In The House Stew

Kristy at The Crislers has asked for crock pot recipes.  If you’ve got one, you can go to her blog and help her out by leaving your recipe there.  If you don't have a recipe, you should go there anyway and read her blog.

I love my crock pot (slow cooker, for those of you who call kleenex “tissue”).  A few days ago I made this recipe for the first time.  It was very well received by the clientele here in the Common Household, all three of us.  It doesn't quite meet Kristy's request for "tried and true" recipes, but I think it's a good one.

I also have two other crockpot recipes on this blog, here (Peanut Chicken) and here (Financial Crisis Soup).  (But my all-time favorite “soup recipe” is here.)

I am calling this “In the House Stew” because I changed the original recipe in major ways, based on what I did or didn’t have in the house.  (Sometimes I simply can’t face the grocery store.)  My husband always wants me to change my recipes by adding cream of mushroom soup, but the very idea disgusts me.  Even thought I didn’t make that change, he truly enjoyed this stew. 

The whole reason I decided to make this in the first place was because I had a sweet potato (okay, actually, it was a yam) in the house.  My husband usually calls such a yam The Ornamental Sweet Potato.  I am prone to buy a yam for some recipe or other, and then not have the enthusiasm to make that recipe, so that the yam sits on display forever, looking nutritious.  This time the yam was fresh and I did not want it to become ornamental.

Here are the changes I made.  I would bet the original recipe would be even more delicious.

- I used beef instead of pork, because I had beef in the house.  Major shift in taste.

- I used half a can of plain diced tomatoes, because that’s the amount that was leftover in the fridge.  The stew was quite thick, probably because it had only half the liquid it was supposed to have.  Next time I will use a whole can.

- because the tomatoes didn’t have green chilis in them, I added 1/16 tsp red pepper. 

- On a whim I decided to throw in a stick of cinnamon.  Yum! Took it out about half-way through cooking, when it had unfurled and the house was smelling nice and cinnamony.

- I used regular yellow onions instead of scallions, because I had onions in the house, but no scallions.  Also, are scallions the same as green onions?  Either way, I didn’t have them in the house.

- I never got around to putting in the lime juice, although I did have it in the house.  I think lime juice would go better with pork than with beef.

- I did not put in cilantro, because I didn’t have any in the house.

- I cooked it for about 6 hours.

- I fully intended to serve it as suggested, with a salad of black beans, orange, and red onions, but got engrossed in actual paid work, so I never got around to making the salad.

Cuban-Style Pork and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew

A Weight Watchers recipe

7 SmartPoints per 1 ½ cup serving.

Prep Time: 15 min    Cook Time: 7 hr 5 min          Serves: 4        Difficulty: Easy

Description

This stew's both a little spicy and a little sweet. Serve with a salad of black beans, orange and red onion tossed with low-fat vinaigrette.

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

(I used one large yam.  I have no idea how many pounds it was.)

1 pound uncooked lean only pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces

14 ½ oz canned diced tomatoes, with green chiles

1 clove garlic clove, minced

1⁄4 cup unsweetened orange juice

2 medium uncooked scallion, chopped (green parts only)

½ tsp table salt

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped

Instructions

1. Place potatoes, pork, tomatoes, garlic, orange juice, scallions, salt, cumin and pepper in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 7 hours.

2 .Stir in lime juice and cilantro; cover slow cooker and cook for 5 minutes more. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving (including some cooking liquid).

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Just in case you want to exactly replicate my stew protocol, here is my revised recipe.

In The House Stew

Ingredients

1 large uncooked yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 pound uncooked lean beef stewing meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

half of a 14 ½ oz canned diced tomatoes

large dollop of minced garlic – probably about 1 ½ tsp

1⁄4 cup unsweetened orange juice

2 small yellow onions, chopped

1 cinnamon stick

½ tsp table salt

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp black pepper

1/16 to 1/8 tsp red pepper

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 5-6 hours.

2 .Remove cinnamon stick after a few hours.

Serve.

Sweet Potato Rolls is another delicious way to use a yam,
Ornamental or Not.

Crockpot Peanut Chicken

Green Girl in Wisconsin has asked us for crockpot recipes.  I love cooking in the crockpot and concur with Green Girl that crockpot meals bring inner peace.

Here's one of my husband's favorites.  My son also likes it, and he can be pretty picky.  He calls it Crackpot Chicken, because that's how he rolls.  

I love how it tastes, and also that I can make it with as much or as little chicken as I need for a meal.  If you are making a smaller amount of chicken, use a smaller crockpot.

Youngest Daughter says that peanut butter doesn't go with chicken, so she won't eat it.

CrockPot Indonesian Peanut Chicken Recipe

The Ingredients.

--about 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs). Cut large pieces in half.

-- 2 T soy sauce

-- 2 chopped cloves of garlic

-- 1 1/2 t sesame oil

-- 1/4 t cayenne pepper

-- 1/3 cup peanut butter

-- 1/2 t ground ginger

--  2 Tbsp white or brown sugar

-- vegetables (optional) - you can add a variety of other vegetables:  cubed sweet potatoes, corn kernels, sweet red pepper – whatever you think makes it good.

-- garnish with sesame seeds and lime wedges; optional

The Directions.

--put the peanut butter into your crockpot and turn it to high so it can begin to melt

--add the other sauce ingredients

--stir to mix

--add your chicken; toss to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 1.5-3 hours. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and has reached desired tenderness.  If your crockpot isn't at least 2/3 full, keep an eye on it so the peanut butter doesn't burn. You may need to stir a few times.

* * * * * 

I got this recipe from Stephanie O'Dea's blog, A Year of Slow Cooking, which has a cajillion crockpot recipes.  She made it with frozen chicken, but I can never bring myself to put frozen meat in the crock pot.  Her recipe also calls for cooking it for a much longer time, but I've found that does not make for a desirable texture for the chicken.  I usually put it in the crockpot in the mid-afternoon to have it ready for dinner at around 6 or 7 pm.

Soup is good for the body and soul

Financial Crisis Soup

This soup has staying power to help you remain stable as the market lurches, lots of healthy fiber to keep your economy moving, and it costs just a few cents per serving. It’s made in a slow cooker, which my son calls the crack-pot. Perhaps that could be thought of as a reference to the people who thought they were running the financial system.

Enjoy!

Make in a slow cooker.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Slow cooker time: 4 to 5 hours on high, or 8 to 10 hours on low

Ingredients
1 package navy beans (2 cups)
Soup bones *
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery, sliced
½ tsp garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp pepper
6 to 7 cups water
1 tsp salt
optional: cubed ham

• You can use: 1-2 ham hocks, smoked pork bones, chicken drumsticks, beef soup bone, or smoked turkey with bone.

1. Layer in a slow cooker, in order, peas, meat, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and pepper. Pour in water. Do not stir.

2. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours or until beans are very soft.

3. Add salt.

4. Remove meat bones and bay leaf. If you prefer a smoother soup, cool slightly, then puree the mixture, 2 to 3 cups at a time, in a blender container. (I never bother with this step.)

5. Cut meat from bone, dice, and return meat to soup in slow cooker.

6. Optional: add cubed ham and stir

Note: I like less salt than most people. Add more salt if it seems to need it.

You can also make this soup with green split peas - the color of money!