Slow Cooker Crock Pot

To make that onion soup of yours stand out from the rest, you need to utilize a slow cooker, as it will help bring out the extra flavors inherent in the dish. Here are some recipes to get you started on the right track.

Onion Soup with French Bread

The ingredients for this simple slow cooker recipe include large onions (4 pieces, sliced), butter (about ¼ cup), a tablespoon of flour, half a cup of Mozzarella cheese (shredded), beef broth (6 cups), toasted French bread (6 pieces or more), and some pepper sauce.

Start by cooking the sliced onions in the butter, adding some flour when the onions achieve a transparent look. Cook it some more until the flour and butter are mixed in together, and then transfer the whole mixture into the slow cooker. Pour in the pepper sauce and the broth.

The final step is to adjust the slow cooker setting to high. After 4 hours, ladle the onion soup into a bowl, and sprinkle on the bread, plus the Mozzarella cheese. Broil up to the point when the cheese melt and then serve.

Onion Soup with Mozzarella Cheese

This slow cooker dish is even easier to prepare. You just need some Mozzarella cheese, 3 lbs of sliced onions, butter (4 oz.), a cup of water, a couple of cans of beef broth and some croutons.

Begin by sautéing the onions in the butter. Next get the rest of the ingredients and cook everything in the slow cooker (except for the bread and the Mozzarella cheese). Be sure to set it to low (this will take about 6 hours to cook). After it is broiled you can spray some more of the onions, cheese and the bread. You may slice the bread into smaller pieces if you like.

Traditional French Onion Soup

If you want to make a French onion soup with your slow cooker, you’ll need these: a pound of onion (sliced), butter (2 tablespoons), bay leaf, salt (1/8 teaspoon), pepper (1/8 teaspoon), chicken stock (2 and half cups), a cup of shredded cheddar cheese and about 5 slices of French bread.

As with all onion soup recipes start by cooking the butter with the onions; usually this will take about 8 minutes, or until the onions turn brown. Pour in the chicken stock, salt, pepper and the bay leaf to flavor it. You may broil it now, and afterwards place the onion soup into the slow cooker. At a low level, it’ll take anywhere from 7 to 10 hours to cook. When it’s cooked, spray some of the cheese, and serve with the bread.

Onion soup is easy to prepare, and the comfort food for a lot of people. Although these are what you may call classic recipes, there’s nothing to stop you from using your slow cooker to come up with your own inventions.

Tags: Crock Pot Cooker Parts, Cooker, Cooking, Rival Crock Pot, Slow Cooker

• » Comments (0)

If you want to try out something a bit more exotic, or want to add some fanfare to your meals, the French dish Coq Au Vin (chicken with wine), will be more than sufficient. But even though this is regarded as a “high class” recipe, preparing and cooking it is no different from any other you make in a slow cooker.

Traditional Coq Au Vin

Let’s start by getting the ingredients: bacon (6 slices), 3 lbs of chicken (chopped into 8 pieces or more), sugar (1/4 cup), mushrooms, a dozen pearl onions, minced garlic (4 pieces), half a teaspoon of the following: salt, pepper and thyme.

This slow cooker dish also requires a cup of chicken stock, tomato paste (2 tablespoons), and a cup of red wine (dry).

Start making the Coq Au Vin by frying the bacon in the pan. When it’s cooked, remove the bacon and cook the chicken in the juice left. When the chicken has turned brown, sprinkle the cup of red wine on it and light using a match. When the flame subsides it means the chicken is cooked.

Now add the chicken, bacon, mushrooms, garlic and onions into the slow cooker. Take the juices from the frying pan and add into the slow cooker. Pour the ingredients (with the exception of the wine), onto the chicken.

On a low setting in your slow cooker the Coq Au Vin will be cooked in 8 hours. After 7 hours open the crock pot and pour in some more wine. Cook for another hour. This is best served with potatoes or, if you prefer, rice.

Coq Au Vin Simplified

The traditional French recipe is easy to prepare, but if you want something even easier, try this one. The ingredients are:

2 lbs of chicken, garlic (1 piece, crushed), thyme (half a cup, dried), a teaspoon of salt, pepper (1/4 teaspoon), sliced and diced bacon, chicken broth (1 cup), white onions (8 small pieces, peeled), half a pound of mushrooms (whole), wine (you decide on the flavor), 8 potatoes, and parsley (chopped).

