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Sunday Slow Cooker: Moroccan Turkey Stew

YumSugar — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:00:36 -0800

After a weekend of opulence and seduction, perhaps you're craving a return to the simplicity of Winter basics. For that, turn to a stew that's soothing yet also a refreshing departure from, say, mother's pot roast.

This turkey stew, with its cumin, allspice, and dried fruits, is the ideal dinner for a casual Sunday evening. To make this straightforward slow cooker recipe, read more.

Moroccan Turkey Stew
From Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ground allspice
Kosher salt
4 skinless, bone-in turkey thighs (about 4 pounds)
1/2 medium butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with juices, broken up
1 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup golden raisins
8 medium carrots, cut into 11/2-inch pieces
3 medium red onions, halved and cut into wedges
2 whole dried red chiles
1/2 lemon
2 cups fresh cilantro, including leaves and some stems
1 cup fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Combine the allspice and 3 teaspoons salt in a small bowl. Season the turkey thighs with half the salt mixture in a 5-quart slow cooker.
Toss the squash, chickpeas, tomatoes, apricots, raisins, carrots, onions and chiles with the remaining spiced salt. Pour the vegetables over the turkey (the cooker will be full; arrange the mixture so the lid fits). Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.
Spoon the vegetables and broth into bowls. Remove and discard the turkey bones and place the meat on top of the vegetables.
Juice the lemon; pulse with the cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Add the oil and process until smooth. Serve the stew in bowls; drizzle with the cilantro sauce.

Serves 6 to 8.

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Sunday Slow Cooker: Vegetarian Curry

YumSugar — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:00:00 -0800

Now that we've cleared up any confusion you may have about curry and curry powder, I wanted to share a great recipe for it that you can make in your slow cooker.

This veggie dish makes a rounded meal whether or not you're a vegetarian; meat lovers will find it's full of robust flavors. To get this easy-prep recipe, read more.

Vegetarian Curry
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

4 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
8 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 14-ounce can vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
Hot cooked rice

Directions

In a 3-1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker, combine carrots, potatoes, garbanzo beans, green beans, onion, garlic, tapioca, curry powder, coriander, crushed red pepper, salt, and cinnamon. Pour broth over all.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours.
Stir in undrained tomatoes. Cover; let stand for 5 minutes.
Serve over hot cooked rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information: Calories 407, Total Fat (g) 3, Saturated Fat (g) 0, Cholesterol (mg) 0, Sodium (mg) 1068, Carbohydrate (g) 87, Fiber (g) 12, Protein (g) 13

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Sunday Slow Cooker: Minestrone With Squash & Pork Sausage

YumSugar — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:00:15 -0700

If you're wondering what to do with all the beautiful Fall produce, look no further than this hearty minestrone with kale, squash, and pork sausage. If you've got dietary restrictions, simply adapt this recipe to your needs.

For example, you can substitute spinach for kale, kabocha for butternut squash, or chicken sausage for pork sausage. To make this comforting and adaptable recipe, read more.

Minestrone With Squash and Pork Sausage
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked Italian or pork sausage links, cut into 3/4-inch slices
2 1/2 cups peeled winter squash, such as butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chopped kale or fresh spinach

Directions

In a large skillet cook the sausage until brown; drain well.
In a 5- to 6-quart crockery cooker place squash, potatoes, fennel, onion, garlic, beans, and sage. Top with sausage. Pour broth and wine over all.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
Stir in kale or spinach. Cover and cook 5 minutes more.

Serves 8.

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Sunday Slow Cooker: Seafood Gumbo

YumSugar — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:00:59 -0700

When cooking with a slow cooker, it's easy to overlook the fact that shellfish like shrimp and crab are just as simple to make as any other protein.

Gumbo can be time intensive and require a lot of expensive spices, but this recipe turns the Southern favorite into a realistic meal. To round out the menu, serve it over rice. Get the recipe: read more.

