Slow Cooker Recipes

[Kat]

I am now the proud owner of a fancy new Cuisinart slow cooker which I received as a reward from work for doing a great job on a project. As many of you know, I am dieting and learning how to cook so I am always looking for new Weight Watcher friendly recipes. If anyone has any slow cooker recipes, please share them.

Thanks,

Kat

[william.scherk]

If anyone has any slow cooker recipes, please share them.

I have two, both from my genteel poverty days. Pea Soup and Veggie Chili.

The pea soup uses split yellow peas, bay leaves, garlic, onion, carrot and . . . low-sodium chicken stock.

Into the cooker in the morning goes two bay leaves, a whole head of garlic-pressed, chopped onions (white onions best), and peas/stock to a ration of five stock/one water. I a nutshell you bring it to high and leave in on high, and add pepper and a dollop of sour cream when you give it a final stir. Serve with nothing but a glass of water. MMM mmm good. If you have any points left on your card, you put in a cup(!) of full-fat whipping cream.

Chili start similarly with a 60 ounce can of stewed tonatoes, basil, oregano, scads of Paprika, a cup of salsa of your choice, cumin, coriander, bulb of garlic (pressed or whole cloves), chopped red onions, and a mix of pinto/black/kidney(red) beans. You might want to soak the bean mixture in the fridge in cold water overnight to speed things up. The beans to liquid ratio is again about 1 to 4 or 5. Add sweet corn (frozen) . . . and let that baby bubble. (if you are a carnivore, you may add ground meat (chuck) to the mix at the very beginning. You can do this with a block of frozen meat if you like. I use ground turkey.

On the meat side of things I have also experimented with a few of scary/good things.

Pot roast in harsh wine.

Just like it sounds, some cheap gristly roast, tomato juice (or a combo: Clamato or V-8 or Garden Cocktail [all VERY salty]), baby onions whole, carrots in sticks, turnips (if you like them), and a hint of fresh sauerkraut. Untie the roast before bubbling. Cover the meat and veggies with the lliguid, and top off with a harsh-ish red wine (dry) like a Chianti. Let er rip on high for a long long time.

At the last half hour, tranfer to another pot (or if you are skilled, do in the same pot, but be careful with clumping) and let the liguid cool a bit; dip out a cup or two of liquid and mix in a garlic roux (crushed garlic, butter/Becel, flour) or a low-cal alternative, cornstarch (mix two tablespoons into cool water, add a bit of liquid), stif, pour back in the main pot and mix like a fiend until the liguid thickens to where you like it.

If you have done the gravy separately, return the whole reeking garlicky, boozy mess to the slow cooker and keep the lid off while it does another half hour on high. By the time you pull out the meat, it will have dissolved into chunks and shards of transcendent tenderness. An option we use sometimes is to add baby corn, zuchinni chunks, pineapple chunks -- and a touch of black bean/garlic (Chinese style) sauce.

Generally speaking, a crock pot/slow cooker is a cook's best friend (next to a Pressure Cooker). One last recipe might make you a bit icky if you don't like Oriental style food.

Pork Malacanang

Chunks of pork stew meat, loads of shredded (red)cabbage, pink lemonade (or apple juice, orange juice, juice mix (mango/papaya), whatever), whole garlic cloves in abundance, low sodium black soy sauce, sliced onions, ketchup (or tomato puree), dijon mustard (with grains), black demerera sugar, a touch of vinegar (sweek Japanes, or cider) or a pound of wet sauerkraut. Put a top on the cooker, and let it rock for SIX hours. It comes out kind of like a Filipino dish. Good with crisp veggie platter . . . or rice if you have the points.

Hope that doesn't disgust you. We canuckis are multicultural in our food tastes . . .

[Kat]

I love a man who speaks in points. purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Here's one you may like. We just had it today.

Kat's Beef Stew

WW points per serving - 5

Servings - 10

Ingredients

1-2 pounds Beef Stew Meat (omit this if you are a vegetarian)

2 medium onions

1 medium bell pepper

3-4 medium potatoes

1 medium zucchini

1 medium sweet potato

1/2 cup mushrooms

2 medium turnips

1 parsnip

1 pound frozen mixed vegetables

1/2 pound baby carrots

4 stalks of celery

2 cloves of garlic

3 leaf bay leaves

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp herbes de Provence (or whatever herbs you like such as basil, marjoram or thyme)

1 large can diced tomatoes

2 tsp cornstarch mixed with

1 can fat-free reduced sodium beef or vegetable broth

Instructions

Cut veggies into bite size pieces. Combine all ingredients in 6.5 qt slow cooker and let it cook all day while you are at work.

Notes: Stews are great to experiment with. Toss in some barley if you'd like. Add or omit veggies and seasonings to taste. I especially liked having the sweet pototoes as they add a nice flavor to this stew. I also added about a tablespoon of Braggs liquid aminos. Some people like to add a splash of wine, soy sauce or worchestershire in their stew as well.

[Jehni125]

Winter Veggie Stew

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 and 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

2 cups pinto beans

6 medium carrots (cut into 1-inch sticks)

4 medium celery sticks (cut into 1-inch peices)

1 medium butternut squash (chopped)

1 bayleaf

2 cans chicken broth

1 cup water

1 and 1/2 cups peas

Place water, olive oil, curry powder, and beans in medium sized bowl. Mix together and place in slow cooker over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients one at a time, stirring between each one. Cook at least 40 to 50 minutes. The longer it cooks, the more flavorful the stew gets.

[Brant Gaede]

Start with one long pig. Dig a trench. Start a fire and get a bed of coals. Throw the pig in, cover, cook and eat!

I won't be joining you.

--Brant