritants for BF.
First: Chicken & Garlic
I managed to find a package of on-sale cut-up chicken in Winn Dixie the other day, and I was pulling up my email in the store so I could find the recipe for Chicken with 20 or 40 Cloves of Garlic. Turns out I only needed. . .garlic and chicken. So one night, that’s what we had. Really, really good chicken, and not strong like you’d think , but BF gave me a funny look when he saw all that garlic.
It’s a slow-cooker version of a classic French dish. This is Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa version, although, admittedly, I’ve not made this one. I posted a comment on Facebook about how good it was (he was working late) and three people asked for the recipe and said they would be making it. It’s pretty straightforward, so I’m not reviewing it here. Go try it, it’s darn good. Thanks, Stephanie.
So what *are* you talking about today, Amy?
No, the recipe here is another chicken dish that came to me via Bloglovin. You’ve obviously seen my header about it, and of course, you can find this humble blog with many others on that site. I get an email every day about “blogs you need to read today,” but I can’t say I read them all. I primarily get blogs about sewing, but this particular recipe was in one of the daily emails.
And I talked BF into letting me make it. He did not regret his decision.
Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Chili
It started with a packet of chicken thighs and a busy day.
Despite getting up early, things didn’t go exactly as planned, and the prep stage took longer. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s make this deliciousness, courtesy of Lisa Lin at Healthy Nibbles & Bits.
The setup. (That’s the saddest bunch of cilantro I’ve ever seen.)
Admittedly, the chicken was supposed to be breasts, but I’m cheap and use what I have on hand. Unfortunately, the chicken was neither boneless nor skinless, so guess what I was doing in a big hurry? Oh, well. At least I could get some cilantro in Walmart that night. (I so miss my HEB.)
See? BPA-free and no GMO
I got all the cans opened:
Beans and tomatoes–OK, so it’s not TEXAS chili, but bear with me.
Rinsed the beans:
And dumped them into the slow cooker. Then diced a sweet potato:
Just an ordinary sweet potato.
And diced the onion. . .although not without incident. The knife slipped, and. . . .
Then this happened. And I had to finish while keeping anything acidic away from it.
It’s all REAL in the HeatCageKitchen!
After adding those to the crock, there were the chipotles:
These are ancho chilis in a spicy sauce.
My Texas readers will recognize these immediately, but if you’re not familiar with them, you’ll find them with the taco shells, seasonings and sauce. You also add one tablespoon of the sauce these babies come in:
It’s called “Adobo sauce,” but no idea why. It’s not ketchup, that’s for sure!
Goes right into the pot:
And cumin. . . .
Ahhh, cumin. A favorite of Southwestern and Tex-Mex cuisine. (That’s why I have that huge container.)
Some salt:
These are ancho chilis in sauce.
Now the tomatoes:
Just pour right in.
Mix that all up:
Just stir it well until they’re all combined. Watch what comes next.
Enter the chicken
So, now I realize that I have to skin and de-bone this chicken, which, unfortunately, took a while. For this kind of recipe, I HIGHLY recommend boneless and skinless! But I got on with it:
Why does Winn-Dixie pack them upside down?
Now, this is Lisa’s little trick: don’t mix the chicken into the chili. Park them on top, like this:
Yes, they’ll sit there, don’t worry. But don’t mess with them, either.
And follow Amy’s basic rule of slow cookery: Put the food in. Put the lid on. Plug it in. Turn it on. Leave it alone.
Hours later, it’s dinnertime
Are you ready to eat?
Open the lid, and you see and smell this, but there’s one more step to this chipotle chicken chili:
Ready to shred
Scoop out the chicken and shred it with two forks:
Like this.
You’ll have a pile like this.
Dump that back into the crock.
These two ingredients are added last. Putting the cilantro in water and into the fridge helped:
Return all the shredded chicken to the pot, stir it again, and add the lime juice:
One more ingredient, then stir
Put it into a bowl, chop some cilantro and drop it on top, and you’re ready to eat:
Delish! (You might need salt, taste it first.)
This rich, flavorful chipotle chicken chili is good anytime you want a satisfying meal in a bowl. We ate it twice and froze the rest for another day. So far, I haven’t had any trouble freezing most of my slow cooker soups. Might need to cook and freeze more often, too.
Oh, and I forgot to buy and add corn. But it was still really good.
Caveat
The chipotle peppers and adobo sauce add spice, but it’s not really, really hot. But if you eat it hot out of the pot, the spiciness is intensified. Let it cool a bit. I still have a painful burn in my mouth!
