Slow Simmered Curried chicken

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup medium salsa

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon suger

1 teaspoons curry powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

1. Place onion and bell pepper in the Slow Cooker, top with chicken. Combine salsa, ginger, garlic powdeer and pepper flakes in small bowl: spoon over chicken

   
   

2. Cover: cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or until chicken is tender.

   
   

3. Combine cilantro, sugar, curry powdeer and salt in bowl: stir into slow cooker on HIGH for 15 minutes. Serve with rice.

   
   

SCALLOPED POTATOES & HAM

6 large russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

1 ham steak (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into cubes

1 can condensed cream of mushroom Soup

1 soup can of Water

4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

seasoning to taste

1. Grease the inside of the slow cooker with butter or nonstick spray. Layer potatoes and ham.

   
   

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine soup, water, cheese and seasoning;pour over potatoes and ham.

   
   

3. Cover;cook on HIGH for about 3 1/2 hours until potatoes are fork tender. TURN SLOW COOKER TO LOW and continue cooking for about 1 more hour until done.

   
   

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN AND RICE

3 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup.

2 cups uncooked instant rice.

1 cup water

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders.

1/2 teaspoon salt.

1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

1/4 teaspoon paprika.

1/2 cup diced celery.

Combine soup, rice and water in slow cooker. Add chicken; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika. Sprinkle celery over chicken. Cover; cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours.

IRISH STEW

2 pounds of lean lamb stew meat.

6 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

3 medium onions, sliced.

1 teaspoon salt.

1/4 teaspoon pepper.

1 teaspoon dried tyme leaves.

1 can ready-toserve beef broth.

Chopped parsley if desired.

1. Layer half each of the lamb, potatoes and onions in sloww cooker. Sprinkle with half each of the salt, pepper and thyme. Repeat layers and sprinkle with remaining seasonings. Pour broth over top.

   
   

2. Cover and cook on LOW heat setting 8 to 10 hours, or HIGH heat setting 3 to 5 hours, or until lamb and vegetables are tender.

   
   

3. Skim fat from stew (if desired). Sprinkle parsley over stew.

   
   

If you like green peas in your stew. Thaw a cup of frozen peas, stir them into the stew after you skim of the fat, for 10 minutes.

BEEF and POTATOES with ROSEMARY

1 pound of medium red potatoes, cut into fourths.

1 cup of baby-cut carrots.

3 pound beef boneless chuck roast.

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt.

1/2 teaspoon pepper.

1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)

1 1/2 cups beek broth

1. Arrange potatoes and carrots in slow cooker.

   
   

2. Trim excess fat from beef. mix mustard, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; spreas evenly over beef. Place beef in cooker. Sprinkle onion over beef. Pour broth evenly over beef and vegetables.

   
   

3. Cover and cook on LOW heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender

   
   

NOTE TO CONVERT POUNDS TO METRIC

1 POUND = 455 GRAMS

hehe! I"m glad you guys are getting on the slowcooker train too! I had no idea that meat could be so easy to chew when it's cooked in a slow cooker. Anyone know if it has that affect on hamburger too? Can hamburger get 'tender'?

And neenagh! You don't get to call yourself an October challenge failure!!!! GRR! For one thing, you had a huge goal, and there's still a couple weeks left! No calling yourself a failure!!!!!

*wiping blood out of eyes* thanks for the tough love Mandi!

Thanks for sharing the recipes everyone! Here's one that my family really likes: Chicken Breasts, onion soup mix, Russion Salad Dressing (small botttle) and a small jar of apricot jam. Mix together and cook for 6-8 hours. I don't think this is diet food, but portion control is everything! It is good.

CROCK POT CHILI

Start with about 3 pounds of lean ground beef. I buy a roast and ask the butcher to grind it very coarse for me.

Brown the meat in a skillet sprayed with Pam. Drain and set aside.

Re-spray the skillet and brown one large, chopped onion and one clove garlic (also chopped).

In your crock pot, add:

The meant and onion/garlic

4-5 cans of chicken broth

One can of crushed tomatoes

One can of tomato sauce

Salt, pepper, cumin and chili seasoning to taste

Beans are optional. I use Ranch Style beans. You can also use chili beans or pinto beans.

Cook on high all day (or at least 4 hours).

To thicken, make a thin paste of Masa flour and water. Quickly stir this into the chili; if done too slowly it will lump.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

You can do the first part in advance and freeze the chicken, then cook the soup in your crock pot while you are at work.

You will need…

One chicken, either whole or cut into pieces (not skinless)

Chicken broth – about 4 cans

Carrots – 1 cup, peeled and chopped fine

Large Onion – peeled and chopped fine

Small can tomato sauce or one can Rotel

Monterrey Jack cheese (grated) – about 2 cups

Ripe avocado – one for each 3 people

Flour tortillas – buttered and toasted till crisp

Cilantro (fresh or dried)

Salt and Pepper

Ground Cumin

In a large pan, cover the chicken with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook (covered) until chicken is very tender. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Strain broth and put it in your crock pot.

