Slow cooker meatloaf

Jeff loves meatloaf, but the one time I made it, it was too dry so I haven't retried it in years. But, since I've been using the slow cooker for successful, moist meat recipes, I decided to try that. & it was a success!

What I had:

For the loaf:

• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 1 large red onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• 1-1.5 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sage powder
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp parsley flakes

For the sauce:

• ketchup
• Worcestershire sauce
• ground mustard
• brown sugar

What I did:

• Whisked the eggs, milk, all the dried spices together in a large bowl
• Added the bread crumbs
• Put the onion, garlic and mushrooms in a blender and blend till just chopped tiny
• Added this to the bowl
• Added the beef and mix well
• Formed in a loaf
• Lined a 6 qt crock pot with foil, put the loaf in the middle and crimped the sides to hold the shape
• Mixed the sauce ingredients - around 1.5 cup ketchup, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 4 tbsp mustard and 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (tasted and adjusted accordingly)
• Cooked on high for 3 hrs till the internal temperature reached 160, basting with the sauce every half hour
• Moved the loaf to a baking pan, added more sauce to the top and broiled for 5 minutes
• Added some chipotle to the rest of the sauce and served meatloaf with the sauce on the side

Slow cooker Korean pulled pork w/Siracha cole slaw

So, you'll see no measurements because I used all these ingredients but I was adding and tasting and adding and tasting till I liked what I tasted. Sorry!

What I had:
This all goes in the crock pot:

• Bone-in pork shoulder 1/2 lb per person
• Ketchup
• Rice vinegar
• Braggs Liquid Aminos (gluten free soy sauce) 
• Lemon juice
• Sesame oil
• Brown sugar
• Habanero honey
• Chinese 5 spice powder
• Salt, ground black pepper
• Ground ginger
• Minced garlic cloves (I used 10 for a5.5 lb pork shoulder)

This is for the slaw:

• I cheated and bought slaw mix
• Sour cream
• Rice vinegar
• Braggs Liquid Aminos (gluten free soy sauce) 
• Lemon juice
• Salt, ground black pepper
• Sriracha 

What I did:
For the pork:

• I placed the pork shoulder at the bottom of a 7 quart slow cooker.
• I put all the other ingredients in  a mixing bowl and whisked them well, tasting as I went, adding bits of each ingredient till it tasted well to me.
• Poured it over the pork shoulder.
• Cooked on low for 10 hours.
• Took the bones out.
• Pulled meat out onto a cutting board.
• Pulled most fat off and threw it away.
• Poured sauce into a saucepan and set it on stove on low heat. Let it simmer for close to an hour.
• Shredded meat with forks.
• Put meat back in slow cooker and poured sauce over it.
• Set it to low heat for a couple hours and then set it to warm for duration of party.

For the slaw:

• Made the sauce by mixing everything but the slaw mix till I liked the taste .
• Mixed in the slaw mix.
• Aded more Sriracha ;-)

Served both with slider rolls!

Slow cooker cashew chicken

Adapted from here.

What I had:

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 16 oz frozen broccoli florets
• 16 oz sliced mushrooms
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced thin
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 cup cashews 

What I did:

• Put chicken breasts on the bottom of a 7 quart slow cooker
• Layered the vegetables on top - broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, ginger, and garlic
• Poured the soy sauce, ketchup, and vinegar over the vegetables
• Sprinkled the brown sugar over everything
• Cooked on low for 5 hrs
• Shredded the chicken breasts, added the cashews, and mixed everything together
• Served over thin spaghetti noodles with some hot sauce, added some crushed cashews on top for garnish

Verdict:

Delicious! Could be spicier but since I was feeding the toddler, I just added the hot sauce to my plate. It's got the perfect level of sweet ad spicy, with a lot of vegetable servings.

Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Stew

What I had:

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless breasts, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bag crinkle cut frozen carrots
• 3 stalks celery, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cups chicken broth (I used 3 bullion cubes in 2 cups boiling water)
• 3 cups water
• 3.4 cup Goya Barley
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups water

What I did:

• Layered onions on the bottom of slow cooker, added the carrots and celery on top
• Added the chicken pieces on top of the vegetables
• Poured in the broth and water
• Added some coarse ground black pepper
• Cooked on low for 8 hours

We haven't eaten it yet, but it smells great. From the small taste I did, I'll probably add a little salt and paprika to my bowl. Serve it with some fresh baked rolls on a rainy evening.

Slow cooker coconut chicken

Recipe adapted from here

What I had:

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large red onion
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 very large tomato
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp paprika

What I did:

• Put the chicken in the crock pot
• Put everything else in a blender and mixed till pulverized
• Poured the sauce over the chicken
• Cooked on high for 5 hours
• Shredded the chicken in the sauce
• Served over rice, with a side of steamed veggies

This was toddler approved, he ate a big bowl of rice and the curry without a single complaint!

the red flecks are tomato skin, I didn't have any paste

Slow cooker lamb tagine

What I had:

• 3.5 lbs lamb shoulder, cut into half inch bite sized pieces
• 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2.5 cups beef broth (I used 3 beef bullion cubes)
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

What I did:

• Placed lamb in crock pot (I have a 7 quart one and this recipe filled it to the top)
• Cooked the garlic in a little bit of love oil till fragrant, add onions till limp, and then add all the dry spices and ginger. Cook for a minute.
• Sprinkled the mixture over the lamb.
• Poured the tomatoes and broth over everything.
• Cooked on low 7 hours.
• Served over couscous.

Verdict: it was absolutely delicious and will be joining our dinner rotations.

Slow cooker Indian chick peas and spinach

I have been looking for easy slow cooker recipes for Indian food. I want to make more of it for Oli but don't have time to spend hours in front of the stove for one dish. I read some in The Indian Slow Cooker book, and looked at a few online. I didn't like any in their entirety so I decided to take the plunge and make my own!!!

What I had:

• 2 cups dry chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 8 oz fresh spinach
• 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 2 russet potatoes diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped finely
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 
• 2 cups water

What I did:

• Put the chick peas in the slow cooker
• Added the potatoes and tomatoes
• Added the garlic and ginger
• Added all the spices
• Put the spinach on top
• Added 1 cup water
• Started the slow cooker at high for 8 hrs
• After 3 hours, I checked and the spinach seemed to be getting dry on top so I mixed it all up and added another cup of water
• I checked at 5 hrs into cooking and it was done!

You can swerve this with naan, over rice or even over bread slices.

Slow cooker Mediterranean chicken reinvented

I have started doing meal plans, look at me all domestic ;-) But, with Oli keeping us more and more busy, it was hard to leave every night's dinner up to that day. We ended up either eating fast food or going out and spending too much money at a restaurant. So, every week now, I plan the dinners for the next week. Sunday through Sunday.

Yesterday was slow cooker Mediterranean chicken since I had a lot of the ingredients and I remembered really liking it the first time I'd made it. I read my note about the chicken being a little dry, so I did half the onions underneath the chick this time, and half over. Same with olives and the pepperoncinis.  However, this time, I also added a 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes, sliced with basil leaves. I also substituted the sour cream with Philadelphia garlic cooking creme. So, the new recipe is:

What I had:

• 1 lb of chicken breasts
• 2 medium white onions, sliced
• about 20 Spanish manzanilla olives, sliced
• 9 pepperoncinis, rinsed and drained
• 1 container Philadelphia cooking creme, garlic
• 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes, sliced with basil leaves
• garlic

What I did:

• Layer 1/2 of the sliced onions, olives and pepperoncinis at the bottom of the slow cooker
• Lay the frozen chicken breasts on top
• Layer rest of the onions, olives and pepperoncinis on top of the chicken
• Sprinkle garlic. Pour a little bit of lemon juice on top
• Pour the can of tomatoes, juice and all, over the chicken
• Cook on low for 8 hrs
• Take out the chicken and put aside. Pour cooking creme in and cook on high in slow cooker till it thickens. 
•  Shred the chicken and add it back in
• Serve over your favorite noodles

Notes after eating:

• Not dry at all
• The flavors were amazing, no paprika needed, the pepperoncinis added a nice slight kick
• Even Oli ate some and that's a complement to this chef ;-)

 Look at him enjoying some noodles with just cheese and butter before he demanded some of mine.

