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    #31
    Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

    I'm necro-ing this thread because I've fallen in love with my slow-cooker! I have a 6 quart HAmilton Beach one, and I think I'm gonna get a smaller one as well. I've learned that an hour on high = 2 on low, and I absolutely love this one pot roast recipe I found. I made it once on low and once on high in half the time, I think it came out the same. I don't brown the roast first - it's falling apart as it should and looks fine! My neighbor put carrots, celery, potatoes in the bottom of hers, topped with a turkey breast. It was like Thanksgiving dinner! I'm gonna try that.

    The only thing I wasn't 100% on board with was spaghetti sauce - but that's just me because I'm Italian and can tell that it hasn't evaporated and thickened on its own. You don't lose liquid in a crockpot. (Plus half the fun is stirring the big pot on the stove and TASTING every half hour or so LOL)

    This is the pot roast recipe I really liked, from the Betty Crocker Slow Cooker Cookbook:

    New England Pot Roast

    3 to 3 1/2 lb. beef boneless chuck roast
    8 small potatoes, cut in half (I used red potatoes and left the skins on)
    3 cups baby cut carrots
    1 cup coarsely chopped onion
    5 oz. prepared horseradish
    1 teasp. salt
    1/2 teasp. pepper
    1 cup water

    The original recipe has you brown the roast in a skillet in a tbsp. of vegetable oil. I skip this.

    Place potatoes, carrots, & onions in 4 - 6 quart crockpot. Place beef on top. Mix horseradish, salt & pepper and spread over beef.
    Pour water over beef & veggies.
    Cook on low 8 - 10 hours or high 4 -5

    ****The horseradish loses its heat but keeps its flavor, which is AWESOME!****
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    Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

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      #32
      Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

      My hubby does a lot of his game meats in the slow cooker. Goat curries and the like. Amazing meat apparently. But I'm vegetarian. Unfortunately vego food doesn't take 8 hours (no putting it on in the morning and coming home to dinner!) it takes more like 3. So it's not getting as much use as it should, but I'm still so glad we have it.
      ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

      RIP

      I have never been across the way
      Seen the desert and the birds
      You cut your hair short
      Like a shush to an insult
      The world had been yelling
      Since the day you were born
      Revolting with anger
      While it smiled like it was cute
      That everything was shit.

      - J. Wylder

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        #33
        Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

        Originally posted by Heka View Post
        Unfortunately vego food doesn't take 8 hours (no putting it on in the morning and coming home to dinner!) it takes more like 3. So it's not getting as much use as it should, but I'm still so glad we have it.
        Please. I'm a vegetarian, and I use mine all the time! Soups and stews, baked beans, cabbage dishes, chili, etc. If it fits in a bowl, it cooks in the slow-cooker! Even porridge!


        Mostly art.

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          #34
          Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

          But ours is a huge one, and putting veggies cooks in like 3 hours. I'm complaining that I don't get the same "put it in before work and get home and dinner is ready". Cos it'd all be burnt.

          or else you need to educate me.
          ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

          RIP

          I have never been across the way
          Seen the desert and the birds
          You cut your hair short
          Like a shush to an insult
          The world had been yelling
          Since the day you were born
          Revolting with anger
          While it smiled like it was cute
          That everything was shit.

          - J. Wylder

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            #35
            Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

            Originally posted by Heka View Post
            But ours is a huge one, and putting veggies cooks in like 3 hours. I'm complaining that I don't get the same "put it in before work and get home and dinner is ready". Cos it'd all be burnt.

            or else you need to educate me.
            I am about to start this in the slow cooker, because I'm going on an all day hike today, and I will be hungry when I get home. Mine's a big one, too! Just cook stuff on low!


            Mostly art.

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              #36
              Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

              I come bearing links! I love trying out new recipes (I kind of have a reputation of making dishes one time and getting bored with them) and so I collect a lot of them.

              Crockpot Chicken Fajitas - I'm hoping to try these soon because they look incredible.

              100 Days of No-Processed Meals, Crock Pot Style

              Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

              Over 60 Amazing Slow Cooker Recipes

              Keep in mind I haven't tried any of these yet! I'm just getting started with these - I saved the links only a couple of days ago, actually - but for anyone else interested in cooking with a slow cooker, I thought these might be useful!

