I suppose it is possible to overcook the vegetables on this, though it wouldn't be any worse than reheating the soup. If you are going to add some type of pasta to this, I suggest cooking the pasta separately, then adding cooked pasta to the serving bowl. There is a lot of flexibility as to what goes into this vegetable soup; though most notably it's root vegetables + beans + pasta.
Ingredients
1.5 quarts vegetable/chicken/beef broth
Two 14.5 oz cans of diced/crushed/whole tomatoes
One 15 oz can beans (cannelini or white/red kidney beans)
2 organic carrots, diced
2 organic celery ribs, diced
1 zucchini, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced or finely chopped
1 cup green beans, fresh or frozen (optional)
1 lb fresh spinach leaves (optional)
Spices
1 tbsp fresh or dried parsley
1.5 tsp fresh or dried oregano
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
sea salt, to taste (about 1 tsp)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pasta
1/2 c macaroni, fusili, or other small shaped pasta, cooked separately
Directions
Add broth, vegetables (except the spinach), beans, and spices to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Cook macaroni or fusili pasta separately. Drain. Set aside until ready to eat.
Add spinach leaves and cooked pasta to crockpot at least 20 minutes before serving.
Showing posts with label crockpot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crockpot. Show all posts
Crockpot: Smoked Ham Split Pea Soup
In today's age of healthier cuts of meat, finding smoked pork hocks at the grocery store is hard. Check with the butcher or at the meat counter of your local grocery store. The smoked pork is probably with the other frozen meat. One smoked hock is enough for a 3-qt batch of split pea soup. I picked up a frozen package of three smoked hocks from my local grocery store.
When rinsing the split peas, don't let them sit around and dry out in the colander. They'll stick together as one mass and you'll have to pry them off. Also, traditional pea soup has onions in it. If you can eat onions, add a diced yellow onion to the recipe. The salt in the broth or smoked meat should be enough for the batch of soup.
Ingredients
1.5 quarts chicken/vegetable/pork broth
1 lb or 2 cups of dried split green peas
1 smoked ham bone or smoked hock
3 organic carrots, diced
3 organic celery ribs, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Cook covered for 6 hours on LOW. Remove ham bone from the pot. The meat should come easily off the bone. Add the meat back to the pot. Discard the bone. Remove bay leaf before serving.
When rinsing the split peas, don't let them sit around and dry out in the colander. They'll stick together as one mass and you'll have to pry them off. Also, traditional pea soup has onions in it. If you can eat onions, add a diced yellow onion to the recipe. The salt in the broth or smoked meat should be enough for the batch of soup.
Ingredients
1.5 quarts chicken/vegetable/pork broth
1 lb or 2 cups of dried split green peas
1 smoked ham bone or smoked hock
3 organic carrots, diced
3 organic celery ribs, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Cook covered for 6 hours on LOW. Remove ham bone from the pot. The meat should come easily off the bone. Add the meat back to the pot. Discard the bone. Remove bay leaf before serving.
Crockpot Vegetable Stock/Broth
I read somewhere that stock isn't seasoned while broth is. At any rate, I made this in the crockpot because I needed two cups of it for a soup I'm making. Smells lovely. And the best part? No onions.
Heat/Time: 6-8 hours on Low
Ingredients
8 c filtered water
3 organic carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 sprig of fresh oregano, leaves only
freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sea salt
Yield: 1 quart plus 3 cups of broth
Strain the broth into a 5-quart bowl, then decant to other containers for storage.
Heat/Time: 6-8 hours on Low
Ingredients
8 c filtered water
3 organic carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 sprig of fresh oregano, leaves only
freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sea salt
Yield: 1 quart plus 3 cups of broth
Strain the broth into a 5-quart bowl, then decant to other containers for storage.
Crockpot Pulled Pork
This recipe ratio turned out tasting very good. There were a few changes to how I did this. The first being the lack of apple juice (one cup). I substituted one cup of unsweetened apple butter (made from winesap apples) plus one cup of water. Also, I didn't toss the cooking liquid from the crockpot, instead I reserved it to a pot and simmered it until it had the consistency of barbecue sauce again. This yielded 2.5 cups of sauce. The cut of pork that was used is called "country pork rib", and you can get this in a large multipack from Costco. It's the same cut style of pork that I use for my kimchi pork soup. The only onions in this batch is what is in the BBQ sauce.