Commence making this Coq Au Vin slow cooker recipe by sautéing the bacon in a frying pan with the onions. When the bacon has turned crisp, remove it and cook the chicken. Set it aside for awhile after it has been cooked.

Open your slow cooker and set inside the onions, garlic, potatoes and the mushrooms. Put on top of this mix the chicken and bacon. Finally sprinkle the thyme, salt, pepper, and some more of the mushrooms and potatoes. Pour in the chicken broth last.

Put the slow cooker on low. As with other Coq Au Vin dishes, on the final hour of cooking take off the lid and sprinkle some of the wine, and then set it to high. In an hour’s time the dish will be ready. Serve it with some parsley and other seasonings if you like.

Tags: Crock Pot Cooker Parts, Rival Crock Pot, Food, Recipes, Cooking

• » Comments (0)

Though widely used today, many folks who own slow cookers still know little about them. Information on slow cookers is important to maximize their potential. And slow cooker magazines, not just cookbooks, can help a lot in this regard.

To be really helpful to users there are some things slow cooker magazines should have in its regular contents. Things like articles, illustrations, promos, tips, photos, new and converted recipes, comments from other slow cooker users, success stories, slow cooker websites, cartoons, and many more.

A special and interesting feature in slow cocker magazines would be unusual slow cooker recipes for tough times like a recession or a national or global financial crisis. Budget-friendly recipes that are also healthy need to be circulated among slow cooker owners especially today when fluctuations in major economies mean global repercussions. Information like this would be helpful to slow cooker users worldwide, especially those in developing countries. Ingredients cheaply available and which do not need to be refrigerated, but are healthy, need to be the focus here.

Another interesting feature would be slow cooker recipes for singles. This era has seen unprecedented numbers of single parenthood worldwide and they say raising kids as a single parent is tough. With much of their time spent to doing hectic jobs, what time is left for single parents to spend for quality cooking for the family? And how about unmarried singles? Slow cooker magazines ought to take this cooking issue for singles seriously.

Oldsters should not be left behind. Slow cooker magazines should also feature recipes that grandparents can easily do. They can more easily lure their grandkids into visiting them more often with sweet and fresh stuff always cooking up in their slow cooker ready each weekend. Pie, cake, rolls, and casserole recipes ought to be very interesting features in slow cooker magazines.

Slow cooker magazines may also have an all-Chinese or all-Italian or all-Japanese recipe collection featured in an issue that includes both the latest and some forgotten traditional recipes that worked wonders on dinner tables in the past. Discovering new and old recipes are always an adventure to culinary enthusiast.

Finally, updates on the latest in slow cooker gadgetry can be another interesting portion in slow cooker magazines. With digital devices like a timer-equipped slow cooker, there’s bound to be a breakthrough discovery or invention each quarter. Cooking folks can always have their slow cookers fixed with the latest innovation by being updated by slow cooker magazines.

Tags: Recipes, Crock Pot, Cooking, Rival, Rival Crock Pot

• » Comments (0)

Cooking low fat, slow cooker recipes add to the quality of food prepared and cooked through slow cookers. Here are tips on how to maintain the low fat quality of slow cooker meals.

First low fat, slow cooker recipe tip is always be aware of what kind of cooking oil is to be used. The best to use are olive oil and vegetable cooking oil. Some use pork oil (pork fats boiled with a small amount of water until dried and oil is produced) for tastier recipes. This definitely results to better taste quality but not to a healthy low fat, slow cooker recipe.

Prefer to boil, simmer, steam, or grill than fry or sauté. Simmer, boil, or steam—cooking processes that do not need cooking oil, are what slow cookers do best. And as long as people can do away with oily cooking, like a low fat, slow cooker recipe, the healthier cooking procedures are. A very minimal amount of beef or pork fat can be tolerable in cooking, and health quality of food is better.

