Slow Cooker Chicken and Chicken Stock

We've been making a lot of whole chickens recently. I've cooked them in the oven but particularly enjoy them out of the slow cooker. They're great as a first meal with veggies, then in other meals like fried rice, pastas, quesadillas as leftovers. I like to have a whole chicken ready at the start of a weekend so we don't have to do much cooking after a long week.

Every chicken I make is a little different, but they all follow the same general process. First, I grab whatever herbs catch my attention. This last time I mixed together some oregano, basil, paprika, rosemary, pepper, and a good amount of kosher salt. Then I added olive oil and stirred it all together. After pulling the gizzards out of the chicken cavity, I used my hands to pull the skin away from the meat. Then I rubbed my herb blend all around the meat underneath the skin to make sure the chicken got good flavor. I rubbed the last bits of the blend on the outside of the skin so it's also well flavored (making it ready for making stock after the chicken's done). Then I put the chicken in my slow cooker and cooked it on low for about 5 hours. I do check the temperature with an instant read thermometer as I get to the end to make sure it doesn't cook too long.

After pulling off all the meat from the bones, I put all the bones and skin back in the slow cooker and fill it a little past 3/4 full with water. Then I let this cook on low overnight. In the morning, I strain it and have my chicken stock ready to make soup or freeze for recipes later on.

Vegetable Barley Soup

We had Vegetable Barley Soup this week. This looks like the type of recipe I'd love and others in my house would tolerate. For some reason it is nearly the opposite. This is my second time making it, and I get remarks that it's flavorful and done well, but when I sit down to eat it, I'm dreading it. I can't even say what I don't like other than that maybe it isn't exciting? I even tried using chicken broth this time instead of just water, but I'm still not interested in it. I do wish as I were putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker that it would have more colors. It's a lot of white and beige with the particular veggies that go into it. So sadly I can't say this is great but I also can't say why. It does have decent flavor and the veggies are tender yet with a little crunch. If you end up trying it, let me know what you think.

Cornbread and Jim's Famous Chili

Last night we had a recipe that's been in the family for years. We made a chili recipe that was originally found on the back of a Premium Saltine Crackers box. I made it in the morning and stuck it in the slow cooker on low all day, but that isn't necessary. I served the chili with an egg free and delicious cornbread (I used regular skim milk instead of soy milk). Thanks to a friend for finding the cornbread recipe, trying it out, and passing it along to me.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

I've been battling with my slow cooker lately. It doesn't really like to cook...slowly... In one instance, I tried making a soup and put in a pork shoulder and black beans to cook on low for 8 hours. When I checked the meat after 3 hours, it was already tough. There has been repeated disappointment, and I keep hearing from so many people how much they love their slow cookers. I want to know this love. It is so much easier to prep dinner in the morning and set it out to cook when the little boy is still happy and chipper, instead of waiting until evening and hoping he'll be in a good enough mood to either help me or play on his own.

I kept thinking that I just didn't know how to work the slow cooker (and maybe that is part of the problem). But my mom loaned me hers for a short time, and it's amazing how many great meals I've gotten out of it already. Not a single failure yet, and I even cooked a pasta dish, which I previously thought would be impossible. Day 1 of testing out the slow cooker, I threw together this Lasagna and added chopped mushrooms and carrots to give it some more veggies. I also used a homemade marinara sauce I had in the freezer, and it was delicious.

I wish I had taken a picture of it, but here's a picture of toddler cooking when you turn your back for a moment (do not fear, the stove is not on).

Taco Soup

John's aunt made this recipe when we visited over Thanksgiving; I think it came from their church recipe book. I love having this recipe on hand. All the ingredients come from the pantry or freezer. I have the ingredients stocked up for when our fresh produce is gone and it's time to go shopping. Also, this was my first go-to recipe for the slow cooker. It made me a little less scared of trying new recipes after we had some recipes that were awful several years ago.

I make some changes to the recipe from what I wrote below. It makes it a little more involved but hopefully also a little healthier. The changes include: cooking dried beans instead of using canned (just guess at amounts, it's not exact); using frozen corn; and mixing my own taco seasoning and ranch dressing (see below). These changes help reduce sodium and other unnecessary ingredients that often come from canned goods. Also, instead of ground beef, feel free to leave the meat out or substitute leftover meat, such as chopped chicken, pork, or beef. Another reason why this recipe is so great is because you can do almost anything to it, and it still tastes great. If after adding all your ingredients, you want a little more liquid, add a couple cups of water. It will be full of flavor after it's done cooking.

