Rumchatta Hot Chocolate

I think I've mentioned my favorite FestFoods guy before, right?  Well, this week he had this not-for-the-kiddies hot chocolate recipe for me that he said was amazingly rich and wonderful. Looking at the recipe, I think I might have to have some folks over just to have an excuse to make it!

1 bottle Rumchatta
2 bags Andes baking chips
4 c. milk
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 can condensed milk


Combine all ingredients in crockpot and heat on high for 1 1/2 hours.  Stir it very well to combine the ingredients after that hour and a half.  He didn't say if you should turn it down after that, but I'd expect you might want to.  If anybody makes this, let us know how it turns out!

(Yes, I did buy the booze for this, but it was on sale this week! *grin*)

Vanilla-Brown Sugar Squash

This was requested over at Musings & Mutterings, but if I don't also post it here, I'll completely lose track of it.  Fancy name notwithstanding, I totally made up this recipe, so adapt at will!

Vanilla-Brown Sugar Squash

Cook a butternut squash.  For me, that means halve a butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Put both halves cut-side down in a 9x13" pan with about 1/2 inch of water and cook for an hour, or until soft.  Scoop the flesh out of the skin and discard the skin.  (You can totally do this ahead of time or, as in the case of this Turkey Day feast, use leftover squash.)  Mash/mix the squash with butter.  LOTS of butter, and a fair amount of brown sugar and a decent splash of vanilla.  Mash until you deem the texture suitable, adding more butter as needed. (Julia Child note: more butter is good!). I made ours early with leftover squash & kept it warm in a minicrockpot, which worked very well.

Beef and Guinness Stew

I made this recipe from the current (March 2010) Cooking Light magazine last night. It was good, but I got a little much oil in when I was going to cook the onions, so it was a tish oily. The raisins add a touch of sweetness, I think, but it is a bit of a surprise when you come across one in your stew. I didn't cook it as long as they recommend (and didn't boil the meat at all - doesn't that make it tough/dry?) and it was still great. I like my vegetables not completely mush, so didn't boil the last 10 minutes either. Still, allow for the afternoon to make this, then just turn it down to low and let it simmer 'til you want it.

Also, I'd bet you could saute the beef, then throw it all in the slowcooker & leave it cooking low & slow for a long time. If you try that, let us know how it turns out.

Also, who'd'a thunk my girls would go nuts for raw parsnips! I gave 'em a taste so they could see what it was like & they begged for a bowlful. *shrug* Go, nonstandard veggies! :)

Beef and Guinness Stew

2 Tbl. canola oil, divided
1 Tbl. butter, divided
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 lbs. boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tsp. salt, divided
5 c. chopped onion (about 3 onions) [I did 2 small-med ones & it was less than 5 c., but fine.]
1 Tbl. tomato paste [Thought I had some in freezer, but couldn't find. Squeezed in a little ketchup instead.]
4 c. fat-free, less-sodium beef broth [For me - 4 c. hot water & ~4 tsp. beef Better-Than Bouillon - it's great stuff!]
1 (11.2 oz) bottle Guinness Draft
1 Tbl. raisins
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 c. (1/2" thick) diagonal slices carrot (about 8 oz.) [about 4 good-sized carrots]
1 1/2 c. (1/2" thick) diagonal slices parsnips (about 8 oz.) [1-2 parsnips, discovered my girls love raw parsnip, so I had less for stew!]
1 c. (1/2") cubed, peeled turnip (about 8 oz.) [1 medium]
2 Tbl. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley [Oh, guess I forgot this one.]

1. Heat 1 Tbl. oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tsp. butter to pan. Place flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef w. 1/2 tsp. salt; dredge beef in flour. Add half of beef to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 Tbl. oil, 1 1/2 tsp. butter, and beef.

2. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and beer, sraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return meat to pan. STir in remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, raisins, caraway seeds, and pepper; bring to a boil.

3. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil. Cook 50 minutes, stirring occasionally. [I skipped this boiling step for time & because I thought it would make the meat tough.] Add carrot, parsnip, and turnip. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minute or until vegetables are tender. [Again, I didn't boil mine as I don't like veg that are completely mushy.] Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 8 servings (about 1 c.)


