All Hail, the Slow Cooker!

My big Crock-Pot

I have two slow cookers, both the name brand Crock-Pot.  I have the large one photographed above and I have a small one, shown below,  which I use during the holidays for mulling wine or for making larger batches of hot cocoa.

My small Crock-Pot

Crock-pots or slow cookers are most often used during the cooler months but that need not be the case.  I use mine year round.  It does not heat up the kitchen and there are many non-soup/stew recipes out there for the slow cooker.  Here are some good recipe sources:

The Crock-pot company site

This gets you recipes straight from the source.  I like this site because it narrows down the recipes by the size Crock-pot/slow cooker that you own.  When it comes to Crock-Pot/Slow Cooker recipes, size matters.  

A Year of Slow Cooking (Crockpot 365)

This blog is devoted to nearly continuous crock potty goodness.  I've made a couple of her recipes and they always work out well.  

365 Days of Slow Cooking

Another year long slow cooking blog.  

My Veggie Table

What?  Self promotion is good for the soul

Slowcooker Hashbrown Casserole

Anyone who has followed this blog for longer than 20 seconds knows that I LOVE Hashbrown Casserole.  I make it often in the oven and it is a huge hit in my house.  Recently I have been looking for gainful employment and have therefore been trying out slow cooker recipes in the hopes that I can at some point get a paying job (this mommy, food blogger gig pays very poorly).  I decided to try out some of my tried and true recipes to see it they will work in the slow cooker.  

The Hashbrown Casserole certainly works in the slow cooker, but I have to warn you that it is not working mom or working anyone friendly.  It cannot be left to cook all day in the slow cooker, the shredded potatoes would just turn to mush.  It turned out delicious and I actually like it better than when it's cooked in the oven, but it's not a toss it in at 8am and turn it off at 5pm slow cooker dish.  Of course this varies based on your slow cooker and yours may not be, like mine, a heating power house.  For your information I have a Rival Crock-Pot.  I think it is somewhere between 4-6 quarts, and I adore the darn thing.  I liked it so much that I bought a smaller one to exclusively use at Christmas for making mulled wine and hot cocoa. 

What surprised me was the level of crispiness that was achieved by cooking this in the slow cooker.  Screw surprised, I was down right shocked. I was so surprised that I even made the recipe more then once to make certain the results were the same. 

One more quick note: yes, I use a can of cream of mushroom soup in this recipe.  I do not routinely use canned soups, much less canned cream of anything soup, but this recipe is the exception and to me it is just not the same without that canned cream of mushroom soup. You can substitute a thick white sauce in its place if you so desire.  

 Ingredients

1 package of shredded hashbrown potatoes

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 Combine all the ingredients in the crock of your slow cooker.  And cook it on high for 4 hours.  

Serve warm and enjoy

Recipe source: heck if I know...my momma got it somewhere years ago

Recipe serves 8, 1-cup servings

Calories 298

Protein 10 grams

Fat 18 grams

Sodium 273

Fiber 3 grams

Potassium 399

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

This is yet another slow cooker recipe which I decided to try in anticipation The Veggie Mom becoming the Working Veggie Mom.  By the way, hubris is a heartless bitch and she will ruin your chances of returning to work if you get cocky and start preparing in advance for a job you do not yet have.  I hate hubris.  

The Ingredients
20 ounces frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

10 3/4 ounces cream of celery soup

1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cups onion, diced

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoons ground black pepper

16 saltine crackers, crushed

 Combine all except the saltines in the crock of your slow cooker

Cook on low for 6 hours

The first time I attempted this recipe I put the crackers on the top for the last 15 minutes of the cooking time, but that left me with some VERY mushy crackers on top.  So, the second time I added the crackers to each plate as I served it.  Nice and crunchy!!

Recipe source: Crock-pot.com

 

Serving size 1 cup (including crackers)

Calories 123

Protein 5 grams

Fat 7 grams 

Sodium 326 grams

Fiber 3 grams

Potassium 178

Horseradish Potatoes

As I mentioned previously I have been looking for a job.  By the way, if you know of any open jobs in the arena of Human Resources, Payroll or Momming, please let me know.  I will work for cash or photos or nude photos of Clive Owen (or Ewan McGregor).  I started out with some established recipes before attempting to recreate my own.  This recipe is from the standard online slow cooking site, A Year of Slow Cooking. I did make some changes to the recipe.  First I changed the name, as I do not consider this recipe to be a Scalloped Potato recipe, because the potatoes are not sliced.  Second, I used paprika in place of the nutmeg and I used the cream kind of horseradish sauce because that's what my husband bought.  

The Ingredients

3 pounds of red potatoes, washed and quartered

2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons prepared creamy horseradish sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon freshly ground sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

 Place the potatoes in the slow cooker

Whisk together the heavy cream, the horseradish, paprika, pepper, and salt in a small bowl.  

Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes and stir to combine.

Cook on low for 6 hours or until the potatoes are tender

Enjoy!

Recipe source:  A Year of Slow Cooking

Serving size is 1/2 cup

Calories 241

Protein 3 grams

Fat 12 grams

Fiber 1 gram

Potassium 698

Slow-Cooker Mulled Wine

 Every couple of years the Veggie Dad goes to Reading, England for business.  He comes back with tales of exotic cocktails and pub food.  Okay, he comes back with tales of Mulled Wine and Pims, but I don't get to go on these (or any other) trips so they seem exotic to me.  

Here I offer you Mulled Wine.  I don't know if this is anything like what he gets in the pub and he won't tell me one way or another.  Yes, that's right.  I don't get to go on these trips, and he won't give me feedback on the trip inspired recipes which he has requested I make.  He is lucky he's cute, because I have some pretty good knife skills.  

The Ingredients

4 cups red wine

1 cup orange juice

1/2 to 1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

The Tools

 a small slow cooker

a cork screw 

and a knife, in case your husband gives you any lip

The Mulling

Combine the orange juice and the sugar together in the crock of your slow cooker

Add the wine

Add the spices

Stir with a whisk until the spices are better combined.  The spices will not completely dissolve in the cold/cool liquids, but whisk them until they are as combined as you can get them.  

Place the lid on the slow cooker and allow it to cook on high for 2-4 hours.  Turn the cooker down to low before serving.  

Serving size is a 6 ounce cup, this is based on my cups.....

Calories: 226

Fat Grams: 0 (see, it's a health food now)

Fiber Grams: 0 (and it just lost its health food status)

Sodium: 0 (status revived-Whoo Hooo)

Slow Cooker Hot Cocoa

The youngest Veggie Son turned 4 at the end of February.  For his birthday he chose to have  Polar Express party.  I tried to explain to him that the Polar Express is really about Christmas, but he insisted that he wanted to ride the Polar Express with his friends for his birthday.  Not being able to actually get the train to the house I opted instead to serve hot cocoa and make the house seems as frosty as possible.  

The recipe below is based on my one serving Hot Cocoa recipe and to make it more party friendly I adapted it further for my small crock pot.  Yes, I have two crock pots.  A large one for making dinners, and a small one used for side dishes and beverages. Both are true Crock-Pot crock pots and I highly recommend going with that brand.  They always heat perfectly. 

The Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 gallon milk

1 tablespoon vanilla or 1 tablespoon cinnamon (your choice)

The Tools

a small slow cooker (1 qt to 1.5 qt)

a whisk 

cups with lids, if serving to 4 year olds ;-)

The Slow Cooking

Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker, and whisk to combine.  Cook for 2-4 hours on low.

Serve warm and prettily if giving to adults.  If giving to children, go with disposable lidded cups! 

Slowcooker Root Vegetable Soup

Winter is upon us so the slowcooker is back on the counter and it will stay there for the foreseeable future.  I lean naturally toward soups, and slowcooker is just amazing at creating soups.  Nothing is easier than tossing serverl ingredients in the crock, setting it to cook and coming home to a house smelling of yummy soupy goodness. 

This soup was made from a wide variety of prmarily root vegetables with some onion thrown in for good measure.  I used homemade vegetable broth, but of course you may use store bought if you so desire. 

2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large potato, peeled and chopped
3 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 small celeriac peeled and chopped
1 small sweet onion, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon ground Mediterranean oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup half and half

1. Place the broth, water, vegetables, ground oregano and salt/pepper in the crock of your slowcooker.  Cook on High for 6 hours. 
2. Turn the slowcooker to warm and stir in the half and half until well incorporated.  Serve warm and enjoy!

Slowcooker Tortellini Soup

Here is another easy slowcooker soup which perfect for a hectic Fall evening.  I had intended to use white beans in this soup and I thought I had some in the freezer.  Sadly, I was mistaken.  Instead I used garbanzo beans and it turned out just fine.  Enjoy!

1 small package refrigerated cheese tortellini (about 2.5 cups)

1 can diced tomatoes

5 cups vegetable broth

2 cups garbanzo beans

1 cup mixed frozen vegetables (corn, carrots and green beans)

1. Combine all ingredients in the slowcooker and cook on low for 6 hours.  The tortellini will absorb much of the broth and I wanted it this.  However if you prefer your tortellini to be firmer, add the tortellini in the last 2 hours of cooking. 
 

