Tag Archives: slow cooker

Slow-Cooker Chinese Food

Yup. Chinese food in the slow-cooker!

I was inspired by Lydia over at The Perfect Pantry to try my hand at this crazy mix of flavor and easy cooking method.

And it was easy. She was doing chicken – but I had stew beef in the freezer so that is what I went with. I added some water chestnuts and fresh broccoli florets in the last 30 mins and cooked some rice on the side in my trusty rice cooker and voila! Beef and Broccoli. A fine staple of any Chinese-American restaurant around.

It was "sauc-ier" than it looks the rice absorbed all of it! yum!

It was “sauc-ier” than it looks, the rice absorbed all of it! yum!

Production Notes

1.5 +/-  stew beef

2 Tb finely minced garlic

1 Tb rice vinegar

2 Tsp brown sugar

2 Tsp ginger (fresh, minced is nice; I used dried, powdered)

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 Tsp +/- grated orange zest + the juice of the orange

1/2 Tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)

1 Tsp Chinese 5-spice

2/3 cup chicken or beef stock

1 small onion sliced

1 Tbsp Cornstarch or Arrowroot dissolved into 2 Tbsp water

Several “crowns” of fresh broccoli chopped into bite size or 1 small bag of frozen (defrost but don’t cook first)

Combine garlic, vinegar, sugar, ginger, soy sauce, orange zest/juice, black pepper and Chinese 5-spice with a whisk. Pour over meat and onions which you have already placed in the slow cooker. Cook on high 4 hours or so OR low for 6-8 hours. Whisk in the cornstarch or arrowroot slurry about an hour before serving and add the broccoli about 30 mins before serving.

If you wanted a thicker sauce and was feeling like the extra work – you could remove the beef from the slow cooker (without adding the slurry and broccoli yet) strain the sauce and heat it to a boil in a sauce pan. Than you could add the slurry to the sauce, cook for a bit  and make it thick and rich. Add everything back in (beef, sauce and now add the broccoli) and serve once the broccoli is cooked to your liking – just keep any eye on the heat so you don’t burn. ( i.e. turn slow-cooker down) This would be great to bring to the office potluck!

“Juicy” BBQ Pork Roast

And by “juicy” – I mean both moist and made with actual “juice!”

Pomegranate/dragon fruit juice – you know the one that comes in a small, curvy bottle.

Here is the supporting cast of characters….

Think “sweet and spicy” pulled pork on rolls with bread/butter pickles! Also great over mashed potatoes which is how I ate it!!

I simply whisked all these guys together with the diced onion and added it to the slowcooker with the pork.

..but I did take the effort to “put a little brown” on the pork roast first by searing it in a pan. And then it was “everybody in the hot tub!”

I think it was worth it to take the time to “caramelize” the outside (fancy cooking term) but you can decide if you want to clean the extra pan. Also worth noting…make sure you set your slow-cooker to the correct setting for the day. i.e. lower if you are going longer or higher if you are going shorter. Otherwise you might come home to a delicious but REALLY falling apart pork due to an overly long time on high setting. (Not that I am speaking from experience or anything.)

Production Notes

Actual recipe for sauce…

2lb +/- pork roast

16oz Pomegranate juice or juice blend ( I happened to have a “lite” version on hand)

3 heaping tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 med onion diced

6oz can of tomato paste

1 tsp ground Ancho chili powder

2 tbsp “Galena Street” seasoning from Penzey’s or whatever your favorite BBQ seasoning is

1 tsp ground Cumin

S&P to taste

Whisk to combine and add to slow cooker with meat and onion or simmer on low heat for a while to serve as a side sauce with just about anything!

Can These Two Be Friends?

I had some chicken thighs defrosting and a hankering for some “Indian food.” So instead of following a recipe, I just got out two spices I think of  as “Indian.”

In reality “madras curry” is a British invention and “Sate/Satay” is from the Indonesian islands, not actually India. Fusion cooking right?

I coated my chicken in a heavy dose of the Sate seasoning and browned them in the skillet first.

After that, I removed the chicken and tossed in some sliced onions and my very own green peppers grown in my garden! (Toot-tooting my own horn!)

After that I added diced sweet red bell pepper, a couple fresh garlic cloves, lots of curry powder and some tomato paste and let that kinda “toast” for a minute. If you like it hot, add something hot like chili flakes or hot peppers. I de-glazed the pan with some stock and threw everybody into the hot tub! (slowcooker)

Cook for many hours, until you can’t stand how good it smells and add some frozen peas (my husband is obsessed with them) about 30 mins before serving (not shown here) and serve with the Naan you found in the freezer this morning, which started this whole fusion-travel-food journey in the first place!

Dinner for Breakfast

Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Words to live by.

Big breakfast, light lunch, even lighter dinner. I am still working on that “even lighter dinner” thing. (and therefore those last 10 lbs!)

