Crock Pot!

[elonwy]

So I went out and purchased a crock pot this weekend. I need to eat more fiber, and I'm trying to save money to get my credit cards paid off before I lose my job. (That's a maybe at this point, but there is definitely shaky ground here). The plan is to cook up beans or lentils for the week, make some rice, and then eat lovely cheap healthy food and cut the grocery bills to next to nothing while I pay off debt and pad my savings at the same time. This isn't the only place I'm cutting costs, btw.

So I had some anasazi beans left over from something else and I dumped them in the crock pot and put it on low for about 4 hours, then I added some garlic, some leftover wild boar bacon from the freezer, cumin, bay leaf, salt, white pepper and red pepper flakes. Then I left that on low for another 2 hours or so. It came out really good, and we paired that with some long grain brown rice with a can of diced tomatoes tossed in. The two of us eating dinner this week for $6 - for the whole week.

So crock pot recipes for legumes that call for spices and minimal other ingredients? Looking to eat on the cheap, but not hate what I'm eating

[digmom1014]

I love my crock pot and you can google several sites that carry neat recipes. I subscribe to a site that drops a recipe in my inbox each day. It's free and the recipes are good. It is Chet's Crock, just go to the website and subscribe.

Open Original Shared Link

[purple]

Here is my favorite soup recipe. I converted it from wheat pasta to rice. I have only made it a couple of times with rice so you might want to adjust if needed. Be sure to use enough liquid. It originally called for 1 can of beef broth but I decided tomato liquid would be healthier. Should be around $6 or so to make and its very good. Serve with garlic bread if desired.

Minestrone Soup

1 small onion, diced

2 or 3 large carrots, sliced or chopped

2 or 3 celery ribs, diced

1/2 lb. ground beef, if desired

1 cup water

Cook above ingredients in a frying pan until beef is done, then drain.

Meanwhile in a crockpot, heat together the following:

2 or 3- 14 1/2 oz. cans Italian flavored diced tomatoes, pureed (I start out with 2)

2- 15 oz. cans tomato sauce (or use 1 can tomato sauce and 1 can beef broth, don't use 2 cans of broth, I think its yucky)

3 or more cans water

1 each 15 oz. assorted beans rinsed and drained- garbonzos, green beans and red beans

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. oregano leaves

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 T. parsley

1/2 tsp. garlic salt or powder

1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice, or less

When ground beef is done, stir beef and veggies into the crock pot, add more water if needed. Heat until rice is tender 2 or 3 hours.

If using pasta, the recipe called for 1 1/4 cups dry rotini, added about an hour before eating the soup. You don't want to overcook it b/c they fall apart and it absorbs alot of water, better to do it that way when you can watch the soup.

If you add more beans or zucchini, etc...be sure to add more liquid.

Enjoy!

[SGWhiskers]

My advice is to take that soup and split it into freezer bags. Weeks of the same meal can get old, but if you have an different soup to pull out of the freezer every other day, you can go farther.

I crock pot at least once a week. All the left overs go in the pot in the evening, and I turn it on before bed and then again when I go to work. I never let it get off the low/cook setting because I don't want to accidentally give myself food poisoning.

Tip: If you find food sticks to the bottom of the crock pot, line just the bottom with a little foil. Those plastic bags are handy, but can't possibly be good for our health.

Potato Corn Chowder

Bag of Orida Hash brown cubes

Bag of frozen corn

2-3 gluten-free bullion cubes

Soy milk to cover cubes

onion

salt

pepper

rosemary

Optional-ground pork

Whole Grain Rice and Chicken Soup

Steam Rice before adding to soup

Leftover Chicken legs/thighs/wings

Leftover chicken broth with fat skimmed or gluten-free bullion cubes

Bag frozen mixed veggies

Onion

Salt

pepper

sage & marjoram

Chili

2 cans chopped tomatos

2 cans kidney beans

1 red/green pepper

1-4 hot peppers

cumin

salt

pepper

(chili powder) (always makes me feel bad though)

ground meat-optional

Someone makes a taco soup I want the recipe for.