Total prep/cooking time: 8 hours
Yields: 1 quart pulled pork (for 2 lbs of meat)
Ingredients
Note: If you don't have a crockpot or slow cooker, you can also use a dutch oven and bake the pork until tender for 4 hours at 325 F.
Total prep/cooking time: 8 hours
Yields: 1 quart pulled pork (for 2 lbs of meat)
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| TheFoodening Blog - pulled pork |
2-3 lbs boneless country pork rib
1 c unsweetened apple juice, or 1 c unsweetened apple butter plus 1 c water
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 c BBQ sauce (I used Trader Joe's Kansas City BBQ sauce)
Directions
In the crockpot, place pork on the bottom. Cover with cloves, apple butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and barbecue sauce. Add the water to the bottom (don't wash off the stuff on top of the pork).
Set the crockpot to high for 2 hours. Then, set the crockpot to low for 4 hours. After the 6 hour mark, drain the crockpot of its liquid to a separate pot, leaving a half inch of liquid at the bottom of the crockpot. Cook pork for an additional hour. Turn off heat and use two forks to shred the pork.
In the separate pot with the cooking liquid, simmer the liquid on low heat until it has more than reduced by half of its liquid volume. It should be somewhat runnier than the barbecue sauce that went into it but thick enough that it isn't watery.
Take a half cup of the reduced sauce and pour it over the shredded pork. Stir to combine.
If you made the hamburger buns from the previous post, split those in half and place a good amount of pulled pork on the bottom bun and cover it with the top bun. Enjoy!
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| TheFoodening Blog - pulled pork on a homemade bun |
Slow Cooker: Stewed Pork Hocks
One way to add depth to any soup is to cook meat bones for a long time, say more than 6 hours. My parents would just cook this stove top for a couple hours, but I find that in these modern and subsequently lazier times, I would much rather start this in the morning and have it ready by dinner in the slow cooker.
It's quite a simple recipe and it makes a few things: a hearty meat stock that can be a base for other soups, a bone broth, and the pork itself can be chilled, sliced and served up with hot or cold noodle dishes. But, for me, I just like the meat and marrow part of the pork.
For those of you (like me) who had to look up what part of the pig the "hock" is, it's the part of the fore or hindquarters above the hoof and below the pig equivalent of the knee/elbow; as illustrated in this Wikipedia stub.
Ingredients
1-2 tbsp olive oil (if cooking by stovetop)
1 lb pork hocks
1 star anise
2-3 slices of fresh ginger, peeled
2-4 tbsp soy sauce
filtered water
To cook this by stovetop:
Brown the hocks in 1-2 tbsp olive oil (or any vegetable oil), add one star anise, a few slices of peeled ginger, 2-4 tbsp of soy sauce (depending on how salty you like it) and an amount of water that covers the hocks. Bring to a boil then simmer covered until the meat is tender, 1-2 hours. Be sure to check on the pot every so often so that the water does not boil all away.
To cook this by slow cooker / crockpot:
Place pork hocks (about a pound) in slow cooker, preferably in a single layer. Add a star anise (one is plenty of flavor per pound of meat), 2-3 slices of peeled ginger, 2-4 tbsp soy sauce, and enough water to cover the hocks. Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
If putting raw meat into a slow cooker is a concern, you can also brown the hocks before putting them in but this is not necessary and it means more stuff to wash.
It's quite a simple recipe and it makes a few things: a hearty meat stock that can be a base for other soups, a bone broth, and the pork itself can be chilled, sliced and served up with hot or cold noodle dishes. But, for me, I just like the meat and marrow part of the pork.
For those of you (like me) who had to look up what part of the pig the "hock" is, it's the part of the fore or hindquarters above the hoof and below the pig equivalent of the knee/elbow; as illustrated in this Wikipedia stub.
