Black Chicken Soup

Black Chicken Soup
by Chef Chai Chaowasaree

1 silkie chicken (about 2 pounds), whole or halved
3 thumb-sized pieces ginseng root
6-1/4 cups water
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, smashed
2 large heads garlic, halved
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
Salt or soy sauce to taste
5 dried figs
Sliced green onion for garnish

Cut chicken in half if necessary to fit pot; otherwise leave whole. Soak ginseng in water 1 hour.

Place ginseng and its soaking water in pot; add chicken, ginger, garlic, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and skim impurities. Reduce heat to a very low simmer (no bubbling at all) and cook until chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender, 2 to 4 hours. Or cook in a crock pot on low heat, about 6 hours. In last hour of cooking, add figs.

Strain soup and de-bone chicken if desired, or serve with root pieces. Garnish with green onion.

Nutritional information unavailable.
From http://starbulletin.com/2002/08/28/features/story1.html the Honolulu Star Bulletin

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Quick and Easy Shredded Meat and Noodles Crockpot Meal

My favorite Crockpot recipe:

Beef, a can of Roi Tel Tomatoes and chilies, some water, a good teaspoon of Penzey's Beef Soup Mix.

Cook until meat shreds. Be sure there is enough liquid and add a couple handfuls of noodles.

Marian
(12/10/11)

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Easy Chili

Coming out of the moat for this:

Easy Chili

2 pounds ground beef
2 tbsp Penzey's Taco Seasoning
4 tbsp Penzey's Chili Seasoning
3 cans Tomato Sauce

Brown the meat with the Taco Seasoning. Drain (or not - we have been buying direct from the rancher, and the beef is SO lean it isn't funny!), then dump in the crockpot. Add the Tomato Sauce and Chili Seasoning. Set on low, and leave it for at least 6 hours.

This chili has won cook-offs in the past, and my kids BEG for it - even in the Summer.

I just assembled a pot today - but I used Penzey's Chili 9000. We'll see how it tastes - it smells fantastic. It's a hotter spice blend than my normal, so I only used 2 tablespoons - we'll see how it tastes tonight.

Back to the moat - gotta go milk goats, feed the critters and start the school day. Wouldn't trade it for the world, even though I'm busier now than I was when I worked full-time.

Verna
(12/9/11)

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jp's Black Bean Chili (crockpot)

jp's Black Bean Chili (crockpot)

One of my easy winter crockpot favorites is black bean chili.

1 cup dry black beans (no pre-soaking necessary)
1 can of diced tomatoes (the can size that is about 14-16 oz., though you can go larger if you'd prefer)
1 lb of ground beef (I actually use ground bison instead of beef)
1/2 to 1 onion, diced (optional)
3-4 cups liquid (water works just fine)

seasonings to suit

Brown the meat. Drain the fat if there's a lot of it (don't bother if there's not much). Rinse the beans. Chop the onion if you're using it. Open the can of tomatoes.

Put the meat, beans, onion, and the tomatoes into the crockpot. Yes, you want the liquid in the can of tomatoes. Add about 3-4 cups of liquid. Water is fine, though you can use other liquids for part of it. Turn on the crockpot and walk away.

Cook for 4-5 hours on high, 6-10 hours on low, or some combination of the above. It's done when the beans are done.

If the liquid is too low, add more. I usually start with 3 cups liquid and add more only if it's necessary or if I want a soup or stew instead of chili. If I'm not going to be around all day, I'll start with a bit more water just in case.

I do my seasonings in the last half hour or so of cooking. For chili, I use some combination of salt, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, and chili powder (or dried ground chile). Sometimes I'll add a few sploots of Worcestershire sauce or Tabasco or Sriracha or olive oil. You could easily get by with merely using commercial chili powder, to taste.

If you want to use canned beans, I suspect that 1-2 cans would be about right. But if you do that, there's no real point in using a crockpot. It can be cooked on the stove in very little time.

You can use already cooked meat instead of the ground beef, or stew meat instead of the ground meat, or some other kind of meat, or whatever makes your life easier. You can use different beans, though the black beans makes for a deeply-colored, rich-tasting sauce. You can vary the seasonings if you want to skew it towards a different ethnic family. Add more liquid and call it a stew or a soup. And so on.