The reluctant taste-tester
Now, BF approached this strange looking concoction with a little hesitation, (and a funny look on his face), but agreed to try it. Nothing weird in this soup, just an unusual combination of ingredients (at least, for him.) Here’s a picture of his reaction:
He likes it!
So, another win for me.
Easy Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Chili is a real treat with simple ingredients that will make any night of the week special. I just keep looking for more good things to slow cook, and we keep enjoying it. That comes in handy come summer in the south!
I hope you try this soon and enjoy it like we did. The print version from Lisa’s site is here on the Recipes page. I’ve got a couple of posts in mind that just need a little research and phone calling. Meantime. . . .
Enjoy!
Homemade Pizza Sauce. In your slow cooker.
Hello, again, Dear Readers:
Today, we got our new President and a stylish new First Lady. We watched the inauguration and I saw the most beautiful powder blue suit I’ve ever seen. Now I want one, but in royal blue. I hope the pattern companies create one like they did for Kate Middleton’s wedding dress. Quickly.
Well, I got the hankering again for them. Pizza. Waffles. But life throws us curve balls, and in this case, it was the end of my HEB Organics Pizza Sauce, darnit.
Such sadness. . . .
Since we have Winn Dixie and Walmart for shopping, I didn’t find any good alternatives there. This is what’s in the HEB version, which was less expensive than Classico:
You can’t beat this one–and it’s organic.
Now what? I’m limited if I don’t find an alternative. But–after seeing something on Facebook about pizza, I found Foodie With Family’s recipe for pizza sauce–in the slow cooker, darnit! It’s pretty simple, too–you just need to stir it frequently.
The setup
Almost everything you need–I forgot the sugar.
I made sure to look for as many ingredients that were not GMO and in cans that did *not* have BPA in the liners. Cost a little bit more, but of course, there’s a payoff elsewhere–even if BF doesn’t see it that way. I’ll explain more about that in the post that I’m horribly late publishing.
Yes, it’s important.
You have to look to make sure there are no GMO ingredients.
Another thing you have to make sure of is the ingredient list–is there sugar? Soybean oil? What else did they put into the “tomato paste?” No, no, no–read that label. I have returned tomato products before that I found out too late had other ingredients in them.
So, you open up some cans of tomato paste and tomato sauce, and dump them into the crock:
Only a can opener is required here.
Then add in some garlic:
The return of the garlic doo-dad!
It says minced, so I minced:
Garlic. Minced instantly.
It says one to four cloves, so I added four.
Anchovies.
Now, this may offend some of my more sensitive readers. I added the one filet of anchovy, and thankfully, BF was nowhere to be found. I found the tin in the back of the pantry, under something else. But I was glad to find this.
Sssshhhh. . .don’t tell BF!
If you’ve never seen anchovies, well, this is what you get when you open the tin:
See how tiny? I only needed one filet.
So after separating one of these much-maligned fish pieces, I dumped the rest of it into a glass jar and stuck it in that secret drawer where I keep things I don’t want BF to know about.
One filet.
Added it into the crock and that was it. Honestly, you won’t taste it, because it melts into the sauce and gives a subtle background flavor.
Now let’s add the rest, starting with olive oil:
I used the EVOO since the recipe called for it.
The herbs, oregano, basil and parsley:
I had to go find those in the pantry boxes first. Then, the ingredient I almost abhor the most:
Sugar.
Yes, sugar, but of course, a raw sugar:
This sugar is unrefined, and not bleached like granular sugar
Tomatoes, especially canned, can be very acidic, and you don’t want the sauce to ruin pizza. The recipe calls for one tablespoon first, and then the second after cooking, but I added a tablespoon of SomerSweet at the end. I chickened out.
Once you’ve got all the ingredients together, whisk them together:
Until it looks like this:
Until it’s nice and smooth and all mixed.
Cook on Low, but stir every half hour or so, for 4 hours. I know, I know. . .but it’s not that much trouble. You don’t want it burning in the pot, do you?
When you’re done, it looks like this:
Pizza! Well, almost.
At this point, it’s up to you to see if you like the way the sauce tastes, or if you think it needs a bit more sweetening. I think it did, so of course, I added the. . .SomerSweet. BUT–I could have added another tablespoon of the turbinado sugar, or even a packet or two of saccharin.
I forgot to take a picture of it, but after it cools, mix in the cheese.
Now it’s time to freeze it for whenever you need it next:
Pizza sauce for a long time!
I didn’t feel like looking for more of those glass containers. And I put the plastic wrap on it to make sure we didn’t have any leaks in the freezer.