Calories: 365; Fat: 19.4 g (sat 6.8g, mono 8.6g, poly 1.7g); Protein: 25.3g; Carb 18.8 g; fiber 3.6 g.; Chol 62 mg; Iron 2.6 mg; Sodium 454 mg; Calc 52 mg

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

After making the Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken recipe from over at A Year of Slow Cooking, it was where I went when I was looking for a new chicken crockpot recipe. I decided to try the Slow Cooker Orange Chicken Recipe and it was yummy! Head over there for her original post with pictures and all, but here's the basics with my comments.


I cooked up the chicken, mixed up the sauce & threw it all in the slowcooker in the early afternoon, but if you were going to be away from home all day and wanted to make this, I think you could easily cook up the chicken the night before (while doing other stuff since it doesn't take a whole lot of attention, but a fair amount of time, esp. if doing it in batches) and mix up the sauce, too. Refrigerate them separately overnight, then throw in the crockpot together in the morning on low.


1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks (Since the taste is so covered up, I used the IQF kind in a bag & did the whole 3 lbs.)
1/2 cup flour (or more)
olive oil, for browning the chicken
kosher salt - she calls for 1 Tbl., but I found 1/2 tsp. plenty for us, maybe because if the IQF chicken.
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

1. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Toss the leftover, chicken-germy flour. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating. Doing more chicken, I ended up doing this is several batches. Since my girls don't much like things all mixed together, the last batch I cooked thoroughly & set aside for them to be plain.

2. Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat. I found her recipe as is to be enough for the 2 or 2 1/2 lbs of chicken pieces I put in with it.

3. She says to cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4, but I found that since I'd already mostly cooked the chicken, I don't think it would necessarily need that long. I think I did 3 hours on high because I threw it together in early afternoon.

Serve over white or brown rice or couscous. I microwaved a bag of Asian-style vegetables to go with it that the girls ate separately (sense a theme here?), but I stirred in with the chicken & sauce.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 jar salsa (I use a medium jar of medium salsa)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. shredded cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese

Place beans, corn and half of salsa into crock pot. Add chicken and rest of salsa. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Top with cheese and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Personal preference of serving - layer on a tortilla with lettuce and sour cream! Other ideas - serve with rice... make a taco salad. YUM!

We have used this is tortilla shells. I usually just put the cheese on in our tortilla!!

Braised Paprika Chicken

I gave this a shot last night and it turned out really tasty. I braised it in a dutch oven on the stove, but I imagine it would work just as well oven-braised or in a good-sized crock pot.

1 3-4 pound chicken (or chicken parts)
2 medium onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp sweet paprika
Crushed or whole dried chiles, to taste
1 tsp marjoram
1 to 1-1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, or water)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp flour
Salt

Cut up the chicken, remove the skin, and season with salt and pepper. In large pot or dutch oven, saute the onions over medium-high heat in some butter and oil. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over them to help them caramelize a bit. Cook until golden. Stir in the bell peppers, tomato paste, paprika and chiles and let it cook for a minute or two. Add the chicken and gently stir it a bit. Sprinkle the marjoram in and then add the stock. Cover tightly, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for an hour or so, until chicken is tender.

In a bowl, whisk up the sour cream, flour and a teaspoon (or more, or less, to taste) of salt. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Add the sour cream mixture to the pot and stir it in. Raise the heat a bit and simmer until thickened. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and cook for another couple of minutes.

It seems a recipe that's ripe for variation. Mushrooms would work well in it. Carrots. Maybe some cauliflower thrown in 15 minutes from the end.

Mashed potatoes seemed the perfect accompaniment to me, but boiled potatoes or rice or orzo or couscous would probably work just as well. :)

Mexican Slow Cooker Pork

This is my easy slow cooker pork. It really doesn't end up too Mexican tasting, so you could add a barbecue sauce to it for pork sandwiches. The onions are the best part.

1 pork loin roast 2-3 pounds

3 medium onions, medium slices

2-3 T ancho chili powder (pure chili powder without cumin and fillers)

0.5 - 1 t ground cumin

salt to taste

small amount of olive oil.

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Line the bottom of the crock pot with the sliced onions & garlic, creating a bed for the roast.

Rub the outside of the roast with the chili powder, cumin and salt. Place on top of the onions, if there is any fat left on the outside, put that side facing up.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours (4 hours on high). If there is any fat part left on top, remove, and then shred it, mixing with any juices that are left and the now carmelized onions. Adjust salt if needed.