Slow Cooker Light and Creamy Potato Soup

This recipe goes nicely with the bread I posted on Monday.  It is simple and delicious.  Serve it with your typical baked potato toppings. 
4 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans vegetable broth or 6 cups homemade broth
1 can of cream of celery soup
4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
toppings as desired

1. Combine the potatoes, pepper, onion powder, vegetable broth, and celery soup in the crock of your slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours. 
2. Stir in the cream cheese just before serving.

Slow Cooker Quinoa and Vegetable Soup

This is a delicious slow cooker recipe which included veggies and quinoa.  I adapted this recipe from one that I found online.  It need not be made in the slow cooker, but dang I love that slow cooker. 

1/2 cup raw quinoa
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoons salt
1 baking potato, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 can diced tomatoes
1 yellow squash, diced

1. Combine the above ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.  Serve warm and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Ranch Beans

Growing up in Georgia I never even heard for Ranch Beans, most likely because of the absence of ranches. Sure we ate beans, a whole mess of beans.  But mostly beans flavored with pork and served with a big hot piece of cornbread.  I first encountered these beans at a local steak house and to say that I was underwhelmed by the lack of flavor in these beans is an understatement.  I swear they just cracked open a can of pinto beans, tossed them into a pot and warmed them up.  Okay, they served them in a large dutch oven for effect, but the taste was still lousy.  After some research I learned that this recipe should be much more flavorful and rich. Of course, I still served mine with a big hot piece of corn bread. 

2 cups dried pinto beans, soaked overnight

2 cups vegetable broth

1-14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 cup rotel tomatoes

2 cups water

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1. Combine the above ingredients in a large sauce pan or soup pot.  Bring to a hard boil, lower to a simmer and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the liquid has started to thicken up a bit. 
2. Transfer the beans and liquid to the slow cooker, add some additional water if needed and cook on low of 8 hours or until the beans are tender. 
3. Serve with cornbread and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Mushroom Lasagna

This recipe is entirely from my brain, but don't let that discourage you. It is very delicious and easy to make.

6 no-boil lasagna noodles
15 ounces low-fat ricotta cheese
2 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese, divided
1 egg
1 lb sauteed mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cups My Veggie Table basic marinara sauce or another of your choice
2 tablespoon Italian bread crumbs

1. Combine the sauteed mushrooms, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, egg, oregano, basil and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Cover the bottom of the the crock of your slow cooker with some of the sauce. Top that with 2 noodles and then some of the filling. repeat until you end with a layer of sauce. Top the sauce with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and the breadcrumbs.
3. Cook on low for 5 hours.

Serves 6: 282 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber

Slow Cooker Tuscan Bread Soup

This recipe is from The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook. I adapted it to be made in the slow cooker and I used dried (but soaked )beans. Putting bread under the soup is absolutely delicious and I do not know why I don't do this every day.

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 celery stalks, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 cups dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight
6-1/2-inch slices Italian bread

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until the onion is translucent and the veggies are tender. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Place these vegetables in the crock of your slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, broth, oregano and the beans.
2. Cook on low for 6 hours.
3. Serve over a slice of bread and enjoy!

Calories are for the soup only as the type of bread used will vary wildly from household to household. Serves 6, 1 cup servings: 123 calories, 1 gram of fat and 8 grams of fiber

Slow Cooker Mushroom and Potato Stroganoff

This recipe is simple and easy, but pack a real flavor punch. I used dice potato to thicken things up and to add to the over content. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large leek white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 stalks of celery, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable broth
1lb sliced baby portobello or cremin mushrooms
1 medium sized baking potato, peeled and diced
1 cup water
1/3 cup sherry
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
3 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1. In a skillet heat the oil over medium heat, add the leek and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme pepper, salt and saute until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broth and bring the mixture to a boil, and cook for about 3 minutes until the mixture thickens just a bit.
2. Place the mushrooms and potato into the crock of your slow cooker. Add the broth/leek mixture and stirr. Add the water and sherry and stir to combine. Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours.
3. Combine the milk and the flour with a whisk in a large measuring cup, and add it to the slow cooker along with the cheese. Stir to combine, cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until most of the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Serves 6 1/2 cup servings (calories do not include rice pictured above) 144 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber

Slow Cooker Cheesy Mushroom Rice Casserole

2 large portobell0 mushrooms, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
2 cups long grain brown rice
1/4 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes
3 cups vegetable broth
8 ounces fresh spinach leaves
2 cups low fat shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Place the mushrooms in the slow cooker, and them top with the cumin, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, rice, sun dried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and vegetable stock. Cook on LOW for 6 hours.
2. Stir in the spinach and top with the cheese. Return lid, turn cooker up to HIGH and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Serve warm

Serves 8: 189 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber

Slow Cooker Minestrone

I decided to make a soupier minestrone this time around. I also used a whole wheat rotini that I already had on hand.