High fiber snacks

popcorn

flaxseeds

[Juliebove]

Today I am making clean out the refrigerator soup. It's different every time. I started with about a pound of cooked ground beef. Added several ribs of sliced celery, a chopped white onion, three single serve packs of baby carrots chopped, about a pound of fingerling potatoes, diced and 5 cans of V8. Two were the larger cans and three were the small cans. Also added a small amount of water. Seasoned this with plenty of dried parsley, Italian seasoning, black pepper and salt to taste. I will add a can of kidney beans just before serving. They are already cooked and only need to be heated through.

Other things I might add to this soup if I have them are corn, green beans, spinach, peas (used to before daughter was allergic), other kinds of beans, zucchini, cauliflower, chopped tomatoes. Really you can add any kind of vegetable. You can add different kinds of meat or leave the meat out. It's always really good.

I love making baked beans in the crockpot. I don't have an actual recipe. I just do it to taste. Because I am diabetic, I don't want a lot of sweetener in them, but I want them to taste sweet. To do this, I use a TON of chopped onions that have been caramelized in a bit of olive oil.

I use navy, pea or other small white beans that I have cooked first until soft on the stove. You can cook them ahead of time. I soak them overnight (or the equivalent), drain off the water, add fresh water, bring to a boil, then simmer until tender. This only takes a couple of hours if your beans are fresh.

Put the beans and onions in the crock. Add a slurp of molasses, plenty of ketchup and the sweetener of your choice. You could use a little sugar or honey. I use Splenda to taste. You won't need a lot of sweetener because the onions add a lot of sweetness. Also keep in mind this dish gets a lot sweeter as it cooks. I also add plenty of crisply cooked bacon but you could leave this out. Add plenty of black pepper and salt to taste. If you use bacon, you won't want a lot of salt.

Now for the cooking! You want to cook this for at least 12 to 16 hours. I have cooked it for as long as 22. I always fear they will boil dry, but they never do. You can add a tiny bit of water if you get worried towards the end of the cooking time.

Potatoes are another cheap food you can make in the crock pot. For baked potatoes, prick with a fork, wrap in foil then cook on low for about 8 hours. You can even cook these the night before, refrigerate and reheat in the microwave. These are good for stuffed potatoes or topped with chili.

Another easy dish is layers of sliced potato and onion. Slice thinly. As you layer, add a small amount of olive oil, very small amount of vegetable or chicken broth, salt, pepper and parsley. Cook on low for about 8 hours.

Enchilada casserole is a good way to use leftover cooked beans. This one should not cook all day. If it does, although it will taste good, you'll have a mushy texture. Basically you'll need some corn tortillas, some kind of tomatoey sauce (plain tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, rotel tomatoes, salsa, or enchilada sauce), beans, cheese or creamed corn. You can also add cooked meat like chicken or ground beef and some sauteed onions and green bell peppers. You can add hot peppers or chilis as well.

Start with a layer of tortillas. I use three but I have a large crock. I overlap them. I then add my beans and meat, vegetables if I'm using them and a drizzle of creamed corn. You can make it without the corn. I just like the creamy texture and since we can't eat cheese, it reminds me of cheese. Then add your sauce. If you are using plain tomato sauce, you might want to season it with a bit of chili powder. Keep layering, ending with the sauce. I use most of two bags of corn tortillas for this dish, but I make a lot of it at a time. Cook on high for an hour or two. Everything is already cooked. You just want to heat it through. I like to serve this with black olives.

Still another favorite is bean corn chili. Use three kinds of beans that are already cooked. I use canned but you can save some out when you cook them. About a cup of each. Put your beans in, a can of corn and a jar of salsa. Again, this really only needs to be heated through, so about an hour or two in the crockpot is enough. Serve over a bed of rice. Garnish if you wish with chopped onion, chopped tomato, cilantro, avocado, sour cream, cheese, black olives and corn chips.

[SUZIN]

Check out the recipes on this site..... corckpot365.blogspot.com .... they are not gluten-free but you can sure get allot of ideas and recipes from a site with 365 recipes....