Ingredients
1-2 tbsp olive oil (if cooking by stovetop)
1 lb pork hocks
1 star anise
2-3 slices of fresh ginger, peeled
2-4 tbsp soy sauce
filtered water
To cook this by stovetop:
Brown the hocks in 1-2 tbsp olive oil (or any vegetable oil), add one star anise, a few slices of peeled ginger, 2-4 tbsp of soy sauce (depending on how salty you like it) and an amount of water that covers the hocks. Bring to a boil then simmer covered until the meat is tender, 1-2 hours. Be sure to check on the pot every so often so that the water does not boil all away.
To cook this by slow cooker / crockpot:
Place pork hocks (about a pound) in slow cooker, preferably in a single layer. Add a star anise (one is plenty of flavor per pound of meat), 2-3 slices of peeled ginger, 2-4 tbsp soy sauce, and enough water to cover the hocks. Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
If putting raw meat into a slow cooker is a concern, you can also brown the hocks before putting them in but this is not necessary and it means more stuff to wash.
Crockpot Maple Baked Beans
I have always found that most commercial brands of these beans are too sweet for my taste; though, I wonder how sweet these are supposed to be. Recently I've been watching a food channel on YouTube about 18th Century cooking by Jas Townsend and Son. At least I don't have to build a fire pit or clay oven to bake these.
While it involves simple ingredients, it is fairly time consuming in preparing dry beans for eating. One day I'll have to research why the beans are called navy beans since they are neither navy in color nor boat-like in shape.
In a 5-quart bowl, rinse and soak in filtered water 2 cups of dry navy beans. I soaked these overnight (roughly 12-18 hours), tossed the soaking liquid and boiled the beans on a simmer for another hour.
Then...
Into the crockpot (slow cooker) for 8-10 hours on low with the following ingredients:
3/4 c filtered water
3/4 c organic maple syrup
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Give that a few stirs with the beans before setting the time and putting the lid on.
While it involves simple ingredients, it is fairly time consuming in preparing dry beans for eating. One day I'll have to research why the beans are called navy beans since they are neither navy in color nor boat-like in shape.
In a 5-quart bowl, rinse and soak in filtered water 2 cups of dry navy beans. I soaked these overnight (roughly 12-18 hours), tossed the soaking liquid and boiled the beans on a simmer for another hour.
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| Soon to be maple baked beans... |
Then...
Into the crockpot (slow cooker) for 8-10 hours on low with the following ingredients:
3/4 c filtered water
3/4 c organic maple syrup
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Give that a few stirs with the beans before setting the time and putting the lid on.
Dulce de Leche
Now that I have unused 4 oz jars, I think I should fill them up with something sweet. These would make nice gifts for those sugarholics in your life.
Dulce de leche is a caramel sauce with South American origins and likely the result of needing to preserve dairy in those pre-refrigeration days. This recipe uses the lazy method: a crockpot and sweetened condensed milk.
Food52 via Serious Eats would have you combine these ingredients, if making it from scratch:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
And, you'd have to slave over a hot stove for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring constantly so the mixture doesn't burn or scald. And, once you're done this mixture keeps well for four weeks in the refrigerator.
Fortunately, there's always-on electricity and products like already canned sweetened condensed milk. Here's the other not-really-from-scratch process, which comes from the Crazy for Crust blog:
Ingredients
two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
clean glass jars with rings and lids
water
Directions
1. Evenly distribute sweetened condensed milk across the jars being used. It should fill seven 4 oz jars or three 8 oz jars. Attach lids and rings to jars.
2. Place jars (not touching each other) into the slow cooker and fill with enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches.
3. Set slow cooker for 10 hours on LOW.
The only problem with this method that the dulce de leche is not shelf stable because of its low acidity. This will also spoil if not used within 4 weeks and must be refrigerated, even though the jars are sealed.
Either method is a LOT better than buying the irradiated stuff from the grocery store, IMHO.
Dulce de leche is a caramel sauce with South American origins and likely the result of needing to preserve dairy in those pre-refrigeration days. This recipe uses the lazy method: a crockpot and sweetened condensed milk.
