crock pot

My husband came home from costco with the crock pot I have been coveting for the past year! What a man!
He also brought me five pounds of stew meat to play with. This pot has the removable stoneware insert that can go into the dishwasher and is big enough for a good sized roast.

I am dying to play with my new toy. Do you wonderul cooks have any favorite slow cooker recipes?
Doing the happy dance today!

"My husband went out and got me meat!" :)

No offense, it just seems like nothing's changed in 50 million years.

I don't have a slow-cooker recipe of note for your stew meat, but one thing I like to do with a slow cooker is sausages and onions and peppers and tomato sauce. Basically get some sausages (of whatever kind you like), put them in with some butter and onions and peppers and garlic, brown them and cook them a little bit, then put in some tomato sauce that you like (I like sauces from Barilla) and cook away. Give them many hours to cook - it'll be delicious.

Note: Make sure the cooker isn't on low, at least to start. It doesn't have to be on high, but somewhere in between. Otherwise the sausage won't cook and then you're asking for trouble.

I just got home from shopping but I'll have to go back tomorrow or Monday and get some sausages. Just the other day I got sweet red peppers for $1.00 a pound and planned on prepping them for the freezer. Now I'll reserve several for this crock pot recipe. Thanks Tab!

to the size you like and put them on the bottom of the pot. Dredge the stew meat in flour and sear it in a little oil in a skillet (burn it a little, actually, you want the outside to caramelize and lend flavor). Transfer the browned stew meat to the crock pot. Deglaze the skillet with water or red wine and add that to the crock pot. Add liquid (water, a mixture of water and wine, stock) to cover the meat, toss in a bay leaf and some salt and pepper, cover and put the pot on low for 8 hours or so.

It sounds counterintuitive to put the veggies on the bottom, but that's the only way they get DONE.

This is about the most basic stew recipe out there. There are as many variations of it as there are cooks.

I'm totally in love with it.. I use it at least 3 times a week. It's too hot to use my oven very much so it's my best buddy right now.

Try some boneless pork short ribs with apples. After an all dayer in the crockpot it's to die for!

I'll have to ask my butcher about ordering some for me. The recipe sounds delicious. Do you just cook them only with apples or do you add more like onions, celery etc?

Classic combo in flavors.

3 lbs of country ribs cubed or pork short ribs
floured and browned in a bit of oil.

Add browned meat to crock pot with:
1 cup of apple juice
2 cups of water
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg
1 small white or sweet onion sliced in rings
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/8 cup cider vinegar

cook meat for about 2 hours,

add 2-3 large apples, peeled and cubed (I like a more tart apple, but whatever you like)and add a bit more water if needed (not too much though you want it to be syrupy)

Cook until the meat is falling apart and it smells like heaven. About 4-5 hrs in all.


Grandma Kynd liked to serve ontop of sauerkraut but that's up to you! This is a classic sweet and sour german recipe.

I've never done this in a crock pot, but I'm predicting it will be outrageously good.

This is from another thread, the one called "chicken leg quarters" wherein this marinade was described. I did it first with thighs and it was good enough to try again on boneless/skinless breasts. The breasts were marinated 3-4 days and then oven baked in a pool of the marinade, and it was extremely good. One slight modification -- at the end of cooking, I added some honey teriyaki sauce to add some sweetness, since my marinade erred on the citrusy side.

(Also, I found that grilling these only was difficult, since the sugar content of the marinade caused too much burning -- so they could be grilled and then finished in the oven)

Served with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, and basalmic glazed pearl onions ... I'm making it again this weekend it was so good! (I had marinated 4 lbs of breasts and froze half of them after marinating (don't know if one *should* do this, but I did). The reduced marinade was used as a sauce, with some of the honey teriyaki added.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=21296&mesg_id=21332

1 lemon; juiced
1 orange; juiced
2 tb white vinegar
2 worchestershire sauce
1/2 c chili sauce
2 ts sugar
2 ts garlic powder
1 tabasco to taste
2 tb oil

So, it's not a true crock pot dinner in the sense that all components are made in the crock pot, but the chicken done this way will be really really good (and the kitchen won't get so hot from the oven being on)

Thanks! Yes it does sound sort of primal now that you mention it.:) It seems the older we get the more we dote on eachother. I like it, yes I do.
I was too ill today to play in the kitchen but am hoping to tomorrow. I think I will try the stew recipe and put a portuguese slant on it, maybe add some linguica, garlic, merlot, a bit of pimenta sauce, etc.

My two favorite crockpot recipe books are from Costco. They are Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, and Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly. O8)
I also like this website: http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm

great to serve home made chili in..Keeps stuff nice and warm, and easy for buffets..

My friend who borrows it a lot does cook in it when she has custody of the crock pot.. She has cooked a lot of one-dish meals in it..

Just experiment and play with it..:)

butternut squash (or pumpkins if I have them instead). It's like pumpkin pie spread for your toast!

Food processor makes the initial squash chopping a snap, and then the final puree prior to putting up in jars. Hours and hours in the crockpot with sugar and spices.

Everybody wants this at Christmas. Makes great gifts.