Crock Pot Corner!

[stoptothink]

I actually gave away my crock pot to a friend that broke theirs as I have switched to using an Instapot (pressure-cooker).
It does have a slow cooker function which is finicky, too low/ too hot, however I just use it for it's intended purpose.

My go to recipes are pork shoulder carnitas and Japanese curry w/pork.
Both recipes work fine in a crock pot, but having them start to finish in less than hour is much more appealing to my lifestyle.

We have both as well, and use the crockpot a lot more as we have noticed (like you) that the Instapot does not function well as a slow cooker (any ideas why?).

We're not as fancy as others here, we don't really cook "meals" in our household. I meal prep for the week every Sunday morning for our family for the week; this starts with several pounds of protein (generally chicken breasts, but sometimes pork roasts) in the crockpot with spices and a bunch of hot sauce.

[Shackleton]

Basic question: I have a cheap Hamilton slow cooker that has a knob with three settings: warm, slow, high. After I turn it to low or high, does it automatically go to warm after a set number of hours?

I used to own a cheap crock pot which did that and it was nice if I left the meat to cook when I was at work. But I’m not too sure about my Hamilton. It seems to remain at the same setting until I turn the knob myself. This is dangerous for when I’m at work.

I have that one also and I’d does NOT automatically change to warm. There would be no way to set when it would change. Low setting is fine for 8-9 hours, so I think you’re OK while you go to work.

[JakeyLee]

My mother gifted me her old avocado green Crock Pot when I left home at 18. My staple dish: I buy the cheap pack of pork chops whenever on sale. Throw them in the pot with a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup. Leave on low for 8-9 hours. Feeds me for 3-4 meals. 35 years later, and I still make this dish at least once a month.

[PeninsulaPerson]

My mother gifted me her old avocado green Crock Pot when I left home at 18. My staple dish: I buy the cheap pack of pork chops whenever on sale. Throw them in the pot with a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup. Leave on low for 8-9 hours. Feeds me for 3-4 meals. 35 years later, and I still make this dish at least once a month.

That sounds delicious! And so simple! Thank you for sharing!



We think my husband got "our" crock pot from his parents - possibly 40 years ago as a Christmas gift! (Before he knew me!)

Talk about a frugal purchase. It's still going strong! I know there are "fancier" ones out there but this crock pot is just fine. No need to buy a new one to take up cabinet space!

Last night we got take-out Indian that was $70 for surprisingly little food. Today I am going to see if I can make Chicken Tikka Masala in the crock pot. I am a big fan of supporting local businesses but restaurants and take-out prices have really gone up a lot ... .

BTW, Googling crock pot liners yesterday, I saw that there are food-grade silicone crock-pot liners. Might be a good thing for folks dealing with tough clean-up issues.

[WRH]

One of our favorites

Mississippi Roast:

3# arm or chuck roast
1/2 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning
1/2 package of au jus dry mix gravy
1/2 stick butter
6 Peperoncini peppers

put the roast in the crock pot, sprinkle with dry ingredients, add butter and peppers, cover and cook (approximately 6 hrs)

Carrots, potatoes, onions, or whatever else may be added halfway through the cook.

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

I’ll second this, Mississippi Pot Roast is awesome. My wife and I really like to make this roast, then put it on French bread with Mayo, lettuce and tomatoes. It’s basically a debris po-boy like is popular New Orleans. You can’t beat it…

[PeninsulaPerson]

One of my favorite sources for recipes is "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow"-- https://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2007 ... cipes.html I like that she talks about her successes as well as failures. She has several cookbooks (I own two). She also does many things aside from main dishes.

This looks like a fantastic resource! Thank you!

[21&lewis]

Made this last night:

https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/barbacoa-recipe/

I skip the cloves as DW doesn't like those. Otherwise, it's as good as getting at a food truck or street vendor. Put on corn tortillas with some diced white onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Enjoy

[Fishing2retire]

After me and DW just watched a Documentary on Netflix about blue zones people who live to 100+
We broke out the crockpot and did the Sardinian Minestrone soup. It was fantastic!

[ems2013]

I love crock pot meals in the fall and winter (and sometimes spring/summer, too). I don't love when crock pot recipes call for browning meat or sauteing veggies before putting everything in the crock pot, but alas...sometimes it is what's needed. I usually do these additional steps the night before so it's a quick assembly in the morning.