Slow Cooker Seafood Gumbo
From Real Simple

Tip: Once the ingredients are in the pot and the slow cooker is simmering, don't lift the lid. Heat and steam escape. If you do, you'll lose an estimated 20 minutes of cooking time.

Ingredients

1/2 pound sliced bacon, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium onion, sliced (1 cup)
1 green pepper, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 pound large raw shrimp, cleaned
1 pound fresh or frozen crabmeat
1 10-ounce box frozen okra, thawed and sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions

In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Discard all but a thin coating of fat from the skillet.
Add the celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
Spoon the vegetables into the cooker and add the broth, tomatoes (with their liquid), Worcestershire, salt, and thyme.
Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours, or on high for 2 hours.
Add the shrimp, crabmeat, and okra, and cook 1 hour longer on low heat or 1/2 hour longer on high.

Serves 6.

Nutrition per serving: Calories 273(27% from fat); FAT 8g (sat 2g); Cholesterol 204mg; Calcium 222mg; Carbohydrate 11g; Sodium 1757mg; Protein 38mg; Fiber 2g; Iron 4mg

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Sunday Slow Cooker: Skirt Steak With Cipollini Onions

YumSugar — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0700

The beef cut known as skirt steak is known for being inexpensive and flavorful. Because it can also be slightly tough, the slow cooker is an excellent choice for cooking it: after being cooked slow and low for seven hours, the meat will be falling-apart tender and juicy. For maximum tenderness, slice the meat against its grain when you're ready to serve it.

This recipe calls for cipollini, small pearl onions. To peel these baby onions easily, just plunge them into boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds, and then shock them afterward in a cold water bath. The skins will slip off when loosened with a knife. Alternatively, if you've got larger onions on hand, slice those thinly into the slow cooker instead. To serve this dish (great alongside simple pasta and veggies!), read more.

Skirt Steak With Cipollini Onions
From Food Network

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 pounds skirt steak, each piece cut into thirds
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-1/3 pounds cipollinis, trimmed, peeled, and left whole*
2 tablespoons green peppercorns; if packed in brine, rinse well
3/4 cup firm spicy green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

Directions

Place the flour in a shallow bowl and coat the meat on all sides, knocking off any excess flour. Set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan set over high heat. Brown the meat a few pieces at a time. Be careful not to crowd the pan or the meat will steam, not brown. Add more oil to the pan as necessary.
Transfer the browned meat to the insert of the slow cooker.
Add the broth and red wine to the saute pan and bring to a boil over high heat, using a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits of meat clinging to the pan. Cook until the liquids have reduced by half.
Pour the broth and wine mixture over the meat into the slow cooker insert, and then add the vinegar, soy sauce, tomato paste, onions, and peppercorns.
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or on high for 3 1/2 hours, until the meat is extremely tender when pierced with a fork.
Add the olives, and cook for another 20 minutes.

Serves 6.

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Sunday Slow Cooker: Vegetable Casserole

YumSugar — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0700

This casserole of polenta and vegetables uses canned beans and store-bought pesto to cut down on preparation time, but the slow cooker does all the hard work.

The recipe calls for an Italian cheese blend and specific vegetables, but feel free to mix things up with an American or Mexican cheese blend and different beans and vegetables, if you like.

To learn more about this easy-to-make, one-pot meal, read more.

Vegetable Casserole
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

2 19-oz. cans cannellini beans
1 19-oz. can garbanzo or fava beans
1/4 cup purchased basil pesto
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1 16-oz. pkg. refrigerated cooked plain polenta cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 8-oz. pkg. finely shredded Italian cheese blend (2 cups)
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup torn radicchio

