Slow cooker favorite: Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

As you can tell by now, I am a lover of slow cooker recipes.  I've shared slow cooker soups, meats, and today I am making Italian Stuffed Peppers.  

Keep in mind, for this recipe you will need cooked rice, so if you have some left over from a previous day, that is ideal.  Otherwise, you'll want to plan ahead to make sure you have enough time. 

If you are pressed for time in the morning, you can prepare the filling for the peppers the day before and refrigerate until stuffing. I should have done that, to save the stress of making sure I could get out of the house on time. 

Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

via Slow Cooker Revolution

serves 4

Ingredients:

1 onion, minced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4 red, yellow or orange bell peppers

1 slice white sandwich bread, torn into quarters

1/4 cup whole milk

12 oz Italian sausage removed from its casing

1 small zuccini, cut into 1/4 inch peices

3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

3/4 cup cooked rice

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt & pepper

2 tbp minced fresh basil for garnish

1. Microwave onion, garlic, oil, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes in bowl, stiring occasionally, until onions are softened (about 5 minutes).

2. Cut top 1/2 inch off each pepper.  Chop pepper tops fine, discarding stems.  Remove core and seeds from peppers. 

3. Mash bread and milk into paste in large bowl using fork. Mix in onion mixture, chopper pepper tops, sausage, zucchini, monterey jack, cooked rice, parmesan and 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper using hands (I used fork). Pack evenly into cored peppers.

4. Pour 1/3 cup water into slow cooker.  Place stuffed peppers upright in slow cooker.  Cover and cook until peppers are tender, 4-6 hours on low. 

5. Using tongs and slotted spoon, transfer peppers to serving platter, discarding liquid in slow cooker. Sprinkle with basil and additional parmesan and serve. 

(Image above via Why Vegetarian) 

Crockpot favorite: chicken tortilla soup

Definitely a keeper, although next time I might add some corn to add a little more body to the soup. 

Photo via Fat Free Vegan

Tortilla Soup from The Slow Cooker Revolution

serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 tomatoes, corred and chopped 

1 onion, minced

2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced (I used half of a poblano pepper and it worked fine)

6 garlic cloves, minced

4 tsp minced canned chipotle chile in adobo 

1 tbs tomato paste

8 cups chicken broth

10 cilantro stems, tied together with twine 

1.5 lbs skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

salt & pepper

Garnishes:

4 cups tortilla chips

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

lime wedges, for serving

1. Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes, onion and half of jalapenos and cook until onion is softened and browned, 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, 1 tablespoon chipotles and tomato paste and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).  Stir in 1 cup of broth, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker. 

2.  Stir remaining 7 cups broth and cilantro stems into slow cooker.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker.  Cover and cook until chicken is tender 4-6 hours on low. 

3. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly , then shred into bite size pieces (if there is bone, you can remove it now too).  Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using a large spoon. Discard cilantro.

4. Stir in shredded chicken, remaining jalapenos and remaining teaspoon chipotles (if you want to add more spice) and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste (I found the soup already flavorful enough so did not add any salt or pepper).  

Place tortilla chips in serving bowls, ladle soup over top and serve with cheese, avocado, sour cream, cilantro and lime wedges.  

Crockpot favorite: preserving flavors

I was very excited to come across Slow Cooker Revolution, which addresses my biggest concern with crockpots - lack of rich flavor.  Ten test cooks spent a year figuring out ways to intensify and preserve flavors during the slow cook process and live to share their results.  I've already skimmed through and see some interesting ideas I haven't thought of before, like using the microwave or oven to prep ingredients for the slow cook process or making a foil packet to keep veggies from overcooking or losing too much flavor.

I am excited for this type of wisdom to take my much loved slow cooker meals  from good to out of this world great.   Stay tuned - I will surely be posting my favorites from this new book. 

Crockpot favorite: easy pulled pork

Photo via My Kitchen by the Lake

Seriously, this pulled pork cannot be easier to make - a potluck favorite.

Easy Pulled Pork 
makes 12 servings

16 oz. root beer
18 oz bottle of your favorite bbq sauce
3-4 lbs pork shoulder

1. Put pork shoulder into slow cooker and pour root beer to cover pork.

2. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours. 

3. Drain pork & shred it with knife and fork - at this point you can also easily remove any bones or excess fat.

4. Return pork to crockpot - add bottle of your favorite bbq sauce, mix.

5. Cover and cook on low 1 hour. 

Enjoy on mini buns, hoagie rolls, coleslaw or anything else! Makes delicious left overs. 

Crockpot favorites: Lentil & Ham Stew

Easy and delicious - this is a crockpot recipe I will make plenty of times to come.  Perfect for a chilly day.  Thanks Betty Crocker!

Lentil & Ham Stew

makes 10 servings

1 pound fully cooked smoked ham, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (3 cups)

4 medium stalks celery, chopped (2 cups)

4 medium carrots, chopped (2 cups)

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 cans (10.5 oz each) condensed chicken broth

2 cups dried lentils (1 pound), sorted rinsed

4 cups water

Tabasco

Pepper

Wheat Thins

1. Mix all ingredients (except last three) into 5-6 qt slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8-10 hours or until lentils are tender.

3. Add Tabasco, pepper to taste (I prefer to do this to each bowl individually).  

4. Sprinkle with Wheat Thins and enjoy!

Another lentil favorite is the Lentil Tacos w/ Onion and Jalapeno Salsa.
Saving this Beenie Weenie recipe per husband's request. 

Zesty BBQ Slow Cooker Chicken

Time to whip out that slow cooker for a meal that will practically make itself.

Zesty BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

6 frozen chicken breasts (4 is also fine for the portions)

12 oz. BBQ sauce

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Worchester sauce

1. Place chicken in slow cooker.

2. In bowl mix BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, and Worchester sauce.

4. Pour over chicken.

5. Cover and cook 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

If you have a rice cooker, why not throw in some rice with half water/half beef broth and relax.  Read a book.  Paint your toe nails.  Call your mom.  Or if you want to feel extra productive, do any of these speed cleaning moves.