Slow cooker spinach chicken

What I used:

• 1 stick butter sliced
• 1 pack Costco chicken filets (about 1.5 lbs)
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped small
• 1 pack frozen spinach
• garam masala
• ground coriander
• ground cumin
• ground red chili pepper
• 1 cup yogurt (I used Greek)

What I did:

• Layer butter slices on the bottom of slow cooker
• Break up frozen spinach and sprinkle on butter
• Place frozen chicken on top
• Sprinkle garlic, onion and mushrooms over and around the chicken
• Sprinkle garam masala (I started with 2 tablespoons but I doubled it by the end)
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon each of the coriander, cumin, and pepper
• Cook on high for 4 hrs
• Pull chicken out and break into smaller pieces
• Add yogurt to the sauce in crock pot and mix well, taste and adjust spices if needed
• Add chicken back in and serve over rice or with naan

Slow cooker chicken and veggies

What I had:

• 1 lb chicken breast fillets
• 5 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup chicken broth made from 1 bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup dry cooking white wine
• 1 can Mexican style corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen zuchhini
• 2 tbs corn starch
• salt, pepper to taste

What I did:

• Place chicken on bottom of crock pot and season with salt and pepper on both sides
• Place the garlic cloves around them
• Pour the wine and broth over the chicken and cook on low for 7 hours
• After it has cooked, discard all but 2 of the garlic cloves. Take out chicken and put it aside
• I took the leftover sauce and added the corn starch (I had to add another 1/2 cup water) and pour it back into crock pot
• Mix it all up till the little chicken bits and leftover garlic is all mixed together with the sauce
• Put the chicken and sauce in a skillet, add in the frozen vegetables and the canned corn
• Cook it till the sauce is thickened
• Serve over pasta

Notes after eating: next time I'll just throw all the vegetables in the crock pot at the beginning. I'll make more sauce if needed at the end.

Slow cooker chicken chili

What I had:

• 2 pounds ground chicken, coarsely ground preferred
• 3 tablespoons chili powder, plus 2 teaspoons
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can small white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 medium sweet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and shredded
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes in 16 ounces of water
• 1/4 cup instant tapioca (recommended: Minute tapioca)
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with seeds, chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves

What I did:

• Put chicken in crockpot and sprinkle the 3 tbsp chili powder on it. Add everything else, mix well.
• Cook on low for 7 hours.
•  Top with shredded cheese, raw onions and peppers.
• Enjoy on a cold evening!

It was delicious but I have a few notes after tasting: add a beer next time. Also up the number of adobos by a couple, and remove the salt completely.

Slow cooker breakfast

What I had:

• 32 oz frozen tater tots (you can use hashbrowns or O'brien style potatoes)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese
• 12 eggs
• salt, pepper to taste

What I did:

• Cook garlic in a little bit of oil till fragrant, add onions and bell peppers and cook till slightly soft. Add sun dried tomatoes.
• Spray the inside of your slow cooker (I have a 6 quart oval one)
• Layer half of the frozen potatoes on the bottom
• Spread the vegetable mixture on the potatoes
• Spread half of both cheese on top of the vegetables
• Repeat potatoes, veggies and cheese one more time
• Beat eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the mixture
• Cook on high for 4 hrs
• ENJOY!