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                #37
                Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

                Oh, and now I need to find my mom's brisket recipe - I remember her experimenting with the slow cooker all the time when I was a kid, and that was one of the meals that really stood out.

                Ooh, shiny links... The fajitas look fantastic; if I can sell the rest of the family on Mexican food, I'll be set!

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                  #38
                  Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

                  I am thinking about getting a slow cooker..I love pork slow cooked where it almost melts in your mouth. Anyone recommend a brand of slow cooker?..Or they all pretty much the same?
                  MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

                  all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
                  NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
                  don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




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                  my new page here,let me know what you think.


                  nothing but the shadow of what was

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                    #39
                    Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

                    Originally posted by anunitu View Post
                    Anyone recommend a brand of slow cooker?..Or they all pretty much the same?
                    It's all in the pot. It needs to be heavy and thick, so it can hold heat and disperse it evenly. After that the other important consideration is capacity, whatever works for you.
                    Trust is knowing someone or something well enough to have a good idea of their motivations and character, for good or for ill. People often say trust when they mean faith.

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                      #40
                      Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

                      I make pulled pork, ribs, beans, stew, chili, soup, and pot roasts with mine. The main thing is to use much less liquid than you would if you were making the same thing on the stove or in the oven.

                      ETA: Oops, didn't read all the posts before posting my own. Just disregard the instructions for cooking meat in the crockpot (if you read them before I edited), LOL.

                      For the stews, soups, chili, and beans, it's only enough liquid to just cover the ingredients.

                      I know others who have done baked items (cinnamon rolls, cakes, etc) in the crockpot but I haven't tried that yet.

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                        #41
                        Warm Drinks Collection via Slow Cooker

                        These are not my own recipes, they are some of my favorites from the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook (Feasting with your Slow Cooker) by by Dawn Ranck (which is fantastic for slow cooker enthusiasts like myself and I'd recommend)


                        Hot apple cider
                        4 qts cider
                        4 sticks cinnamon
                        1 t whole cloves

                        combine ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on high 2 hours, turn to low and simmer until ready to serve.


                        hot mulled ciderCider snap
                        2 qts apple cider or apple juice
                        4 T red cinnamon candies
                        at least 16 apple slices
                        1 t nutmeg or allspice
                        1 c orange juice - optional

                        combine cider and cinnamon candies in slow cooker. Cook on high 2 hours until candies dissolve. Ladle into mugs and serve with apple slice floaters and cinnamon stick stirrers.
                        This is a cold winter night luxury; make it in the morning and keep it on low throughout the day so its good fragrance can fill the house.


                        Mulled winealmond tea

                        10 c boiling water
                        1 T instant tea
                        2/3 c lemon juice
                        1 c sugar
                        1 t vanilla
                        1 t almond extract

                        mix all together in cooker, cook high for 1 hour. turn to low while serving.


                        deep red apple cider

                        If I can find the rest of my recipes (which have recently been converted to pdf files and are hiding somewhere on my computers), I'll add more. Hopefully others will have recipes to share too, since I'm always looking for more!

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                          #42
                          Re: Warm Drinks Collection via Slow Cooker

                          I love you for making this thread!
                          �Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.�
                          ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
                          Sneak Attack
                          Avatar picture by the wonderful and talented TJSGrimm.

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                            #43
                            Re: Warm Drinks Collection via Slow Cooker

                            Aww shucks.

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                              #44
                              Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

                              Ok,bumped this thread up because I now have a slow cooker,a real "crock pot"Trademark.
                              I am really wanting to start with this,but as the original poster,at a loss for what to do.
                              MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

                              all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
                              NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
                              don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




                              sigpic

                              my new page here,let me know what you think.


                              nothing but the shadow of what was

                              witchvox
                              http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

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                                #45
                                Re: No idea what to do with a slow-cooker

                                When I get home I'll post a link to my crock pot pinterest board. One of my fave from there is the cream cheese spaghetti, although you may want to use a liner with that, our first batch burned pretty badly in some areas.

                                We make beef stew a lot in it. It's pretty simple: beef, seasoned to taste, with cut up celery, potatoes, carrots, and sweet onions. Put it all in the pot, add water until it (mostly) covers the beef, let it sit on low for 8ish hours and then dive in! You can also make chicken noodle soup the same way, removing the onions if you'd like and adding some chicken bouillon cubes.
                                ~Rudyard Kipling, The Cat Who Walks By Himself

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