Sunday, January 21, 2007

POINTS® Value: 5
Servings:  10

Ingredients

1 medium onion(s), chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 cup carrot(s), chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder, medium-hot
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 small jalapeno pepper(s), seeded, chopped (don’t touch seeds with bare hands) or 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 pound lean pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch chunks
15 oz canned black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned tomato puree
29 oz canned diced tomatoes, with green pepper, celery and onion, undrained
6 oz canned tomato paste

Instructions

Combine onion, garlic, carrots, chili powder, oregano, jalapeno, salt and pepper in a 5-quart (or larger) slow cooker; stir. Add remaining ingredients; stir again.

Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 6 to 8 hours. Yields about 1 cup per serving. 

Sunday, September 24, 2006

I just put this in the slow cooker for dinner (took exactly 3 minutes!)

Ingredients:

2 pound boneless beef chuck roast
2 medium onions, cut into 1-in. chunks
large red sweet pepper, cut into 3/4-in. pieces
1 14-ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1-1/2 pound zucchini, cut into 3/4-in. chunks
Salt
Pepper
Hot cooked spaghetti (optional)

Directions

1. Trim fat from roast. Cut roast into 1-inch cubes. Layer beef, onions, and red sweet pepper in slow cooker. Add spaghetti sauce. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 hours.

2. If cooking on low, after 9 hours, turn cooker to high. If you are cooking on high already, leave on high and

add zucchini; cook 1 hour more (on high) or until meat is tender.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti, if desired.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. 

Friday, January 13, 2006

From Amy:

1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat (I cut into 1 inch cubes)
1 small bell pepper, chopped (1/2 c.)
3/4 c. 1-inch pieces green beans (I used frozen)
3/4 c. chopped onion
2/3 c. uncooked barley
2/3 c. fresh whole kernel corn (again, I used frozen)
1 1/2 c. water
1 t. salt
1 t. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 t. dried thyme leaves
1/4 t. pepper
2 cans (14 oz. each) beef broth
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

Mix all ingredients in 3 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours (or high heat setting 4 to 5 hours) or until vegetables and barley are tender.

:9 So easy and delicious!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Take a whole raw chicken and plop it in a 4.5qt or 5qt crockpot (or 2 smaller chickens in a 7qt crockpot), add 1/4 cup water just to get some steam going, cook on high for an hour, then turn it down to low and leave like that until the chicken(s) is(are) thoroughly cooked (could be anywhere from 3-6 hours, depending on the size of the chicken, whether you did one or two, and how big it is/they are).

Remove chickens, allow to cool until they can be handled without scorching yourself.

Remove all meat, store for a later use of your choice.  Put everything else back in the pot, fill with water, add veggies for extra flavor if you like (I usually don’t), cook on low for 24 hours, giving it a little stir when you feel like it (can go overnight without stirring).  Strain stock, refrigerate until cold (will be gelatinous, as most good stocks are when cold, due to collagen from the joints), remove the fat that rose to the top and store in the freezer in a Ziploc baggie or a small container (can be used to make a roux later for the best gravy ever).

Freeze until ready to use - some people I know freeze stock in ice cube trays for when they only need a little, but I generally don’t go smaller than a pint because I usually don’t need less than that.