I wasn't sure from the look of it if it was good, but brunch guests raved about it. I didn't even get a before photo, so I apologize for the half eaten photo :)

Slow cooker mediterranean chicken

What I had:

• 1 lb 2 oz of chicken tenders
• 2 medium white onions, sliced
• a small jar of kalamata olives, sliced
• 9 pepperoncinis, rinsed and drained
• 8 oz fat free sour cream
• salt, pepper, paprika
• lemon juice

What I did:

• Layer sliced onions, kalamata olives and pepperoncinis at the bottom of my slow cooker
• Rinse and pat dry the chicken tenders and lay them on top
• Sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika. Pour a little bit of lemon juice on top
• Cook on low for 6-8 hrs
• Take out the chicken and put aside. Pour sour cream in and cook on high in slow cooker till it thickens. Serve over chicken over rice or noodles.

We used fettucini and it was delicious:

Note: After eating this last night and now, we found the chicken to be slightly dry. I think it's because it cooked on top of all the veggies and it was exposed to air. Next time, I would do half the vegetable mixture below and half on top of the chicken to keep it moist.

Slow cooker BBQ short ribs

What I had:

• 3 lbs beef short ribs, quartered
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce, I used Jack Daniels
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 4 carrots, peeled and cit into 1/2 inch circles
• a little bit mustard
• salt, pepper and garlic to taste

What I did:

• rub the ribs with salt, pepper and garlic and refrigerate overnight
• put the onions and carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker
• put the ribs over the veggies
• pour whole bottle of BBQ sauce over ribs
• pour a little bit of mustard into the mix
• cook on low for 8-9 hrs
• serve over mashed potatoes or rice

It might not look good but oh my goodness, it was delicious. The meat was tender and the veggies were almost caramelized.  We had it over rice and Oli ate a bowlful by himself.

Slow cooker pork chops

What I had:

• 2 bone in pork chops, frozen
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Salt and pepper to taste

What I did:

• Put pork chops in slow cooker
• Mix all other ingredients and pour over chops
• Cook on high for 2-3 hours till the chops are thawed, then on low for another 5/6 hours till they are cooked through

Enjoy with your favorite bread and veggies.

It was so tender you can see it was falling off the bone. You could taste the sauce through the meat, it was delicious! Definitely a keeper.

Slow cooker Italian chicken

What I used:

• 1 lb frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 can artichokes
• 1 packet McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning
• garlic powder

What I did:

• threw everything but the artichokes into the slow cooker, and cooked it on low for 6 hrs
• added the artichokes and cooked on low for another 2 hrs

Serve with your favorite rice. It was DEE-LICIOUS!

Note: next time, you can use any Italian herbs you have, you don't need the McCormick one. I just had it and wanted to use it up.

Salsa chicken & Spanish Rice - in the Crockpot

So, I make a lot of chicken in the crock pot lately. Ont he weekend, it's so easy to get a couple different big meals done for the week while still being able to spend time with my family. Easiest is to throw some frozen chicken into the crock pot and some sort of sauce (either bbq or a salsa) and let it cook till it's really tender. Well, last weekend, I thought of all the water in the salsa and wondered if it would cook rice. So, I threw in a box of Rice-A-Roni Spanish rice and it's seasonings. Without the butter. Let it cook for a couple hours on low, and it cooked the rice perfectly. Let me try and put what I did down since Oliver loved it and ate it by the fistfuls and I'd like to replicate the recipe again.

What I used:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups of your favorite salsa
Box of Rice-A-Roni Spanish Rice

Throw the frozen chicken thighs with the salsa into the crock pot and set it on low for 4-6 hrs, checking back once every hour. Once the chicken thighs look cooked but aren't falling apart, throw the rice and seasoning packet in. If the liquid looks low, add a 1/2 cup water but usually the salsa has enough liquid.

I set it for low initially for 2 hrs, and it needed another hour. The rice was cooked perfectly, I was able to tear the chicken into tiny pieces.

Oliver ate it by the fistfuls, using both hands. So did Jeff ... well, he used a fork. But, it was a success.