Turkey with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce CrockPot Recipe

Day 213.

I had an abundance of raspberries in the refrigerator left from making sorbet and smoothies in the VitaMix. Since it was buy-one, get-one-free at Safeway, I had to bring home more than I needed, which meant that if I didn't hurry up and use them they'd grow hair. And beards. And then would be deemed "living things" by my kids who all of a sudden have decided that all living things need to be saved.

even house flies.

ugh.

Bobby Flay was on Food Network yesterday doing something (again) with chipotle chili peppers (smoked jalapenos) and said that chipotles (usually) need to be paired with something sweet.

And that's when the light bulb hit. Or turned on. Or something.

The Ingredients.

--1-2 pounds turkey breast cutlets, or a piece of turkey breast (I used 1 lb turkey breast cutlets, but this makes a lot of sauce and can handle much more meat than I used)

--2 cups fresh raspberries
--juice from 1 lemon (yes, that green shrivelly thing is a lemon)
--2 T water
--1 t chipotle chili powder
--1/2 t kosher salt
--1/2 to 1 T sugar, to taste (this isn't pictured because I didn't put it in. It was a mistake. You should add it.)
--1 T olive oil

The Directions.

Put the tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of your crockpot stoneware, and push it around so it coats the bottom nicely. Add your turkey. My turkey was fresh and thawed, but frozen should work okay, too.

In a blender, combine the raspberries, water, salt, chipotle chili powder, lemon juice, and sugar.

Pour over the top of the turkey.

Cover and cook on low for 6-10 hours---the range is huge because if you use a frozen turkey breast, it will obviously take longer than 1 pound of thawed cutlets. I cooked our cutlets on low for 6 hours. Turkey can get tough when it's cooked on high, so I prefer to cook on low.

The Verdict.

We ate this. It was edible. The kids dipped their turkey (with most of the sauce wiped off) into ketchup.

Adam and I ate it and couldn't decide what we thought. I think the consensus was that it was okay, but kind of weird.

The raspberries lose a lot of their color when cooked this long, and the seeds sometimes snuck up on me and surprised me. I probably should have strained the sauce in a mesh thingy before cooking it.

I think adding sugar will really help, but I don't think we'll make this again to test that theory out for reals.

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Clean Out the Pantry CrockPot Chili

Day 212.

Some of the recipes I've done this year have been a bit out of the norm for me. One of the reasons I love crockpot cooking so much is that you don't really need to follow a recipe---many times I can just start opening cans and clean out the fridge and create a delicious meal without trying.

This is one of those meals.

We had too much food in the house for me to feel comfortable buying more, so I dug through what we had on hand, threw it in the pot, held my breath, and hoped for the best.

I was quite happy with the results.

I urge you to do the same in your house. Just play. Dig through the cubbard and see if what you already have on hand can be combined to become a new family favorite.

Cooking should be fun. When preparing dinner becomes a chore --and it's no longer fun-- that's when you reach for the phone to call for pizza.

The reason the crockpot has become such an invaluable tool in our house, is because I can make-do (usually. this year has turned a tad bit nutty) with pantry staples, or with meat I buy on clearance.

You can, too.

The Ingredients.

2 cans (6oz) tomato paste
3 cans of beans, drained and rinsed (I used garbanzo, white kidney, black beans)
1 T Italian seasoning
1 chopped yellow onion
2 cloves chopped or minced garlic
2 cups broth (I used chicken. vegetable would work great)
2 T (heaping) sliced jalapenos from a jar or can

The Directions.

Open cans. Rinse the beans, and dump them into the crockpot. Add all the rest of the stuff---there aren't any rules, here.

Except to recycle the cans.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours.


The Verdict.

This was too spicy for the kids, but Adam and I really liked it a lot, and each had two bowls. We had it with cornbread, that you could make in the crockpot, if you wanted to.

I liked this. I needed to get back to my crockpot cooking "roots"---and it felt nice for me to make things up as I go along again.


related:
clean-out-the-pantry minestrone soup
lazy chicken
fried rice
marinated meat

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CrockPot Spanish Braised Chicken Recipe

Day 211.

The kids and I went to the "good" library over the weekend and I checked out a bunch of cookbooks. One of the books was put out by Cook's Illustrated, and was called The Complete Book of Poultry.

There are probably a good five hundred recipes in this book, but narrowing down what I was going to attempt first was rather easy---I had all the ingredients in the house for this one!

The Ingredients.

1 T of butter (not pictured)
4 large chicken breast halves
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 t dried thyme
3 bell peppers, sliced (I used red and orange)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced in rings
1/2 cup cooking sherry (you could use apple juice)
2 t orange juice
12 large green olives, chopped

The Directions.

