CrockPot Stuffed Onions Recipe

Day 314.


Have you ever had a stuffed onion? I hadn't, until last night. I had planned on making some granola in the crockpot, but wasn't able to find any certified gluten-free oats. Our neighborhood Whole Foods* didn't have any. I was counting on those oats. I had my meal plan laid out for the week, and the granola was important.

grr.

Instead of stomping around the house frustrated (more than once, that is) I started digging around the fridge and freezer and decided to stuff some onions.

Adam said it wouldn't work, which gave me the push I needed.

Guess what? They worked, and they were tasty. The kids had no interest, but who could blame them? They're onions. Stuffed. With stuff.

The Ingredients.

--4 large yellow onions
--1 handful of baby spinach
--1 chicken and apple sausage (I think a spicy one would be good, too!)
--1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
--2 T chopped pecans (or walnuts or pine nuts)
--1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
--1 T olive oil

The Directions.

This is enough filler for 4 large onions, and I used my 6.5 quart crockpot. If you're interested in cooking more than 4, increase the ingredients, and feel free to stack the onions. They will still cook.

Peel and core the onions. If you don't have one of those apple-corer thingies, this will be hard to do. I tried to core with a knife, and found it immensely difficult. I used the corer 4 times for each onion---you want a pretty big hole.

Chop up the spinach and bell pepper, and put it in a mixing bowl. Chop up the sausage and add it to the bowl along with the chopped pecans and the Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Put the 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot, and swirl around so the bottom is coated.

Stuff each onion with as much filling as you can.

Put the onions into the crockpot.

Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or on low for 7-8. I was surprised how long they took to cook. I cooked ours on high for a bit over 5 hours.

The onions are done when they have turned golden brown and are pliable.

The Verdict.

These smelled wonderful while they were cooking, and made a stormy night feel warm and cozy.

I thought the flavor was quite good, and was happy to have discovered another "something" to stuff. Adam wanted his with a steak.

They are more of a side dish than a full meal, unless you eat 2.


*cross your fingers that the other Whole Foods has the oats I want/need...