We really like this black bean chili after a day spent outdoors in the wintertime. I love the simplicity -- 1 cup beans, 1 can tomatoes, 1 lb ground meat, 3 to 3.5 cups water, turn on crockpot and walk away. It goes together in the length of time it takes to get the meat ready. It also makes a pretty good dish to take to a potluck.

--jp
(12/8/11)

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Shredded Pork

Susan's Shredded Pork
(serves 4)

OK... My contribution to the crock pot recipes...

1 lb boneless country-style pork ribs with some fat, but not a lot
1/2 diced sweet onion (Videlia preferred)
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced or crushed
28 oz can tomato sauce

(for the "cooking challenged", a can of sloppy joe sauce like Manwich with a can of water can be substituted for onion, garlic and tomato sauce)

Salt and pepper the outside of the pork. Put everything in the crock pot. Simmer on low all day (8-10 hours). Shred pork when you get home. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on warm rolls or over pasta.

Susan S.
(12/8/11)

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Boneless Pork Ribs in the Crockpot

 Here's my favorite crockpot recipe:

Boneless pork ribs, a bottle of BBQ sauce, a touch of liquid smoke and water to cover.

Sometimes I put onions in, too. YUM, IMHO.

 Shirley
(12/7/11)

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jp's Crockpot Meal Idea

jp's Crockpot Meal Idea

For the crockpot, use the cheap cuts of meat. Skip the onion soup mix.

For 1 to 2 lbs of meat- stew meat, brisket, pot roast, etc.

Put in the meat, about 1/2 to 1 chopped onion, and either one 16-oz. can of diced tomatoes or one 8-oz. can of tomato sauce. Add a few glugs of Worcestershire sauce and olive oil. If you want, you can also add a glug of red wine or orange juice, and maybe a bay leaf or two.

Then, add enough water or stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable stock) to barely cover the meat. Turn on the crockpot and walk away. You'll need about 6-10 hours on low, or about 4-5 on high. Or, if you're around the house for the early part of the cooking, put it on high for about 2 hours, then switch to low for the next several hours.

If you're around about 1-1/2 to 2 hours before serving, you can add some diced potatoes and/or carrots.

About 15-30 minutes before serving, add your herbs and spices. Lately, I've been using a lot of garlic powder, a pinch or two of basil and oregano, and salt to taste. I'd add tabasco or sriracha except that my kids don't like spicy food. Put in some herbs/spices, taste, then add more if desired.

The above is a basic stew or pot-roast. The juices will be thin, more of a soup than a sauce. If you want a thicker sauce, mix a few tablespoons of flour to the liquid before you turn on the crockpot.

If you're feeling ambitious, you can brown the meat before you put it in the crockpot. Dredge the meat in flour if you'd like to (or not) and brown the meat pieces in olive oil. Put everything in the crockpot, then deglaze the pan with water and add that to the crockpot, too. But it's not necessary if you're not feeling ambitious.

If you don't cook it long enough, the meat will be tough. If you cook it too long, it will seem dry. Use that as a guide for next time.

I find that herbs and spices fade after several hours in the crockpot. For me, it makes more sense to add them shortly before serving.

jp
(10/26/10)

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Lasagne ala Debbi

Lasagna ala Debbi

1 lb Ground Round/Beef
1 lg chopped Onion
2+ cloves minced Garlic
1 large chopped Green Bell pepper (you can also use red ones. I love both.)
1 (16oz) can chopped Tomatoes
1 sm can Tomato Paste
1+ cups Red Wine
2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 cube Butter
1 lb Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
8 oz shredded Mozzarella Cheese
10 oz chopped frozen Spinach (thawed and drained)
1 lb Lasagna Noodles

Brown meat; add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, butter, seasonings and red wine. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Cook and drain lasagna noodles. Mix together ricotta and spinach. In a lasagna pan, layer half of the noodles, half of the ricotta mixture, half of the mozzarella and top with half of the meat sauce.

Next layer remaining ingredients as follows:
Noodles, ricotta, parmesan, meat sauce and top with mozzarella.

Bake at 350° F for about 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is bubbly.