Here's a chicken tikka masala slow cooker recipe that's pretty good. Not authentic, but pretty good (especially the next day):
https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker ... ka-masala/

A couple of other favorites:
BBQ pulled pork: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/21174 ... andwiches/

Sesame chicken: https://www.chef-in-training.com/crock- ... en/#recipe

Hamburger stew (this one is good when you're going to be out skiing for a day and want to come home to a hearty soup that makes the house smell delicious. Enjoy with crusty bread ): https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-hamburger-stew/

[heyyou]

An outdoor gas grill is an easy place to brown meat before it goes into the crock pot, at least when the AC is running in the house.
My untutored opinion is the crock pot's multi-hour slow cooking is more energy efficient, than using the kitchen stove and fan to prep a similar meal, late on a hot, summer afternoon.
Frozen vegetable dishes can be cooked in the crock pot if you are home to stir them occasionally.
By starting to prep early, you can cook noodle dishes in a crock pot.

[CRC_Volunteer]

One of our favorites

Mississippi Roast:

3# arm or chuck roast
1/2 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning
1/2 package of au jus dry mix gravy
1/2 stick butter
6 Peperoncini peppers

put the roast in the crock pot, sprinkle with dry ingredients, add butter and peppers, cover and cook (approximately 6 hrs)

Carrots, potatoes, onions, or whatever else may be added halfway through the cook.

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

I’ll second this, Mississippi Pot Roast is awesome. My wife and I really like to make this roast, then put it on French bread with Mayo, lettuce and tomatoes. It’s basically a debris po-boy like is popular New Orleans. You can’t beat it…

Debris... Nothing like a roast beef dressed with debris from Mother's (from the timeframe of the original owners)...

[EZ James]

Basic question: I have a cheap Hamilton slow cooker that has a knob with three settings: warm, slow, high. After I turn it to low or high, does it automatically go to warm after a set number of hours?

I used to own a cheap crock pot which did that and it was nice if I left the meat to cook when I was at work. But I’m not too sure about my Hamilton. It seems to remain at the same setting until I turn the knob myself. This is dangerous for when I’m at work.

You might want to consider a smart plug with power monitoring and timer like a Kasa/tp-Link model. With this you could turn on/off the power via WiFi remotely.

[somedays]

Slow-cooker barbecued ribs by Betty Crocker Kitchens

Ingredients
3 1/2 pounds pork loin back ribs
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup cola
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

Steps
1 Spray inside of 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2 Remove inner skin from ribs; cut into 4-inch pieces. Mix brown sugar, salt, pepper, liquid smoke and garlic; rub mixture into ribs. Layers ribs and onion in slow cooker. Pour cola over ribs.
3 Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours or until tender. Remove ribs from slow cooker. Drain and discard liquid.
4 Pour barbecue sauce into shallow bowl. Dip ribs into sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low heat setting 1 hour. Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.

**Personally, 3 tablespoons of liquid smoke was too strong for us so I cut it down to about 1 tablespoon or less.

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/sl ... 16ecbff2a1

[Harri88]

One of our favorites

Mississippi Roast:

3# arm or chuck roast
1/2 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning
1/2 package of au jus dry mix gravy
1/2 stick butter
6 Peperoncini peppers

put the roast in the crock pot, sprinkle with dry ingredients, add butter and peppers, cover and cook (approximately 6 hrs)

Carrots, potatoes, onions, or whatever else may be added halfway through the cook.

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

I’ll second this, Mississippi Pot Roast is awesome. My wife and I really like to make this roast, then put it on French bread with Mayo, lettuce and tomatoes. It’s basically a debris po-boy like is popular New Orleans. You can’t beat it…

Debris... Nothing like a roast beef dressed with debris from Mother's (from the timeframe of the original owners)...

I'll +1 on the Mississippi pot roast - very good! We use the entire jar of pepperoncini's gives it a nice kick

[Nver2Late]

After me and DW just watched a Documentary on Netflix about blue zones people who live to 100+
We broke out the crockpot and did the Sardinian Minestrone soup. It was fantastic!

That was a very interesting documentary series. Definitely food for thought.

[MP173]

I had a couple of "go-to" crock pot meals back in the day.

