Slow Cooker

Korean BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

September 7, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

There is still time to celebrate summer with this spicy Korean BBQ pork. This recipe has all the elements of a good barbeque with the added seasoning of gochujang and Korean BBQ sauce. The sauces provide the perfect barbeque flavors of sweet, tangy, and savory. The pork is slow cooked for 8 hours so the meat should fall apart from the bone. Pork shoulder has turned into my favorite cut of pork simply because of the transformation it goes through after cooking it slowly. The pulled pork turned out really tender and easily shredded into a delicious BBQ sandwich. Topping with coleslaw is also a must for this recipe!

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Red Bean Chili with Cashews

June 19, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

This chili is one of those dishes that regularly makes it onto the menu. I used to make it in a big sauce pan, but since I got a crock pot I have slow cooked it ever since. I like the way all of the seasoning marinates slowly for hours and the way the veggies and cashews become tender. The cashews add a sweet, nutty flavor that tastes great with the beans and veggies. I garnished the chili with extra sharp cheddar and green onion.

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Mole Chili con Carne

May 20, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I enjoyed the pork mole negro I made a while ago I thought I would try it in a chili. Originally I started with a basic recipe for meat chili and it eventually evolved into both a mole and a chili recipe. I’ve always thought the flavors in mole would go well in a chili and it turns out I was right because this was very tasty! The flavors of the chili were multi-layered and complex (probably because of the 20+ ingredients in it). This recipe is ideal for a large slow cooker but a sauce pot on low heat would work fine too.

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Moroccan Lentil Soup with Preserved Lemon and Quinoa

March 26, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

It’s been raining a lot lately and I wanted to make something nice and warm from the slow cooker. One of my favorite recipes has been the Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemons and I wanted to see if those flavors could translate into a stew. I figured red lentils and chickpeas would go well with the curry flavors of the dish, and it ended up being really good. The soup was pretty thick from the quinoa and needed extra chicken stock throughout cooking. I will probably be adding more later since the lentils and quinoa will keep on absorbing the liquid. This recipe makes a big batch so I will have a lot of leftovers (which won’t be a problem at all).

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Ham and Lentil Soup

December 10, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

I have been sort of obsessed with my crock pot for the last few months. All I can say is get one (crock pot companies should be paying me for this advertising!) This soup is great for the slow cooker–the ham cooks nicely and flavors the broth without being too salty. I threw in the ham bone for added flavor. I liked how the lentils got really soft and almost dissolved in the broth. This soup turned out great and I will definitely make it again sometime.

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Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

November 30, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

After Thanksgiving, it is a tradition in my family to take the carcass of the turkey and boil all the leftovers down to make a soup. The flavors of this soup were very good and the broth was excellent because it simmers for a few hours. I had some leftover brown rice so I threw that in with the wild rice. You can always make it with thick egg noodles instead. It’s sad to throw out the picked over chicken or turkey and not use it for anything–with this recipe there is no waste. This recipe also works very well with the leftovers of a whole roasted chicken.

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Chipotle Corn Chowder

November 21, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

This is not the typical creamy corn chowder but a spicier, smokier corn stew. Unfortunately the season for good, fresh ears of corn has passed so I settled with store-bought bags of sweet corn. This recipe is perfect for sweet corn season and makes a great summer/fall soup. A fresh jalapeno is a good flavor addition to the smokey chipotle chili powder. I had some green bell peppers so I added those in for some extra veggies. I balanced the spiciness by adding sour cream and cilantro for garnish.

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Beef and Barley Stew

November 10, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

Believe it or not, Californians experience winter too (relatively). It’s gotten colder and rainier now that it’s November, and i’ve been wanting to make a nice, hearty stew. I was excited to try this recipeB because I remember my mom’s beef barley stew from the crock pot. This recipe turned out a lot more savory and different than my mom’s, but it was still very good. I have a modern crock pot that is um, very efficient at cooking (which kind of defeats the purpose of a slow cooker, but whatever). Anyways, I have to be very careful to not over cook meats. A recipe might say to leave everything in for 6-7B hours on low and with my cooker the meat is done in 90 minutes and everything else is raw. This has caused some problems in the past. In order to compensate (since I do really like my crock pot), I have resorted to taking the meat ingredients out and cooking the rest for several more hours. I have a large, 6 quart cooker so if you have a smaller one make sure to use less of everything.

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