Crazy Meatballs

Crazy Meat Balls

1 16 oz sauerkraut
1 16 oz whole cranberry sauce
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 8 oz bottle chili sauce
1 ½ Cups brown sugar

Mix above ingredients well. Buy one bag of meatballs (6 lbs frozen meatballs) and put in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. (I have to use a bigger roasting pan). Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Bake meatballs at 375˚ uncovered for 1 ½ hours. (Until thick)

I will also put these in a crockpot for a party and they serve great. No one can guess what is in it but they always come back for more.

Blog all about the crockpot

Just found this blog all about crockpots and thought some might enjoy.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Crockpot- Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

THAI PORK w/ PEANUT SAUCE 

Cooker size: Medium round or oval crockpot
Setting & Cook Time: LOW for 8-9 hours

One 2-pound boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat and cut into 4 pieces
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1/2 cup prepared teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to your taste, I always add a bit more than this, we like spicy)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

For Serving:
1/2 cup chopped green onions (white part and some of the green)
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
2 limes, cut to make 8-12 wedges

1. Coat the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Put the pork, bell peppers, teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and garlic in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until pork is fork tender, 8 to 9 hours

2. Remove pork from cooker and coarsely chop. Add the peanut butter to the liquid in the cooker; stir well to dissolve the peanut butter and blend with the liquid to make the sauce. **I also added a touch of honey.** Return the pork to the sauce and toss to coat the meat evenly.

3. Serve in shallow bowls over hot jasmine rice and sprinkle each serving with some of the green onions and peanuts; pass the lime wedges.

** I would recommend also serving with some stir fried veggies (maybe bell peppers and snow peas)

**You could also substitute chicken breasts in this recipe

Crockpot - Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 C Salsa
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pound chicken breasts cut into cubes
2 C frozen whole kernel corn
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 soup can water
1 tsp ground cumin
4-6" tortillas cut into small strips
1/3 C fresh cilantro leaves
Stir salsa, soup, chicken corn beans, water, and cumin in a slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked through
Stir the tortillas, 1C cheese and cilantro into the cooker. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Serve with additional cheese, sour cream, and I like Frito chips.

I have not made this yet but it came from a good friend in our cooking club. Thought I would give it to everyone right away to try.

Crockpot - Taco Soup

Taco Soup
1 ½ pounds ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 cans whole kernel corn, undrained
2 cans ranch-style or chili beans, undrained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
Crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese
Flour tortillas, warmed
In a Dutch over or large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning, corn, beans and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
Place tortilla chips in soup bowls; ladle soup over chips. Spinkle with cheese. Serve with warmed tortillas.
(I often put the browned beef and all other ingredients in my crockpot and let simmer in there.)

Crockpot - Mashed Potatoes

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese softened
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
6 cups warm mashed potatoes (prepared without milk or butter)
In a bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream, butter, salad dressing mix, and parsley; stir in potatoes. Transfer to a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours. Yield 8-10 servings

I make this for holidays. It is great because you can make it a day or two in advance and just turn your crockpot on and not use more space in the oven.

Crockpot - Potato Chowder

Potato Chowder
8 cups diced peeled potatoes
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 cans (14 ½ ounces each) chicken broth
1 can (10 ¾ ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
½ pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled, optional
snipped chives, optional
In a slow cooker, combine the first five ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until potatoes are tender. Add cream cheese; stir until blended. Garnish with bacon and chives if desired. Yield 12 servings (3 quarts)
I added some extra pepper, parsley, and oregano.

Crockpot - Spaghetti Corn

Spaghetti Corn
1 can whole corn (drain)
1 can cream corn
½ cup butter (1/4 cup is ok too)
½ cup Velveeta diced
salt and pepper
½ cup broken spaghetti (not cooked)
Put all in crock pot on low 3 hours or 350 degree or the oven for 1 hour.
I double and fits in crock pot. DO NOT double butter!!

This is what my hubby brings to potlucks at school. It is easy to make - everyone loves it - and it is done in his office during the morning. He just plugs it in when he gets to work. It does stick sometimes so use a crockpot that comes apart for easy cleaning.

October's Theme - Crockpot Favorites

Happy October! This is our first month with a theme and it's "Crockpot Favorites." Have you got something great you make in the slow cooker? Let us know!

