Crock POT Ideas

[ShePurzz]

I thought I would start a Crock POT :toilet: thread and see if there are others out there who enjoy using a crock pot for meals. I don't care to cook -- actually, truth be known, I HATE to cook!

I bought a crock pot years ago and got a nice CD because I wouldn't have had a clue what to put into it anyhow. So, I will post what I am doing for dinner tonight and hopefully inspire someone else to try their crock pot and possibly get some good COOKS to post their suggestions.

I also belong to a group where women are often dealing with depression and not enjoying the daily tasks -- been there and done that -- but I am fortunate to have a very supportive husband.

I find that getting dinner out of the way early in the day does a couple of things for me -- gets it off my back and mind (:woohoo:) and also makes my house smell nice for the whole day! So, with that, I will share a recipe from my CD and PLEASE, do tell ladies, what do you put in your crock pot that is simple and tastes delicious! (IC Friendly of course! :hi:)

Mary

FRENCH BEEF BURGUNDY

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 lbs boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 in cubes (I buy it already chopped)
2 TBS olive oil
1 medium onion (if you tolerate this)
8 button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced (or from the jar, use a little more)
3 cloves garlic, minced (if you tolerate this, also comes in jar, ready to use)
2 bay leaves
1 cup burgundy wine (if you tolerate this)
1/2 cup beef broth

Combine the flour, salt and pepper. Dredge the beef cubes in the flour mixture, and brown in the olive oil in a medium skillet. Place the beef and remaining ingredients in the slow cooker and mix thoroughly to combine. Cover; cook on low (4 - 6 hours) or high (2-3 hours). Makes 6 servings.

I like this because it is more than one meal!!! Reheats nicely.

[ICLori]

Here's a site that has 450 crockpot recipes, in case you'd like to browse for some more ideas! :)


http://crockpot.allrecipes.com/

Blessings,
Lori

[GayleK]

I hope you get lots of replies of IC friendly recipes. I get tired of looking through so many recipes and most won't work for IC.

[RandiBPD]

What eactly does a crock pot do and how much do they cost?

[Mel53H]

They have been around for awhile. They are a slow-cooker for almost anything. You can put something in it in the morning and it will be ready when you come home from work. They cost about 15 to 25 dollars (give or take).

[ShePurzz]

What eactly does a crock pot do and how much do they cost?

Hi Randi,
The crock pot - or slow cooker - can be found at Walmart type stores and range in cost by their size. There are a couple of features that make a difference in the cost - I will give you some of my favorites, so when you do go look, you will have some things to consider.

First, the size and shape -- mine is a fairly large one in an oval shape -- it has a porcelain pot that easily comes out of the heating unit so it goes from the heating unit to the stove, to the dishwasher (however, I hand wash mine) I like this because you don't have to transfer the food to a platter before eating -- you can set it on the table and serve right out of it.

Some are all one piece, and you cannot take to bowl out -- some are oval, some are round.. The size and shape matter if you want to cook a whole chicken for instance -- the oval will hold a good size chicken or a whole ham... the round ones are a little more confined -- however -- if there are only a couple of people eating, you may wish to use the smaller size.

The other thing I really think is important is the number of cooking time settings. Some have a high/medium/low setting... mine has two high setting and two low settings -- along with how long that is (high is four or 6 and low is 8 or 10) The ones that have a hold/warmer (mine has this) allow you to be gone longer than the cooking time, and have it stay on warm. I really like that because sometimes I set it and end up getting home lots later than I expected -- but dinner is still warm.

One last thing is the cleaning -- keep that in mind when you buy one -- if it is one piece, there is a little more challenge to cleaning it -- it has to be washed but can't be submerged (at least when I had a round one they couldn't be) however, with the removeable serving units, you can submerge and soak or dishwash them -- that is always important -- if it isn't going to be something you really enjoy using -- it will end up in the cupboard as one more gadget that you bought but never bother to pull out.

My secret -- don't be afraid to give it a front seat on the shelf or the countertop if necessary -- that way it is easy to get to and you WILL use it... if you have to remove fifteen other things to reach it (fess up -- you know that's where they are all hiding!!!) then I don't think it is much fun to have to dig it out and I end up using the stove or oven instead - or call for pizza! :loco:

Hope this helps -- I think you can expect to get a really nice one for about $25 - 30 --- especially around the holidays when they are on sale -- or garage sale one -- probably been used a half dozen times and they are getting rid of another 'gadget!'

Enjoy!!!:smile tee

[ladylin]

I love this idea! I never seem to want to cook anything anymore..

[ShePurzz]

My dinner plans were changed with a daughter phoned and we spent an hour on the phone.

However, it turned out wonderful and I will post what I did...

I got about 1 pound of chopped beef -- chunks and 1 pound of pork -- I cut up the pork into chunks.

Put those into the crockpot and turn it on to start browning a bit. Add cut up mushrooms (I bought large whole ones and only cut into about 3-4 slices each -- leaving them quite large) I cut red skin potatoes in half and laid them on top with the skin side out. I added chopped onions and whole baby carrots. I used the crock pot on high for the four hour since it was later than I wanted to start dinner.

Then I salted and peppered and added about 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar --- beware --- some ICers don't tolerate that even cooked -- I am not in a flare so I added it. I also used celery salt (about a 1/4 - 1/2 tsp.)

I also added a can of beef consumme -- a wonderful broth without adding any water.

In four hours, I had the most tender delicious pork/beef stew!!!

It got smiles all the way around!!

[SharonA]

I just spent a good couple of hours looking at the Crockpot Site. It is very good. Thanks for posting about it. :)