The Crack-Pot: Recipes for your Crockpot fix!!

I usually throw veggies in at the end of the day so they don't get mushy. Lately, I've only been using the crock pot to make up large batches of beans so I'll have them during the week.

 

Ropa Vieja

(Comments in parenthesis are there to show gluten free brands)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds beef flank steak
1 cup beef broth. (pacific Foods)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (Muir Glen or Ranaldi)
1 small onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (Muir Glen)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (all spices mcCormic)
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro (Organic may use wheat as a pesticide)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar (Heinz brand is corn not wheat based)

Heat oil in a pan, once hot add the cumin, chili powder and cayenne. Fry the spices in the oil until they are fragrant. This is a critical step and will easily double the potency and robustness of the spices vs. placing them directly into the crock pot.

Add the sliced onions to the pan and cook until soft and a little golden. To get this texture fry them for a minute or two to get the color and then add about a teaspoon of water to the pan, the steam will then soften your golden onions. For the last 30 seconds of cooking add the garlic and stir so it doesn't burn.

Add this to the crock pot.
Next fry up the beef for just a few minutes in the pan you just used. You may need to add more oil. This will get any remaining seasoning off the pan and onto the beef as well as help infuse the beef with more onion and garlic flavor. This is just searing the beef to get a crispier texture on the outside, the inside will still be raw.

Add the beef and the rest of the ingredients into the crockpot. Set it to low and cook for 10 hours.

We serve this over cilantro rice and black beans, though I have heard of people serving it with tortillas and sour cream.

For the cilantro rice. For 2 with leftovers
2 c. Long grain rice like basmati or jasmine (washed)
3-4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch of cilantro
1 c. Chicken stock
3 c. Water
1 lime

Zest the lime and have 1/2 the cilantro washed and chopped before the garlic is fried.
Fry the garlic for 30 seconds in the oil and add the rice. Stir the rice until coated. Add the zest and cilantro. The cilantro will get a bit bruised while doing this but it is a good thing so more flavor is released. Stir for 30 seconds and then add the chicken stock as well as 3 cups of water.

Cook until water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy. I just throw everything into my rice cooker and hit start at this point.

Once the rice is complete test it to decide if you want to add more lime juice and top with chopped cilantro.

 

Thought I'd post this here (and resurrect this thread - I need to cook more at home):

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/merry-kuchle/cook-more-this-year-28-ea_b_6409454.html

 

Thanks for the reminder. We had this for dinner tonight.
Changes:
16 oz tomato sauce not 8
Added one cup of chicken stock
Doubled the cumin
Added 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder.
We just let it all cook all day in the crockpot after we browned the ground beef.


https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/simple-perfect-chili-recipe.html

It is a great starter base for any chili. Then you can just add whatever you prefer to your normal chili, like peppers, Goya sazón or beer or whatever.

 

It was so good we made it again... Fried up the meat and garlic. I added extra garlic this time. I added that with everything else in the crockpot except for the Maseca slurry and cooked on low for 6 hours. Added the Maseca for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

We served it over beef franks, with onions and cheese(daiya for me). But it didn't even need cheese it was that good on its own.

 

If you don't like beans why not substitute a can of corn and a small chopped zucchini instead? I think the flavor would come through well and it doesn't need the beans, just something to take their place. Just be sure to add the extra liquid like I mentioned two posts down otherwise thee chili will be super dry.

 

Just found this thread, I loooove crock pot stuff.

Just made Taco Soup the other day in mine:

Taco Soup
2 cans corn
2 cans kidney beans (I use chili seasoned beaned)
1 lb browned hamburger
2 cans Rotel tomatoes with green chili peppers
2 packets of taco seasoning
1 packet of ranch seasoning

Simmer 4-6 hours on low. Serve with Sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips

 

This is another favorite from Pinterest, it is DEVINE
Italian Pot Roast with Parmesan Risotto

https://www.plainchicken.com/2009/05/italian-pot-roast-parmesan-risotto.html

 

Ok, lily here is the Moroccan oxtail stew that I made, but it could easily be made into an "American" oxtail stew. I have one of the crockpots that is oval shaped.

Ingredients
"Oxtail bones" aka cow spine bones- enough to cover the bottom of the crock pot
2.5lbs skirt steak or other really cheap cut
(Use less meat if the bones have meat on the outside, mine did not)
6oz tomato paste
2 Russet potato
1 Sweet Potato
Butternut squash (cut one potatoes worth)
Italian seasoning
Chipotle chili pepper
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon


Put the oxtail bones on the bottom of the crock pot.
Lay the skirt steak on top.
Add a tsp of chipotle, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Fill the crockpot with water
Cook on high for at least four hours.
If you are eating that night carefully skim off all the foam and oil from the surface.
If you are eating the next day, throw this in the fridge and skim in the morning.
Taste the stock. You will need to add more Italian seasoning and chili powder at this point to taste.
In the last two hours of cooking quarter the potatoes and cut the squash in big chunks. At this time add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. This brings out the sweetness of the vegetables.
15 minutes prior to serving remove the oxtail bone using kitchen tongs and discard. Any meat left on the outside of them should stay in the pot.
Shred the skirt steak and return to the pot.
15 min prior to serving taste the stew and salt.
It was about 7 hours total on high to get the stew consistency I wanted.

---
This could easily be made into a traditional American beef stew with the following changes:

Add celery, garlic and onion to the pot with the beef and oxtail.

Replace the chipotle chili pepper with regular chili pepper and remove the cinnamon.

Use russet potatoes and carrots as the two hour mark veggies. Remove the squash and sweet potato.

Add peas at the 15 minute mark.

 

I like doing it over two days. It makes it sooo much easier to take the fat out.

Also I realized I was more generous with my spices than I thought. Start with the amount listed, but you may need to add more based on age of your spices. I did and mine are pretty fresh.

The cinnamon is meant to play off the sweet potato, so without it skip the cinnamon first time and maybe add garlic.

 

Sounds good! Text me if you have any questions, I'll be home all weekend.

The chipotle chili powder is savory, just smokier than regular chili powder. A little wouldn't be bad and may add some extra depth to the stock.

 

https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Guisado-Verde/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Low spice, can replace at least half the meat with bean/lentil to no detriment. Great on a tortilla with mexican rice (rice cooked with half broth/half tomatillo salsa). I cut out all the water and add a tiny bit of broth because we like it less soup and more tortilla filling.
I roast bell pepper and zucchini/courgette spiced with cumin, chili powder, cilantro, and garlic powder to fill the tortilla too. I find it's easier for the toddler if I take all the ingredients and grill him a quesadilla from it and cut it into fingers/wedges.

 

https://damndelicious.net/2014/03/14/slow-cooker-butter-chicken/

Everything from this website actually is damn delicious.