Slow Cooker Sausage and Vegetables Medley Recipe

Day 19.

This is one of our family favorites. It is easy, healthy and tastes great. Lots of good stuff all at the same time. I usually stock up on Aidell's brand smoked chicken sausage when it's on sale and have quite a few different varieties in the freezer at a time.

The kids like the chicken and apple kind, I like the artichoke and garlic, and Adam likes the spicy kind (I can't remember what it's called, and I'm all cozy here while I'm typing and really don't want to go look). Sorry.

Anyway, they are clearly labeled gluten free, which is always an added bonus.

The Ingredients:

6 smoked chicken sausage links

4 cups random vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper all work well)
2 cups or so of cubed potatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 to 1/2 cup white wine if you have it on hand --- if not, feel free to omit completely
1 large handful of baby spinach (to add at the very end)

The Directions:

--cut all veggies into 2-inch chunks

--layer into crockpot, most to least dense

--add sliced sausage

--add broth and wine

--cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

--right before serving, add a handful of fresh spinach and cover for 10 minutes to wilt leaves

(I forgot to do this in the above photo.)

The Verdict:

Delicious. And terribly easy--no spices are needed due to the flavorful sausage.
We make this pretty often because we all like it. The leftovers are great for lunches and I often eat it cold right out of the Tupperware the next day.

Slow Cooker Salmon and Green Beans Recipe

Day 18.

Hey! Salmon in the slow cooker! They said it couldn't be done.

The Ingredients:

--package of thawed salmon

--bunch of green beans

--1/4 cup soy sauce (La Choy is gluten free)

--1/4 cup honey

--1/4 cup citrus juice (I used two lemons and a blood orange; regular orange juice works just fine)

The Directions:

--wash and trim green beans, plop into stoneware

--in a separate bowl, mix the soy sauce, honey and citrus juice together

--place fish on top of green beans

--pour liquid mixture on top

--close up and cook on LOW for 2-3 hours

--serve with rice or quinoa; drizzle sauce from the crock over everything

The Verdict:

This is a good way to cook fish. Adam was worried it wouldn't work, but it ended up being fine. I had really old frozen salmon in the house, and that's what I used. I think it's better to cook this for a short amount of time. If you're not around to check it after a few hours during the week, save fish for the weekend.

Homemade Chicken Broth Slow Cooker Recipe

Day 17.

Mmm. Looks lovely, doesn't it? Making your own chicken broth isn't as hard as you think it is. Knowing what exactly is going into your family is important if you have allergies, health problems that call for low-sodium diets, or sensitivities to preservatives.

I am not a purist. I am not going to play one on the Internet. I like spice packets, and I definitely like shortcuts--I do use store-bought chicken broth (a lot.)---but I also use my own broth when I have it on hand in the freezer.

The Ingredients:

--store bought rotisserie chicken carcass (see! shortcuts!) if you are gluten-free or have other allergies, read the ingredients on the package carefully. Costco clearly labels their chickens as gluten-free.

-- chopped onion

--bunch of celery

--2 cups or so baby carrots

--small bunch of green onions

--head of garlic

--3 bay leaves

--1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

--6 cups of water

The Directions:

--put chicken carcass into slow cooker stoneware

--coarsely chop onion, celery, and green onion; place into crock with baby carrots

--peel entire head of garlic; dump in

--add Italian Seasoning and water

Close it up and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove from heating element, and let cool completely on stove-top.

The cooling is important. Humor me.

okay. Wash your hands and dig in. Find all the little chicken bones, peel off any remaining chicken and discard the bones and bay leaves. This is a good exercise in finding your inner 9-year-old.

Use a cup and scoop the soupy liquid into your blender to brothicize.

Once liquified, pour broth into freezer bags in manageable portions. I chose to use 1-cup servings. This particular batch made nine 1-cup servings.

Place on a small cookie sheet and freeze. Once the bags are frozen, they are small enough to be tucked in nooks around your freezer.

