Lentil-Tomato Stew

I have this cooking now and it smells amazing! I put it together in 5 minutes or so when I first got up. Looks like it will make a lot of yummy, healthy food. (One serving has 16 g. of fiber!) It also happens to be vegan. I'm thinking I'll make cornbread to go with it.

3 c. water

28-oz can low-sodium peeled Italian tomatoes, undrained (I couldn't find these so used 2-14 1/2-oz cans of Italian diced tomatoes.)

6-oz. can low-sodium tomato paste

1/2 c. dry red wine

3/4 tsp. dried basil

3/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 lb. dried lentils, rinsed and drained with any stones removed

1 large onion, chopped

4 carrots, cut in 1/2" rounds

4 celery ribs, cut into 1/2" slices

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. salt (I used less)

fresh basil or parsley, chopped, for garnish

1. Combine water, tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, red wine, basil, thyme, and crushed red pepper in slow cooker.

2. (If using whole canned tomatoes) Break-up tomatoes with a wooden spoon and stir to blend them and the paste into the mixture.

3. Add lentils, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.

4. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

5. Stir in the salt. (Oops! I put this in this morning!)

6. Serve in bowls, sprinkled with chopped basil or parsley.

German Pot Roast

We had this Sunday and it quickly became Ava's favorite food! I've never seen her eat like that before! The tender meat and small chunks of potatoes make it very baby-friendly. This is from "Fix-It and Forget It Lightly", which I've been relying on a lot lately. This makes a hearty, satisfying meal that's also pretty healthy. 

Makes 12 servings/Ideal slow-cooker size: 5 quart

2 lbs boneless, lean pork roast (I used a smaller one)

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 medium-sized onions, sliced

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

14 1/2-oz. can low-sodium tomatoes

1. Place pork roast in slow cooker. (I did not trim the fat off mine. It made the meat juicier and more flavorful. Some larger pieces of fat came off during cooking and I discarded them.)

2. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.

3. Add remaining ingredients.

4. Cover. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 7-8 hours.

Bean & Yam Burritos

I came across this when looking for this week's menu. We made them once before and they were fantastic! Most of it is done in the  slow-cooker.

2 med. yams or sweet potatoes

1 large yellow onion

1 green bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large green chile

1 T. olive oil

1 T. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 c. frozen corn kernels

1 can kidney beans, drained

4 10-inch flour tortillas

1 c. cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

1. Cut the yams into 1/2 inch cubes. Thinly slice the onion. Stem, seed, and finely chop the bell pepper. Stem, seed, and dice the greed chile. Set aside with the garlic.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and green chile and saute for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for 1 minute more.

3. In a slow cooker, layer half the yams, and then top with half each of the onion mixture, corn, and beans. Repeat the layers. Cover and cook on the Low setting until the yams are tender, 5-6 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 350. Divide the mixture evenly among the tortillas and scatter with the cheese. Fold to enclose the filling and place in a greased baking pan. Cover with foil and bake the burritos for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Another  slow-cooker recipe I haven't tried, but will soon. It looks perfect for this time of year!

6 scallions

2 ribs celery

1 zucchini

1 carrot

2 medium potatoes

1 large tomato

2 chicken thigh fillets

2 T. butter

8 c. chicken broth

salt and pepper

2 oz. green beans

1/2 c. fresh or frozen peas

2 T. chopped parsley

1/4 c. uncooked rice

1. Finely chop the scallions and celery. Finely dice the zucchini, carrot, and potatoes> Core, halve, seed, and chop the tomato. Skin the chicken thigh fillets, trim away any fat, and finely dice the meat.

2. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, celery, zucchini, and carrot; cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 mintues.

3. Transfer the vegetables to a slow cooker and pour in the broth. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and chicken meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Close and cook on Low for 8-10 hours. About 4 hours before serving, dice the green beans and stir them in along with the peas, parsley, and rice.

5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped chives. Serve with lots of good crusty bread.

Slow-cooker Minestrone

I haven't made this yet, but it looks yummy! It says prep time is only 20 minutes and it serves 6-8. The quantities are a little strange, surely you could fudge it with what you have, if you don't have a kitchen scale. (Nerd that I am, I do have one!)

