tacos

Some of you may hear me sing the never-ending praises of my favorite kitchen tool on a regular basis. It is a gift to newcomers and experts alike. It does not discriminate. It could care less if you know your amuse bouche from your ass; if you can shop, chop and read, you’re good to go. See, the magic pot only has four settings; off, warm, low and, of course, high (for those in a hurry). But, its capabilities are seemingly endless. Who knew you could make good lasagna in a slow cooker?

Some helpful tips for using and abusing this ’70s culinary masterpiece:

1. If the recipe calls for veggies, I try to add them as late as possible to preserve the nutritional content. If you want to get fancy, you can blanch the vegetables before adding, but this seems to defeat the “one pot” philosophy.

2. If you are increasing/decreasing the size of the recipe, don’t forget to alter the time accordingly. You laugh, but no one likes brown mush (I learned from experience).

3. Dry beans contain phytohaemagglutinin. I have no idea what this is, but it’s toxic, so all dry beans MUST be pre-boiled for ten minutes before adding them to the recipe. You don’t want to poison the dinner guests. Although, if you do, this appears to be the way to go.

4. Remove all fat and skin from any meat in your recipe. The fat melts and, trust me, it’s not pretty nor does it taste good.

For more helpful hints, this is a great site.

Now, for the GOOD part….. Recipes!

This is one of my favorites and is also very simple.

Soy Braised Chicken
Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 8hr 00m
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 bay leaf
black pepper
8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 large head bok choy, cut into 1-inch strips
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onions, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, bay leaf, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle with the paprika.
Cook, covered, until the chicken and onions are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the package directions.
Ten minutes before serving, if the slow cooker is on the low setting, turn it to high. Gently fold the bok choy into the chicken and cook, covered, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with the scallions.

This recipe for beef tacos is just, well, yummy! I added guacamole and home made salsa to the agenda and eliminated the sour cream. Also, chipotles in adobo sauce have a distinct smoky flavor. If this is not your thing, you can substitute green chiles or fire roasted ones and add some red or green salsa.

Chipotle Beef Tacos
Serves 6| Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 8hr 30m
Ingredients:
3 pounds beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotles in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
kosher salt
4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about 1/3 medium cabbage)
4 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
12 6-inch corn tortillas
sour cream, pickled jalapeño peppers, and hot sauce, for serving.

Directions:
In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, toss together the beef, onion, garlic, chipotles, oregano, bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Cover and cook until the beef is very tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 ½ to 4 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, radishes, cilantro, lime juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Wrap the tortillas in foil and bake until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.
Transfer the beef to a medium bowl (reserve the cooking liquid) and shred, using 2 forks. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl with the beef and toss to combine.
Fill the tortillas with the beef and slaw. Serve with the sour cream, jalapeños, hot sauce, and salsa.

And lastly, a little something apple.

Apple Brown Betty (Crocker)
Ingredients:
3 cups apples – peeled, cored and diced
10 slices bread, cubed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:
Place apples into the crock of a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, toss together the bread cubes, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and brown sugar (you can also add nuts here). Place on top of the apples and drizzle with melted butter. Cover and cook on Low for 3 hours, or until apples are tender.
Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

PLEASE share your favorite slow cooker recipes in the comments!

ALSO, here are some great links…..

RealSimple– A great selection!
One for every day of the year– (LCL- Did you bless me with this link?)
Great Vegan recipes– You don’t need to be a carnivore to enjoy the Pot!

Happy CrockPotting, people!

Recipes/photos courtesy of RealSimple.com and Allrecipes.com