Loving my slow cooker, any good recipes ?

I use mine to cook beans, you dont have to soak then at all. I like to do a pot of chick peas, then add them to salads, make hummus, falafel, all kinds of stuff. Black or into beans make amazing soups and refries, and you control what goes into them. Butter beans with a spoonful of Liquid Smoke taste just like the ones my daddy used to make with a ham hock in them, but with none of the fat... I also like to cook, then freeze beans in quart bags, so I have them at the ready when I need them.

I've been trying recipes in Slow Cooker Revolution by America's Test Kitchen. Most have been pretty darn good. Some I've modified for more veg or more beans.

For instance, this one
http://www.whatmegansmaking.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-tex-mex-chicken-stew.html

The second time I made it, I used 4 cups of an onion/bell pepper/celery/parsley mix instead of 2 cups onions, and 3 cans of beans instead of 2. It came out to about 18 cups; 1 cup, according to the calculator here, is 280 cals.


(I did not, as the blogger did, serve with cheese and chips. )

I should note that a lot of the slow cooker revolution recipes do require browning things or microwaving veg. I haven't tried any of those needing browning. The waving I'll do.

Baby back ribs.
Cut the rack to 2-3 ribs each for portions.
Liquid smoke marinate overnight in fridge. (usually 1 part liquid smoke to 8 parts water)
Set slow cooker to low.
Put ribs in so the are standing on end (long ways pointed up).
Pour in your marinade.
Cut up medium onion add to slow cooker.
Add spoon of garlic cloves.
Cook for 5 hours. Remove excess marinade and fat juices. Cook for another 5 hours. (OR you could use far less marinade probably 1/2 cup or so and cook for 8-10 hours and not worry about removing any.)
Remove ribs put on cookie sheet and brush bbq sauce.
Broil in oven for 10-15 minutes or until bbq starts to bubble.
Remove let cool slightly and serve.

When I did these the first time my family thought they were the best ribs they ever had. They swore I must have smoked them for hours. The ribs turned out so tender meat almost fell off the bones. Even my 3 year old ate one and threw the bone on the floor demanding more.

I make those ribs and they are delish !

Frozen chicken breasts with a jar of herdez verde salsa. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve in tostadas, taco shells or tortillas or make into enchiladas. Also yummy with regular salsa if you don't like green. I have made a large pot before and meal prepped with brown rice and a dab of light sour cream for lunches ❤️

I love using a slow cooker, My favorite is White bean chili.
foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/white-bean-chili-recipe2.html

Another is Add a few chicken breasts,2 cups of salsa and a rinsed can of black beans.
Cook about 6hrs on low or until the chicken is easily shredded. When done shredded all the chicken with a fork.

hcglindsey wrote: »

I normally cook a whole bag of frozen individual breasts to one whole jar of salsa. Haven't tried freezing but I think it would be fine.

@hcglindsey Perfect, that's about what I have. Thanks so much for getting back to me!

tycoon460 wrote: »

Baby back ribs.
Cut the rack to 2-3 ribs each for portions.
Liquid smoke marinate overnight in fridge. (usually 1 part liquid smoke to 8 parts water)
Set slow cooker to low.
Put ribs in so the are standing on end (long ways pointed up).
Pour in your marinade.
Cut up medium onion add to slow cooker.
Add spoon of garlic cloves.
Cook for 5 hours. Remove excess marinade and fat juices. Cook for another 5 hours. (OR you could use far less marinade probably 1/2 cup or so and cook for 8-10 hours and not worry about removing any.)
Remove ribs put on cookie sheet and brush bbq sauce.
Broil in oven for 10-15 minutes or until bbq starts to bubble.
Remove let cool slightly and serve.

When I did these the first time my family thought they were the best ribs they ever had. They swore I must have smoked them for hours. The ribs turned out so tender meat almost fell off the bones. Even my 3 year old ate one and threw the bone on the floor demanding more.

@tycoon460 These sound fab! Gonna have to give a try

Salsa chicken is one of our favorites as well. After it's done cooking I mix some cornstarch with a little water and put it in after I shred the chicken and turn it to high for a few minutes and it makes a thicker sauce.

I made split pea soup yesterday. 1# split peas, 9-10 cups water, as many diced carrots, onions, and celery as you want, salt, and pepper. Cook low for 10-12 hours or high for 6-8.

One trick for me is that I keep the slow cooker in the basement to cook and not in the kitchen. If I am home and smell the food cooking all day I'm sick of smelling it after 10 hours!

Whole chickens are my slow cooking go-to, simply because they last me a few days. I do a little prep work just for some extra flavor, but it's really not necessary and you can easily do it just before you put it in. I like to coat the bird with a mix of spices of choice(anything from a curry mix, to Old Bay, or a blend of paprika/garlic powder/onion powder/salt/pepper. Sometimes I'll add lots of cumin to that blend, usually stick a bay leaf and a lemon half inside the bird), if I want it to really marinade, I'll do this the night before and let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight, then stick it in the cooker during the day and cook it on high for 4 hours. A good-sized chicken will easily give me enough meat for a few days that way. It does take some work to disassemble after, but once everything is tucked away it makes everything SO much easier.

LavenderLeaves wrote: »

Whole chickens are my slow cooking go-to, simply because they last me a few days. I do a little prep work just for some extra flavor, but it's really not necessary and you can easily do it just before you put it in. I like to coat the bird with a mix of spices of choice(anything from a curry mix, to Old Bay, or a blend of paprika/garlic powder/onion powder/salt/pepper. Sometimes I'll add lots of cumin to that blend, usually stick a bay leaf and a lemon half inside the bird), if I want it to really marinade, I'll do this the night before and let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight, then stick it in the cooker during the day and cook it on high for 4 hours. A good-sized chicken will easily give me enough meat for a few days that way. It does take some work to disassemble after, but once everything is tucked away it makes everything SO much easier.

Whole chickens are awesome to cook up, I agree You can also toss in cut up veggies under the chicken and it's a full meal. HA HA OK, well not the whole chicken in one meal, but I think you all know what I meant

Other times I've tossed in some potatoes and then put a chicken or roast on top and that way you have baked potatoes (only they taste far better) for the meal as well. You can also just bake potatoes in it.. just fill up the bottom with them and cook accordingly (check the web I don't recall the time at the moment) I don't wrap mine in foil as it's not necessary but some do.