Pork loin (with bone) - brown in skillet and then place in crock pot with water. I would use a pork loin which had some fat on it and the fat would combine with the water to make quite the broth. About 45 minutes prior to eating dinner, would remove the pork loin...it would fall apart and use the broth to cook carrots, typically stove top. The broth flavored the carrots nicely.

Chuck roast - brown in skillet and place in crock pot with a can of cream of mushroom (or celery) soup. Considerable broth was produced with the fat and the soup. Used the broth to cook Amish noodles (stovetop).

These were staples in our family for years...each about 1x month.

Ironically my boys and I gathered this past weekend (they are now adults) for a fishing trip. We sat around firepit and ate dinner a couple of nights and those crock pot meals were brought up. One son makes both during the winter.

edit: Back in the day I always baked homemade bread, which added a nice touch to the above meals. For the pork loin, the leftovers would be warmed up with BBQ sauce for a change of pace.

Ed

[iamlucky13]

I'd say we use ours once every week or two. Our staples for the slow cooker are stews, soups, and pulled pork.

The last meal I personally prepared was pork enchiladas (we cook the pork in the slow cooker and use it as an ingredient in the enchiladas). For full disclosure, we didn't plan ahead, so although we normally use the slow cooker, this time we used a pressure cooker to make up for lost time.

That once again reinforced the value of the slow cooker. The pork from the Instapot was delicious, but the flavor still wasn't quite the same as from the slow cooker, and the texture wasn't even close. Although my wife has a few recipes in her collection that the Instapot seems to do great with, over the last few years since we got it, we have never gotten comparable results for meats from the Instapot compared to the slow cooker.

[vbdoug]

At age 73 I had never had a crock pot or an air fryer. I purchased a $35 Walmart Crockpot and have enjoyed pot roast, chuck steak and briskets from Costco. Pork may be next.
I went to YouTube to learn about how to use a slow cooker and disregarded all of their advice as unnecessary. I add a little water to the pot and slow cook for 5 hours or so and I have a lot of very good food.

[PeninsulaPerson]

I add a little water to the pot and slow cook for 5 hours or so and I have a lot of very good food.

A good vegetable or beef stock could be even better than water.

The Kitchen Basics brand is particularly flavorful.

Plus you can freeze the leftover stock in ice-cube trays then put them in a Ziploc bag. Easy to use next time and no waste!

[evelynmanley]

I add a little water to the pot and slow cook for 5 hours or so and I have a lot of very good food.

A good vegetable or beef stock could be even better than water.

The Kitchen Basics brand is particularly flavorful.

Plus you can freeze the leftover stock in ice-cube trays then put them in a Ziploc bag. Easy to use next time and no waste!

+1. I've been using Better than Bouillon instead of boxed stock in order to save space in the pantry, and it's a really great product, comes in many different flavors, lasts for ages in the fridge after opening. https://www.betterthanbouillon.com/

[AlwaysLearningMore]

One of our favorites

Farro cannellini soup
1 large onion, diced (we prefer red)
2 celery stalks, trimmed and diced
2 carrots, peeled and dicrfy
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek, trimmed and chopped
1 cup farro
1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight. Some people first boil these for 10 minutes prior to placing them in the slow cooker.
2 tomatoes (whole canned are fine, just crash with your hands. We don't typically use diced canned tomatoes, better flavor from the whole tomato; do not drain)
6 cups chicken stock
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Cook on high for 4-6 hours depending on your crockpot unit. Salt and pepper to taste at completion.

(Can also soak the farro overnight and then add to the slow cooker 45 minutes prior to completion.)

[PeninsulaPerson]

I've been using Better than Bouillon instead of boxed stock in order to save space in the pantry, and it's a really great product, comes in many different flavors, lasts for ages in the fridge after opening. https://www.betterthanbouillon.com/

You're right!

I tried that once and it was better that the boxed stock!

I think it's in the spice aisle at my supermarket. Gotta' remember to get some of that!

[barnaclebob]

This recipe and his others would work well in a crock pot even if you skip the browning steps. Substitute game meat with farm meat.

https://honest-food.net/spanish-chilindron-stew/

[SheReadsHere719]

I use my slow cooker at least once a week. Gina at Skinnytaste has amazing crock pot recipes! Favorites include:

*Santa Fe Chicken
*Buffalo Chicken Wraps
*Picadillo
*Jalapeno Popper Chili
*Jamaican Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa
*Meat sauce with spaghetti squash, and
*Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Enjoy!

