I'm looking for crock pot recipes that basically don't include "cream of" soup. I've got pretty good ones I use for chili and vegetable and minestrone soup and making chicken. But I want to expand my horizons here.
I'd love to hear what you do, since I like using the crockpot a lot, but don't have a lot of ideas that don't take an hour to prepare before it goes in.
I make a lentil soup in mine. I'm never exact with the ingredients:
1 lb lentils, washed and picked over
1 c each chopped onion, celery and carrot
1 15 oz can of diced tomato, depending on how I'm feeling I might put in 2 cans
Salt, pepper to taste (less salt if the canned tomatoes are heavily salted and they usually are)
1 bay leaf
1-2 T olive oil (more if I want it a little richer, less if a little lighter)
Optional: 6 oz can of V8 juice
Dump everything in crock and cover with enough water (if I'm feeling veggie) and/or chicken broth (if I'm not) to bring the liquid a couple inches above the solids. Cook on low until the lentils are tender--a full workday cook is usually not needed since lentils cook sort of fast for a bean, but I've never had it turn to mush either. Pull the bay leaf out when it is done. [This also cooks in about an hour on the stove if you sweat all the veggies in the olive oil before you add the lentils and liquids--good for the weekend.]
Serve with a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. I usually also set the bread machine to make a ww loaf as well when I make this, for a complete, hot, flavorful whole foods dinner.
Now if only anyone in the house besides me would eat it!! I freeze the leftovers in single serve containers and they make great lunches
I used to use my crockpot a lot and I've never used a cream of whatever for it
One of my favorite recipes actually comes from this site. It is ethiopian spicy braised chicken. I'd just throw all the ingredients into the crockpot and let it go:
Another favorite thing I like to do is put a pork tenderloin, some garlic, a chopped onion and some form of chilies with a little water. I have found that hot new mexico green chilies are the best but I've also used jalapeños and other chilies.
You can also make various types of soups. Last thing I made was probably split pea soup in it.
Thanks Anne and Nelie for the ideas--especially the lentils, I never think to make them! I'll definitely be trying out. these ideas I cook for my family and the "cream of" recipes are some of their favorites, and I'm interested in moving beyond that.
One of my favorite quick ways to use the crock pot is to throw in some chopped celery and onions, and maybe a halved lemon, then put in a whole chicken, about 1/4 cup of water and your seasonings. Sometimes I defat the broth and use it took cook up some noodles to go with. I like doing pork in there too, sort of like you described, Nelie. I put the pork, a couple of cans of tomatoes, garlic, onions and chilis in. That's really tasty.
I usually make chili in mine - it really blends the flavors with the long, slow cooking. I brown ground beef/turkey (about 1/2 lb) with chopped up onions and peppers, put them in crockpot with 2 cans of beans (your choice, I ususally use red kidney, but also black beans, pintos, etc), a can of chopped tomatoes, usually the Mexican spiced ones, and about 1/2 can of tomato soup. I add chili powder and red pepper seeds for seasoning. If I have them, I often use veggie crumbles instead of meat. Yesterday I used some caribou burger that a friend gave us - but most of you don't have access to that!
I made this awesome crock pot chili yestrday and it turned out great!!!
SUPER CROCK POT 3 BEAN- CHICKEN CHILI
1 pound ground chicken (browned and drained)
1 can kidney beans -drained
1 can black beans - drained
1 can pinto beans - drained
1 can Rotel Mexican tomatoes with chilis - not drained
2 cans tomato soup (I used the low sodium version)
chopped- onion/ green pepper/ red pepper
1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
pepper to taste and a touch of salt to taste.
Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
It turned out sooooo yummy the husband loves it and the kids ate it too!
I found this new book at the library yesterday and it looks pretty good. Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker: Recipes for Two. There are lots of recipes that look great, and they seem to be made with fresh ingredients. Soups, a bunch of chili recipes, meats, polenta, and several risotto recipes. Some of the recipes are for the 1 1/2 qt. size slow cooker only, but I'm planning on adapting them for my family. Some of the recipes involve a couple of pre-cooking steps, but a lot of them look like you just chop up everything and throw it in the pot.
Just wanted to say that I made that Ethiopian spicy chicken that Nelie posted the link for. Threw it all in the crockpot and let it cook all day. Except for chopping some garlic and ginger root, the prep time was minimal. It was delicious served over wholegrain couscous. Highly recommended!
I have a great crock pot cook book! It is Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook. You can get it at Walmart or you could probably find it at www.half.com too. I Love It!! Karen
I get pork steaks (easier than the butt) and cut them into cubes. I saute them off a bit then throw them into the crockpot. I add a large can of tomatillos (drained), 1 large can diced green chilis, several cloves of sliced garlic, s&p, Mexican oregano (cheaper than the bottled stuff), a sprinkle or 2 of chili powder and lots of cumin. You can add other things like Emeril's Essence (from the Food Network site), more garlic powder and onion powder if you like. I turn it on and let it go all day on low. Oh, I deglaze the saute pan with a bit of the tomotillo juice.
I make this chili verde and freeze it before camping as well. Then we just throw it in a big pot on the 2nd day. It acts as an ice block for the first day.
1 lb pork tenderloin (~2 loins)
1 giant honking sweet potato (or 2-3 small-med)
2 apples (I'll use granny smith next time so it'll hold up better)
1 c unfiltered apple juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Kosher salt, black pepper to taste
I peeled and chopped the apple and sweet potato in about 2 inch squares, removed the silver skin from the tenderloins, threw the whole mess in the crock and let it cook on low all day. It was wonderful! I had intended to put in an onion as well, but my last onion was moldy so I pitched it instead. We're having the leftovers on Wednesday.
katrs5, I don't do Weight Watchers so can't help you out with points. A serving of the lentil soup typically has between 160 and 270 calories for me, depending on the exact serving size and how liberal I am with the olive oil.
I do whole wheat (ww) bread in my bread machine. I pretty much follow the recipe that came with the machine.
crock pot recipes