3 (14.5 ounce) cans vegetable broth
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium carrot, sliced thinly
1 medium zucchini, sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked whole wheat pasta

1. Combine the first 11 ingredients in the crock of your slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
2. Add the pasta and cook for another 30 minutes to 1 hour on LOW or until the pasta is cooked.
3. Serve warm and enjoy

Serves 8, 1-cup servings. 186 calories, 1 gram of fat and 10 grams of fiber

Slow Cooker Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

This recipe was inspired by a recipe in the Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook. I have changed the recipe quite a bit in order to make it fit in my cooker. I also omitted a store bought pesto sauce which the original recipe called so that I could drastically reduced the calories.

4 cups torn spinach, steamed
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
3 ounces shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
3 ounces shredded provolone cheese
1 (15 ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
1 large egg
3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, separated
1 jar tomato basil pasta sauce
6 pieces of the no bake or no boil lasagna noodles

1. Steam the spinach as desired, drain, squeeze dry and coarsely chop. Combine with the sliced mushrooms and set aside
2. Combine the mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, ricotta cheese, and eggs in a medium sized bowl, stirring well. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese and set aside.
3. Combine pasta sauce and tomato sauce in a small bowl.
4. Spread 1 cup of the pasta sauce in bottom of the crock of your slow cooker. Top the sauce with two noodles, and top the noodles with 1 cup of the cheese mixture followed by 1 cup of the mushrooms/spinach mixture. Repeat layers once, ending with remaining 1 cup of mushroom/spinach mixture. Then arrange 2 noodles over the mushroom/spinach mixture, top with the remaining cheese mixture and 1 cup of pasta sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook in LOW for 5 hours.

Yields 8 servings. 273 calories, 9 grams of fat.

Homestyle Potato Soup

This recipe of from the Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook. I made some minor changes, so if you want to see the real thing you are going to have to buy the book! This recipe is both hearty and light in calories. Enjoy!

4 cups cubed and peeled baking potaoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup thinnly sliced celery
3/4 cup thinnly sliced carrot
3 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
7 tablespoons shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese, divided

1. Place the first 9 ingredients(up through the garlic) into your slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or until vegetables are tender. Increase heat to HIGH.
2. Place flour into a bowl and then slowly add the milk, whisking until well blended. Stir the flour/milk mixture into the soup.
3. Cook the soup uncovered, stirring frequently for 25 minutes or until thick.
4. Ladle soup into individual bowls and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of cheese.
5. Enjoy!

Yields 7 servings consisting of 1 cup of soup and 1 tablespoon of cheese. 194 Calories, 7.6 grams of fat, 2.2 grams of fiber.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Black Bean Chili

This recipe is adapted from the All-New Cookinglight Cookbook. I increased the amount to beans and tossed the hole thing into the slow cooker. In the end this was more of a chili than a soup, so I even changed the name.

Soup

3 cups dried black beans (soaked overnight)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 of a medium sized yellow onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon seasalt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Topping

4 small white corn tortillas

cooking spray

sea salt

Reduced Fat Sour Cream*

Shredded monterrey jack cheese*

1. Rinse the presoaked beans and sort through them, disposing for any bad beans. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the onion, garlic and chipotle chile. Cook until fragrant and the vegetable begin to give off some liquid, about 90 seconds.
2. Transfer the sauteed onion, garlic and chile to your slow cooker. Add the vegetable broth, water, dried oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and can of tomatoes. Stir until complete incorporated. Cook on high for 6 hours.
3. For the crispy corn topping, preheat the oven to 350°. Cover a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Cut the tortillas into 1/4 inch long strips. Place the corn tortillas on the cooking sheet and coat them with cooking spray. Lightly sprinkl the tortillas with sea salt and bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned
4. Serve soup with the crisp tortilla strips, sour cream and shredded monterrey jack cheese.

This soup is 2 points per 1 cup serving of soup with 1/8 of the prepared tortilla strips. I did not include sour cream or cheese in my calculations and you may wish to use more or less in your serving.

Slow Cooker Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

This recipe is adapted from the All-New Cooking Light cookbook. Serve over basmati rice and enjoy. Use caution when seeding the chile. I always preform this task under running water, but I am a pepper wimp.

2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can of vegetable broth
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
2 cloves garlic, mince
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup cut (1-inch) long green beans
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup light coconut milk

1. In the crockery part of your slow cooker, combine the first 13 ingredients and stir until the spices are well incorporated. Please note that you do not add the spinach and coconut milk until the very end of the cooking time.
2. Put the lid on your cooker and cook for 6 hours or until vegetables are tender, on low heat.
3. At the end of the 6 hours, add the spinach and the coconut milk and stir until the spinach is wilted, about 30 seconds.
4. Serve over basmati rice and enjoy!