[friar1610]

At one volunteer tutoring gig I had there was a retired teacher who had since become employed by the learning center. She once remarked that if it hadn’t been for her Crock Pot her family never would have gotten dinner when she was teaching. I love it when my wife uses ours! (I did not get the cooking gene.)

Re: that last statement, if I ever find myself alone in this world I suspect my first step toward cooking self-sufficiency will be mastering the Crock Pot. I understand it’s pretty hard to screw up a Crock Pot concoction.

[evelynmanley]

I use my slow cooker at least once a week. Gina at Skinnytaste has amazing crock pot recipes! Favorites include:

*Santa Fe Chicken
*Buffalo Chicken Wraps
*Picadillo
*Jalapeno Popper Chili
*Jamaican Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa
*Meat sauce with spaghetti squash, and
*Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Enjoy!

Wow! Her recipes are amazing. I especially like all the recipes with jalapenos. I'm going to try this right away: https://www.skinnytaste.com/salsa-picante-roja/ Thanks for sharing!

[toomanysidehustles]

I've been doing a lot of pork shoulder and beef round roasts started on a Traeger grill at 225 degrees for 5 hours ( for the smoke) then finish off in a crock pot on low for another 5-6 hours. It's pretty amazing how many good meals you can do!

[PeninsulaPerson]

This morning, I made some oatmeal in the slow cooker - 1 cup of Quaker oats, 1.5 cups 1% milk, half a cup of hazelnut SuperCreamer, a bit of salt, 2 handfuls of Trader Joe frozen cherries and a teaspoon of chia seeds.

Cooked it on low for about 1 hour and then on high for about another hour. Kept an eye on it since it was my first time trying this.

It came out great and I have enough for tomorrow morning+.

If I had cooked a little more, I would have had enough for 3 servings. Pretty efficient for about 2 minutes' effort -and- I am trying to eat more oatmeal. The slow cooker version came out better than the "overnight oats" I was experimenting with. More sort of "tapioca"-like. The cherries in there made it extra-excellent! And I think almost any additions would be fine - maple syrup, a bit of vanilla, some nuts. As usual, crock pot meals seem pretty flexible and forgiving. I do think in the future I might do "Low" for 3 hours but I am not sure about that yet. High seemed maybe too high!

P.S.
One recipe I saw on Google said to NOT cook oatmeal in a crock pot without a liner but I think they were peddling liners. (There was an ad for liners on that site.) I spooned the leftover oatmeal out of the crock pot, filled the crock pot with hot water in the sink and left it for a while. Put it in the dishwasher and I am sure it's going to be fine - no scrubbing needed. YMMV but not burned is probably easily cleaned.


Next morning update: The oatmeal heated up very nicely in the microwave and the cherries seemed even better the 2nd day. Thickish consistency, which I like. I did add a splash more of the SuperCreamer. Definitely better than the overnight oats -- much better!

[Nver2Late]

This morning, I made some oatmeal in the slow cooker - 1 cup of Quaker oats, 1.5 cups 1% milk, half a cup of hazelnut SuperCreamer, a bit of salt, 2 handfuls of Trader Joe frozen cherries and a teaspoon of chia seeds.

Cooked it on low for about 1 hour and then on high for about another hour. Kept an eye on it since it was my first time trying this.

It came out great and I have enough for tomorrow morning+.

If I had cooked a little more, I would have had enough for 3 servings. Pretty efficient for about 2 minutes' effort -and- I am trying to eat more oatmeal. The slow cooker version came out better than the "overnight oats" I was experimenting with. More sort of "tapioca"-like. The cherries in there made it extra-excellent! And I think almost any additions would be fine - maple syrup, a bit of vanilla, some nuts. As usual, crock pot meals seem pretty flexible and forgiving. I do think in the future I might do "Low" for 3 hours but I am not sure about that yet. High seemed maybe too high!

P.S.
One recipe I saw on Google said to NOT cook oatmeal in a crock pot without a liner but I think they were peddling liners. (There was an ad for liners on that site.) I spooned the leftover oatmeal out of the crock pot, filled the crock pot with hot water in the sink and left it for a while. Put it in the dishwasher and I am sure it's going to be fine - no scrubbing needed. YMMV but not burned is probably easily cleaned.


