Tag: crockpot

Crockpot Doro Wat

Since my family was going to be together on Memorial Day weekend, I thought it would be fun to try something totally different: Ethiopian Night! I have been to a local Ethiopian restaurant and really enjoyed the food, and I did some research online to try and recreate the meal. First up was a chicken dish, Doro Wat.

When planning this meal, I was optimistic that we’d be spending all day playing at the beach. So I thought using a crockpot recipe would be very convenient. As it turned out, I had plenty of time to cook since it was rainy and cold, but it was still nice to have the crockpot do the work.

I merged 3 different recipes to come up with the one below, and I already cut back on the quantity of spices. But I have to warn you that this version is still HOT. I used the Berbere spice from Penzey’s, and the first ingredient is cayenne pepper. So I recommend you adjust the amount of seasoning based on your family’s tastes.

My family forgave me for this oversight, and despite the heat level, almost everyone enjoyed this dish. The chicken was tender, the sauce was flavorful, and it was most certainly a fun ethnic dining experience. I served the Doro Wat with collard greens and injera, which I’ll tell you about later this week.

Crockpot Doro Wat

3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 large Vidalia onions, peeled and chopped
1 t garlic salt
1 t dried thyme
1 T Berbere seasoning
1 c. red wine
3 T tomato paste
Juice from 1 lime

Place chicken and onion in the crockpot. Sprinkle spices, and toss to coat. Add wine and tomato paste, and stir well. Cook on High for 5-6 hours. Add lime juice; stir, and serve.

Baked Potatoes in the Crockpot

I got on a roll last weekend with my crockpot, and after cooking a turkey breast, I used it to bake potatoes. I got the idea from a Budget Bytes post, and just had to try it myself. She baked white potatoes, but I wanted to try both white and sweet.

The method is simple. First, you wash the potatoes and pat them dry. Then, prick them with a knife in several spots. Rub them with a little olive oil, and wrap them up on foil. Place them in the crockpot, and cook on High for 4-5 hours, or Low for 8-10 hours. That’s it!

The original recipe warns against crowding too many potatoes in the crockpot, so I cooked 2 white potatoes, and 2 sweet potatoes. Both of them came out great! In a blind taste test, I don’t think I could tell the difference between a traditional baked potato and the crockpot version.

You might think of potatoes as a fall/winter food, but potatoes make a great lunch or dinner any time of year paired with a big green salad. And when it’s 90F in your kitchen, you’ll be happy you don’t have to turn on the oven. Enjoy-

Turkey Breast in the Crockpot

There’s nothing like a turkey sandwich with freshly roasted turkey. Some of the deli stuff is OK, but most of it is salty, and the texture just isn’t the same.

I admit, cooking a whole turkey is very intimidating, and I’ve never actually done it in my own kitchen. Instead, I’ve cooked turkey breasts which yield all white meat, without all the fuss. And now I discovered you can cook a turkey breast right in the crockpot!

This recipe, inspired by Skinnytaste, is perfect for summer. You don’t have to heat up the kitchen by using the oven, and you can either make a turkey dinner, or use the meat for sandwiches for the week. If you find a turkey breast on sale (I got mine for $1.19/lb. at Target) it can also be cost effective compared to deli meat.

The turkey in this recipe came out amazing; it was tender, juicy, and reminded me of Thanksgiving. I did have some trouble with the gravy not thickening up very well. Gravy is really not my ‘thing’, so I played with it a little but gave up pretty quickly. If you do love gravy, I think the cooking liquid in this recipe is a flavorful base, but you may need to add more flour.

Even without perfect gravy, I am calling this recipe a success!

Crockpot Turkey Breast and Gravy

1 T oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 t minced garlic
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/3 c. flour
2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. water
1/2 c. white wine
2 t seasoning (I used Penzey’s Mural of Flavor, but the original recipe called for sage)
1 (4-5 lb.) turkey breast

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion, garlic, and carrot, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until soft and beginning to brown. Add flour and 1 c. vegetable broth. Stir to combine, and break up any lumps. Pour mixture into the crockpot. Add remaining broth, water, wine, and seasoning to crockpot, and stir.

Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper, and place in crockpot, breast side up. Cook on Low for 5-6 hours, until an instant read thermometer registers 165F. Remove from crockpot, cover loosely with foil, and allow to set for 15 minutes. Remove skin, and carve away.

For gravy, allow liquid to cool slightly in the crockpot for 10 minutes. Remove visible fat with a spoon. Strain remaining liquid into a saucepan. Simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until thickened. (Note: My gravy didn’t thicken up well, and needed more flour.)

-Adapted from Skinnytaste

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Lasagna

This recipe does not photograph well. Actually, it doesn’t look that great in person either. But since I gobbled it up, enjoying every bite, I decided to share it with you.