Even better the second day.

BETTER! Make in the crockpot. Killer... 

Debbi
(1/28/10)

Comment:

Direct from the Potters mouth.  However as we all do I tweaked it a bit.  Below is what worked for me and it is just as greaaaaaaaaat! 

used 7% ground beef.
2 large sweet red onions
10 cloves garlic (Go Emeril!)
no mushrooms cause didn't have them on hand
used red pepper whole , not crushed.
used homemade ricotta (goat of course)

Yummy,yummy. Had left overs last night and will have two more meals. All in all I got 4 meals for two out of this recipe and lunch two days for the Em girl. Who by the way gave it her stamp of approval.

L  of  C

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Aziza's Beef Curry

Aziza's Beef Curry

24 oz lean Steak
1-1/2 tbsp Oil
1 med to lg Onion, sliced
5 tsp Curry Powder (at least)
1-1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
2 to 5 lg Garlic Cloves, minced
1 med Tomato, diced
2 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 cups Water, boiling
2 tbsp Cornstarch
2 tbsp Water
1 pkg Noodles, cooked

Cut beef into 1" cubes. Sauté onion in oil over med heat until tender. Stir in curry powder, cook 1 minute. Add beef cubes, mushrooms, tomato, garlic, salt and sugar. Continue cooking until the beef cubes are lightly browned.

Boil the 2 cups of water. Add enough of the boiling water to barely cover the beef. Cover skillet and simmer gently about 1-1/2 hours, or until beef is extremely tender.

Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tbsp water. Stir into beef mixture. Simmer gently until thickened. Serve over cooked noodles.

This cooks up perfectly in the crockpot.Do the stove-top cooking part, put the contents of the skillet into the crockpot, add the water, cover and cook according to your manufacturer's directions for your slow-cooker.

Deb's note: Also good over rice or mashed potatoes. Or in tortillas. Even plain.

Debbi
(1/6/10)

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Chile Verde (crockpot or stove)

Chile Verde (crockpot or stove)

1 Onion, coarsely chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, coarsely chopped
4 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 tbsp. Olive Oil (manteca lard is better. I use that instead of oil)
4 ozs. can Green Chiles, diced
1 Jalapeno, diced
7 Tomatillos or 1 (16oz) can, chopped
2 lbs. Pork, lean, trimmed & cubed
2 tsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Sage
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 to 3/4 cup Beer
Salt and Pepper to taste, if wanted

Optional Fixings:
Hot Flour Tortillas
Salsa
Cilantro
Sour Cream
Grated Cheese
Olives

Sauté one onion and 1 green pepper with the garlic in the lard or olive oil. Throw into the crockpot. Add the green chiles and jalapeno and the tomatillos.

Brown the pork in the same pan you sautéed the onion mixture in. Add to the crockpot. Add all of the seasonings and the beer. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

You can simmer it all on the stove, covered and stirred occasionally, for about 2 hours. You want the pork to fall apart.

Serve in a bowl with the flour tortillas and any of the fixings mentioned or that you prefer, or you can roll the mixture into tortillas and eat it that way.

Debbi
(6/1/09)

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Crock Pot Porridge

Crock Pot Porridge

Whole grains are essential for building strong, lean bodies. What better way to start your day than with a crock pot loaded with the best of the body-building whole grains? Set it up the night before, plug in and wake up to "instant" home-cooked goodness. Jazz up the porridge with fresh berries, flaxseed, wheat germ and bee pollen. Guess who's buff now?

1/2 cup cracked wheat
1-1/2 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup rye flakes
1/2 cup brown rice
1/4 cup wheat germ
6-1/2 cups water or any combo of liquids including:
     water; rice, soy, almond, or goats milk and/or water to equal 6-1/2 cups
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 chopped dates
1 tbsp best-quality bourbon vanilla
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
Pinch nutmeg

Hint: add any dried fruit you may like to this dish, it is very forgiving.

Place all ingredients in a 3-quart-or-greater crock-pot. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Cover. Set on lowest cooking temperature and cook overnight. If your crock-pot cooking time is set by length of cooking time, set for the longest cooking time and lowest heat.

Spoon into cereal bowls in the morning and serve piping hot!