Next morning update: The oatmeal heated up very nicely in the microwave and the cherries seemed even better the 2nd day. Thickish consistency, which I like. I did add a splash more of the SuperCreamer. Definitely better than the overnight oats -- much better!

I eat oatmeal every day. My goto is 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1 medjool date chopped (mother nature's caramel), 2 tablespoons (the spoon I eat with) wild Alaskan berries (cranberries or low bush blueberries), cover with 1/4" water then microwave on high for about 2 minutes, just before it starts to boil over, then microwave on low (setting 3) for 8 minutes. With my microwave, setting 3 boils to just before the boil over point, then cycles. I cover this with a couple tablespoons of homemade granola/seeds for added texture/crunch and pour a ring of 40% heavy whipping cream at the perimeter. Yummy stuff with only a bowl to clean up.

You're spot-on on the variety of different additions. Fresh figs are a wonderful substitution for the medjool, and figgy jam works in a pinch. Any fresh berries or fresh fruit just elevates the breakfast.

[TSR]

1. I use my crock pot to make chicken and/or vegetable broth from veggie ends and chicken bones I keep in my freezer. Just put it in all day on low with a lot of water then strain the broth through a coffee filter or something.

2. This recipe is very good. I know there's a pay-wall, but hopefully some of you can see it: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... k-vindaloo

[Nver2Late]

1. I use my crock pot to make chicken and/or vegetable broth from veggie ends and chicken bones I keep in my freezer. Just put it in all day on low with a lot of water then strain the broth through a coffee filter or something.

Definitely - whenever we have a carcass, we either make broth or Jook (rice porridge) from the bones.

[roamingzebra]

I mistakeenly read the title too quickly and thought it said "Crack Pot Corner";

That's how I read it everytime I haven't enough coffee.

[AlwaysLearningMore]

We also use our slow cooker to make dog food, which we mix with kibble. This is the foundational recipe; we rotate the meats, grains and vegetables, using Veterinarian approved options. (we add some blueberries and other Veterinarian approved berries near the end of cooking.)

(for the red kidney beans, we start with the dried red beans which we soak overnight, then make a big batch in the pressure cooker. The batch is then parceled out for individual uses in the slow cooker, and we keep them in the freezer. we make enough beans to last for a couple of months of dog food.)

https://damndelicious.net/2015/05/13/ea ... -dog-food/

Slow cookers provide an easy way to make homemade dog food, and control the ingredients. (As above, we do mix in some commercial kibble.)

[PeninsulaPerson]

Fresh figs are a wonderful substitution for the medjool, and figgy jam works in a pinch. Any fresh berries or fresh fruit just elevates the breakfast.

"Mother Nature's caramel" - loved that!

[mkc]

One of our favorites

Mississippi Roast:

3# arm or chuck roast
1/2 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning
1/2 package of au jus dry mix gravy
1/2 stick butter
6 Peperoncini peppers

put the roast in the crock pot, sprinkle with dry ingredients, add butter and peppers, cover and cook (approximately 6 hrs)

Carrots, potatoes, onions, or whatever else may be added halfway through the cook.

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

I’ll second this, Mississippi Pot Roast is awesome. My wife and I really like to make this roast, then put it on French bread with Mayo, lettuce and tomatoes. It’s basically a debris po-boy like is popular New Orleans. You can’t beat it…

Debris... Nothing like a roast beef dressed with debris from Mother's (from the timeframe of the original owners)...

I'll +1 on the Mississippi pot roast - very good! We use the entire jar of pepperoncini's gives it a nice kick

Same here on the peperoncinis as well. We do a slightly different version with a recipe name of "Crockpot Italian Beef":

CrockPot Italian Beef

Courses: Main Dish
Categories: MKC - Slow Cooker
Source: Linda in MO

Ingredients
3 lb chuck or rump roast -- trimmed of fat
1 package Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 jar pepperoncini peppers - including juice
1 can beef broth -- (or 1 to 2 cups hot water mixed with a teaspoon or two of beef flavored Better than Bouillon)--or more if needed
ground pepper -- garlic powder, etc. to season

Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a slow cooker. Cook all day on low.