Sautéing is often a cooking procedure requirement. In this case, aside from using olive oil or vegetable oil, a good tip is sauté with an ample amount of tomatoes. Cooked tomatoes, like sautéed ones, produce lycopene which is a good counter measure against harmful fats or cholesterol. Sautéing tomatoes in a low fat, slow cooker recipe is a good and healthy idea.

Another tip worth considering is using tuna fish as substitute for pork or beef requirements. Tuna, aside from providing delicious taste in food, is also rich in protein. Tuna also has good fats and is thus suitable for a low fat, slow cooker recipe. Casseroles baked with cream or mayonnaise can be fully of tuna instead of beef or pork.

Skinless chicken is also a good option for a low fat, slow cooker recipe. Aside from providing low fat, slow cooker recipes with delectable meat flavor, skinless chicken is a good source of protein and chicken broth has fever and cold alleviating qualities. The best chicken parts are breast, thigh, and drumsticks. Chicken neck, wings, and bottom part are to be avoided when preparing a low fat, slow cooker recipe.

Finally, tofu or soya milk curd are excellent beef and pork substitute when cooking a low fat, slow cooker recipe. Or else, mix in tofu with some pork and beef to minimize fatty contents. When recipe requires butter, a high-quality margarine or non-fat milk or pure coco milk can be good substitutes.

Tags: Cooker, Rival, Food, Cooking, Slow Cooker

• » Comments (0)

Further enhancing the quality of slow cooker cooking means considering health factors in cooking. Like being choosy about the kind of ingredients used in slow cooking. Using a lot more veggies and green leafy ingredients is the main thing in healthy and light slow cooker recipes.

It would be a good idea to always put more color in cuisines for light slow cooker recipes. Try to adjust or convert recipes by adding in more colorful vegetables in the dishes. Stuff like green leaves, green broccoli, red and green bell peppers, yellow squash, green or red apples, yellow potatoes, and violet eggplants not only make appealing dishes but nutritious ones as well.

Light slow cooker recipes also mean doing away as much as possible with too much starch, oil, fats, and salty seasoning in food. The question now is, will food still taste well without these stuff? The answer is, it’s not only possible; there are a lot of light slow cooker recipes to choose from. Take this chicken recipe for instance.

Slow Cooked Madras Chicken

Prepare 3 chopped onions, 4 pieces of garlic, 4 peeled and chopped apples, salt to taste, 2 spoons of curry powder, a small jar of mango chutney, 3 cups of hot and cooked couscous, and 3 pounds of skinless and boneless chicken thighs. Light slow cooker recipes with chicken ought to always have the skin taken off.

Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low heat for some 7 to 9 hours, or until chicken is tender enough and cooked well. Mix well and serve on couscous. Like many light slow cooker recipes, this dish takes only 15 minutes to prepare and carries a mere 600 calories and 20 grams of fat.

Vegetarian Slow Cooker Chili

Now, how about an all-vegetarian yet flavorsome meal that tastes as if there’s’ meat in it? Prepare 12 ounce of protein crumbles (frozen), 2 chopped onions, a cans of undrained diced tomatoes, 15 ounce of tomato sauce, some chili powder, some ground cumin, some cornstarch, 2 cans of red kidney beans, and a fourth cup of water.

Put everything in a slow cooker except the cornstarch. Cook on low heat for 8 hours until veggies are cooked enough. Then add cornstarch in water as the heat is switched to high, to 15 minutes more. This recipe has 322 calories, 7 grams of fat, and lots of Vitamin A.

Light slow cooker recipes ought to be healthy and easy to prepare and cook.

Tags: Crock Pot, Cooking, Cooker, Crock Pot Cooker Parts, Food

• » Comments (0)

What could be more appetizing than a mouth-watering pot roast in slow cooker? Try these recipes and savor the meaty goodness of pot roast dishes.

Pot Roast in Creamy Veggies

Use a rump or shoulder roast for this pot roast in slow cooker recipe. Prepare also 2 cans of mushroom soup cream (one can garlic flavor), a cup of water, 2 minced coves garlic, salt and pepper to taste, some basil and oregano, 6 quartered golden potatoes, diced half an onion or onion powder, 3 cups of chopped mushrooms, and 3 cups of chopped carrots.