Food52 via Serious Eats would have you combine these ingredients, if making it from scratch:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
And, you'd have to slave over a hot stove for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring constantly so the mixture doesn't burn or scald. And, once you're done this mixture keeps well for four weeks in the refrigerator.
Fortunately, there's always-on electricity and products like already canned sweetened condensed milk. Here's the other not-really-from-scratch process, which comes from the Crazy for Crust blog:
Ingredients
two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
clean glass jars with rings and lids
water
Directions
1. Evenly distribute sweetened condensed milk across the jars being used. It should fill seven 4 oz jars or three 8 oz jars. Attach lids and rings to jars.
2. Place jars (not touching each other) into the slow cooker and fill with enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches.
3. Set slow cooker for 10 hours on LOW.
The only problem with this method that the dulce de leche is not shelf stable because of its low acidity. This will also spoil if not used within 4 weeks and must be refrigerated, even though the jars are sealed.
Either method is a LOT better than buying the irradiated stuff from the grocery store, IMHO.
Crockpot Pear Butter
This is the first attempt at making pear butter. A new crop of D'anjou pears were on sale at the grocery store so I bought enough to make six pints of fruit butter. For apples and pears, one pound of fruit typically yields one pint. I though this came out too sweet. Two cups of sugar is way too much if the fruit is ripe and sweet.
Ingredients
6 lbs ripe pears, cored and cubed
2 c sugar (need to cut to 1 1/2 c sugar, or less)
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 orange, juiced
Directions
1. Wash, core and cube pears. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. Place all ingredients in a crockpot. Set for 8 hours on LOW.
2. If storing butter for long-term use, process using sterilized jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Ingredients
6 lbs ripe pears, cored and cubed
2 c sugar (need to cut to 1 1/2 c sugar, or less)
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 orange, juiced
Directions
1. Wash, core and cube pears. Mix with the rest of the ingredients. Place all ingredients in a crockpot. Set for 8 hours on LOW.
2. If storing butter for long-term use, process using sterilized jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
This is the only time of the year when beef brisket goes on sale for St. Patrick's Day. Depending on where you shop, this cut of beef can be as low as $2/lb in the Pacific Northwest and is already seasoned. This fake food holiday is celebrated in the US because of two things: alcohol and food. I mean really, what other holidays do we have where we aren't consuming these two items. Anyhow. The average cut is about three pounds and while this may seem like a lot of food for a single person, a lot of it will turn into very tasty sandwiches.
Ingredients
3 lb beef brisket, brined
1 packet of pickling spices
3 organic carrots, cut into thirds
3 organic celery stalks, cut into thirds
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, quartered
2-3 tbsp red wine
1 green cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
Directions
1. In the bowl of the slow cooker, place brisket fat-side down, add carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, and pickling spices. Cover and set cooker to 8 hours on LOW.
2. An hour before the timer is done, add the cabbage wedges to the top of the stewing corned beef and replace lid. Let it cook until the cabbage leaves are fork-tender.
3. Remove brisket from slow cooker and let rest on a plate for 10 minutes before carving.
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| Corned beef, all sliced up after resting for 10 mins |
Ingredients
3 lb beef brisket, brined
1 packet of pickling spices
3 organic carrots, cut into thirds
3 organic celery stalks, cut into thirds
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, quartered
2-3 tbsp red wine
1 green cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
Directions
1. In the bowl of the slow cooker, place brisket fat-side down, add carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, and pickling spices. Cover and set cooker to 8 hours on LOW.
2. An hour before the timer is done, add the cabbage wedges to the top of the stewing corned beef and replace lid. Let it cook until the cabbage leaves are fork-tender.
3. Remove brisket from slow cooker and let rest on a plate for 10 minutes before carving.
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| Corned beef, cabbage, carrots and a side of garlic sourdough bread |
Mulled Apple Cider
This recipe is pretty simple and is a crowd favorite for any autumn or winter holiday. It can be prepared on the stove (over low-medium heat) or in a slow cooker (4 hours on low).