Plug in your crockpot and turn it to low. Add the butter to the bottom of the stoneware insert. Add the chicken--my chicken was frozen, but thawed would work, too. Add all of the dried spices to the chicken. Cut the peppers and onion, and chop or mince the garlic, to add to the mix. Top off with the cooking sherry and orange juice. Chop up the green olives, and sprinkle them on top.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

I cooked our chicken for 6 hours, and the meat was cooked, but still a bit dry inside. I chopped each breast in half, and added it back to the pot for another hour. The chicken was then quite juicy.

The Verdict.

All four of us enjoyed this dinner. The kids dipped their chicken into barbecue sauce, but they always do. Adam said it was one of the best chicken dishes he'd had, and was pleased with the moistness of the breast. I enjoyed the peppers, onion, and olives a lot.

There was a lot of juice left in the pot---I'm thinking you could easily put in 6 breast halves.

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Five-Spice Steak Strips CrockPot Recipe

Day 210.

Two hundred and ten! eek!

Yesterday, I had some projects to tie up, miles to run, laundry to fold, and a kid with a double ear infection.

I forgot to turn on the crockpot until about 3pm. It completely slipped my mind. I did it, though. But the meat I cooked would have been much, much better if I had plugged it in earlier in the day and let it stew, or better yet if I had had the meat sit in the fridge overnight in the marinade.

I bought Chinese Five-Spice Powder a few weeks ago, when I found myself in the grocery store all alone. I love grocery shopping alone. I get a mocha from Starbucks and wander each and every aisle, and always find something "new" that I didn't know I needed, or something that I wanted but didn't take the time to properly scout out. Some people like massages. I like solo-grocery shopping.

Lydia, from The Perfect Pantry, has a marvelous write-up about the wonders of Five-Spice Powder. I found it in the Ethnic section of my regular grocery store.

The Ingredients.

1-2 pounds thin steak meat (I used flank steak)
1/4 t kosher salt
1 t Five-Spice Powder
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t black pepper
6 cloves minced or chopped garlic
2 T soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are GF)
1 T white wine vinegar

The Directions.

In a small bowl, mix the dry spices. Rub the mixture on all sides of your meat.

Put the meat into a ziplock bag and add the chopped garlic, soy sauce, and white wine vinegar. Seal the bag and refrigerate for as long as possible; preferably overnight.

I did not do this. Your meat will taste better if you do.

When the meat has fully marinated, cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 5-6. This is very thin meat and will cook quickly, since there isn't much liquid. If you are going to be out of the house for a while, add 1/2 cup of beef broth. I used my 6qt Smart-Pot, and it was not really enough food for it; this would work best in a 4qt.

Slice the meat thin and serve over rice with vegetables, or on top of a spinach salad. We had our meat on top of salad.

The Verdict.

Since I didn't put the crockpot on until 3pm, my meat had very little flavor, except for the very outer skin. We ate it, and it was fine, but it could have been much, much, better. I have meat leftover, and am going to re-rub it with the spices and let it sit for a while, then chop it up for fried rice to have for lunch.

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CrockPot Quinoa Casserole

Day 209.

We eat a lot of quinoa in our house. I put it in the rice cooker and we eat it a few times a week as our starch. The kids request it for lunch quite often, and eat it with butter and shredded cheese.

Many people don't know what quinoa is. That's okay. We didn't start eating it until just this past year. Here is a quick article on what it is, exactly. I thought it was a grain (because the Trader Joe's box says so), but the article says that's actually the seed of a leafy plant. Huh.

If you've never cooked with quinoa before, this is a great recipe to try---it is full of yummy stuff, and is a light, yet comforting meal or side dish.

The Ingredients.

--1 1/2 cups quinoa
--3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable; I used chicken)
--1 T olive oil
--1/2 t salt
--1/2 t cinnamon
--1/4 sliced or chopped almonds
--1/3 cup dried unsweetened cranberries

--handful of baby spinach
--1 cup baby tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
--1/2 block feta cheese, crumbled

The Directions.

You are supposed to rinse quinoa. I didn't know this until I made the disastrous overnight brown rice and quinoa pudding, and read all of the comments. I still don't rinse the quinoa that comes in the orange box from Trader Joe's. If you have a different brand, or are using quinoa from bulk, rinse it in a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clear.