This broth has NO salt added. I am happy about this, but some people really like salt. When using a homemade broth recipe, taste the dishes you make and add salt as needed. The overall sodium content will be much lower.

Slow Cooker Cioppino Recipe

Day 15.

There is nothing better than a big bowl of hot, spicy cioppino. It's a little messy, but oh so very good. After I shared with Adam that I was planning on using a package of the frozen seafood mix from Trader Joe's in lieu of fresh seafood, he took over my cooking (crocking?) endeavor. He took both kids with him to the store and I sat on the couch pretending to fold laundry while I watched my buddy Alton Brown on Food Network.

Adam arrived home with a crap load of ingredients. I was completely overwhelmed with all the stuff he bought and he refused to tell me what he spent. After being kindly escorted (read: kicked) out of the kitchen I dug around on the Web and found the bestest cioppino recipe ever. I got it from About.com, an absolutely wonderful resource--how do they get so many smart people in the computer all at the same time? It's called Will's Fisherman's Stew.

I have no idea who Will is, but I imagine he looks something like this:

(drawing courtesy of the household 6-year-old)

There are a lot of ingredients. Try not to freak out. Or freak out and have your husband do it all. Your choice.


The Ingredients:

We followed the About.com recipe with only a few changes. The biggest change was that we added clam juice to the liquid base.

--1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes and juice
--1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
--1/2 cup chopped onion
--1 cup white wine (those little bottles are nearly a cup)
--6 cloves chopped garlic
--1/2 cup chopped parsley
--1 chopped green bell pepper
--1 hot pepper (optional--we used a red jalapeno)
--1 teaspoon thyme
--2 teaspoons basil
--1 teaspoon oregano
--1/2 teaspoon paprika
--1/2 teaspoono cayenne pepper
--1/2 cup clam juice



Seafood:

--1 deboned and cubed fillet of white fish (we used red snapper)
--1 dozen prawns
--1 dozen scallops
--1 dozen mussels
--1 dozen clams
--1 cracked crab



The Directions:


--Place all ingredients into the stoneware except for the seafood.

--Stir to mix well.

--Cover and cook 8 hours on low

--Add seafood 45 minutes before serving, and turn heat up to high--stirring occasionally.

--Salt and Pepper to taste

--Serve with your favorite french bread, or in our case, Pamela's drop biscuits.

--Change your shirt to red or a dark color so you don't end up with spotted clothes.


--Invite company over. Accept compliments.

Grandpa John. The Original Fisherman.


Related recipes:

tilapia in foil packets
seafood alfredo
fish chowder
fillet of sole with pesto
Mahi Mahi
lobster bisque

Overnight Quinoa and Brown Rice Pudding Slow Cooker Recipe

Day 14.

I searched in all my cookbooks and through the web to find an overnight slow cooker rice pudding recipe. I found a few, but they called for white rice and an entire cup of sugar. The idea of eating anything with that much sugar for breakfast icked me out.

I decided to prove the slow cooker cookbook and internet site writers wrong and come up with a hearty whole-grain breakfast porridge that the whole family loved.

I also wanted it to cook unattended all night long in my trusty slow cooker.

That's not too much to ask for, right?

The Ingredients:

--1 cup uncooked brown rice

--1 cup uncooked quinoa

--2 quarts (64 oz) of soy milk (you could probably use rice or almond, but cow's milk might curdle)

--1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

--1/4 cup white sugar

--1/4 cup brown sugar

--2 little boxes raisins (about 2/3 cup)
--1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

--tiny pinch of Kosher salt

--Cooking Spray for inside of stoneware

--blueberries (or other fresh fruit) and nuts for garnish

The Directions:

--put kids to bed so you don't have to give them little bowls of brown sugar to lick

--spray the inside of your stoneware with a bit of cooking spray

--mix all ingredients together and put in crock

It will look soupy, but the liquid will absorb by morning time.