Yield:
6 to 8 one-cup servings

Susan
(12/20/08)

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Crockpot Oatmeal

My DH makes oatmeal like that, it's to die for. Here's the one he started from. You can use any dried fruit.

Crockpot Oatmeal
From "Your Guide to Busy Cooks", Linda Larsen.

Make sure to use steel cut oats in this delicious crockpot breakfast recipe. You can find them in tins alongside ordinary rolled oats in the supermarket

1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dates, chopped
4 cups water
1/2 cup half and half

Spray inside of slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours.

Stir well before serving. 4 servings

Katherine
(1/2/06)

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Apple Butter in the Crockpot Non-Recipe

Apple Butter in the Crockpot Non-Recipe

My crockpot has been spewing apple butter for the last 3 days.

I just threw in apples, added sugar, cinnamon and cloves, and a pinch of salt, turned it on high for an hour, then low for 24 hours or so.

It is sooo good, and easy. I can make applesauce, and slice some for pies while this is cookin'.

I was gifted with bushels of Macintosh apples, some bruised and broken and the deer will get those.

Gail
(9/19/03)

(Note: this can be canned. Follow your canner's directions, etc.)

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Crockpot Pork Chop Meal

Crockpot Pork Chop Meal

It wasn't the best food I've ever had, but it was pretty darn good for an experiment.

2 pork chops
2 Granny Smith apples
1 huge potato (roughly 2 normal sized)
1 onion

All the above: cut into bite-sized pieces.

1 can whole green beans
1 can chicken stock
1 handful raisins
2 big spoons frozen apple juice concentrate.

Cooked 1 hour on high, then the rest of the day on low.

Judith
(9/13/03)

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Carolyn's Everyday Tomato Sauce with Meatballs

Everyday Tomato Sauce with Meatballs
(another of Carolyn's crockpot specials)

When I make sauce in the slowcooker, I put the raw meatballs directly in the sauce. The best way would be to fry them up in olive oil, but its a compromise I am willing to make, because it is so much easier.

My basic meatball recipe is (please remember I have two teenaged sons and reduce accordingly):

3 lbs ground beef, very lean (since you won't be frying it, you need to get the very leanest meat), an egg, a generous handful of breadcrumbs, some Penzey's Italian seasoning, another handful of romano cheese, an onion grated, salt, pepper and some fresh parsely. Add a bit of milk to moisten it a bit. Mix -- it will be soft and rather sticky to work with. Roll into golf ball sized meatballs. Put in the bottom of the cooker, add three cans whole tomatoes (which you have mushed up a bit with your hands), one can crushed tomatoes, several chopped onions (at least three large) and about a ball of garlic, chopped. I like to sautee the garlic briefly in olive oil and throw it all in. Raw garlic in the slow cooker takes on a funny taste. I also add a bay leaf, some more Penzey's Italian, salt, pepper, and, if my tomatoes are bitter, I will grate a carrot for sweetness.

This is my everyday sauce. A sauce for an occasion, would have red wine, lamb (pref. the neck or shank)and perhaps some rendered sausage, in addition to the meatballs, which I would fry on the stove.

Carolyn
(2/17/03)

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Black-eyed Peas (2 recipes)

Black-eyed Peas (2 recipes)

I made mine on New Year's Eve:

Bring as many bean s as you want to a boil, while cutting up one or more onions. Sauté the onion in olive oil (in the microwave) while you cut up Polish sausage and one Chourico (Portuguese for chorizo) sausage, and add them to the microwaving onions, preferably in your removable crockpot pot.

Drain the beans (which have boiled) and bring them back to the boil. Dump the whole thing into the pot and microwave it while you drive someone to a party. When you get back, put the pot back on the crockpot base and leave it on high while you have a nap.

Cut up the greens and put them into a Ziplock with a big lump of butter.

Unplug the crockpot and take it and the greens to the party you are going to. Plug the crockpot back in; your beans should be pretty much done. Not too long before midnight, put the greens in Pyrex with a splash of water and a lid, and zap them till tender.

We had none left by 1 am.

Yum.