I started with this recipe from the Crockpot Recipe Exchange. But there was something that bugged me about using a whole bottle of BBQ sauce in a lasagna. I can’t claim to always avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup (hello, ketchup!) but I thought I could do better. You might say I was inspired by the Penzey’s BBQ Seasoning in my spice cabinet.

Just like in my Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna, there’s a lot of extra sauce. It’s perfect for scooping up with some freshly baked bread. I really liked the BBQ flavor as a spin on traditional lasagna. So even if this was a mess in my dish, it was a yummy mess, and I’ll make it again.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Lasagna

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
2 T Penzey’s BBQ Seasoning
1 (24 oz.) container fat free cottage cheese
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
6 oz. lasagna noodles, broken as needed
2 c. reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. shredded, cooked chicken breast

In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, sauce, paste, and BBQ seasoning. In a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan, and egg.

Layer in your crockpot as follows: 1 c. sauce; 2 oz. noodles; 1/2 cottage cheese mixture;
3/4 c. reduced fat cheddar; chicken; 2 c. sauce; 2 oz. noodles; remaining cottage cheese mixture;
3/4 c. reduced fat cheddar; 1 1/2 c. sauce; 2 oz. noodles; remaining sauce; remaining cheddar.

Cover and cook on Low for 4-5 hours. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

-Adapted from the Crockpot Recipe Exchange

Crockpot Ground Turkey and Vegetables

I wasn’t sure what to call this, really. It’s kind of a goulash, I guess. Or maybe a stew? Like chili, without any chili powder. No matter what you call it, it made some balanced meals for the week.

It’s a very simple dish of browned ground turkey and vegetables. Browning the turkey is an extra step, but worth the effort. This also allows you to drain off some of the extra fat. The vegetables came right from my freezer, no chopping required, but you could use any combination of fresh or frozen.

And now I am off to make preparations for Easter dinner, no crockpot required!

Crockpot Ground Turkey and Vegetables

1 (20 oz.) package ground turkey, browned and drained
1 (16 oz.) package frozen stew vegetables, such as onions, carrots, and potatoes
1 (16 oz.) package green beans
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. water

Mix all ingredients in your crockpot. Cook on High for 5-6 hours.

Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken

I saw this recipe for Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken from Budget Bytes and was drooling. The original recipe calls for using bone-in chicken and broiling it at the end, but I took the easy way out with boneless, skinless chicken thighs that were on sale. At the end, I just shredded the chicken right in the pot.

This crockpot meal took less than 5 minutes to throw together, and made a great dinner served with a big salad and a dinner roll. It also made a couple of lunches, served over steamed sugar snap peas. There is a fairly spicy aftertaste from the serrano pepper; if you want a completely mild dish, leave the pepper out entirely. If you want even more heat, chop it up and keep it in the crockpot when you shred the chicken at the end! I liked this version, and am already anxious to make it again soon.

Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken

2 T brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 T minced garlic
1 t ground ginger
1 t thyme
1 t allspice
1 T cinnamon
2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 serrano pepper, sliced

Mix sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, thyme, allspice, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place chicken in the bottom of the crockpot. Pour spice mixture over chicken, and rub it in with your hands. Place onion, orange, and pepper slices in crockpot, nestled between the chicken pieces. Cook on High for 4 hours.

Remove orange and pepper slices. Shred chicken with 2 forks.

-Lightly adapted from Budget Bytes

Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

Making lasagna the traditional way is a very tedious process. You make your own homemade tomato sauce the first day, then assemble the lasagna the second day. You can either bake it right away, or freeze it for later. And it’s amazing, right?

This recipe is for a quick lasagna inspired by Eating Well, where your crockpot does most of the work. You do sacrifice the pretty presentation of neatly cut squares, but this is still a delicious dish! And those of you who like a saucy lasanga will really appreciate this version. There’s a bit of extra liquid, but just serve it with a slotted spoon, and scoop up the extra sauce with a piece of crusty Italian bread.

Tomato season is so short in New England, so this recipe is made possible by some excellent canned tomatoes. Tuttorosso was kind enough to send me some of their canned tomato products to sample, and they were great as promised. There’s nothing like a freshly picked tomato in August, but canned tomatoes are the next best thing and available year round.

Here’s the lasagna, ready for serving. Grab a spoon and dig in! Garnish it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese of course. 🙂

Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

2 c. part skim ricotta
1 egg
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz.) package sliced mushrooms
1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 T minced garlic
10-12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 c. part skim mozzarella, divided

In a large bowl, mix ricotta, egg, Parmesan, mushrooms, and spinach. In a medium bowl, mix crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and garlic.

Coat inside of crockpot with cooking spray. Add 1 1/2 c. of the tomato mixture to the bottom of the crockpot. Break noodles to fit into crockpot, and form a single layer of noodles over the sauce. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Spread 1 1/2 c. sauce over the ricotta, followed by 3/4 c. mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, starting with noodles, and then ricotta mixture, sauce, and mozzarella. Add one more layer of lasagna noodles, followed by all remaining tomato sauce. Cook on High for 2 hours.