--cook on low for 8 hours

--stir and serve with fresh fruit and/or nuts

But don't eat it.

That bowl up there might look pretty, but...

it tastes like dirt.

Maybe it was too much quinoa? Not enough sugar? I'm not sure exactly, but it was not good.

we had waffles instead.

other flops:

hardboiled eggs
fruit leather
southwestern dip
roasted pumpkin seeds
coconut chicken curry

Slow Cooker Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

Day 13.

I am sick. I've been sick on and off since Christmas, and it's getting old. No, I haven't been to a doctor. I prefer the Internet. I've tried steam, I've tried drinking more water, I've tried exercising, I've tried sleeping more, hot water and honey, and whining. Lots of whining.

Please don't tell me to get a neti pot.

You're going to tell me to get a neti pot, aren't you?

But I'm scared!

In-between nose blows, I made some hot and sour soup to help with the sinus-draining. I adore hot and sour soup. Is there a stronger word than adore? I am infatuated with hot and sour soup. That doesn't sound right.

Hot and Sour Soup. It's the bomb.

It is very tasty, and I think you should make it and bring me some more. Because I ate it all. While you're at it, you can bring me those really nice Puffs tissues imbedded with aloe lotion.

The Ingredients:
serves 2-3

--1 cup cubed firm tofu (I used one-half of that Trader Joe's two-pack.)

--2 cups chicken broth
--2 cups water
--1 package of sliced mushrooms
--1 can bamboo shoots
--1 can sliced water chestnuts
--2 tablespoon soy sauce (La Choy is gluten-free)
--1 teaspoon sesame oil
--2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (and some more later)

--1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (and some more later)
--green onion for garnish



The Directions:

Wash your hands. Stop blowing nose.

Combine everything in your slow cooker. I used a 5 quart, and I think it was filled about 2/3 of the way full. Here's a picture since I am horrible at judging fraction-y type things:





If I did it again, I'd use a 3 or 4 quart. Cook on low for 7-9 hours or high 4-5. I was impatient (have I mentioned that I'm sick?) and cooked it on high for 3 1/2. The mushrooms would have been better if I had waited.

Taste. If you need more of the sour flavor, add more rice wine vinegar. If you need more of the hot flavor, add more red pepper flakes. I like my soup very hot and sour, so I added another 1 tablespoob of the vinegar and another 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper flakes. Garnish with sliced green onion.

The Verdict:

I could probably eat this all day long. So I did. My kids really like it--they eat the broth and the tofu and leave the rest. You could easily slip in lots more veggies that you have on hand---carrots, celery, those cute little canned corncobs, etc. Many recipes call for cooked chicken or pork, which would be a great addition if you have some on hand or wanted to meat it up.


other soup recipes you might like:

Thai Coconut
Moroccan Lentil
Jamaican Pumpkin
Restaurant Tomato
Potato Leek
French Onion Soup

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Vegetables Recipe

Day 11.

I've never made this before, and it worked! I love it when that happens.

We had a frozen solid Shenson's Corned Beef from Costco waiting to be cooked for the past few months.

Corned beef is not my favorite, but I married a very Irish man. It seems to make him happy.

And when he's happy he takes out the garbage.

and folds laundry.

and doesn't get mad that there isn't any gas in the van and that it seems to happen that way every time he needs drive it.

Making corned beef in a slow cooker is incredibly easy. So easy, I don't really know why it isn't always prepared this way.

If you are gluten free please read the label carefully each and every time -- manufacturers sometimes change ingredients on a whim with little to no notice.

The Ingredients:

1 package of Corned Beef with seasoning packet

some potatoes (I used 8 mini white potatoes cut in fourths)

1 bunch of celery cut in 2-inch chunks

1 largish handful of baby carrots

1/2 cup of water (Do not add if you are making this the night before. Add right before cooking.)

The Directions:

Chop up potatoes and celery and put them in the bottom of the crock. Trim excess fat from hunk o' meat. Try not to hurl. Rinse the meat well to help release some of the salt.
Place the meat on top of veggies. Sprinkle on seasoning packet. Add water.

