| Quick
and Delicious Crockpot Meals |
| For those of us with limited incomes and growing families,
cutting our food budget is a matter of necessity. In many
households, next to a mortgage, the monthly grocery bill may
be the second largest after-tax monthly expenditure. For that
reason, food costs need to be managed carefully. |
| The costs of convenience foods, from frozen "Lean Cuisine"
to other boxed wonders, quickly adds up. (Many premium frozen
prepared foods also contain a lot of fat and sodium.) Delivered
pizzas, even using coupons, can also accumulate over a month's
time and tip and food budget scale. Fatigue also is a factor
in after-work cooking. |
| What is the solution? With a little planning, using a good
crockpot can provide nutritious, home-cooked meals each evening
before the family dashes out for activities. It also provides
tasty leftovers that can be heated up for quick on-the-run
meals, or transported to work for lunch. |
| With a few minutes of preparation while breakfast is cooking,
a delicious main course can be simmering all day long, and
is ready within minutes upon returning home. |
| One added benefit is that the house will smell simply delicious
when you come in the door. |
| Be sure to allow ample time for cooking in a slow cooker.
Bacteria in food is killed at 165 degrees maintained for two
or more hours according to the United States Department of
Agriculture. The low setting on most crockpots, which uses
80 to 185 watts, produces a temperature in the range of 170
to 200 degrees. The high setting, which uses 160 to 370 watts
in most slow cookers, will produce temperatures up to 280
degrees. |
| Final cooking temperatures are determined by liquid content
and density of food mass, so consult your directions on your
individual cooker and make the necessary timing adjustments.
Simply stated, one hour of cooking on the high setting is
equal to about 2-1/2 hours on low. |
| Also, you can start to cook on high for about 2 hours and
then switch to low. It is important to keep the lid on the
crockpot, as you loose heat every time to peek inside, which
prolongs the cooking period. |
| To cook roasts, chickens, or whole pieces of meat, you may
want to try using a trivet or meat rack on the bottom of your
cooker. It is useful for keeping rather fatty meats, such
as pork or duck, out of their cooking juices. |
| |
| |
| Betty's
Hearty Beef Vegetable Stew |
| 1 lb. beef chuck or sirloin, cubed |
| 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce |
| 1/2 cup flour |
| 1 1/2 tsp. salt |
| 1/2 tsp. pepper |
| 1 tsp. paprika |
| 2 cans beef broth |
| 1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic |
| 2 small bay leaves |
| 1 cup fresh baby carrots, peeled |
| 2 onions, chopped |
| 3 ribs celery, chopped |
| 4 potatoes, peeled and chopped |
| 8 oz. tomato sauce |
| 1 cup frozen peas (add just before serving) |
| Combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika in a gallon zip-lock
bag, and toss cubed meat in flour mixture in zipped bag until
coated thoroughly. Pour meat into crockpot, add remaining
ingredients, except frozen peas. Cook on low 10 to 12 hours,
or on high 4 to 6 hours. Stir in frozen peas just a few minutes
before serving, so they are heated through. Serve with hot
bread. |
| |
| Super
Easy Cheesy Chicken |
| 6 to 8 chicken breasts |
| 2 cans cream of chicken soup |
| 1 can cheddar cheese soup |
| Dash of garlic powder |
| Large package of wide noodles |
| Combine chicken, soups, and garlic powder, cook on high
for 4 hours, or low for 8 to 12 hours. Serve over noodles. |
| |
| Cheese,
Corn and Chicken Chowder |
| 3/4 cup water |
| 1/2 cup chopped onions |
| 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped |
| 1 1/2 cup carrots, chopped |
| 1 1/2 cup celery, chopped |
| 1 tsp. salt |
| 1/2 tsp. pepper |
| 1 (15 1/4 oz.) can whole kernel corn |
| 15-oz. can cream-style corn |
| 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese |
| 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped and seeded (optional) |
| Combine water, onions, carrots, chicken, kernel corn, celery,
salt and pepper, in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high
