new slow cooker...what do you like to make?

[Brian MacKenzie]

just got a new slow cooker for xmas and have never made anything with one...

what do you make in yours?

[wickedbob]

We make roast and potatoes, it is good.

[JJuggle]

Cholent

[maestro8]

http://www.trevoroldak.com/uploads/babies.jpg
...

[BillyTheMountain]

I thought it said New Slow Coker!

[Into the blue]

Use it to fire pots.

[Unibugg]

I use mine for cooking steel cut oats. AKA Irish Oatmeal.

Water, steel cut oats, dried fruit (cut apricots etc) and cinnamon go in the cooker at night. By morning the cinnamon can be smelled throughout the house. Yummy.

These oats take a while to cook on the stove but in the slow cooker it's no fuss.

[Brian MacKenzie]

I thought it said New Slow Coker!

No such thing

[seanrquinn]

Mmmm, chili can be made (also really good in a pressure cooker, quite the opposite of a croc-pot :D ), if you do, don't forget the corn bread to go with it.

Some really good soups, you can generally make any type of stew in the pot, just put the meat in first, then layer liquids and vegetables then seasonings. Season the meat first of course :p

[Brian MacKenzie]

Mmmm, chili can be made (also really good in a pressure cooker, quite the opposite of a croc-pot :D ), if you do, don't forget the corn bread to go with it.

Some really good soups, you can generally make any type of stew in the pot, just put the meat in first, then layer liquids and vegetables then seasonings. Season the meat first of course :p


Bet you didn't think your first post in the unicycle forum would be about slow cooker recipes :)

[saskatchewanian]

At home we use the crock pot mostly for making stews. I really wish I could find one cheep at Value Village. mmmmm.... stew

I also read "slow coker" first time

[Brian MacKenzie]

I also read "slow coker" first time

I can't type Diet Coke (I just did it right there, no kidding!!!) without deleting the R at the end

[James_Potter]

I can't type Diet Coke (I just did it right there, no kidding!!!) without deleting the R at the end
I always have to write the word uncle slowly, so I don't throw a "icy" in there by accident.

[seanrquinn]

Bet you didn't think your first post in the unicycle forum would be about slow cooker recipes :)
No, no I did not x]

[kington99]

I live with housemates who will barely consume anything that hasn't cooked for atleast 8 hours. They mostly make soups and the odd stew. Unfortunately I have yet to master the for-thought and patience required for this kind of cooking.

[Poseidon]

I thought it said New Slow Coker!

I know I'm not completely stupid.

I thought the same thing.

[maestro8]

Back on topic.

I had some oatmeal with bits of fruit from a slow cooker, stewed over night. 'Twas the best oatmeal I'd ever eaten.

[BillyTheMountain]

I also read "slow coker" first time

I know I'm not completely stupid.

I thought the same thing.

And lots more people out there won't admit it. C'mon! Out of the closet!

[dudewithasock]

Yeah, I did too. :(

[Unibugg]

And lots more people out there won't admit it. C'mon! Out of the closet!

All right. All right. I did too.
Happy now?

[Brian MacKenzie]

And lots more people out there won't admit it. C'mon! Out of the closet!

I hate to admit this, but i meant to type Coker in the subject line, messed up, and came up with a quick story about slow cookers

[Into the blue]

And lots more people out there won't admit it. C'mon! Out of the closet!

Guilty as charged.

[Brian MacKenzie]

Guilty as charged.

ha ha ha, you guys all have the UC (Unicycler's Curse)

[seanrquinn]

D: I need to catch it. Help!

[ntappin]

rice.

I have a rice/slow cooker in my room but I'm super lazy with it, I have made rice, noodles, soup, and tea in it.

One time I went really crazy and made chicken soup and poured a beaten egg into it!!

[maestro8]

Any chili chefs use a slow cooker? I'd love a good chili recipe.

My future-mother-in-law made some killer beef stew in her slow cooker. 'Twas a bit rich for my taste... she threw in huge chunks of beef fat along with the beef and, yeah, it was tasty, but I couldn't eat but a small bowl.

One time I went really crazy and made chicken soup and poured a beaten egg into it!!
Add a little flour to that egg and you have...

...egg drop soup!

I make it all the time.

[One on one]

I also thought that Brian said slow Coker. I thought it was going to be slow motion video cuts of his next uni production.

[seanrquinn]

Any chili chefs use a slow cooker? I'd love a good chili recipe.

My future-mother-in-law made some killer beef stew in her slow cooker. 'Twas a bit rich for my taste... she threw in huge chunks of beef fat along with the beef and, yeah, it was tasty, but I couldn't eat but a small bowl.


Add a little flour to that egg and you have...

...egg drop soup!

I make it all the time.

Slow cookers are good for chili especially if you like the meat in your chili to be really soft and fall apart. Use Chuck and cube it into 1 inch cubes, and just stew it long enough for the connective tissue to dissolve, when the meat falls apart. It's done then, not cooked, it will have been cooked a while ago, you want the collagen to have dissolved, because when it does, it makes gelatin, and that will make your chili amazing.

I personally prefer making chili in 20 minutes with a pressure cooker, it's amazing.

[Joe2005]

I thought it said New Slow Coker!
Count me in.

Most of the good suggestions were taken but (with the proper accessories) you can make bread, however with the invention of the bread machine it becomes completely unecessary to do this.

[Unibugg]

Most of the good suggestions were taken but (with the proper accessories) you can make bread, however with the invention of the bread machine it becomes completely unecessary to do this.

Are we talking crock-pot here. How in the world do you make bread in a crock-pot?

