Crockpot Tuscan Beef and Bean Stew

Recipe from Kitchen Stewardship

I cooked this recipe in the crockpot, instead of stove top.  Basically I didn’t pre-cook or brown any thing, just threw it all together and let it cook away! 🙂

J and I liked this recipe.  However, I added way too much kale and it kind of over-powered the other flavors.  I’d make this again, but I’d definitely cut back.  I just used the entire bunch of kale because I wasn’t sure what I’d do with the leftovers, but I didn’t realized it has such a strong flavor.

Ingredients:4-8 ou mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 lbs beef for stew, cut into 1-2″ pieces
2-3 c beef broth (I used 3)
2 T tomato paste
15 ou can diced tomatoes with juice
2 cans white beans
4 carrots, diced
2-3 c kale
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 t Italian seasoning
1 1/2 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried parsley
Shredded Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a large crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

 

Slow Cooker Corn & Crab Chowder

Recipe from Cinnamon ‘En’ Spice

J and I thought this recipe was good, but not great.  I just think it needed something… maybe a bit more spice to it.  I think I say that everytime I think a recipe needs something. 🙂 


Ingredients:
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
1 c carrots, sliced
1 medium sized onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 t fresh thyme
1/4 t old bay seasoning
1 package frozen corn
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
12 ou evaporated skim milk
1/4 t salt
2 T cornstarch
8 ou claw crab meat

Directions:
Combine chicken broth, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, thyme and old bay in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 or low for 6 hours.

Mix together pepper, milk, corn, cornstarch and salt and stir into slow cooking, cooking on low for another hour.  Stir in crab meat until warm, then serve.

 

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Recipe from Cooking Light

This was really good and not too heavy.  It uses flour and sour cream to create the thick sauce to keep it healthy.

Ingredients:
1 lb top round steak, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 c chopped onion
2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 T Dijon mustard
3/4 t salt
1/2 t dried dill
1/2 t pepper
8 ou mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c AP flour
1 c beef broth
8 ou light sour cream
2 c cooked egg noodles

Directions:
Place the steak and all ingredients through garlic into the slow cooker and stir well.

Place flour in a small bowl and gradually whisk in beef broth.  Add broth mixture to slow cooker and stir well.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. 

Turn off and remove lid.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Mix in the sour cream and serve over egg noodles.

 

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Recipe from Cooking Light

This was a simple recipe to throw together on a busy Sunday.  I let this cook while I did some work around the house.  The house smelled delicious as it cooked! 

Ingredients:
3 c water
1 c dried kidney beans
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped green pepper
3/4 c chopped celery
1 t thyme
1 t paprika
3/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t black pepper
14 ou smoked sausage, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
3 c hot cooked rice
1/4 c chopped green onions

Directions:
Combine ingredients through the garlic in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.  Discard the bay leaf and then mix in the salt.  Serve over rice and sprinkle servings with green onion.

 

Crockpot Indian Chicken Curry

Recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking

It’s been quite a while since I’ve used my slow cooker.  I guess I kind of see it as more of a winter cooking method.  I don’t know why, as it’s not like it heats the house.  Maybe, in my head, I feel like many slow cooker dishes are a bit heavier – too much for hot summer days.

But this dish was not heavy at all.  It was really delicious!  It had great curry flavor, and I loved the addition of the sweetness of the sweet potatoes and coconut milk.

Indian dishes are definitely climbing their way into my faves.  Just a year or two ago, I’m not even sure if I’d ever even eaten Indian food.  But I am really loving the flavors!  I’ll have to start checking out Aarti Paarti on the Food Network for some more recipes. 🙂

Ingredients:
13.5 ou can coconut milk (do not use light)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
4-6 frozen, skinless chicken thighs
1 T tomato paste
2 T curry powder
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground ginger
Few dashes Tabasco sauce
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 eggplant, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

Directions:
Mix together all of your spices, coconut milk, tomato paste and Tabasco sauce in the slow cooker.  Add the chicken, flipping a few times to coat, then the garbanzo beans.

Place all of the veggies on top.  Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or high for 4-6 hours.  Stir carefully to mix and serve over brown rice. I also served with garlic naan.  Unfortunately I didn’t have time to make it, so it was store-bought, but still good!

 

Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage

I know, I’m a little late – St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone.  But – I’ve been craving it for a while.  I was going to make it the week of St. Patty’s Day, but things came up and it never happened.

I absolutely love corned beef.  This was so simple to throw together, and the beef was tender and delicious!