for 4 to 6 hours. Add cream-style corn, chopped jalapeno pepper
and cheese. Adjust seasonings (may need more salt). Stir and
continue to heat for about 10 minutes while cheese melts in
chowder, while hot bread cooks (great with hot bread). Save
a little cheese to put on top of hot soup. |
| |
| Awesome
Minestrone |
| 5 cans vegetable broth |
| 1 cup baby peeled carrots, chopped |
| 2 large onion, chopped |
| 4 ribs celery, chopped |
| 1 generous Tbsp. minced garlic |
| 1 small zucchini, cubed |
| 1 generous handful of fresh kale, chopped |
| 1/2 cup dried barley |
| 1 can chickpeas |
| 1 Tbsp. parsley |
| 1/2 tsp. dried thyme |
| 1 tsp. dried oregano |
| 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes |
| 1 tsp. salt |
| 1/2 tsp. pepper |
| Grated sharp cheddar cheese (just for topping) |
| Combine all ingredients in the crockpot, except cheese.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until vegetables
are tender. Sprinkle servings with grated cheese. This soup
is even better reheated the second day for leftovers. |
| |
| Crockpot
Red Beans and Rice |
| (Make this one day ahead and reheat for best flavor.) |
| 1 lb. dried red beans |
| 2 quarts cold water |
| 1 meaty ham bone |
| 1 lb. kielbasa |
| 6 green onions, chopped |
| 1 green pepper, chopped |
| 3 stalks celery, chopped |
| 2 medium onions, chopped |
| 1 large pinch of thyme |
| 4 bay leaves |
| pinch of cayenne pepper |
| 1 tsp. salt |
| 1/2 tsp. pepper |
| Cover and cook for 6 hours on high, or low for 10 to 12
hours, until beans are completely done. Remove the ham bone
and bay leaves, and stir. Adjust seasonings (may need more
salt). Make your favorite long grain rice according to package
directions. Serve over rice. For even better flavor, cover
and chill and reheat the next day and serve over rice. |
| |
| Tangy
Cranberry Barbecue Chicken |
| 3 to 4 lb. chicken pieces (breasts or thighs are best) |
| 1/2 tsp. salt |
| 1/4 tsp. pepper |
| 1/2 cup chopped onions |
| 1/2 cup chopped celery |
| 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce |
| 1/2 cup barbecue sauce |
| 1/2 cup orange juice |
| 1 Tbsp. sugar |
| Combine all ingredients and cook in a crockpot on high for
4 hours, or on low for 6 to 8 hours. |
| |
| Easy
Beef Stroganoff |
| 3 lb. sliced sirloin, or round steak |
| 1/2 cup flour |
| 2 tsp. salt |
| 1/4 tsp. pepper |
| 1/2 tsp. dry mustard |
| 2 medium onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings |
| 2 cans (4-oz. ea.) sliced mushrooms, drained, or 1/2 lb.
fresh mushrooms, sliced |
| 1 can (10 1/2 oz.) condensed beef broth |
| 1/4 dry white wine (optional) |
| 1 1/2 cups sour cream (or more if preferred) |
| 1/4 cup flour |
| Hot buttered noodles or fluffy rice |
| 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley |
| Trim all excess fat from steak and cut meat into 3-inch
strips about 1/2 inch wide. Come 1/2 cup flour, the salt,
pepper and dry mustard. Toss steak strips to coat thoroughly.
Place coated steak strips in crockpot. Stir in onion rings
and mushrooms. Add beef broth and wine and stir well. Cover
and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. Before serving,
combine sour cream with 1/4 cup flour. Stir into crockpot.
Serve over hot noodles and garnish with minced parsley. |
| |
| Judy's
Crockpot Sweet and Sour Beef Stew |
| (Brown the stew beef the night before, to save time) |
| 1 1/2 lbs. stew meat |
| 2 Tbsp. cooking oil |
| 1 cup sliced carrots |
| 1 cup sliced onions |
| 15-oz. can tomato sauce |
| 1/2 cup brown sugar |
| 1/2 cup vinegar |
| 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce |
| 1/2 cup water |
| 1 tsp. salt |
| 1/4 cup cornstarch |
| Brown stew beef in 2 Tbsp. cooking oil, and drain. Combine
carrots, onions, tomato sauce, brown sugar, beef, vinegar,
Worcestershire sauce, water and salt in a crockpot and set
on high for 6 hours, or on low for 8 to 10 hours. Just before
serving, combine cornstarch with 1/4 cup of broth from the
stew, and stir with a spoon until lumps dissolve and it is
thick, then pour over into the stew. Stir, stir, stir until
this is dissolved into stew and stew begins to thicken. Just
keep stirring. Adjust seasonings, add more salt and pepper
to taste. Serve over hot noodles. |