Laura
(1/2/03)

---

Wow, Laura, you go to a lot of trouble :-) We just put the peas in a soup pot, dump the slivered onions in with them, put some chopped up bacon slices in with them, bring them to a boil and let them simmer about an hour or so. Even without the fancier meat, they're still pretty darned good.

Now, I may have to try your greens recipe for some types of greens. But I learned about 10 years ago that I like turnip greens *only* if they were simmered for hours. Either that or my tastes changed overnight cuz I couldn't stand the nasty little buggers before. My cousin puts about a 1/4 tsp baking soda in with them, but I think that takes the zap out of them that I like. She likes 'em better without the zap.

Jola Gayle
(1/2/03)

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Chicken with Onion, Garlic, and Lemon Pepper

Chicken with Onion, Garlic, and Lemon Pepper

The chicken crockpot report:

4 lb. frozen chicken
1 sliced onion
a head of garlic
some lemon pepper

Toss it all in the CP on low for 9 hours and you have one DELICIOUS meal with no effort.

I love Crockpots!
HG
(11/14/02)

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Red Dragon Beef - Crockpot Recipe

Red Dragon Beef - Crockpot Recipe

1 large potroast ( I used boneless chuck)
2 onions, chopped
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can diced tomatoes (about 16 oz.)
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 bottle (about 2 oz.total) Dragon Sauce
4 canned chipotles in adobo, sans seeds

Put meat in crockpot, surround with onions, put soup mix and other ingredients over everything. Cook til the meat is falling apart. I made garlic mashed potatoes and green salad to go with. Even better reheated the next day.

Thrillers, this was too good not to share. One of those "thrown together" things that turned out much better than I expected. It's gonna show up in my July food column. Anyone who wants to try it and give feedback, I'd appreciate it very much.

Ann in TX
(5/18/02)

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Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Lentils

Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Lentils

SO there was this recipe in the NYT about Lamb Shanks with Red Wine and Lentils. So I had a different lamb shank crock-shapped recipe, so I knew it was possible. Here is what I did:

two lamb shanks one large onion, chopped up. If you do dice, it will look less gross than my strips did.
about a cup and a half of mung dal (how could I be out of lentils?
a cup and a half of red wine (Bittman wanted a BOTTLE of red wine, but jeeze, I only had decent stuff)
garlic, rosemary, salt

Brown the lamb with some oil on the stove (Bittman roasted his). Keep turning onto different sides (I used a dutch oven). While it is browning, bring the beans, lentils, whathave you, to a boil and cook for ten minutes or so. Cut up the onion, and put it in the CP with the herbs and some salt. Drain and rinse the legumes, and put them in the CP. Put the lamb and wine in. Look at it critically and add about as much water as wine so you feel secure about the lentils.

Cook the living daylights out of it (high for 8 hours?).

It was very very good. Probably would serve 4.
LauraJ
(3/11/02)

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Bean and Cornbread Casserole

Bean and Cornbread Casserole

By Rival - Serves 6

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)

1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, undrained

1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans, undrained

1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp prepared mustard

1/8 tsp hot sauce

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

2 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 can (8-1/2 oz) cream-style corn

Lightly grease Crock-Pot. In a skillet over medium heat, cook onion and green bell pepper until tender. Transfer to Crock-Pot. Stir in kidney beans and pinto beans. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, seasonings, and hot sauce. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour.

In a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir in milk, eggs, vegetable oil, and cream-style corn. Spoon evenly over bean mixture. Cover and cook on High for 1 1/2 to 2 more hours. Serve.

The commentary:

• I used 1cup of gluten free bisquik, that is to say Baking Mix, instead of flour, and I added ONE tsp. of baking powder because the bisquik has its own leavening.
• I also drained and rinsed the canned beans, because it reduces the flatulent effects, so I measured what I drained off (it came out to 1 cup) and replaced it with water.
• I also changed the seasoning to about a t of ground cumin, some epazote, some ancho pepper, a little Penzey's chili powder, and I recommend MORE rather than less seasoning as this cooks up rather bland. I also thought it took much longer to get the cornbread to set so I finished this in the oven because I had hoped to eat right after Buffy and it was the end of  "24", fortunately kids are night-owls and not fussed.

LauraJ
(2/15/02)

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