Dump it into the crockpot. I used my 6qt Smart Pot for this dish.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and mix it around. Add chicken or vegetable broth, the salt, and cinnamon. Stir in almonds and cranberries.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 2-4. The quinoa is done when you can fluff it with a fork and it is tender. The liquid should be pretty well absorbed, similar to how you know rice is done.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork, and add the baby tomatoes and feta cheese. Stir gingerly to mix. Add a large handful of baby spinach to the top of the crockpot, and close the lid. Cook on high for about 20 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted. Stir again to distribute the spinach.

Serve.

The Verdict.

We ate this for lunch yesterday, and really enjoyed it. I can see adding garbanzo beans for a bit more protein and to up the heartiness. I was quite pleased with the very mild cinnamon flavor, and loved the cooked cranberries and almonds.

The kids both liked this.

This will be made again. Very soon.

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Baked Brie CrockPot Recipe

Day 208.

Happy Saturday! One of my most-requested and best-received crockpot appetizers is brie with candied pecans and cranberries. I like making it, because it's so gosh darn easy and because it seems more involved and elegant than it really is.

I was reminded about baked brie in a pastry crust last week when I was thumbing through and old cookbook put out by Pillsbury. I had a wheel of brie in the fridge, and thought I might as well try to do it in the crockpot.

The Ingredients.

The super easy way:

--a wheel of brie
--refrigerated crescent rolls

The Gluten Free Way (or a home-made way of making crescent rolls):
from the best crescent roll recipe ever, thanks to Delightfully Gluten Free

--1 /4 cup butter
--3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese or sour cream
--1 cup Gluten Free Flour mix (I used Pamela's) or All-Purpose Flour
--1 t xanthum gum (omit if using AP flour)
--1/8 t salt
--1/4 t cream of tartar
--1/2 t baking soda
--1 T sugar

--wheel of brie

The Directions.

If making the dough at home, follow the tutorial from the Delightfully Gluten Free site. I used sour cream the first time I made this dough, but used the cottage cheese this time. Both types of dough were delicious.

Roll out the chilled dough or crescent rolls on a cutting board. Don't tear apart the little crescent roll triangles, keep them together. I didn't bother to use an actual rolling pin, I just squished the dough down with a piece of plastic wrap. Place the wheel of brie in the center and fold the dough around the edges. If you have enough dough to cover the top, go for it. I did not, and left a peek-hole.

Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, with a toothpick wedged in the cover for just a bit of a vent hole. I usually use a chopstick, but tried a toothpick this time. I did get some condensation on the lid, but was pleased with the results. Your brie will be done when the dough has browned on top, and begun to pull away from the sides of the crockpot, or dish.

I put the brie and the dough directly into my 4qt crockpot and baked it like that. In retrospect, I should have put the brie into an oven-safe round dish, and then put it into the crockpot for easier removal. I was able to get it out, but it wasn't very pretty. There may have been some bad words said.

The Verdict.

Oh Em Gee. Delicious, and very fun to make and present. I am overjoyed to have found this gluten free dough, and was so happy to give a nice big slice of this to my kids. They hated the cheese but liked the dough.

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CrockPot Chex Party Mix Recipe

Day 207.

Way back on the 8th day of this year, I made a Nuts and Bolts Trail Mix in the crockpot. It was delicious, and we ate it straight for two days.
Since then, General Mills has re-formulated Rice Chex cereal to make it Gluten Free. Which rocks. It overjoys my mommy heart to know that every single grocery store will carry a tasty, affordable cereal--a cereal that can be found when traveling, and something grandma can easily pick up to keep on hand.

For a while, some stores had the old version on the shelves until they sold out. If you are picking some up at the store, make sure it has the Gluten Free label.

This is actually the 4th or 5th time I've made Chex Mix in the crockpot with the new cereal---I kept forgetting to take photos. This is so very easy to throw together for an after-school snack, for a boring Sunday afternoon, etc. I love that I'm not heating up the house with the oven or monitoring closely, worried about burnage.


The Ingredients.

--5 Cups General Mills Rice Chex Cereal
--1-2 cups of dry roasted peanuts (salted or not, your choice)
--2 cups pretzel sticks (I used Glutino)
--1/2 t onion powder
--1/2 t seasoned salt
--3 T butter
--1 1/2 T Worcestershire Sauce (Lea and Perrins is GF.)


The Directions.

--put the butter into the bottom of your crockpot.
--turn it on low
--add the onion powder and seasoned salt
--add the Worcestershire sauce
--add dry ingredients
--stir. if the butter is still clumpy, it's okay
--cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring every 45 min or so

Dump out onto a cookie sheet to cool.

Serve and enjoy.


The Verdict.