When meat is done, shred it and put back in its juices.

Serve on warm kaiser buns or hoagie rolls (toast if desired). Top with favorite cheese--provolone, cheddar, colby/jack, mozzarella/cheddar, etc. Run under broiler if cheese needs to be melted.

Can also top with sauteed onions, green peppers, and mushrooms if desired.

Note: I usually just sub 3 Tablespoons of Italian seasoning for the salad dressing mix + Italian seasoning

[mkc]

Pork Butt works great in a slow cooker.

Brown the butt in a cast iron skillet, transfer it to a slow cooker, cover it with diced Hatch chilies, and let it run for about 8-10 hours. Remove, pull with two forks, and enjoy in tacos, burritos, with eggs, etc.

Pork Butts are very ecnomical too, and primarily delicious.

We do the same, with some extras ingredients. I've done as large as a 9 lb pork butt in my 6 qt oval slow cooker:

Crock Pot Carnitas

Courses: Main Dish
Categories: MKC - Slow Cooker

Ingredients
For the carnitas
3 lb pork butt roast
1 onion, sliced into rings
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp cumin
6-10 roasted, peeled Hatch chiles, finely chopped
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, leaves only
12 ounces beer, preferably Mexican like Bohemia or Dos Equis (or chicken broth if you don't care to use beer)
salt and pepper

To serve
2 onions, sliced and sauteed until golden brown
flour tortillas
various toppings such as shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Directions
Insert garlic cloves in roast; brown in large skillet if desired. Place in Crock Pot with onion, herbs, chiles, and cilantro which has been chopped. Season to taste. Pour in beer. Cook on high 4 to 6 hours or low 8 to 10 hours until fork tender. Remove meat; shred. Or can be placed in roasting pan in preheated oven (450º) for about 15 minutes before shredding. Serve with warm tortillas, shreddded cheese and pico de gallo.

[Shackleton]

Just made a grass-fed brisket from a local rancher in the slow cooker. Seasoned with Montreal seasoning (got it at Costco) and cooked on low for 8 hours. Shredded the beef and mixed it with the juices, then let it cook about 1 hour more. I’ll use the beef for our keto lasagna and keto enchiladas over the next week or two (beef will be frozen until it’s ready to be used.)

[PeninsulaPerson]

[quote=Harri88 post_id=7467763 time

CrockPot Italian Beef

Note: I usually just sub 3 Tablespoons of Italian seasoning for the salad dressing mix + Italian seasoning

Oh, that sounds so good! Wish I had it here for lunch today! Thank you for the substitution idea!

[PeninsulaPerson]

... (beef will be frozen until it’s ready to be used.)

You mean you freeze the cooked beef, yes?

Do you use containers, or Ziploc bags?

Sounds like you use the cooked beef fairly quickly, like maybe over the course of the week?

[Nver2Late]

"Mother Nature's caramel" - loved that!

I can't take credit for that - I read it somewhere, but its so true.

[Shackleton]

... (beef will be frozen until it’s ready to be used.)

You mean you freeze the cooked beef, yes?

Do you use containers, or Ziploc bags?

Sounds like you use the cooked beef fairly quickly, like maybe over the course of the week?

I did freeze it in glass Snapware containers after cooking/shredding. Normally, I’d use it pretty quickly, but I had a dinner planning mix up and made a big batch of chili, so I won’t need the beef for at least 5 days and that was pushing it from a food safety point of view IMO.

[PeninsulaPerson]

I did freeze it in glass Snapware containers after cooking/shredding.

Thanks for the clarification! Most appreciated! I have seen those glass Snapware containers - might have to buy some for my slow-cooking this winter!

Also bought an Indian slow-cooker book that was mentioned following one of the recommendations links above. The book came the other day and it looks very good! Might make my own mango chutney - there's a slow-cooker recipe for that in the book!

Made oatmeal again today in the slow cooker, this time enough for 3 mornings and with blueberries. Gee, but that slow-cooker cooks oatmeal great! Maybe winter won't be so bad after all ... !

[tunafish]

Navy bean soup with ham hocks can be pretty filling.

Yes, of course! And so delicious!

Pea soup in winter in New England - that actually is heaven!

Thanks for the reminder!

If you're lazy you can buy Pea Soup Andersen's, as good as home made.