Ingredients:
Corned beef brisket
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 turnips, peeled and chopped
1 small head cabbage, roughly chopped
8-10 small red potatos

Directions:
Put the carrots, turnips and cabbage into the crockpot, then place the corned beef on top.  If desired, sprinkle with the seasoning that comes with most corned beef briskets.

Cover and cook on low for about 7-8 hours.

About 45 minutes before eating, boil the potatos until fork tender.  I also threw some garlic, salt, pepper and thyme into the water to season them.

Drain the potatos, slice the beef, and serve.

 

Crockpot Sweet Mustard Beef Roast

Recipe from A Year of Slowcooking

I have a few beef roasts in the freezer that I got on sale, and I wanted to make one of them last week in the crockpot, preferably with a simple recipe.

This recipe definitely fit the bill. Five ingredients and no prep work!  Just throw them in and turn it on. 🙂

I thought this was really good.  The molasses and mustard gave the beef a really good flavor, and the beef itself was nice and tender. 

I served this with steamed edamame and homemade baked french fries.

Ingredients:
2 lb beef roast
1/3 c molasses
1/3 c dijon mustard
1 t garlic powder
2 t white vinegar

Directions:
Use a 4-quart slow cooker.  If you only have bigger, take the cooking time down a bit.

Place meat in cooker, and add in the remaining ingredients.  Turn the meat a few times with a pair of tongs to cover with the additional ingredients.

Cook on low 6-8 or high about 4 hours.

 

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

Recipe from Chi-Town Cooking
 

My mom was talking about making minestrone soup a couple of weeks ago.  So I’ve been craving it ever since.  This recipe came across my Google Reader so I decided to try it out.  I love that it’s a crockpot recipe (though it could easily be adapted for a dutch oven).

It turned out really good, and it makes a lot.  I’d say about 8 servings total.  I ended up freezing about half of it, which isn’t a bad thing. 🙂

Ingredients:
3 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ou) can diced tomatos
1 (14.5 ou) can cannellini beans (I forgot to get these at the store, so I used the black beans I had in the cupboard)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 c onion, chopped
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried sage
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper, to taste
2 c pasta, cooked
2 c roughly chopped fresh or frozen (drained) spinach
1/2 lb ground sausage

Directions:
In the crockpot mix the broth, tomatos, beans, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt and pepper.

Set on low for 6-8 or high 4-6 hours.

About 30 minutes before you eat, add the pasta and spinach. (I decided to cook the pasta before adding it to the pot.  You could do it either way.) Brown the sausage and add it as well.

Remove the bay leaves and serve sprinkled with shredded Parmesan and a side of bread.

 

Tex-Mex Pulled Pork

Recipe from allrecipes.com 

I realized that I haven’t been using my crockpot much lately, so it was a nice change to come home to my house smelling delicious. 🙂  Of course, I completely forgot to put the pork into the crockpot and turn it on that morning, so I had to run home during lunch.  Luckily I’m not too far away.

I made pulled pork sandwiches with this recipe.  It makes a lot, so I plan to use the leftovers for quesadillas and tacos.  My only issue with this recipe is that the sauce ended up very runny. I would’ve liked it a bit thicker.  Maybe next time I’ll use cornstarch or something at the end to thicken it up a bit.

Ingredients:
1 (8 ou) can tomato sauce
1 c bbq sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 (4 ou) cans green chilies
1/4 c chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t ground cinnamon
2 1/2 lb pork loin roast (the original recipe called for boneless, but I had bone-in)
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (I used about 1/2 this.  I don’t think a whole 1/2 c is necessary)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except pork and cilantro in a medium bowl.  Please pork in slow cooker and pour mixture over the pork.

Cook on high for about 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours.

Remove pork and shred. Stir cilantro into sauce, and then return shredded pork to sauce.  Serve as desired.

 

Slow Cooker Chicken & Veggie Tortellini Stew

Recipe from Cinnamon ‘En’ Spice

J & I thought this recipe was okay.  I forgot to buy carrots, and decided it needed a little something extra, so I defrosted and threw in some chopped spinach.  I thought overall it was just a bit bland.  The carrots probably would’ve added some nice sweetness to it.  And I think some spice would’ve been a good addition, maybe crushed red pepper.

Ingredients:
2 medium carrots, sliced (I omitted)
10 ou frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 3/4 c chicken broth
2 c water
9 ou cheese filled tortellini
2 medium green onions, sliced
1 t dried basil
2 T shredded Parmesan

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Layer in the carrots, garlic, chicken, beans.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour in broth and water and stir to combine.  Cook on low 6-8 or high 4-6 hours.

Stir in onions, tortellini, spinach and basil.  Set to high and cook for another 10-20 minutes, until tortellini is tender.  Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.