We ate every last ounce of this in one day. It is seriously addicting. The kids liked it immensely, and have requested me to make it again today. But with less peanuts.

The recipe that I have written here has less butter than the original Chex Party Mix recipe, and I was pleased that it was still enough to coat the cereal, peanuts, and pretzels nicely without a layer of grease left on my hands. Or the kids hands.

because then the couch stays clean.

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CrockPot Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Day 206.

Sometimes I get emails with questions like "are you really going to do this for a whole year?" "are you worried you're going to get bored?" "don't you go stir-crazy sometimes?"

I answer: yes, yes, and yes. But then I make something that I never would have attempted to make if it wasn't for this silly challenge, and it opens my mind to the endless possibilities of the crockpot and I re-commit to the insanity for at least another day.

Yesterday, my friends, I made mousse. The most delightfully wonderful chocolate mousse ever.

In the crockpot.

And when it worked I went out in the yard and did a back flip. Sort of. It was really more like a really bad cartwheel with a really bad landing, but the kids insisted it was a back flip. I'm kind of hopped up on Advil right now, actually...

and as soon as I hit publish, I'm going back to bed. With mousse. Today is going to rock.

The Ingredients.
loosely adapted from Epicurious

--2 cups heavy whipping cream
--4 large egg yolks
--3 T baker's sugar (I like baker's sugar because the granules dissolve quickly)
--1/3 cup cold, strong coffee
--1 t vanilla
--2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


The Directions.

This is not hard. Go read how hard it could be over at Epicurious. I love my crockpot.

I used a 4 qt round crockpot. If you use a larger one, your stuff will melt and cook faster; be aware.

In your crockpot, add the heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and coffee. Whip until combined with a whisk. You don't need to go crazy, just mix it well. Add the two cups of chocolate chips.

Cover and cook on high for about an hour, or on low for about two. You are looking for little bubbles in the surface of the cream, and melted chocolate.

VERY VERY VERY VERY carefully, pour the mixture into a blender. You'll get about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of liquid. Blend on high until it "grows" to about 5 to 6 cups, and doesn't seem like it will rise any higher.

Pour into serving dishes.

Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Top with whipped cream or berries, or nothing at all.


The Verdict.

It's not bad that I didn't let the kids have any because it had coffee in it, right? That doesn't make me mean, does it? They were already eating cake...

Adam said that this rivaled any restaurant mousse he's had. The Lewis family came over and they enjoyed it---and Carol let her kids have a taste because she is much nicer than I am.

Two things to note: the very top has a bit of a skin on it, and there are little bubbles that didn't pop during the cooling process. This kind of bothered me, but I was assured that I was the only one bothered.

okay! back to bed! with a spoon.

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CrockPot Gyro Recipe

Day 205.

A hundred million years ago, my very first job was working at the Zoo, in the education department. I loved that job---I loved the people, the work, the animals, speaking to the public, and the food.

I really loved the food.

I think I spent pretty much every dollar I made going to the different hole-in-the-wall restaurants ordering food I had never before heard of that were within walking distance. Directly across the street was a Gyro stand. A bunch of us would run across the street and order gyros (in our uniforms; boy I hope we washed our hands first) and stand in an insane line to order and then eat our gyros while we walked back to work.

I know we pronounced them wrong when we went to order. Nobody cared. That was nice.

We had these last night for Adam's birthday; he turned 24. again.

I followed the fantastic recipe online by Sarah Christine Bolton, the Savvy Slow Cooker of CDKitchen. Sarah knows her stuff---I recommend spending some time checking out her recipes.

The Ingredients.

For the gyro meat:

--1/2 pound ground lamb
--1/2 pound ground turkey
--2 t oregano
--1 t paprika

--1/2 chopped onion
--3 cloves minced garlic
--juice from 1 lemon

For the Tzatziki sauce (optional, but not really):

--1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
--1 cup plain non fat yogurt
--1 T olive oil
--3 cloves minced garlic
--2 T chopped fresh mint
--juice from 1 lemon

Extra stuff (optional. for reals.):

--pita bread (but we used corn tortillas)
--lettuce
--tomatoes
--feta cheese
--olives

The Directions.

Don't freak out about the number of ingredients. This comes together very quickly. I promise. Chop up the onion, and 3 cloves of garlic, and put them in the bottom of your crockpot. In a small mixing bowl, combine the two kinds of ground meat with the paprika and oregano. If your spices don't have a fresh smell anymore, or if you think they may have been purchased in the 90s, consider buying fresh bottles for this dish.

Make a little meatloaf with your hands. Put the meatloaf log on top of the chopped onion and garlic in your crockpot. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top of the meat.

Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours, or on HIGH for about 2.

I, um, forgot to plug in the crockpot until 2pm yesterday and cooked this on high for exactly 2 hours.

It worked!

While you are waiting for the meat to cook, make up a batch of the yummy Tzatziki sauce and put it in the fridge.

You will know when the meat is done, because it will not be raw when you cut into it. This is all so very technical, you know.

Carefully! remove the meat from the crockpot and slice it thinly on a cutting board.

Serve it with pitas (or corn or brown rice tortillas) with the Tzatziki sauce and whatever desired fixings you have chosen.

The Verdict.

I loved making these! I hadn't used garlic and onion just as a flavor infuser before, and was really excited to learn a new trick. This is not greasy, and the flavor was good. It was not the same as how I remember the gyros from across the street at the Zoo, but close enough that I would definitely make them again. I remember a lot more grease, and a lot more salt. and since I'm not sixteen anymore, I'm no longer interested in that, anyhow.

Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your Slow Cooking Savvies.

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CrockPot Chow Mein Recipe

Day 204.

I made this chow mein with chicken, but you easily could keep it vegetarian, or use your favorite kind of meat---even pork!

Debbi (who doesn't have a blog, but totally needs one) sent me this recipe in May, and I made it just yesterday.

This is a good one; I'm excited to share it with you.

The Ingredients.

--1-2 lbs of meat (I used one pound of chicken breast; Debbi uses two pounds)
--2 cups of water
--2 chopped yellow onions
--2-3 cups of chopped celery

--1/4 cup cornstarch
--1/4 cup soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)
--3 T molasses
--1 can (16 oz) baby corn, drained
--1 can (6.5 oz) bamboo shoots, drained
--1 cup bean sprouts
--1 chopped red bell pepper

--salt and pepper to taste
--olive oil
--spaghetti or chow mein noodles (I used Trader Joe's brown rice spaghetti)

The Directions.

If you are using meat, put it into the crockpot. I used frozen chicken breast tenderloins. Add the chopped onion and celery, and two cups of water.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4. Shred meat carefully with two forks.

In a glass bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and molasses. Mix to get rid of the little clumpy balls of cornstarch. I ended up needing to use my fingers to really break them up--which reminds me that I should really make a batch of Ooblek for the kids.
set aside.

Chop up the red bell pepper, and add it to the crockpot. Open the bamboo shoots and corn, drain liquid, and add remaining content. Add bean sprouts.

Stir in the sauce mixture.

Cover your crockpot again and cook on high for about an hour, or until flavors have melded and the added vegetables reach desired tenderness.

Before serving, cook pasta according to package instructions. I heavily salted my water before adding the pasta (about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt) and added some olive oil.

When the pasta reaches the al dente stage, drain it and set aside. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan or wok, and add some salt and pepper, if desired (I didn't add any pepper). On high heat, toss the cooked pasta in the olive oil and salt, allowing it to sizzle a bit and get a tiny crust on some of the noodles.

Serve the noodles with the crockpot vgetables and meat.

The Verdict.

Oh thank you, Debbi! This was one of the best chow mein dishes I've ever had, ever. I loved how the noodles were not squishy and gross, and how the vegetables remained crisp and the sauce was SPOT ON. Debbi totally got it right.

We will make this again and again. My three-year-old has never had chow mein, and gobbled up her portion, and then ate more off of my plate. My six-year-old was hesitant with the veggies, but ate all the chicken and pasta.

Adam ate two plates, and so did I.

My parents dropped by and I gave them each some.

Everyone really liked this meal.

I have enough meat and veggies to make another 1/2 package of pasta to feed the girls and I for lunch.

Awesome.

If you'd like to have a full Chinese-style crockpot dinner at home, you could make:

Hot and Sour Soup
Chinese Lemon Chicken
Mongolian Beef

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CrockPot Blueberry Buckle Recipe

Day 203.

I picked up a copy of Good Housekeeping's Quick & Simple magazine over the weekend, solely because there was a large headline that read "Oprah's Favorite Summer Treats!"

And I wondered what they could be.

I was tickled when I read that one of Oprah's favorites was a blueberry buckle, or cobbler. I knew that I could find a way to convert this recipe to MY favorite way of being Quick & Simple: I used the CrockPot.

The Ingredients.

This serves 4, in two ramekins that I put inside of a 6qt crockpot. If you'd like to omit the step of adding ramekins and only have a large CrockPot (4qts or larger), double the recipe to serve 8, to ensure that there is enough inside of the crockpot so it won't burn on you. CrockPots work the best when they are at least 2/3 of the way full.