Taco Soup from family in North Carolina

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
2 cans corn
2 cans rotel
2 cans hominy
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans navy beans
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 package taco seasoning mix

METHOD

1. After browning and draining the meat, put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
2. If desired, serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

Yield: 8 servings

Taco Seasoning: Mix together 1/4 C oregano, 3 TBSP chile powder, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 TBSP onion powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 pinch ground cloves, 1 pinch ground cinnamon. Use a couple heaping tablespoons for the recipe above.

Ranch Dressing: This is less exact as I change what I throw in each time, but sprinkle in some variety of salt, black pepper, sugar, paprika, parsley, and dried onion as you feel led.

Broccoli and Beef

Another dinner from last week was a Broccoli and Beef slow cooker meal over rice. I had to drastically alter the final cook time and temperature because of what was going on during the day. After adding the broccoli, I cooked on low for longer. This made the broccoli too soft for our taste. Also, we weren't thrilled with the flavors. I reduced the vinegar from the original and had to remove the sesame oil because of allergies, but it still didn't come out well. Next time I'll try different seasonings for the beef and get closer to the suggested cooking time and temp to help the texture.

Broccoli and Beef from "A Year of Slow Cooking"

INGREDIENTS
1/4 C soy sauce
2 TBSP white wine
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb thin beef, sliced thinly
1 bag thawed broccoli florets, about 1 lb (to add later)

METHOD

1. Add soy sauce, wine, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and red pepper to the slow cooker and mix well.
2. Add the beef and mix to coat.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, depending on the cut of meat. Thicker pieces will take longer to tenderize.
4. An hour before serving, add the bag of broccoli, cover and cook on high for another hour or so.
5. Stir gently to coat broccoli, and serve over rice.

Yield: 4 servings

Vegetable Curry Slow Cooker Meal

Last week we had several slow cooker meals which was wonderful! It gave us a chance to enjoy doing some other things later in the day instead of squeezing in dinner preparations. One night we had a Vegetable Curry Slow Cooker meal. It was good, but not quite as flavorful as when I had it at a friend's house, so I'll have to figure out what I should change. I left out the chili to make it more appealing for the baby, so perhaps that's where I went wrong. I served the meal over rice but the recipe calls for couscous, so use whichever you prefer.

Vegetable Curry Slow Cooker Meal from a friend (not sure of the original source)

INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 C chopped onion
1 C sliced carrots
1 TBSP curry powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
3 C cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 C cubed peeled baking potato
1 C diced green bell pepper
1 C cut green beans
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
3 C fresh baby spinach
1 C light coconut milk

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender.
2. Add curry powder, sugar, ginger, garlic, and chile; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Place onion mixture in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Stir in chickpeas and next 8 ingredients (through broth).
4. Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until vegetables are tender.
5. Add spinach and coconut milk; stir until spinach wilts.

Yield: 6 servings (1 1/3 C vegetable mixture)

French Onion Soup and Baps

Last night we had French Onion Soup with our delicious baps. It was a flavorful and easy meal. Next time I'll add more water, maybe another 2-3 cups. There were a lot of onions for the amount of liquid, and we needed more servings. Also, the recipe called for canned beef broth. I try not to use canned broth and usually use water instead. Since there were so few ingredients, I felt I needed to add some seasoning (hence giving in to the bouillon cubes and adding some herbs), so I just sprinkled in a couple herbs that I thought would be good. For the baps, this time I made them with half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. They turned out great!

French Onion Soup from "A Year of Slow Cooking"

INGREDIENTS
3 TBSP butter
2 yellow onions, sliced into rings
5 C water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp each of oregano and thyme
1/2 TBSP granulated sugar
1/4 C cooking sherry
1/2 tsp kosher salt
slices of wheat bread
swiss cheese or gruyere cheese

METHOD

1. Heat your crockpot to high and add butter to start melting.
2. Add onions to crockpot; break up the slices with your fingers, and rub them around in the melted butter.
3. Add the water, bouillon, seasonings, sugar, salt, and sherry.
4. Cook on high for 6-8 hours or low for 10-12.
5. Before serving, broil sliced bread with cheese on top until melted and browned. Then place bread in soup and eat!

Yield: 4 servings