Somewhere after high school when I started to actually eat a breakfast that consisted of more than just a Diet Coke, I realized I was much better off. But the problem was I didn’t really want donuts, Danish or pastries for breakfast. I didn’t want cereal because I don’t really like milk. I wanted food I really liked. Cheeseburgers. Chicken fingers. Nachos. Or at least a savory ham and egg sandwich. So I launched into a secret life of eating last night’s leftovers at 7 or 8 am for breakfast. I only draw the line at two things I won’t eat for breakfast: Fish – I don’t like it any time of the day. Salad – there is nothing warm and cozy about lettuce at 8am.

I kept this secret fairly well hidden until I met my future husband. He is a true early riser and the day I awoke at 8am to the smell of a roast beef dinner wafting from the kitchen, I knew I had met a kindred soul. Fast forward some 11 years and we are still doing dinner for breakfast. Mostly we don’t cook these big dinners for breakfast unless it’s the weekend. Like brunch – just earlier. But we do heat up and eat some serious dinner leftovers for breakfast. A fact I try to hide everyday at the office, so my co-workers won’t think I am weird!

He has recently started working the overnight shift at the local hospital and when he comes home he is hungry and ready for a meal! So the other night ( I am the night owl in the family) I started a rump roast in the slow-cooker at midnight. I set it to low so it would be ready just in time for breakfast (dinner?) at about 8 or 9 am. Somewhere around 6am the wafting smell of delicious-ness rousted me out of bed and I checked on it – added some frozen peas, turned it to high, and went back to bed. Later after morning coffee, I buttered some warm Naan bread and we sat down to an “Indian inspired beef roast.”

The Recipe

(also delicious at other times of the day!)

3lb +/- Bottom Round Rump Roast or whatever roast cut works for you.

2 slices of uncooked Bacon – diced

2 med Vidalia onions- thick sliced into half moons

1/2 box of Beef Broth (2cups)

1 cup Ketchup

1/2 to 1 whole Chipolte in Adobe Sauce diced fine. (Once I open a can, I store the rest in the freezer and just use tiny amounts as we are babies about spice around our house. Add more if you can handle it!)

1 tbs Madras Curry Powder

Juice of 1/2 of a Meyer Lemon ( I happen to have this kind but any lemon will do)

Splash of Half and Half

Salt and Pepper to taste

Aprox a 1/3 cup Cornstarch mixed with just a little water to create a smooth slurry.

2 cups Frozen Peas

In your slow-cooker. Layer the diced bacon down first. Next the beef. Now throw in the onions. In a bowl whisk all the other items except the cornstarch slurry, the half and half and the peas. Taste for seasoning and spice level. Adjust as desired. Pour this over contents of slow-cooker. Put a lid on it and cook for many hours on low or less hours on high. Consult your slow-cooker instructions if you have questions or use a meat thermometer if you want.  About an hour or two before you want to eat add in the half and half, the cornstarch slurry and the peas. Liquid will thicken. Serve with warm Naan bread with or without rice as desired.

Ain’t the internet great?    Check out this link I stumbled upon…makes me want to visit Minocqua, Wisconsin wherever that might be!

Boston Butt

Nope, not talking about my own butt – talking about a pig’s shoulder.

Boston Butt: Pork Primal Cut

Graphic: Wikimedia Commons / Danilo Alfaro

Confused yet? here is the official “Wikipedia” explanation:

In pre-revolutionary New England and into the American Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or “high on the hog,” like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as “butts”) for storage and shipment. The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as “Boston butt”. In the UK it is known as “pork hand and spring”, or simply “pork hand”.

No matter what it is called – it is delicious! No brining, no fancy marinade, just a slow cooker. I decided to make the effort to “sear” the meat first and therefore create the sauce using the brown bits of flavor from the pan before putting all into the slow cooker. I suppose you could just skip this step and go right into the slow cooker but I think it was worth the extra step and pan. Besides the slow cooker really does all the heavy lifting.

The result: 100% authentic BBQ flavor – no smoker needed!

The Recipe

3lbs +/- Pork ( preferably Boston Butt – I removed the strings that were tired around it, since I was “pulling it” later)

oil for browning in heavy bottom pan

2-3 tb seasoned salt of your choice rubbed into the meat on all sides (use liberally as this is your only “salt” in the dish)

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste rubbed on the meat as well

Heat the oil really hot and sear each side of the meat – patiently waiting until each side is unstuck from the pan before turning. Remove the meat to a waiting slow-cooker and turn down the heat on your pan a bit.

Add in this order:

1 smallish/medium onion finely diced

1 small can (6oz) tomato paste

1 tsp each: smoked paprika, ground ancho chili pepper, cumin

Stir and cook a minute – “toasting” spices and paste.

Now add:

1/4 cup mustard (brown, spicy or dijon works well)

1 garlic clove – mashed really well

1 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white wine vinegar ( I am sure reg white or apple cider would be nice too)

stir and get all the bits off the bottom.

Add enough of your favorite hot sauce to make it your level of spiciness. ( I use Tabasco for this)

Now pour this all into the slow cooker with your meat, cover and cook on low for at least 4 hours. Meat should be falling apart when done. Shred and serve on toasted rolls with bread and butter pickles.