I also cut the sugar content back, and used plain non-fat yogurt instead of buttermilk.

Crumble:

--2 T granulated sugar

--2T dark brown sugar

--1/4 cup of flour (I used Pamela's Baking Mix)

--1/4 t ground cinnamon

--2 T butter, melted

Filling:

--2 cups fresh blueberries (if you do not have access to fresh, use unsweetened frozen)

--1/2 T lemon juice

--1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt

--1/2 cup flour (Pamela's)

--3 T granulated sugar

--1 egg

The Directions.

The original recipe called for three steps, and I found that a bit confusing. They suggested keeping the crumble topping, the filling, and the batter all separate and layering the filling and the batter a few times before adding the crumb topping. I omitted those steps and combined the filling and batter.

This is what I did:

In a large glass bowl, mix all ingredients for the filling, except for the blueberries. Wash and pick any remaining stems off of your blueberries, and then toss them in the bowl with the filling. Set aside.

In a different glass bowl, melt your butter, and add the dry ingredients. Mix. The crumbs will be moist, and crumbly.

If you are using ramekins, place them into the bottom of your crockpot to ensure a proper fit. Spray the ramekins with cooking spray. If you are going to put the batter directly into the crockpot, spray the stoneware with cooking spray.

Put the blueberry filling evenly into the ramekins, or dump directly into your crockpot. Add the crumb topping.

Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours, removing the lid of the crockpot during the last 45 minutes or so to crisp up the topping. This dessert is finished when the crumb topping has set and is no longer dough-y. I cooked ours on high for exactly 4 hours. The crumb topping was set, and was a bit crisp on the outer edges, but remained a bit damp in the center. This didn't bother us, but if you'd like it set a bit more, cook longer.

The Verdict.

Oprah's favorite is now our favorite, too! The blueberries had a perfect mix between sweet and tartness, and the crumb topping was sweet, without being overkill.

I would make this again and again.

I liked the ease of the crockpot for this dish---I got everything assembled and plugged it in during the mid-afternoon. After dinner we cleaned up and went to the park, and then came home to a nice warm bubbly dessert. It was very nice to not be stuck inside on oven-watch.

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CrockPot Swiss Chard Soup Recipe

Day 202.

Swiss chard! In a soup!

I don't really have anything other than that to say.

This recipe came from my new friend, Astrid, who grows a lot of chard in her garden, and needed a way to use it up. So we crockpotted the chard.

The Ingredients.

--2 big bunches of swiss chard, chopped (I only chopped the green part and gave the stems to the guinea pigs)

--1 cup baby carrots, chopped

--1 onion, chopped

--7 baby red potatoes, or equivalent, chopped

--5 cloves of garlic, chopped

--1/4 cup fresh basil (hey! guess what? chop this, too!)

--5 cups broth (I used chicken, but if you want this to be vegetarian you should use veggie broth)

--1/2 t black pepper

--1 t kosher salt

(you might want to add more salt and pepper after cooking, to taste)

--garnish with Parmesan/Romano cheese, optional

The Directions.

Wash and chop all of your vegetables, and add them to the crockpot. This is a lot of stuff, so I'd stick to a 5qt or larger crockpot.

Add whatever kind of broth you are using.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Soup tastes best the longer you cook it.

Serve with some cheese on top, and some crusty bread.

The Verdict.

This tastes like swiss chard. In soup. If you don't like swiss chard, you won't like this soup.

It reminded me a lot of the cabbage soup from the cabbage soup diet. And that soup kind of gives me nightmares.

It gives Amie nightmares, too.

We didn't save the leftovers.

But I really, really, really appreciate Astrid for sending me this recipe. I needed something like this in my repertoire, and I bet there are at least a dozen people out there who really like swiss chard.

:-0

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CrockPot Crab with Sundried Tomatoes and Horseradish Spread

Day 201.

I was playing in the kitchen yesterday and came up with this crab spread. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not---even after I ate two rice cakes smeared with the stuff. Adam thought it was too fussy.

But! I got to use my Little Dipper. And I think that thing is just so darn adorable, that everything that comes out of it tastes like princess food. And that can't be a bad thing.

Ever.

The Ingredients.

--1 4.25 oz can of crab meat, drained

--2 T prepared horseradish cream

--5 reconstituted sun dried tomato halves

--1/4 cup parmesan/romano cheese

--3 fresh basil leaves

The Directions.

Soak the dried sun dried tomatoes in some hot water until they are soft and pliable. Chop. You could use the sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, but be sure to wring out the oil, or your pate will be awfully oily.