Trim the fat from the roast and put the pot roast in slow cooker with the onions, water, soup, herbs and spices. Cook on low heat for 6 hours. However, add the remaining vegetables after 3 to 5 hours. Then warm food for 1 to 2 hours more and then serve. The amount of ingredients may be adjusted, depending on one’s taste preferences.

Pot Roast Slow Cooker in Steak Sauce

For a more meaty flavored pot roast in slow cooker, try this super tasty pot roast recipe in steak sauce. Prepare 3 to 4 pounds of pot roast, salt and pepper to taste, a half teaspoon of garlic powder, a small amount of Heinz steak sauce, some A-1 steak sauce, 2 cans of mushroom soup cream, and a pack of onion soup.

Put everything in a slow cooker and cook on low heat for 4 hours or until meat is tender. This juicy dish enhances the taste of meat so much that this pot roast in slow cooker recipe is a sure favorite the family would love.

Easy Yummy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This pot roast in slow cooker recipe needs a pot roast big enough to fit the slow cooker, a can of classic Cola, and a pack of onion soup mix. Mix half the pack of onion soup mix on the pot roast. Mix well. Add the cola and then pour the remaining soup mix on top of the roast. Set cooker on high heat for 4 hours. But turn roast over after 2 hours. When the whole thing is cooked the meat is so tender that it’s moist and seems to melt in the mouth.

Pot roast is easy to slow cook and is sure to result in a very delectable meat dish, with vegetables or plain spices. The best pot roast in slow cooker recipes are those that have thick and creamy sauces or cooked in steak sauces.

Tags: Crock Pot, Slow Cooker, Crockpot, Crock Pot Cooker Parts, Cooking

• » Comments (0)

Now we can enjoy home cooked foods done without much supervision but with delicate quality that even gourmets would love. This is possible with crock pot recipes which are simple to prepare and cook yet incredibly appetizing.

Home cooking is a healthy way to enjoy 3 quality meals daily. Though fast foods are temptingly tastier and more convenient to have, most are also fast becoming unhealthy foods because of their synthetic ingredients and trans-fat contents. But we don’t have to limit ourselves with fast food meals. With crock pot recipes we have an alternative to opt for good old home cooked and tasty dishes. And no worry about the time needed for heavy preparation and cooking. Crock pot recipes are easy to prepare and cook.

Crock pot recipes take little time to prepare. Chop everything that needs chopping—like vegetables and spices—slice the meat or fish, put everything in a crock pot slow cooker, turn it on and that’s it. Just leave to the crock pot to cook everything slowly but surely. If we plan Crock pot recipes for supper, we can have everything prepared early morning and place them in the slow cooker, turn on and then leave for work. By the time we arrive in the evening, the delectable dish will be waiting for us, still warm and fresh from the crock pot.

The secret in being able to leave the automatic cooker to cook the crock pot recipes by itself is the crock pot timer. The timer is designed to slow cook everything in the pot for hours. We can set the timer to 8 hours and leave for work. All the while we are out, the crock pot slow-cooks the main food and ingredients, gradually tenderizing meat to ooze out flavors and mix together with other spices until a subtly blended concoction comes out of the crock pot recipe by the time we get back from work. Just imagine the finely delightful scent that would welcome us at the door.

When the timer hits 8 hours, the crock pot automatically shifts to a gentle heat to keep crock pot recipes warm but not over cooked. For lunch viands, crock pot recipes may be cooked early in the morning or the night before and then kept in the fridge until eating time. Then, the crock pot recipe may be heated gently through the crock pot. Thus, home cooking has never been made as easy as crock pot recipes in slow cookers.
 

Tags: Crock Pot, Recipes, Slow Cooker, Cooking, Crockpot

• » Comments (0)

Cooking vegetables with amazing slow cookers is among excellent alternatives to a vegetarian food preparation that cooks food well and preserves their nutritious quality without overcooking them. Vegetarian slow cooker meal options are healthier and safer.

A vegetarian diet is mostly of raw ingredients or partly blanched. This is to preserve the nutritious quality of vegetables, especially green leafy ones. But sometimes, raw vegetables are not tummy-friendly, especially to first-timers. And some vegetables need to be exposed more to cooking than mere blanching with boiled water. But the concern here is that nutrients can quickly evaporate into the air with cooking. This is where a vegetarian slow cooker meal comes into the picture.