Ingredients
1 gallon fresh pressed apple juice or apple cider
peel of one navel orange
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole allspice berries
2 cinnamon sticks
Directions
Combine all ingredients into a pot and let simmer over low heat.
Ingredients
1 gallon fresh pressed apple juice or apple cider
peel of one navel orange
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole allspice berries
2 cinnamon sticks
Directions
Combine all ingredients into a pot and let simmer over low heat.
Slow Cooker: Beef and Vegetable Soup
Soups are good make-ahead meals. This batch makes about three quarts of soup. I thought it tasted a bit spicy, so I may leave out the paprika and black pepper next time.
Ingredients
1 lb beef stew meat
1 qt organic vegetable or beef broth
2 14-oz cans of organic diced tomatoes
4 organic carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, diced
1 oz red wine
1/4 c unbleached white flour
1/2 c pearl barley (optional)
herbs & spices:
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp organic granulated sugar (optional, if soup tastes acidic)
Directions
1. Combine ingredients except for flour and pearl barley in the slow cooker, starting with the chopped vegetables, followed by meat, herbs and spices.
2. Cook for 6 hours on "high".
3. (optional) In a separate pot, bring a 1.5 cups of water to boil. Add pearl barley, cover the pot and cook on low-medium for 45 minutes. Turn off heat. Fluff with a fork and add to slow cooker. Stir to distribute the pearl barley evenly throughout the soup.
Ingredients
1 lb beef stew meat
1 qt organic vegetable or beef broth
2 14-oz cans of organic diced tomatoes
4 organic carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, diced
1 oz red wine
1/4 c unbleached white flour
1/2 c pearl barley (optional)
herbs & spices:
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp organic granulated sugar (optional, if soup tastes acidic)
Directions
1. Combine ingredients except for flour and pearl barley in the slow cooker, starting with the chopped vegetables, followed by meat, herbs and spices.
2. Cook for 6 hours on "high".
3. (optional) In a separate pot, bring a 1.5 cups of water to boil. Add pearl barley, cover the pot and cook on low-medium for 45 minutes. Turn off heat. Fluff with a fork and add to slow cooker. Stir to distribute the pearl barley evenly throughout the soup.
Crockpot Dark Chocolate Brownies
This recipe is a little bit more hands-on and labor intensive than baking up a batch of the same in an oven. With just over two and a half hours of "baking" to go, the kitchen smells really good right now.. like freshly baked brownies. The brownies cook most of the time with the heat of the ceramic base of the slow cooker and also by steam. The final half hour is done with the lid off the cooker. Hopefully it'll be ready in time for tonight's "slow cooked foods potluck".
Ingredients
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c organic sweet ground cocoa
1/2 c organic granulated sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon chunks
9 oz dark chocolate, chopped into 1/2" chunks
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
1. In a heatproof bowl, microwave butter and dark chocolate together in 30-second intervals, stirring each time until the chocolate is melted. About 1.5 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs together with sugar.
3. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add melted butter/chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add egg mixture and stir to combine.
4. Lightly butter the center of some parchment paper and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the brownie mixture and use a spatula to smooth the top.
5. Cover and set cooker on "low" for 4 hours. Cook with lid on for 3.5 hours, and then with the lid off for another half hour.
6. Remove brownies from crockpot and let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before cutting into.
Corned Beef with Cabbage
This is the first year I haven't taken the lazy uninspired route of making this dish...which typically meant going to the grocery store and buying the corned beef already brined in a neat little package. What is a little distressing is that the spices I had to acquire for this dish costed almost as much as the brisket; and the meat was on sale for St Patrick's Day. This dish is an expensive cooking experiment (roughly $15 in ingredients, excluding spices already on hand). I hope I don't screw it up too badly.