Drain the can of crab and add it to the little crockpot. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, the horseradish, chopped fresh basil leaves, and the cheese.

Mix with a fork.

Cover and cook (there isn't a temperature adjustment knob on the Little Dipper) for about an hour.

Serve with pita chips, corn chips, or on rice cakes.

The Verdict.

This was good, but maybe a bit too flavorful. I like horseradish, but maybe mixed with both the crab and the sun dried tomatoes was too much. It didn't stop me from eating a bunch, but it might have been better with fewer full-of-flavor ingredients.

The kids had no interest, whatsoever, in giving this dip/spread a try.

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CrockPot Coq au Vin Recipe

Day 200.

Two hundred!!!!

yippee! It's not bad that I have count-down going in my head, is it...?

Egads, this is a delicious company-pleasing dish. It will knock the socks, slippers, or steel-toed boots off of whomever you serve.

Thank you greatly to Bethany, who emailed me this marvelous recipe.

The Ingredients.

--6 to 8 frozen chicken thighs

--6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon (I used turkey, but you could use PORK)

--8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms (they are right next to the regular mushrooms)

--1 cup baby carrots

--1 chopped yellow onion

--3 cloves chopped or minced garlic

--1/2 t black pepper

--1/2 t kosher salt

--1/2 cup chicken broth

--1 1/2 cup cheap red wine (you can use non-alcoholic wine, if you wish)

--2 large fresh thyme sprigs (I really think the fresh thyme is the key, here. Go steal some from your neighbors garden.)

The Directions.

Cook your bacon. I used turkey bacon, and baked it on a broiler pan. Dump the frozen chicken into your crockpot and start layering in the rest of the ingredients. This is really a no-fuss (albeit amazingly gourmetish) preparation. Just throw it all in.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. You could cook it on high for 4, but it won't taste as good. The flavors meld so nicely when cooked low and slow.

Serve with mashed potatoes or your favorite pasta. We did brown rice fusilli.

The Verdict.

I am hiding the leftovers in the back of the fridge so I can eat them all. This has such a great depth of flavor---the bacon provides a nice smokey flavor and the fresh thyme gives it a restaurant aspect that is such a nice surprise.

It is purple, which means that it was automatically a hit with my girls.

Thank you so much, Bethany!

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Today is the last day for the Crock-Pot Give Away!

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CrockPot Peach Compote Recipe

Day 199.

Good morning! Today is my nine year anniversary of the second time that I married Adam. The first time was in Mr. Phillips' Economics class.

I remember being pulled to the front of the class to go over our budget and Mr. Phillips said, "$20? Your dining out budget is $20? Surely, Adam, you can do better than McDonalds when you treat your bride."

It still makes me smile when we grab anything at McDonalds.

Since we're such partiers, we're celebrating our anniversary by having Laura, from No Appropriate Behavior as a house guest. She and I are going to the BlogHer Newbie Party, and are leaving Adam and the girls home with a bowl of microwave popcorn and a well-worn copy of High School Musical.

But! when we return there will be fresh peach compote. Fresh peach compote with brandy. yum.

The Ingredients.

--3 to 4 fresh peaches (I used 3 large ones)

--1/3 cup brown sugar

--1/4 cup brandy (gluten free)

--2 T butter

--1/2 t ground cinnamon
--1 t vanilla

The Directions.

I used my 1.5 qt mini crockpot for this. I heard back from Crock-Pot that they are no longer producing an adjustable-temperature 1.5 quart---the new ones just plug in and turn on like the Little Dipper. If you are looking for an adjustable little guy, there is a 2 qt size available.

Wash and slice your peaches. Put them into your crockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, brandy, the 2T of butter, and the cinnamon and vanilla. There is no need to melt the butter beforehand.

Cover and cook for about 90 minutes, to 2 hours. If your crockpot has the temperature knob, go for high. So then you can eat it faster.

Serve over vanilla ice-cream.

The Verdict.

Beyond delicious. I wonder if I can get away with only eating peaches this way from now on?

this is very, very good.

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The Crock-Pot giveaway is still open! PLEASE leave a comment on the original giveaway post. Your comment is going to get lost if you leave it anywhere else, and want to be in the line-up for the random number picker thingy-mabob. The contest will close at 5pm, on Friday.

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CrockPot Indonesian Chicken Recipe

Day 198.

Suzanne emailed me this Indonesian Peanut Butter Chicken recipe last week, and I immediately printed it out. I had everything on hand, and knew that it was something that I needed to make.

So I did.

In the CrockPot.