Drink wine. This is hard work. You deserve it.

I assembled everything the night before (minus the water), and put it into a tupperware in the refrigerator.

In the morning I dumped the food into the slow cooker and added water. I cooked this for 10 hours. If you are cooking on high, I'd check after 5 hours or so.

Viva la leprochauns!

Other stuff you might really like!
Dijon Corned Beef
Brown Sugar and Bourbon Glazed Corned Beef
Roasted Cabbage and Potatoes
Haggis
Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage Soup
Roasted Vegetables
Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Slow Cooker Candied Sweet Potatoes Recipe

This recipe has been updated from the first time I wrote it.
Here is the one you should use:

1 tablespoon butter
7 to 8 sweet potatoes, or yams, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 to 1 cup mini marshmallows (to add after cooking)

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Rub the butter onto the inside of your slow cooker. Layer in the sweet potato slices. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, and kosher salt. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes. 
Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. When potatoes are soft, scoop into an oven-safe dish, dot with marshmallows, and broil in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until marshmallows have JUST begun to brown.

Enjoy!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Day 10.

It is not Thanksgiving. But I promised the kids that I would make something yummy tonight. They chose "those really good potato things that grandma makes with marshmallows."

I am pretty sure that my mom makes them from a can. Which is totally fine--but I did happen to have a bag of sweet potatoes in the crisper drawer. (new ones. not the bag from here.)

After opening and closing cabinet doors way too many times, I settled on the following:

The Ingredients:

--12 oz bag of peeled and sliced sweet potatoes (or 3-4 peeled and chopped real ones)

--1 t vanilla

--1/4 cup brown sugar

--1/2 t cinnamon

-- a teeny tiny pinch of Kosher salt

--pat of butter (not a lot, it's just to grease the crock)

-- 1/4 cup of orange juice

--enough mini marshmallows to dot on top

after I took the photo I realized I didn't account for any liquid. Luckily, we had these little guys:

The Directions:

Butter the inside bottom and sides of your stoneware. Dump in the chopped sweet potatoes and all ingredients. Toss with your hands (or spoons if you are feeling dainty). Dot enough marshmallows on top to satisfy young children. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hrs or 2-3 on high.

See how the marshmallows are all clumpy and weird looking? That is apparently what happens when you buy marshmallows 18 months ago and then forget all about them.





The Verdict:

I'd make this again, but I think next time I'll use the small 1.5 qt crock or double it. This was plenty of food for a side dish for one meal for us four, but there weren't any leftovers.


It tasted amazing. I could have gotten away with 1/2 of the sugar amount. The taste was exactly like the canned stuff. But this cooked for 5 1/2 hours--so it has to be better, right?


right?


The marshmallows completely disappear while cooking. Warn small children.

Trust me.

updated 12/08: I made these for our Thanksgiving dinner, and they were amazing. I doubled the recipe and didn't add the marshmallows until the very end. Instead, I scooped the finished sweet potatoes out of the crock, and put in a round corningware dish. I added the marshmallows, and broiled in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the marshmallows were browned nicely. We had 10 adults and 5 kids for dinner, and everyone loved them. It seems the secret to feeding kids is to starve them beforehand... ;-)

other great side dishes to make for a holiday meal:

company's Coming Potato AuGratin
pecan-topped baked sweet potatoes
traditional stuffing
cornbread stuffing
corn risotto

Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole Recipe

Day 9.

woo hooo!


Thank you so much to Today's Creative Blog for the love and new readers! It is thrilling to know that people other than my family (hi, grandma!) are reading my posts and recipes.

I was glued to the New Hampshire coverage yesterday and was happy to spend very little time in the kitchen. We eat a lot of Mexican food, because I've found that the kids will eat pretty much anything with cheese, olives and sour cream. This dish was both no and the exception.

huh?


Allow me to explain...