Slow cooking or simmering does not involve exposing food, especially veggies, to too much and too abrupt heat. This kind of heat creates too much evaporation that damages food quality, specifically flavor and nutrients. Slow cooking introduces heat very gradually and carefully cooks food until they’re cooked just enough. The automatic timer mechanism then shifts from simmering to warming once the vegetarian slow cooker meal is done, maintaining warmth just enough to preserve the crisp and nutritious qualities of vegetables.

All-vegetarian slow cooker meal varieties often take a mere hour or two to cook, depending on the kind of veggies used. When tough veggies like squash, carrots, radish, and beans are concerned simmering will have to be adjusted to prolong the tenderizing process. In cases where soft green leafy vegetables are combined with tough textured ones, longer time may be needed to cook food on very low heat.

In other instances, tough vegetable ingredients of a vegetarian slow cooker meal are slow cooked and other ingredients easy to cook are merely blanched or kept raw, added only when the whole recipe is cooked and the slow cooker is adjusted to warming the food.

Vegetarian slow cooker meal options may be mixed with tofu or soy curds or those processed meat-looking vegetable loaves called vege-meat. Furthermore, sautéed garlic and onions can do so much wonders to the taste of vegetarian dishes, as well as curry powder and coconut milk. String beans, garlic, onions, tofu, coconut milk, and salt and pepper, for instance, result to a luscious vegetarian slow cooker meal when simmered for an hour or two on low heat.

Aside from being a very healthy alternative diet, vegetarian slow cooker meal selections can be done with variety. From steamed, to stewed, to sautéed and simmered with sweet and sour sauces or cooked with Chinese black beans or “Tawre,” and many more.

Tags: Crock Pot, Crock Pot Cooker Parts, Food, Slow Cooker, Crockpot

• » Comments (0)

Preparing beef stew in a slow cooker may not be as quick as grabbing something from a fast food joint, but once you’ve made the effort to create them, you won’t be disappointed, and neither will your companions at your meals.

Beef Stew Mixed with Beans

Prepare the following: a cup of lentils (washed and dried), navy beans (2 cups, cooked), a couple of cups of celery, onions (1 cup, minced), barley (1 and ½ cup), carrots (7 pieces), sugar (brown and light, ½ cup), half a teaspoon of leaf thyme, and 2 pounds of beef.

You will also need black pepper (1 teaspoon), red wine (2 cups), 3 cups of vegetable juice, and a cup of water.

Start by putting the beef stew in the slow cooker, and spray some pepper, barley, thyme, sugar and carrots. Pour in the red wine. Press low on the crock pot, and permit 10 hours to pass before the meat softens. When it is set, get rid of the bay leaf. Take the beef stew in the slow cooker and put on a plate.

Beef Stew with Apple Cider

To make this recipe, you will need several carrots (10 pieces), 8 potatoes (chopped), 3 pounds of lean meat, a couple of diced apples, a teaspoon of thyme, salt (1 teaspoon), a cup of sliced onion and apple cider (3 cups).

Take the carrots, apple cider and the potatoes and mix them well before throwing in the pot. Now put the beef stew in the slow cooker and sprinkle some salt, thyme and the sliced onion. Pour in some cider. Close the lid and set to low. Wait about an hour before it is cooked, and add flour and water (2 tablespoons each) and after a few minutes, it’s set.

Beef Stew Mixed with Beer

You will need 4 pounds of steak, a can of beer, onion and gravy mix (1 package each), and half a cup of flour.

Open the crock pot and pour in the beer, onion and gravy. Next cut the beef and dust it with some flour, and when coated put the beef stew in the slow cooker. Stir so that the four mixes in with the other ingredients.

After 10 hours the meat will be tender. In the meantime prepare some rice. Remove the beef stew in the slow cooker and set on a serving bowl with the juices.

A blend of vegetables, meat and seasonings make these recipes ideal for both adults and children. With plenty more varieties available, cooking beef stews in a slow cooker will be something you’ll look forward to.  

Tags: Slow Cooker, Crock Pot Cooker Parts, Food, Cooking, Rival Crock Pot

• » Comments (0)