[seanrquinn]

yeah you can make flat bread for sure, but bread dough on low prolly could rise in there, good environment. Not sure about the baking process and how it would work xD

[Unibugg]

yeah you can make flat bread for sure, but bread dough on low prolly could rise in there, good environment. Not sure about the baking process and how it would work xD

Ah, I'd never thought of having bread dough rise in there. I'm going to give that a try. Seems like it would be a little too warm though.. still what an idea!

[feel the light]

Seriously, I cook up a crock twice a week. I freeze half of it in qt containers. Cause I like variety, and can't eat the whole crock full of beans in a fresh period of time.

Split pea soup. Carrots, onions, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, celery. Don't forget the slit peas. Gotta have them. I also add some garbanzos and a few Lima beans.

Black beans - salt ,pepper, garlic, onion, any meat that's not fish, kidney beans. Add a can of corn, tomatoes. Oh yeah, black beans.

Pinto chili - Pinto beans, kidney beans, Lima, garbanzo, and any other bean you want to throw in. Salt, pepper, red pepper, chili powder, onion, garlic, any meat that's not fish, olive oil. The hardest part, a tiny (less then 1/8 teaspoon) of cinnamon. To much, and it's still ok, but it will smell like cinnamon. It's supposed to be the secret ingredient, although it will taste ok even if it smells like you are baking candy rolls. The tiniest touch of cinnamon makes chili mysteriously rich tasting.

Cooking notes

1 I don't list measures cause I do it a bit different each time. You should have fun and experiment also. There is no perfect recipe, and it will be a gradual progression to finding your tastiest mix. I likely want mine spiced different then you do, just look at the ingredients, and try them to your taste. Google for more ingredient ideas.

2 Black beans will stain all the other stuff black, so add colorful stuff late, if color is important to your presentation.

3 Look over the beans carefully at the start. They usually throw a few tiny mud balls into each bean bag.

4 You don't have to soak the beans overnight. They will be done in about 4 hours cooked from dry. Split peas in about 3 hours.

5 Fill the pot with no more then 1/3 of dried beans. Then add water a few inches over the level of beans. The beans will swell and you will still have some space to add other stuff, and be able to stir it without it overflowing.

Have fun with your crock pot.:) I am sure you will be throwing in a dash of this and 3 shakes of that like a pro after you have a few pots under your belt. Other then adding to much salt, it's hard to really ruin beans in a crock.

[Brian MacKenzie]

I also thought that Brian said slow Coker. I thought it was going to be slow motion video cuts of his next uni production.

Or maybe you were going to audition? :p

thanks for all the ideas!

[maestro8]

4 You don't have to soak the beans overnight. They will be done in about 4 hours cooked from dry. Split peas in about 3 hours.
In my experience, my bean dishes always come out better when I soak and rinse the beans, then cook them. They aren't so... erm... beany...

There's some sort of coating on most beans that is indigestible by some people (hence the gassiness that ensues shortly after consumption), and the soak/rinse process seems to get rid of most of it.

A second rinsing after the cooking, if possible, allows even the most sensitive stomachs to handle beans.

[seanrquinn]

In my experience, my bean dishes always come out better when I soak and rinse the beans, then cook them. They aren't so... erm... beany...

There's some sort of coating on most beans that is indigestible by some people (hence the gassiness that ensues shortly after consumption), and the soak/rinse process seems to get rid of most of it.

A second rinsing after the cooking, if possible, allows even the most sensitive stomachs to handle beans.
It's not actually a coating, or anything, that's a folk legend.

It's a complex carbohydrate/sugar (that is all throughout the bean) that our body doesn't have the enzymes to break down, so it passes through the intestines (a lot like fiber, but not exactly) until the large intestines. In the large intestines, there's a bacteria that digests the complex sugar, but in the process creates gas. That is why we fart after havin beans. Only way to prevent it is to use a "gas eliminator" enzyme on your beans. Or eat a piece of moldy bread, the same enzymes are in that bread x]

[that1guy6]

you got to go with stew. I turn on my crokpot in the morning and when i get home i smell stew throught the house.

ps this is making me hungry

mmm stew

[Brian MacKenzie]

i can't argue with the 'the house smells good' argument!

here is what my house currently smells like, I can't wait for supper! (my first SLOW COKER meal)

http://busycooks.about.com/od/chickenbreastrecipes/r/cpapplechicken.htm

[Joe2005]

Are we talking crock-pot here. How in the world do you make bread in a crock-pot?
Make the dough, put it in a alluminum enclosure that fits in the crock pot and plug it in. I think theres some taking it out kneeding and letting it rise again somewhere in there but I'm not exactly sure. We haven't done it in a while but we used to because it uses less electricity and dosen't heat up the house.

[ridethelobster2008]

i can't argue with the 'the house smells good' argument!

here is what my house currently smells like, I can't wait for supper! (my first SLOW COKER meal)

http://busycooks.about.com/od/chickenbreastrecipes/r/cpapplechicken.htm


Hey, Brian:
Any decent French cookbook offers that
"slowly cooked on the back of the stove since Our Lord was a teenager, dump everything in you have on the verge of going bad in the refrigerator" recipe.

Cassoulet is a slow cookers dream, it is French peasant cooking that wastes nothing and does make your house smell good.
You should be able to find "Larousse Gastronomique", the encyclopedia of classic French cooking in Toronto, cheap. I got my copy(Crown edition, 1100 pages) at a flea market for $2.

Best from the right coast of Canada where we need spurs in order to Ride a Lobster.
william

[dan de man]

I also read "slow coker" first time

i too read slow coker

[Hazmat]

:D I thought this was funny somewhat. (http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban1131l.jpg) :D

i too read slow coker
+1 on that. I wonder how that would work though???