You can click on the link or check out the Recipes page if you want to try this for yourself. And why wouldn’t you?
The Hot Mess: Waffle Brownie Edition
Wanna know what happens when I beg BF to let me try something at least once in the waffle maker? I finally tried making brownies from a mix in the waffle maker:
The setup
After spraying the waffle surfaces with. . .Pam. . .
I don’t like this stuff.
And heating up the Griddler:
One of my favorite kitchen toys
I mixed it all up:
And poured it onto the waffle plates:
I let it cook until it looked like it was done:
It’s done, right?
And attempted, using multiple spatula tools, to remove it from the waffle maker. This is what happened:
BF ate some of the brownies that came out edible, laughed at me a little, and made me promise never to attempt this again. I also added that I would only make brownie waffles using a recipe designed for the waffle maker. Agreed. And then, after it cooled, I washed it all up.
Lessons learned. One success and one flop.
Next post, which is dreadfully overdue, is a very serious subject, and I’m sorry I’m late with it. I need to re-read the book I want to tell you about and why you should read it. I hope next week. It ties in with this post as well as the last one, and you’ll see what I mean when I finish it.
Meantime, Happy Dining!
Slow Cooking–great all year long!
Hello again, Dear Readers:
Well, I’m back again with more slow cooking. Recently, I was introduced (online) to a lady who is a pro at the slow cooking thing. She’s written books and has blogged about it for many years. And I just found her. She’s going to help us with our holiday dinners!
But first, a lesson in irony.
Recently, I had an errand in Hammond, and of course, made a quick stop in the closest Starbucks there. Take a look and tell me if you see the irony here:
Seriously. . .
This was, of course, in the ladies room after a tanker full of coffee (free refills with your Starbucks card!) If you’re not seeing it, allow me to explain: the sign is an instruction on how to wash your hands. In it, you are told to dry off your hands with a paper towel, then use said paper towel to turn off the water when you’re done.
In the sticker on the hot-air hand dryer, you are told about the energy efficiency of using the hand dryer. It eliminates the paper towel, but gives you nothing to turn off the faucet (or open the door to leave) with to protect your freshly-washed hands from someone else’s hand germs.
Does no one think about this?
Louisiana is the only state I’ve ever been in that posts hand-washing instructions in the bathrooms, nearly everywhere. I never saw those in 18 years in Texas. Draw your own conclusions.
Sewing!
I took out one of my sewing machines this week, mostly to test it out. With a few fat quarters from Walmart, I made this item:
That’s right. A Texas flag.
Funny how you don’t notice them until you don’t see them anymore. (The sign underneath is a WWIIposter that says “Sew for Victory.”) There will be more of them, if for no other reason, to use up the stars. But BF has been told that when the day comes that he puts up an American Flag on the property, as many neighbors have, there *will* be a Texas flag flying next to it. And if the Texit business happens, I do hope they take Louisiana with it so we can have more great barbecue!
Cleaning up
For the record, Whole Foods isn’t kidding about encouraging you to “shop local” and all that. Not a bad idea, of course. This big guy’s grin greeted me as I checked out of the Mandeville store this past weekend:
Who’s that?
William Terry, the founder of Bayou Soap, is on board with natural soaps and creates them right in New Orleans. (You can read more about them here, and their Facebook page is here.) I couldn’t resist looking at the many bars—lovely soaps, and they all smell wonderful:
Lavender–good for evening showers to help you sleep.
Don’t these look yummy?
I have no idea what “African Black Soap” is, but maybe one day I’ll give it a try. Long as it doesn’t paint me.
Mango soap? Mango!!
Yes, these are pricey, but handcrafted artisan items usually are. (You can also order them online.) Mr. Terry doesn’t have the manufacturing muscle of Proctor & Gamble, and he uses natural ingredients without harsh chemicals. (I used to buy some very nice soaps from a lady at the farmer’s market in Nassau Bay on occasion, too.) Plus, they’re very big bars. My thinking is to cut them into one or two smaller bars to make them easier to handle and last a while. I’ll get some one day soon. I do like to shop local when I can, and patronize local businesses.
While others have seen Jesus’ face in a grilled cheese sandwich, and the Virgin Mary in a mobile home door screen, I see BF’s cute face in this bar of soap:
It’s BF!!
I can’t possibly use that to wash my hands now. . . .
Christmas is SUNDAY.