After slaving all of 15 minutes to assemble this wonderfully delicious dish in order for it to cook unattended for 6 hours, I was told it looked like vomit.

I then listened to vomit noises (does charm school still exist?) for twenty minutes before storming from the table and vowing to never cook again.

I may have stuck my tongue out.

Then I came back to this:
a pretty much empty plate.

I think this qualifies as a successful meal in our house.

The Ingredients:

--leftover cooked chicken (about 2 cups)
--28 oz can of enchilada sauce (check ingredients for possible family allergens!)
--1 orange pepper


--1 yellow pepper
--1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
--1 can olives (I wish we had sliced, I sliced the whole ones)
--6 corn tortillas
--2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
--sour cream (optional)

The Directions:

--combine chopped or shredded chicken with the enchilada sauce
--Starting with 2 corn tortillas, layer ingredients into stoneware insert. I happened to go in this order:
--tortillas
--chicken mixed with sauce
--chopped pepper
--black beans
--olives
--cheese
Repeat layers. Finish with a handful of cheese and 1 tablespoon of water that you swirl around in the bowl that had the enchilada sauce and chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. This is a no-peeking recipe. A lot of times it's okay to peek and to stir, but for this one it's best left alone for the flavors to meld properly and for the edges to get that yummy crispy cheese texture.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream. 


other slow cooked dishes you might like:
easy slow cooker taco night
chimichangas
taco soup
salsa chicken
taco dip
rotel, sausage, and cream cheese dip

Nuts and Bolts Trail Mix Slow Cooker Recipe

Day 8.

I had to hurry and take this picture before the kids gnawed my arm off to reach the rest. It's okay to eat trail mix for all meals for 2 days, right? I think I read that it was okay in some parenting magazine.

Being gluten-free and all, it's difficult for our family to find a store bought trail mix that we all enjoy and isn't reminiscent of guinea pig food. This did the trick.

One of my library finds was America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Donna-Marie Pye. I may just have to buy this book when the library figures out that I keep renewing it. I followed this recipe to a T. Except for that I didn't have all the stuff she told me to have and I apparently read the directions wrong so I didn't actually follow what she said to do. How on earth did they ever let me out of school? Seriously.

Oh! If you get the book, it is called Winter Trail Mix. But growing up my mom and grandma called stuff with pretzel sticks Nuts and Bolts, so I changed the name.

The Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of unsalted nuts (I used almonds and walnut halves)

1 1/2 cups pretzel sticks (Glutino makes these awesome gluten free ones; Whole Foods carries them or you can buy from Amazon)--1 cup dried fruit (I used only cranberries because that's all we had. I would have loved to include dried blueberries and apricots)

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons water

The Directions:

--Dump dry ingredients in the stoneware.

--Mix the melted butter, water, vanilla and sugar in a bowl.

--Pour butter and sugar mixture on top of the dry ingredients and stir well to coat.

--Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.

Dump out on a prepared cookie sheet (I used Release foil) to cool.

I was worried that the pretzels would taste stale after being coated, but once they dried and cooled they regained their rightful crunch.

Quick, go hide some.

It will disappear.

other fun crockpot snacks:

Rice Krispie Treats

Cracker Jacks

Brownie in a Mug

roasted pumpkin seeds (flop)

roasted garbanzo beans

Rocky Road Candy

Slow Cooker Corn Chowder Recipe

Day 7.

Wow. This is a total keeper recipe. It is creamy, nutritious, light and healthy all at the same time.

I used a recipe found on page 193 of

The weird thing though, is that it was a recipe in a slow cooker book and you are supposed to make it on the stove-top, using the "master chicken broth" recipe from the book. I cooked it all the way in the slow cooker, so, technically it's my recipe. Or at least that's my story for when I get sued.

kidding.

don't sue me.

I don't have any money.