Directions

Rinse and drain beans.
In large bowl combine beans, 2 tablespoons of pesto, onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker layer half of bean mixture, half of polenta, and half of cheese. Add remaining beans and polenta.
Cover; cook on low heat setting for 4 to 6 hours (or on high heat setting 2 to 2-1/2 hours).
Add tomato, remaining cheese, spinach, and radicchio.
Combine remaining pesto and 1 tablespoon water. Drizzle pesto mixture on casserole.
Let stand, uncovered, 5 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Calories 360, Total Fat (g) 12, Saturated Fat (g) 6, Cholesterol (mg) 26, Sodium (mg) 926, Carbohydrate (g) 46,Total Sugar (g) 8, Fiber (g) 10, Protein (g) 21, Vitamin C (DV%) 16, Calcium (DV%) 36, Iron (DV%) 19

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Sunday Slow Cooker: Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

YumSugar — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:00:19 -0700

Now that Summer's winding down and Fall is officially here, I'll be featuring a new series called Sunday Slow Cooker, with a set of easy-to-make one-pot recipes.

Today's hearty recipe calls for sweet potatoes and slow-cooked chicken thighs that'll be falling-off-the-bone tender by the time you return to the crockpot hours later. Alternatively, you can opt for thighs that have already been de-boned, or even boneless, skinless chicken breast. To get this Fall recipe, read more.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
From Eating Well

Ingredients

6 bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of skin and fat
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into spears
1/2 pound white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 large shallots, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions

Place chicken, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, wine, rosemary, salt and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker; stir to combine.
Put the lid on and cook on low until the potatoes are tender, about 5 hours.
Before serving, remove bones from the chicken, if desired, and stir in vinegar.

Serves 6.

285 calories; 6 g fat; 50 mg cholesterol; 35 g carbohydrate; 17 g protein; 5 g fiber; 519 mg sodium

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Do You Own a Slow Cooker?

YumSugar — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:15:40 -0700

I often forget that I own a slow cooker, but whenever I remember to use it, I'm in love with it. All I have to do is dump a bunch of stuff in the pot before I leave for work, turn it on, and I come home to a delicious aroma and a dinner that's ready to be eaten. The only catch for me is that I've got to be home at a certain time, otherwise my meat will get overcooked and tough.

For those of you who own a slow cooker, do you feel the same way?

Source

Win a Programmable Crock-Pot Slow Cooker!

YumSugar — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:34:04 -0700

When Fall rolls around, a Crock-Pot is great to have, which is why we're giving away TWO Crock-Pot Programmable VersaWare Slow Cookers ($79.99) to two lucky YumSugar readers. So, if you haven't already, be sure to enter our Crock-Pot Slow Cooker giveaway!

To enter, all you have to do is log in and take this quiz. (By the way, your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just by taking the quiz once you are logged in.) The contest will end on Monday, Oct. 29, at 1:00 p.m. PDT, and then I'll randomly select two winners from among the quiz-takers. So, log in and take the quiz, and don't forget to e-mail this to all your friends and family so they can have a chance at it too!

Win a Programmable Crock-Pot for Fall Cooking!

YumSugar — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:30:01 -0700

When Fall rolls around, a Crock-Pot is great to have, which is why I picked the 6-quart Crock-Pot Programmable VersaWare Slow Cooker ($79.99) as one of my October must haves. If you haven't gotten one yet, don't worry, because this week we're giving away TWO of these digital Crock-Pots to two lucky YumSugar readers. The cooker features an inner pot that can be used on the stove or in the oven, so it's perfect for no-hassle meals in the chilly months.

To enter to win one of the two Crock-Pots, all you have to do is log in and take the quiz below. (By the way, your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just by taking the quiz once you are logged in.) You do, however, need to be a TeamSugar member to take the quiz. So if you're not already a member, just register here for an account. One quiz entry per person; all repeat quizzes will be ignored. Also, this part is important, you MUST be logged in for your quiz to count!

Apologies to our overseas readers, because this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Interested in more details? Click here for the official rules.

The contest will end on Monday, Oct. 29, at 1:00 p.m. PDT, and then I'll randomly select two winners from among the quiz-takers. So, log in and take the quiz, and don't forget to e-mail this to all your friends and family so they can have a chance at it too!

Take the quiz