[Wonka]

Here is a site for you to check out: Open Original Shared Link and here's one that may have recipes that you can adapt to a crockpot Open Original Shared Link

[Sweetfudge]

i also really like the crockpot365 blog. she's got some great recipes there. i'm trying out her moroccan lentil stew this weekend.

i actually just made a turkey in the crockpot, based on one of her recipes. it's basically a 5-6 lb turkey (i buy the turkey breast b/c it's easier to clean off the bones), a few strips of bacon, a cup of chicken broth, and some seasonings (sage, onion/garlic powder, salt and pepper). put the turkey in, add the broth, then sprinkle w/ seasonings, and cover the top of the turkey w/ bacon. then cook on low for 8 hours. the bacon tastes really gross afterward, but it keeps the turkey really moist. then you can use the leftover broth to make gravy. we have been having thanksgiving dinner for lunches every day this week. Yum!

another good site is about.com. just type in crock pot, and there are a TON of recipes!!

good luck!

[purple]

i also really like the crockpot365 blog. she's got some great recipes there. i'm trying out her moroccan lentil stew this weekend.

i actually just made a turkey in the crockpot, based on one of her recipes. it's basically a 5-6 lb turkey (i buy the turkey breast b/c it's easier to clean off the bones), a few strips of bacon, a cup of chicken broth, and some seasonings (sage, onion/garlic powder, salt and pepper). put the turkey in, add the broth, then sprinkle w/ seasonings, and cover the top of the turkey w/ bacon. then cook on low for 8 hours. the bacon tastes really gross afterward, but it keeps the turkey really moist. then you can use the leftover broth to make gravy. we have been having thanksgiving dinner for lunches every day this week. Yum!

another good site is about.com. just type in crock pot, and there are a TON of recipes!!

good luck!

How funny! I just cooked a turkey breast too, 3 days ago. I was still scared to try it in the crock pot so I baked it in the toaster oven. We had fruit salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing and cherry pie. The turkey was so moist! I want to buy another. I hope they are on sale for Easter!

As for crock potting...plan to make chili on Monday, when my dd gets back from spring vacation, (back to school..ha ha...but she is a senior) She loves chili and tortilla chips...me too

[elonwy]

I've been poking around on crockpot356 and I LOVE IT!

Thanks so much to everyone who sent that link and all the other suggestions. Super helpful.

[munchkinette]

I just made some yummy split pea soup yesterday. It was too fast to need a crock pot. I probably cooked it for 30 min total. This recipe makes 4 servings.

1 sausage, diced (I used Aidell's, which is labeled gluten-free)

1.5 cups carrots, diced

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 quart chicken broth

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

1 cup split peas

-Sautee the diced sausage until some of the fat comes out, and add the diced vegies. Sautee for a few more minutes.

-Add the chicken broth, herbs, and spices. Bring to a boil.

-Add the split peas. Cover pot. Boil hard for 15-20 minutes. Check to make sure there's enough liquid remaining.

-Turn down the heat and simmer until the peas are as firm/soft as you like.

[munchkinette]

Oh, the other thing I do a lot is make shredded meat for Mexican food. I add a bunch of chicken thighs, and very basic seasonings, and fill it with mostly broth (and some water) to cover. High for 4 hours. This is a great base for enchiladas, tacos, etc.

[Sweetfudge]

How funny! I just cooked a turkey breast too, 3 days ago. I was still scared to try it in the crock pot so I baked it in the toaster oven. We had fruit salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing and cherry pie. The turkey was so moist! I want to buy another. I hope they are on sale for Easter!

That is really funny. Yeah, I researched a bit about cooking turkey in the crock after I saw Stephanie's recipe for it. Seems like they can dry out easily. I've tried it w/ and w/out the bacon on top, and noticed a difference. I've also used turkey bacon on top. I think it just helps keep it extra moist. And Stephanie says not to open the crock more than once or it will dry out. You ought to give it a try though, it's so nice and easy. I saved the bones, and made some turkey stock the next day in the crock. I might just have to do another for Easter as well (or see if they're cheaper after Easter).

We had ours with green beans, gravy made from the leftover turkey juice, DH had mashed potatoes, and I made gluten-free stuffing for myself (w/ lots of extra gravy). So good!

This weekend, I'm making chicken and tortilla soup in the crock pot.