The Ingredients:

--2 quarts of chicken broth

--1 small onion

--1 red pepper

--1 peeled and chopped carrot (I used a handful of baby carrots)

--2 (16-ounce) bags frozen corn (I used Trader Joe's roasted corn, which I highly recommend---the flavor is smoky and wonderful without any added salt)

--2 medium potatoes (I used 6 mini white potatoes)

Directions:

Finely chop the onion and brown in a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan. You want the onion to be cooked, but not totally translucent since it will continue to cook in the slow cooker.

Finely chop the carrots and the red pepper. I used my pampered chef chopper. I love that thing.

Wash and coarsely chop the potato(es). I kept the skin on---it's up to you.

Dump all the veggies into the stoneware.

Add the bags of frozen corn.

Empty both cartons of chicken broth (2 quarts; 8 cups) on top.

Plug in your slow cooker and set on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-9 hours.




This is the tricky and totally fun part:


Use a hand blender to chowderify.


If you don't have a hand blender (you really should get one...) you can-- VERY CAREFULLY because OMG it is HOT. HOT!!!! See the Ove Glove?!-- pour into a blender and pulse to desired consistency. I left some chunks of corn and a few veggies, but tried to get rid of most of the potatoes.
The kids ate it! My parents came for dinner and they enjoyed it, also.
And, since it's pretty much straight corn, I'm, um, feeling very clean and light. 




An added bonus.
other recipes to try:
corn risotto
creamed corn
corn on the cob
sweet potato soup
cream of asparagus soup

Blueberry Coffee Cake Slow Cooker Recipe

Day 6.
Look! A moist, delcious blueberry coffee cake! And I made it! All by myself! In the slow cooker!

I am totally awesome.

I got a bunch of cookbooks from the library and they all said that it was easy to make baked products in the slow cooker. Having never tried such a thing, I was intrigued.

I got out the ingredients I would have used if I was going to make a traditional coffee cake and made the dough.

After mixing, I carefully folded in some thawed blueberries.

I placed a buttered corningware dish into the bottom of the stoneware and pushed the High button.

When baking in the crock, it's important to leave the top slightly ajar to let the steam escape, or you'll end up with an ooey gooey mess.

The different recipes suggested that the cake should be done in about 2 1/2 hours. Mine took closer to 4. You'll know it's done when the edges are slightly brown and an inserted knife comes out clean.

The verdict: I will definitely make baked products again in my slow cooker. There was no need to use the cooker instead of the oven today, but for a brunch or a tea party (I've never actually had a tea party, but I might some day) when the oven is already in use, it's nice to know that I have an alternative baking appliance.

Other recipes you should really try:

cornbread--in the slow cooker!

perfect gluten free bread

apple crisp

5 layer brownies

blueberry buckle

chocolate pudding cake

Slow Cooker Lamb Chops Recipe

Day 5.
We are housebound due to the crazy storm outside.
It's so cold and stormy we had to resort to making a real fire in the real fireplace with a real Duraflame.

But, no worries. We have frostbitten lambchops at our disposal. This is my favorite way to use my slow cooker. I find a piece of forgotten, pretty much unedible meat and plop it in to cook all day long with either some bottled sauce, or with a spice rub. Since lamb is flavorful all on it's own, I used a bottle of spice rub purchased over the summer for barbequing. 

if you don't have a spice rub, use this:
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Coat all sides of the chops with seasoning rub and place into the bottom of a stoneware insert that has 1 tablespoon of olive oil smeared around.

Add a 1/2 cup of water, close it up, and push the low button.

Sing Baa Baa Black Sheep (optional).

That's it! I plugged it in at 7:20am, and cooked the meat until 5pm, flipping once at about 1:30.

I served it with some leftover stir-fried rice and drizzled the broth from the crock over the top.

The lamb was tender and very flavorful. The kids each had 2 bites before requesting Macaroni and Cheese---which means it was a very successful meal.

other tasty lamb dishes:
Lamb Vindaloo
leg of lamb
lamb, olive, and onion tagine
smoky spiced lamb chops