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 slices bacon, finely diced bacon (discard rinds)

2 ribs celery, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

1/4 c. olive oil

8 c. chicken broth

1 c. canned chopped tomatoes

2 T. tomato paste

5 oz. cabbage

4 oz. green beans

2 oz. macaroni

salt and pepper

10 oz. canned kidney beans, drained

1. Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, bacon, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer to a slow cooker and add the broth. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Put on the lid and cook on the Low setting for 4-5 hours. About 2 and 1/2 hours before the soup is done, thinly shred the cabbage and cut the green beans into 1-inch pieces, and add along with the macaroni.

3. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans and cook a few more minutes until they are heated through. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with shredded basil leaves and grated Parmesan.

Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers

This is an all time favorite in my house. In fact, maybe I'll make it this weekend. It's good old fashioned Italian soul food :) The recipe calls for serving with crusty rolls (which is our favorite, but an expensive option) or buttered egg noodles. We've also had it over just about every grain: quinoa, brown rice, couscous, etc. From Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker a favorite slow cooker cook book :)

3 large bell peppers, assorted colors, cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 Tablespoon thyme
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds assorted sausages
1/2 cup dry red wine

1. Put the peppers in the slow cooker. Add onion and garlic and toss to combine. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt & pepper and all of the thyme.
2. IN a large skillet, heat oil. Brown all of the sausages on all sides, pricking with a fork. Place on top of vegetables in cooker. Add wine to skillet & deglaze pan. Pour into cooker. Cover & cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Serve hot.

My notes:
This can be made with double the amount of peppers. The onion is nice sliced in long chunks, just cook a couple minutes first to take the weird onion-slow-cooker-taste away. Beer works fine instead of red wine (and I'm much more likely to have beer in the fridge). Can be cooked on HIGH for 3-4 hours instead, which is good since I almost never have thought about dinner 8 hours in advance!!

Basic crock-pot roasts

In response to a couple requests for favorite crock-pot recipes, here goes. First, though, a couple tips to make your crock-pot recipes a little more succesful:

• onions always taste better if they've had a few minutes in the frying pan on the stove before getting put into the crock.
• veggies take longer to cook than meat so put them into the bottom of the pot.
• fresh herbs break down so this is one area where dried is better.
• If you want cooked but not stewed, don't add a lot/any liquid. You will get sufficient liquid from the stuff you're cooking.
• don't think of it as easier or faster, it's just prepared earlier in the day.
• add no or minimal salt. Salt intensifies as it cooks so it's best added at the very end.
  

A basic crock-pot roast:

1 roast of your preferred meat (I like chuck or rump or sometimes pork).
some root vegetables (favorites: turnips, potatoes, carrots)
herbs to suit (bay leaf, thyme, oregano, pepper, but not all at once!)
1 onion
2-3 garlic cloves (or more, if you love it)
1/2 c. (or so) beer/ red wine

1. chop onions and toss with a bit of oil into a frying pan (try to find a pan you can fit your roast into as well). After they've started to turn clear (sweat) put them in the bottom of your warmed crock.
2. chop all of your root veggies and garlic. Place on top of onions in the crock pot. Add whatever herbs you're using.
   
3. turn the heat all the way up on your roast and sear all sides of the roast. When meat is browned on all sides, place in crock pot.
   
4. Keeping heat on high in pan, add the beer. Allow this to cook down getting all of the tasty bits left in the pan from the meat & the onions. Once this has been reduced to a thick syrup-like stuff, pour/scrape it on top of the roast in the crock-pot. Put on the lid and cook on HIGH for 3 1/2-4 hours or LOW for 7-8 hours.

Slow-cooker Bread

I can't always get this to rise well, but it's got super quick prep, is quite healthy, and a good bread to make in summer since it doesn't use the oven.

1 T. yeast

1/4 c. warm water

1 c. warm milk OR buttermilk

1/2 c. rolled oats

1 and 1/2 tsp. salt

2 T. oil

2 T. honey

1 egg

1/4 c. wheat germ

2 and 3/4 c. whole wheat flour

Grease deep metal or glass bowl or 1-lb. coffee can. (I have the cake insert for my crockpot, but it's not required.) Turn slow-cooker on High to preheat. 

Dissolve yeast in water. Combine with milk, oats, salt, oil, honey, egg, and wheat germ. Add flour and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in prepared bowl or can, covered loosely with foil. Pour 1/2 c. water in preheated slow-cooker. Place trivet or crumbled foil in bottom; set bowl on trivet. Bake, covered, for 3 hours. Top of bread will not necessarily brown. Yield: 12 servings. From: Whole Foods for the Whole Family (LLL)