(Note: you can make a lower fat version by refrigerating the broth overnight and then skimming off the fat)

Chop the chicken into small pieces (or run it thru the food processor)

Add the chicken broth.

Add the chicken, carrots, onions, and tomato sauce. Add Cilantro, Cumin, Salt, and Pepper to taste.

Cook on low until vegetables are tender.

Place a generous portion of grated cheese in the bottom of each serving bowl. Pour hot soup over the top, then add sliced avocado and strips of toasted tortilla.

I cook this in the slow cooker, once I have made the roux on the stove.

GUMBO

You will need some protein…choose one, two, or more of these:

Chicken (boil until cooked, then shred or pulse it in the food processor)

Shrimp (raw or boiled, but remove the vein and shell first)

Crab meat (boil first, then remove the shell)

Smoked sausage (cut into pieces)

Andouille (Cajun) sausage (cut into pieces)

Vegetable oil and flour (to make the roux)

4-6 cans chicken broth

Okra (or not) - sliced

Onion (chopped)

Garlic (again, only if you like it) - chopped

Salt, pepper, and filet gumbo (a spice you can purchase at most grocery stores)

Cooked rice (if you like)

First, put a little veggie oil in a skillet and heat to medium (I use about ½ cup of oil). Then add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Add some flour (about ½ cup) and cook until well browned, stirring frequently.

While the roux is cooking, pour about 4 cans of chicken broth into a big pan or your slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to high, or the pot on the stove top to low. Add the meat and/or fish.

When your roux is nice and thick and brown, add a can of the chicken broth to it and stir until smooth. Now pour the whole thing into your pot of stock and meat. If using okra, add it, too.

Season your gumbo to taste, adding a little salt, pepper and filet gumbo spice at a time. (I use lots of filet, but you may prefer less.)

Cook until flavors are well blended – anywhere from an hour to several hours.

Serve over rice, if you like, or by itself.

All this talk about slow cookers. Yesterday, I dug my crock pot out of the archives and made a pot roast. Comfort food for a snowy day!

Neenagh, "October Challenge Challenged" is better at least I think that was actually just fish juice in your eyes. :hug:

And thanks for the recipes, Carlene!

I lent my slow cooker to my ds .All these recipes sounds so good .I will have to try them.

My favorite slow cooker receipes:

Pork Butt Roast with a container of green chili salsa, and two cups of Water. Shred the roast and serve with a little cheese in the soup. Yummy. Also works with country style ribs.

Pork Roast covered in coke overnight. In the AM, drain shred, and add in a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce. Ready for Pulled Pork sandwiches for lunch. (have not tried this post band)

May I ask a question about your crock pots? Mine has low and high settings and I often find that the low still makes things bubble/boil to the point that it makes me uneasy about leaving it all day. (umm the point of a crock pot lol) Does anyone have one that has a timer that switches it from low to warm or a better one that doesn't have this same problem? Just curious. Would hate to buy a new one to have the same problem again. Thanks in advance for your input.

I have a NESCO and it has an actual temp dial. I love it. It has keep warm, slow cook, cook, roast, bake and steam. It has a removable crock that is really non stick steel and it has a rack that sit in the bottom to keep meats off the bottom of the cooker. I roast chicken in it all the time. Last night I made a cheeseburger con queso and it was a huge hit. I set it on keep warm and it was nice and smooth all night. The Necso is a bit more expensive but worth every penny, it can do so much more that just a regular crock. I also have a regular crock I use it when I need to make multiple dishes and keep them all warm. My crock also has a keep warm setting, a must in my opinion. ~Mandy

Sherry, they do have ones that are 'digital', so you could, say, set it to cook for 6 hours on low, and maybe the last 3 hours, you could just let it be on 'warm'.

I don't have one like that, but I'd like to get one eventually. If you go to somewhere like amazon.com, and search for slow cookers, you can read about different brands, and read peoples review of them, and how well they like the ones that have the timers on them.

But yeah, I'd like to know what brands everyone else has, and if things bubble/boil on low also.

Mandi

Slow cookers are great for working folks, especially those of us who need very tender, moist dishes.

However....many of these great-sounding recipes are seriously overloaded with calories and sodium from the canned Soups. Also, the rice and potatoes are high carbs (starches) that we don't need if we are serious about losing weight. Therefore, cooking them is fine for a good meal for our families at night....but those of us trying to keep our weight down need to just pick out the meat (protein) from the dishes.

Look at what just one CUP of Cream of chicken Soup has in it :

Amount Per 1 cup Calories 233.43

Calories from Fat 132.38 % Daily Value * Total Fat 14.71g 23% Saturated Fat 4.17g 21% Polyunsaturated Fat 2.99g Monounsaturated Fat 6.55g Cholesterol 20.08mg 7% Sodium 1972.9mg 82% Potassium 175.7mg 5% Total Carbohydrate 18.52g 6% Dietary Fiber 0.502g 2% Protein 6.85g 14% Alcohol 0g