Do’s And Don’ts

1. DO put your brown rice in the slow-cooker/crock-pot first

2. DON’T marinade your meat too long if you are cooking long and slow. DO marinate it longer if you are in a hurry and you are only cooking for a few hours on high.

3. DO cut your veggies big but DON’T put them in too early or they will breakdown too much. Last couple of hours is enough.

4. DON’T put your cabbage in too soon – Last 1/2 hour is plenty unless you like your cabbage really well done.

The recipe

1.5lbs +\- pork meat (not tenderloin and not thin little chops but any other cut would be fine.) I cut mine into smaller pieces. (stew size)

1/2 cup brown rice, rinsed. (shhh…don’t tell hubby it’s healthy!)

1 small or 1/2 of a large head savoy (or Napa) cabbage, sliced into small strands

4 large ribs of celery, largely cut on the bias

1 med white onion, cut roughly into aprox 1″ pieces

The marinade/cooking liquid – I used the marinade as the cooking liquid – if you don’t feel comfortable doing this, than don’t marinade the meat and just use it as cooking liquid.

2 oranges, juiced and zested

1/4 soy sauce (low sodium)

(4) 1/2″ chucks of fresh ginger – fish them out before serving so you don’t eat them

2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder

2  Tbsp  toasted sesame oil

1-2 large cloves garlic, minced or mashed

1 1/4  cup liquid – could be water, could be stock, could be pineapple juice

Add the rice first, the meat on top. Add all of the cooking liquid/marinade. Consult the recommendations for your slow-cooker but I cooked on high for a couple of hours at least and then checked the contents, stirring and checking the rice/meat done-ness. Cook some more and add the onion/celery an hour before you plan on serving and add the cabbage a half hour before serving time.

“Vesuvio” Erupts Again!

yup that is right…”Vesuvio” as in “Chicken Vesuvio!”

Most likely this dish originated from the “Mount Vesuvius” region of Italy. That is the one that covered Pompeii and Herculaneum.

It was so delicious the first time around that I saved the leftover “au jus” and froze it. (Is that weird? Or maybe just excessively frugal?)

So I threw that in a slow-cooker with a couple of chicken breasts and about an hour before serving time; sliced up some potatoes into thick wedges and roasted them. Some folks call these “steak fries.”   Around these parts we call them “jojos.”

I threw in some frozen peas just to complete the look and voila…instant, easy dinner!

Waste Not, Want Not

I freeze everything – even if it is just a small amount. It can always be used. I waste almost nothing.

So if a recipe calls for a small amount of crushed pineapple and all I have is the big can size, I go ahead and open it anyway because I will just freeze the rest. If I have some BBQ sauce leftover – whether homemade or bottled, I go ahead and freeze it before it sits in the fridge for another month.

You get the idea.

The other day when I looked in my freezer with the intention of finding inspiration…I found it.

What do you get when you put a frozen, bought-on-sale mini pork roast together with some leftover frozen bits of crushed pineapple and some BBQ sauce and few things that you have on hand already?

Sweet and Sour Pork!

I added 1 medium onion rough chopped and a sweet red pepper that had been hanging around my crisper. Along with the last of my green, bell peppers from the garden!

I also added a hefty amount of low sodium soy sauce and a small dash of fish sauce – both from the pantry.

I put the whole thing in a low temperature slow-cooker at 7:30 in the morning and went to work.

I came home to dinner all ready and smelling good! Just add rice!

Oh and it makes great leftovers for re-heating!

Crock-Pot® Love……………………….or is it “slow-cooker” love?

The term Crock-pot®  is a trademarked brand name for a kind of slow-cooker.

Bet you didn’t know that.

Well whatever you call it – I am in love.♥

I have some friends who are in love too. You know who you are. (Lydia.;-)

Mostly I just love having dinner all ready and waiting for me when I get home. This concept is nothing new. Folks have been bringing out the slow-cookers for years. For the holiday pot luck. For the family reunions. For the summer gatherings.

But the slow-cooker revolution is on. The internet is burning up with recipes. The bookstores are sporting more and more books dedicated solely to this form of cookery. 841 search results on Amazon alone!  Mark my words, I bet a food network show completely based on slow-cookers is already in production!

My latest slow-cooker love:

1 small pork roast – bought on sale and defrosted the night before in the fridge.

1 16 oz jar of “Better Than Freds” Caribbean Salsa. (Can’t find it – order it here – SO worth it)

1 can( 14oz +/-) Black beans, rinsed and drained

Frozen corn kernels – about a 1/2 bag  – doesn’t everybody have that in their freezer?

2 tsp Cumin – I LOVE this spice – if you don’t have it or love  it – leave it out.

Put everything in the slow-cooker (Meat on the bottom please.) Turn it on high and eat it 8 hours later over rice.

Full Disclosure:

I did not receive any compensation from either the salsa company or the slow-cooker company for promoting or advertising their products. But if anybody wants to send me some free stuff, please feel free to email me!