Brisket is a pretty unforgiving piece of meat that needs to be slow roasted for its connective muscle tissue to break down into delightful pleasures of eating. If you cook it too fast on high heat, the meat gets tough. If you cook it too slow on high heat, the meat is still tough. But, if you don't want to bother with basting the meat every 40-50 minutes while it roasts in the oven there is another modern convenience called the slow cooker; or as it says on my unit...a Crockpot. I am using Steamy Kitchen's recipe process for this because it looks really easy to do. One of my beer friends advised against using a Guinness dark beer so I am using Pike's Naughty Nelly artisan ale instead. No, I still don't drink beer. I don't care for bitter in my beverages, and while I love the smell of fermenting hops (smells like bread, go figure) it's just not for me. Beer is great in recipes though, like beer can chicken, steamed with clams or mussels, or in chocolate stout cupcakes.
Brisket is a pretty unforgiving piece of meat that needs to be slow roasted for its connective muscle tissue to break down into delightful pleasures of eating. If you cook it too fast on high heat, the meat gets tough. If you cook it too slow on high heat, the meat is still tough. But, if you don't want to bother with basting the meat every 40-50 minutes while it roasts in the oven there is another modern convenience called the slow cooker; or as it says on my unit...a Crockpot. I am using Steamy Kitchen's recipe process for this because it looks really easy to do. One of my beer friends advised against using a Guinness dark beer so I am using Pike's Naughty Nelly artisan ale instead. No, I still don't drink beer. I don't care for bitter in my beverages, and while I love the smell of fermenting hops (smells like bread, go figure) it's just not for me. Beer is great in recipes though, like beer can chicken, steamed with clams or mussels, or in chocolate stout cupcakes.
Rustic Bean Soup
"Rustic" implies simplicity and charm that is typical of the countryside. When the wind isn't blowing in the right directions, I can smell the cows from a nearby dairy farm. That's probably as close to the country as I'm going to get. Those folks have it rough not being close to modern amenities like grocery and hardware stores, farmers markets, museums, food cartopia, freeways, etc.
Ingredients
1 qt organic chicken stock
3 chicken sausages, cooked and sliced (or crumbled)
3 organic carrots, sliced
1 c. dry small white beans, soaked
One 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
2 medium yukon potatoes, cubed
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 c. red rice wine
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp herbs de provence or Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
Directions
1. Soak beans in a bowl overnight. Discard soaking liquid and refill bowl with water until ready to use. Discard liquid before adding beans to crockpot.
2. In a crockpot, add all the ingredients. Set to "low" for 8 hours.
3. Ladle hot soup into bowls and serve with homemade bread.
Ingredients
1 qt organic chicken stock
3 chicken sausages, cooked and sliced (or crumbled)
3 organic carrots, sliced
1 c. dry small white beans, soaked
One 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
2 medium yukon potatoes, cubed
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 c. red rice wine
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp herbs de provence or Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
Directions
1. Soak beans in a bowl overnight. Discard soaking liquid and refill bowl with water until ready to use. Discard liquid before adding beans to crockpot.
2. In a crockpot, add all the ingredients. Set to "low" for 8 hours.
3. Ladle hot soup into bowls and serve with homemade bread.
Crockpot Apple Butter
This is one of the many recipes that I wanted to try since moving to the Pacific Northwest. The bounty of autumn produce includes apples, pears, grapes, chestnuts, etc., and are really inexpensive to get a hold of. Apples keep for a long time in the refrigerator if they are stored properly. I keep mine in plastic bags, the kind that you get from the grocery store, not the kind you take groceries home in from the grocery store. There is a tiny difference and that is the ability to keep air and moisture out of the bag.
I picked up a varity of apples and pears earlier in the month from Portland Nursery's apple tasting event. Depending on where you shop, apples can be as cheap as $0.30/lb if buying directly from an apple farm in WA or OR state, about $0.70/lb from a retail grocer that is able to move large quantities of local produce, like Gateway Produce, or up to $1.49/lb if buying off-season.
For this recipe I used a 6-quart programmable crockpot
and let the apples cook overnight on the 10-hours low setting. The next day, it had the consistency of applesauce so cooked it on the 4-hours high setting to simmer off the excess liquid.
Depending on the sweetness of the apples, you'll need to vary the amount of sugar in the recipe. This batch used red winesap apples that aren't terribly palatable as an eating apple. Winesap apples are very firm when ripe and are typically used to make cider. They're also tart and slightly sour when not quite ripe. Any sweet or mildly sweet apple of mixed or single variety can be used.