So far, here are previously posted recipes made in the crockpot:

• Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice (Thanks, AKJ.)
• Split Pea and Ham Soup (Hey, I forgot I posted that one!)
• Dead Sister Dip (Diplowhat recommends it go in a mini crockpot to keep it warm.)
• Stuffed Pork Chops (Me again.)
• Crockpot Mac and Cheese (Compliments of Syl.)

Post any good crockpot recipes you've got and please label them as "Slow Cooker." If I've missed any previously posted recipes, just let me know in the comments and I'll add them above.

(Of course, you're ALWAYS welcome to post any other recipes you want to - they don't have to be theme related.)

Can you fix this recipe?

I got this recipe from a blog at work-it mom. I tried it out- but it was pretty bland - I really think it needs something else, but I don't know what. Any ideas or suggestions? Maybe I just need a better curry powder? I think it could be a great easy crock pot recipe with a little tweaking.

Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, cut up
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 tsp curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced

Put the chicken, onion & sweet potatoes in the crock pot. (dice the potatoes to a medium size, you want them to cook, but not to get too mushy). Mix orange juice, garlic and spices together, pour over the top of everything in the crock pot. Put the lid on your crock pot, set it to low and let it cook 5-6 hours.

Coconut rice
Use coconut milk to replace 1/2 to 3/4 of the water you use to boil rice. (i.e. 2 cups of rice, 1 cup water, 1 cup coconut milk). You can use the "lite" but the full fat milk will give you more flavor. Works best with Jasmine or Basmati.

Slow cooker gravy best practices question

So you know how when you make a roast in the slow cooker? And there's all this tasty extra liquid at the bottom when you're done, what with the potatoes and carrots and meat and mushrooms and tomatoes and all? And you think it'd make really yummy gravy?

What's the best way to do that?

I've heard about adding tapioca to the slow cooker, so it automatically the leftover liquid is thicker, but I'm doubtful, and don't quite know when one would add it. I've taken the liquid at the end and boiled it up with some cornstarch, but then all the rest of the food is sitting there getting cold... So, any good suggestions?

Split Pea Soup

This started with the classic Joy of Cooking, but I think I've got almost more notes written on the sides of it than the length of the recipe itself, so it's rather highly adapted. As you can tell, it's a very adaptable, forgiving, non-exact recipe!

1 c. split peas
4-6 c. chicken broth (or water + chicken bouillon*)
1-2 c. chopped ham and/or a bone and/or whatever leftover ham you've got
2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
spices as desired - maybe some rosemary, a bay leaf, pepper...
a couple of carrots, sliced into coins
a couple of potatoes, diced into middlish small chunks
some oil/butter


1. Rinse the peas and make sure there are no stones or junk. Simmer them in a big pan with the chicken broth for like an hour, or until they're soft. Pour most of the soup in the blender and blend until smoothish. You could do it all, but I like a little texture. If you've got one of those immersion blender thingies, it'd work great. Stir in the Worchestershire (for the umami, you know) plus any spices you'd like. If it seems a little thick, just thin it down a bit with water or more stock.

2. In a separate pan, (at any time during this process), saute up the carrots until tender, set aside, and do the same with the potatoes. If you've got leftover roasted or baked potatoes (or carrots for that matter), just cut them up and use those instead with no need to cook 'em.

3. Once the peas are blended, add in the carrots, potatoes, and ham pieces, and put on low heat at least until heated through, but you can let it simmer for hours. If you've got a ham bone, I'd throw it in now and just let it all simmer for a long time, later taking it out and trying to cut off some of the meat.




I've also done this in the slow cooker, putting the peas and broth in on high for a few hours (4?) or until they were so mushy I didn't even have to blend them. Then I added in the pre-cooked carrots and potatoes and ham and turned it to low and let it simmer until supper.


*I now swear by "Better than Bouillon" after using it at my mom's because it actually tastes like soup not just salt.

Dead Sister Dip

I spoke of this delicious dip last time we visited MN, so here's the recipe. Yes, it got this name because it was the recipe of a sister who died, but her sister, and then her friends, passed it on. Don't ask.

I recommend keeping this dip in one of those tiny crock pots, or an electric fondue pot.

3/4 to 1 jar salsa (your choice of brand)
8 oz cream cheese
1 can Hormel chili WITHOUT beans.

warm and serve.