Suzanne said that she had originally gotten it from Leanne Ely's book, Saving Dinner. I subscribed to Leanne's dinner service emails for a while when I was first married---I liked the variety of the dishes, and it was a valuable service for our family while we were learning how to meal plan.

The Ingredients.

--enough chicken parts to feed a family of 4. I used 17 frozen drummettes and wings.

--2 T soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are GF)

--2 chopped cloves of garlic

--1 1/2 t sesame oil

--1/4 t cayenne pepper

--1/3 cup peanut butter

--1/2 t ground ginger

--garnish with sesame seeds and lime wedges; optional

The Directions.

--put the peanut butter into your crockpot and turn it to high so it can begin to melt

--add the other sauce ingredients

--stir to mix

--add your chicken; toss to coat. My chicken was frozen solid and kind of all stuck together. It didn't seem to matter.

cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will become, but it may fall off the bone if you cook too long.

If your crockpot isn't at least 2/3 full, keep an eye on it so the peanut butter doesn't burn. You may need to stir a few times.

The Verdict.

This was pretty good, and the kids liked the little drumsticks a lot. Adam and I both thought that it needed either honey or sugar and some red chili pepper flakes. I don't know if Leanne was assuming that we were going to use natural peanut butter, or the sugary kind. If I made this again, I'd add 2T of either white or brown sugar. And I'd sprinkle red chili flakes on the grownup portions.

I really liked the squeeze of lime.

Thank you SO much, Suzanne! This was a great middle-of-the-week dinner for us, and it took about 6 minutes to prepare. Other than the garlic, there was no chopping---yay!

If you'd like to go vegetarian, I made peanut butter tofu earlier in the year with a slightly different peanut sauce. I remember liking it lots.

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psst. The CrockPot Give-Away contest is still open until Friday, 5pm Pacific. You need to open the comment section on the giveaway post and leave a comment there; it's too much work (for me!) to go through the other posts and copy and paste your comment into the giveaway post. Please go comment there! please. xoxo :-0

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CrockPot Cowboy Stew Recipe

Day 197.

This recipe came from Headless Mom, and the second I read it I knew I needed to make it because I liked the name. I am excited to meet Headless Mom at the BlogHer conference in a few days to see if she looks in person the way that I have imagined her to. Probably not. I envision a Headless Horseman character, but instead of a pumpkin tucked under her neck, it's a Donna Reed-type mom with pearls.

Now we're all going to have nightmares...

but not over this stew. This stew is hearty and has a nice kick to it; real comfort food.

There are two ingredients pictures because I got a bit overwhelmed answering and reading email yesterday and forgot to put some stuff in there at first. You guys are so much fun. And a little bonkers.

The Ingredients.

--1 pound browned hamburger (can use turkey)

--2 cloves chopped garlic

--1 can tomato sauce

--1 can diced Italian seasoned tomatoes

--1 can corn, drained

--2 cans whole baby potatoes, drained (unless you can find a great big can of potatoes)

--1 can tomatoes with green chilies

--1 can Ranch Style beans (with the baked beans in the grocery store)

--1 cup water

--sliced jalapeno peppers for garnish (optional)

The Directions.

This makes a lot. Make sure that your crockpot is at least 5qts.

Brown the hamburger with the chopped garlic cloves on the stove top. Drain the fat. Let sit in the pan for a bit to cool.

Open all of you cans, and dump them into the crockpot. Drain the corn and the potatoes, but add the rest of the can liquid to the crockpot.

After adding all of the can contents, add the browned meat and a cup of water. Stir with a spoon to mix a bit.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5. Soup and stew tastes better the longer you cook it, so opt for the longer cooking time if you can.

Garnish with sliced jalapeno peppers, if desired.

Recycle your cans!

The Verdict.

I had never before bought canned potatoes, or the Ranch Beans, which intrigued me about this recipe. Headless Mom says that if you use "real" potatoes they will disintegrate in the crockpot. I believe she's right. These stayed perfectly oval in shape, and looked like baby dinosaur eggs.

I really liked the flavor of this stew. It reminded me of taco soup, but the flavors were more subtle. I liked the texture of the broth vs. the chunky ingredients.

The kids picked out what they wanted, and didn't complain. They really liked the beans, and thought the floating potatoes were cool. We will have this for lunch for quite a few days.

Adam and I both wanted a sliced jalapeno in each bite---they gave a really nice tangy spice to the meal.

Thank you, Headless Mom! We will definitely make this again!

Next year.

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Contest is still open! If you have left a comment on a different post to be entered, you need to go back and leave a comment on this post. The random number thingy-mabob is only going to be used on the actual contest post. Contest closes Friday, 5pm Pacific.

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