Remove cover, and add remaining mozzarella. Cover and cook on Low until cheese melts.

-Lightly adapted from Eating Well

Tuttorusso sent me the tomatoes as a gift. I was not compensated in any other way, and the opinions in this post, as always, are mine.

Crockpot Hot and Sour Soup

It seems there are a lot of people coughing and sneezing these days. I certainly hope that all of you stay healthy, but if you are unlucky enough to get a bad cold, this is the soup that will clear your head. And your slow cooker can make the soup while you lounge on the couch catching up on bad TV.

This is a very basic version of the traditional Asian hot and sour soup. If I were serving this to company, I’d add some shiitake mushrooms and use baby bok choy instead of spinach. This is also a very mild version; I added quite a bit of vinegar and cayenne to each bowl to really bring out the hot and the sour flavors. If you think your crowd can handle it, go ahead and double the amounts of each below.

I really enjoyed this soup, especially after I adjusted it to taste. It’s filling, but not quite hearty enough for a main dish. It would be perfect though with a side of homemade fried rice or maybe a cold noodle salad.

Crockpot Hot and Sour Soup

1 (16 oz.) package sliced mushrooms
1 (16 oz.) package frozen leaf spinach
1 (8 oz.) can bamboo shoots, drained
1 T minced garlic
1 (14 oz.) package lite firm tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
1 T fresh minced ginger
2 c. vegetable broth
4 c. water
2 T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
2 dashes cayenne pepper, plus more for serving
2 T rice vinegar, plus more for serving

Add all ingredients to crockpot. Cook on Low for 6-8 hours. Add more pepper and/or vinegar to each bowl just prior to serving, depending on your tastes.

-Inspired by Fat Free Vegan’s Slow-Cooker Hot and Sour Soup

Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili

I knew I couldn’t let my Chili 3000 spice sit in the cabinet for long. I had to make a batch of chili. And maybe with some upcoming football games you could use a new chili recipe too?

I made just a few changes to Skinnytaste’s Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili recipe, which calls for a taco seasoning packet. I tried to replace the packet with my own spices, but I didn’t use enough. The Chili 3000 was great, I just needed more. I updated the directions below with the amount I’ll use next time.

As you can see, this recipe yields a lot of chili! I had containers for lunch all week, plus extras for the freezer. This would be a great recipe to make for a crowd, and you could serve it with shredded cheese, sour cream, and sliced jalapenos or olives. It’s a great basic chili recipe no matter how you use it.

Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili

1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can red beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 (14.5 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes in juice
1 c. water
2 T Chili 3000
1 1/2 T cumin
1/4 t cayenne
24 oz. chicken breasts (about 3-4)

Add onions, beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, water, and spices to the crockpot and stir well. Place raw chicken breasts on top. Cook on Low for 9-10 hours. Shred chicken, and stir into chili. Cook on High for 30 minutes.

-Lightly adapted from Skinnytaste

Crockpot Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

I always think of roasted chicken as a classic Sunday dinner. You know, with the potatoes underneath that stick to the pan and have that delicious glaze. But for some reason, I find roasting a whole chicken in the oven a bit intimidating. You can’t undercook it, but you don’t want to overcook it, and how do you make sure the vegetables are done at the same time? That’s something for me to work on in 2013.

In the meantime, I used this Slow Cooker Herb Chicken and Vegetables recipe as a guide, and used my crockpot to do most of the work for me. Most recipes call for pan frying the chicken slightly before placing it in the crockpot, and I do think that step makes a difference. The chicken gets slightly browned in the pan, and then the crockpot cooks the meat until it is tender. The seasoning worked well on both the chicken and the vegetables, and overall this was a good meal. Using this method allows you to leave the house while your chicken and vegetables are roasting, but you don’t get that crunchy glaze on the potatoes. That’s a tradeoff I’ll take at the moment!

Crockpot Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

8 oz. baby carrots
6 small white potatoes, quartered
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 8 chunks
2 t minced garlic
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T Penzey’s Mural of Flavor seasoning (shallots, onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, basil, coriander, lemon peel, citric acid, black pepper, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, and orange peel)
1 t paprika
1/2 t black pepper
3 chicken leg quarters, skin removed

Toss carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix oil and spices. Pour half of oil mixture over vegetables, and stir to coat. Place vegetables in the bottom of a crockpot. Add chicken to bowl, and pour remaining oil over chicken. Stir to coat. Place chicken pieces in a large frying pan, and saute for 10 minutes, until lightly brown. Place chicken pieces on top of vegetables in crockpot. Cook on High for about 4 hours, or until chicken is done and vegetables are tender.