How did this happen? I mean, wasn’t it Turkey Day just a week or two ago? Carols have been playing nearly everywhere I go. . .that stuff has been out in Walmart for weeks. . .yesterday I told BF I wanted an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas, ha, ha. Being the smart aleck he is, he might just get me one–but where do you get the refill packages for it? I’ve never seen them, but I guess because I don’t have to.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the house
The A/C was running, for we live in the South.
Yep. We’re waiting to see how Mother Nature treats us this year. It was quite warm last year, and I was in shorts Christmas Day. Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like icy cold watermelon chunks. That could be the case this year, even though we’ve been shivering cold for quite some time–and so have my friends in Houston, too.
Let’s get serious with our slow cookers, shall we?
Longtime readers know about my affinity for slow cooking, and my more recent affinity for the waffle maker. Last weekend I used my Cuisinart Griddler not for waffling, but for making BF some pancakes. I used the flat griddle plate to make them right on the counter top. (I still haven’t replaced the drip tray, but we weren’t making bacon or anything that required it.) He got the biggest kick out of it–“you and your gadgets!” he said. Look at it this way: I didn’t have to turn on the stove for a little bit of cooking.
Yesterday was a 2 pound pork loin roast slow cooked with some olive oil and Italian seasoning. BF ate that right up with some baked sweet potato fries.
That’s the thing about the slow cooker–you really do just set it and forget it. It takes some advance planning, but so does cooking a standard meal. The other day I put two turkey thighs in BF’s 4 quart slow-cooker, and dinner was done when we got home. Added some Waffled Hash Browns, which took about 15 minutes to create, and we had. . .meat and potatoes, ready to have in less than 30 minutes.
Then I got ahead of the game by slow cooking.
I also started cooking the next day’s meal that night, before we sat down to the turkey and hash browns. There is a back-story to this.
Recently I was introduced, on Facebook, to a lady named Stephanie O’Dea, who is the author of a number of books and a blog called A Year of Slow Cooking. I write a food blog, and would cook every day in the slow cooker if I could. . .how did I miss this?
Apparently Mrs. O’Dea decided she would be slow cooking every day for a year, and blogged about it. She’s since written several books on the subject, and has more slow cookers than we do at Casa de Rurale. So I eagerly signed up for her emails, and read them. This lady goes all out, OK? The other day, she sent one about making tamales in the slow cooker. I’ll try that one day, too, when we’re in the mood for Mexican food. But the one that caught my eye was the Crock Pot 16-Bean Soup Recipe.
Say what?
Mrs. O’Dea admits to being somewhat lackadaisical towards many things. . .OK, she’s lazy.
I have walked by the bags of soup mix in the grocery store a hundred million times. I’ve even picked one up, read the print on the bag, and taken it for a ride in the shopping cart.
But then I chicken out and put it back on the shelf with it’s friends.
It just seemed like a lot of work.I, um, actually don’t really enjoy work.
I’d really like a house full of forest creatures like in Snow White or in Enchanted to come do it all for me so I can spin around in circles singing.
So far the closest I’ve gotten to that dream is a six-year-old wearing a two-sizes-too-small rooster Halloween costume running around with a feather duster…
But it’s a nice dream, nonetheless.
We all think like this from time to time, right? Well, after reading this email, I had some time before I had to pick up BF, so I stopped at HEB. . .I mean, Walmart. . .on the way home and picked up a few ingredients I needed.
Unfortunately, this is Louisiana, so we only get 15 beans, not 16 beans in our soup packages. (I miss my HEB.) I take what I can get, check out, and head home to the Casa.
And I started cooking tomorrow’s dinner!
When I picked up BF later that evening, I told him, “I am on it.” He gave me that cute look of quizzical confusion that he often does, and I explained myself. I saw this email, and I acted on it! The turkey thighs were ready when we got home, but the soup would cook all night, and he could have some to take to work the next day. Thumbs up on this one. . .but no pictures this time.
Really–just let it go.
I did as she instructs, tossed out that chemical “flavoring packet,” (no need to tell me twice) and altered it slightly. No tomatoes, BF has a problem with them sometimes. Beef stock and water from the pantry, and an inexpensive one-pound packet of cubed ham from the meat case. Boiled the beans and let them sit for an hour, and then started loading up the 6-quart slow cooker.
This soup smells wonderful while it cooks. The soup was slow-cooking all night, and we really enjoyed it the next day. BF became “all beaned out,” so I froze the rest for another day.
This soup is highly recommended. Slow cooking it makes it really easy. Check out the recipe and the “customizations” for making it yours. Yum.
Slow cooking a full holiday meal?