Ingredients
8 small-to-medium red winesap apples
1 c. granulated unbleached sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom (or allspice)
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of salt
3/4 c. water
This spice ratio accommodates up to 3 lbs of apples. I just used the apples I had on hand.
Directions
1. Wash, peel, and core all apples, then dice into chunks.
2. Add prepared apples, water, and spices to crockpot. Mix until the apples are all coated with spice.
3. Set crockpot on low and cook until apples are soft. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to remove chunks of apple so that it has an applesauce consistency.
This can keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Canning instructions
Pack into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. This batch made three 8 oz jars + one 12 oz jar.
Kitchen notes:
2010: used Red winesap apples, made 3 pints
2011: used Virginia winesap apples, made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars)
2012: used organic winesap apples, unknown variety from Tonnemaker Farms; batch #1 used 8 apples and made 2 pints (4 half-pint jars); batch #2 used 10 apples and made 2.5 pints (5 half-pint jars) with about a 1/2 c. leftover. Also, batch #2 had a half cup less granulated sugar. Total so far is 9 half-pint jars.
2014: used Red Rome apples; made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars) of apple butter and 2 pints (4 half-pint jars) of apple sauce
2014 (Oct): finally got a hold of Red winesap apples.. yay! Batch1 6 half pints (from 5 lbs), Batch2 2 pints + 6 half pints (from 6 lbs)
2015 (Oct): 8 pints from 13 lbs of Red winesap apples
2016: 6.5 pints from 10 lbs Red winesap apples
2017 (Nov): __ pints from 8 lbs Red winesap apples
I picked up a varity of apples and pears earlier in the month from Portland Nursery's apple tasting event. Depending on where you shop, apples can be as cheap as $0.30/lb if buying directly from an apple farm in WA or OR state, about $0.70/lb from a retail grocer that is able to move large quantities of local produce, like Gateway Produce, or up to $1.49/lb if buying off-season.
For this recipe I used a 6-quart programmable crockpot
and let the apples cook overnight on the 10-hours low setting. The next day, it had the consistency of applesauce so cooked it on the 4-hours high setting to simmer off the excess liquid.Depending on the sweetness of the apples, you'll need to vary the amount of sugar in the recipe. This batch used red winesap apples that aren't terribly palatable as an eating apple. Winesap apples are very firm when ripe and are typically used to make cider. They're also tart and slightly sour when not quite ripe. Any sweet or mildly sweet apple of mixed or single variety can be used.
Ingredients
8 small-to-medium red winesap apples
1 c. granulated unbleached sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom (or allspice)
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of salt
3/4 c. water
This spice ratio accommodates up to 3 lbs of apples. I just used the apples I had on hand.
Directions
1. Wash, peel, and core all apples, then dice into chunks.
2. Add prepared apples, water, and spices to crockpot. Mix until the apples are all coated with spice.
3. Set crockpot on low and cook until apples are soft. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to remove chunks of apple so that it has an applesauce consistency.
This can keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Canning instructions
Pack into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. This batch made three 8 oz jars + one 12 oz jar.
Kitchen notes:
2010: used Red winesap apples, made 3 pints
2011: used Virginia winesap apples, made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars)
2012: used organic winesap apples, unknown variety from Tonnemaker Farms; batch #1 used 8 apples and made 2 pints (4 half-pint jars); batch #2 used 10 apples and made 2.5 pints (5 half-pint jars) with about a 1/2 c. leftover. Also, batch #2 had a half cup less granulated sugar. Total so far is 9 half-pint jars.
2014: used Red Rome apples; made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars) of apple butter and 2 pints (4 half-pint jars) of apple sauce
2014 (Oct): finally got a hold of Red winesap apples.. yay! Batch1 6 half pints (from 5 lbs), Batch2 2 pints + 6 half pints (from 6 lbs)
2015 (Oct): 8 pints from 13 lbs of Red winesap apples
2016: 6.5 pints from 10 lbs Red winesap apples
2017 (Nov): __ pints from 8 lbs Red winesap apples
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