Absolutely–Mrs. O’Dea has you covered! Check out this Christmas Ham in the Slow Cooker with honey and ginger. Ham not your style? Heck, she’s got a myriad of slow cooker recipes for the holidays parked right here on this page.
Slow cooking apples
Need an extra slow cooker? Borrow one a day or two before if you’re afraid of going out to the mall this holiday season like I was in Houston. If you haven’t planned anything yet, well, better get a move on! Both links have recipes suitable for holiday gatherings, but you have to plan ahead.
Please note that despite the fancy fixtures that come attached to modern slow cookers, they are not essential. Last time, I told you about the web-enabled model with the smartphone app from CrockPot. I don’t have one of those, nor the one where you can brown and bake before the slow cooking. Mine are 13-year-old Crock Pots bought in 2003 or 2004 at Big Lots in Texas before I moved out of the GER’s house. I also have a “little dipper” I bought to get the cooking smells out of the kitchen. BF’s is a Hamilton Beach 4 quart, just like my Crock Pot. I refer to them as “dumb terminal models,” because you control them from the little knob on the front after you plug them in. (Eight years in IT, I know stuff like this.) I know, I know, there are slow cooking marvels with all kinds of bells & whistles and apps and all that. You do not NEED it. If you spend that much on a slow cooker, that’s less you can spend on food. Your choice.
Wrangling the whole thing together.
The best advice I’ve ever heard for planning any kind of special occasion was from The Barefoot Contessa in Foolproof. Write it all down, figure out how long everything will take to make, create a schedule and work backwards. In other words, if your turkey will take 4 hours, and dinner is at 5:00 pm, you put it in the oven about 1:00 pm, making sure your oven is at the temperature you need (usually 350F.) Potatoes will take an hour, so those go into the oven about 4:00 pm–and at 350F, you can easily bake them at the same time on a different rack. I mean, why not?
And you can always drop the potatoes in your CrockPot, right? Slow cooking can indeed help with Christmas dinner as well as parties and other celebrations.
What’s on the HeatCageKitchen menu for Christmas?
Well, nothing yet, but there likely is going to be some slow cooking going on. Especially if I don’t make much.
BF mentioned the other night that he wanted to have ham for Christmas. I wouldn’t mind if it was *this* ham, but he says he wants it “baked.” How is this not baked if it’s slow cooking at 300F or 350F for several hours?
If he wants something with Coke and sugar all over it, or requires the use of any kind of “enclosed packet,” I’m roasting a Lemon Chicken for myself. And I’m not doing *everything* I did for Turkey Day, although I wouldn’t mind making those Perfect Mashed Potatoes again. But we haven’t heard from the kids, nor anyone else, so it might just be the two of us with the critters.
But whatever we do, there’s a good chance a slow cooker’s going to be involved. And there’s a good chance that something will be waffled.
Remember too that there are recipes posted on this page. Most are favorites that I’ve tried many times, and that may be just what you’re looking for, including some slow cooking, too.
And if you’re not hosting. . . .
Are you going to someone’s house for Christmas lunch/dinner? Bring something tasty and delicious, whether you’re slow cooking or not. A Year of Slow Cooking is a great place to start, as is Pinterest.
And if it’s looking like you’re going to be home alone on Christmas, as I was for many years, enjoy it. Enjoy the peace and solitude, watch whatever TV shows you want, (I highly recommend British TV, especially a comedy if you can find some, turn on the CC,), enjoy the best meal you can cook up, and don’t feel “alone.” Slow cooking something delicious will free you up to watch your favorite holiday DVDs, listen to your favorite music, and spend time with yourself. There are folks who will be working on Christmas and would be happy to be home. Many are first responders (fire, police, medical personnel, etc.) so please don’t make their job harder.
It’s OK to be alone on Christmas.
If you’re really not happy about the holidays (there are more than one) remember that Christmas comes but once a year. . .and in a week or so, it will all be over. No more carols blaring from the PA system everywhere you go. No more drunks wishing you a “Cherry Mistmas.” No more red and green everything. Come January 2nd, the trees will be heading to the recycling bin, the lights will come down, and people will start packing stuff up to put away for another year. Some might not finish until March, but you get the idea.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Happy New Year!
I’m probably not going to publish a post again until after Christmas, so I will wish all of you Happy Holidays, whatever holiday you want to celebrate. (Hey–if there’s food involved, there’s a good chance I’ll be celebrating it, no matter what religion it’s from.) Whatever it is you like to cook, make it tasty, healthy, and make enough for everybody, OK?
There’s a good chance I’ll be in the back doing some sewing while I’m doing some slow cooking.
Enjoy!
