Crock Pot Thai Chicken Wraps
Tonight is open house at my son’s school and the timing makes dinner as a family tough. So, it is going to be date night instead— but eating out is expensive, so I’ll feed the kids early and then us parents can eat when we get home (and the kids are sleeping!). But since I’m not sure what time we’ll get home from the school, I’m going to start the crock pot late this afternoon so that dinner is ready when we get back.
One of my favorite appetizers is those amazing sauced up thai chicken wraps that you can get at fancy Asian-inspired restaurants. The unfortunate part is that the lettuce is totally an illusion making you think this is a healthy choice. The typical sauce is usually full of really salty, sugary, high calorie ingredients that I totally don’t want to indulge in tonight. So I’ve come up with a healthier way to enjoy this treat, using the crock pot to get the most out of all the flavors and then whipping up a quick sauce in a pan to coat the whole mixture.
Most restaurants serve this dish with iceberg lettuce because it is crisp, but you can also use leaves of romaine lettuce or even tortillas. I hope you get to enjoy this at your next date night at home, too!
2 stalks celery, chopped Read more
Crock Pot Marsala Pears
Filed under: Appetizer, Breakfast, Dinner, Recipes, Side dishes, vegetarian
Lately, I’ve been more interested in making crock pot desserts. I think it’s the farthest thing from what grandma used to make– this amazing kitchen appliance is meant for more than just soup and meat! I have a couple pounds of fresh seckel pears. They are still firm and their skins are colorful and fragrant with just a few blemishes. Since we’ll be cooking these down, I think it’s best to use fruit when it’s just a day or two ahead of being ripe.
Some of the recipes I’ve seen for seckel pears require the cook to peel the pear, but that’s it. I have issues with this prep. First off– it’s rediculously difficult to stand pears up on the crock pot. Have you ever seen a flat-bottomed pear?! Plus, it might make a nice presentation in it’s orginal form, but then you have to worry about cutting around the tough middle and not eating any of the seeded parts. Why not just half it and use a melon baller to remove the part you don’t want to eat?? Or you can be even lazier, like I am, and just slice the halves off just outside of the core so you don’t even have to scoop it out. So there you go, that’s my suggestion. Either way, it’s a couple minutes more prep work, but it’s just as good to eat with less hassle at the dinner table.
Marsala wine is great for cooking. It’s full flavored and a little sweet. I opened a bottle to make chicken marsala one night and now it’s been sitting on my shelf. It’s not a wine I would drink from a glass, but it’s great for cooking. So I think the combination with fresh fruit really makes mouth water. Plus, it’s really sad to let the bottle gather dust between chicken marsala nights. If you don’t have marsala, try another red wine and maybe add some raisins or craisins to the recipe to add a little sweetness.
Try these pears for pretty much any meal. They would be amazing next to some cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast, a nice snack with a side of vanilla greek yogurt or serve it for dessert after a steak dinner and top it with some dark chocolate shavings. However you discover it, I hope you like experimenting with this fresh fruit. Enjoy!
12 seckel pears, halved and scooped (see above note)
1/2 c. marsala wine
1 T. sugar
Place pears in the crock pot, pour wine in and sprinkle sugar. Stir it all around and cook on low for 2-3 hours. The pears should be soft enough to cut with the edge of a fork, but not mushy like apple sauce.
Crock Pot Curried Sweet Potatoes
This recipe was a huge hit last night! Even the kids liked it. It’s flavorful and when all these flavors fuse together, it’s an amazing combination. These are not your candied Thanksgiving yams by any degree. When the coconut milk and curry gets a chance to melt into the sweet potatoes, the sweet smokiness will definitely make everyone at your dinner table ask for seconds.
4-5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 can lite coconut milk
1 T. curry powder
2 T. honey
Put sweet potatoes in crock pot and then drizzle honey on top. Shake curry powder into pot and then pour coconut milk on top of everything. Mix together a couple times to make sure potatoes are coated in all ingredient. Cook on high for 2.5. hours or until sweet potatoes are soft.
Crock Pot Peach Cobbler
Filed under: Breakfast, Recipes, Side dishes, vegetarian
The only thing better than a local farmer’s market is a neighbor with an amazing garden and fruit trees. I had the pleasure of pillaging the peach trees yesterday and came home with about two dozen little peaches, ripe and ready to be enjoyed. They were sweet and juicy, broke easily off the pit and cooked down perfectly into my peach cobbler. I’m not sure what makes me happier– the warm cobbler with it’s sticky sweetness stuck to my spoon… or the fact that I can walk next door, fill my basket and make another pot full tomorrow.
I like the keep the flavor of my cobbler simple. The peaches are already so sweet, I really just want to be able to cook them down a little. And I like the oatmeal topping, it makes me think of a cookie up on top. This recipe definitely craves a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it’s also really good with some vanilla yogurt or just a little half and half… or nothing at all. It’s really good that way, too. Enjoy!
(You’ll see in the recipe directions that I use the crock pot in an unconventional way. I cook the dessert on low, half uncovered, for the last hour. This helps the peach portion thicken up and the crumbly top crisp a little bit.)
4 lbs peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4 c. brown sugar, not packed Read more
Crock Pot Summer Onion Dip
If you read my post about the cute $7 crockpot that I saw on sale last week, this recipe would be the perfect fit for it! If you have a “little dipper” sized crock pot, you can make this dip and then use the crock pot to serve it and keep it warm. I thought these flavors fused together well for an easy afternoon snack.
I’d recommend serving my summer onion dip with crisp pita chips, wavy potato chips, baby carrots and cut up celery. It also would be great on a baked potato! It’s a basic enough recipe that it would be great on top of pretty much anything. Enjoy!
1/2 c. chopped basil leaves
juice of 1 lemon
8 oz. cream cheese, warmed Read more
Crock Pot Cowpea Soup
Filed under: Dinner, Recipes, Side dishes, Uncategorized, vegetarian
Most of you probably just read the title of this recipe and giggled. Yes, cowpea sounds a lot like cow pie. In fact, cow pee makes it seem even more funny. So if you haven’t heard of a cowpea before, let me tell you a little about it. But seriously, you can stop giggling now. Cowpeas are meaty little legumes that come in long pods. Once you pull the string off, you’ll see the tightly packed peas pop out of the pod. They are sometimes classified as a black-eyed pea, but you can also get purple-eyed ones, they can be green, white or dark in color and they are hearty little nuggets to cook.
When you can get them fresh, you are good to go once they are out of the pod. If you get them dried, then you need to soak them in water overnight for about 8 hours and then rinse them a few times before you throw them in the pot.
Cowpeas are common in a lot of Read more
Crock Pot Tortellini Soup
Filed under: Appetizer, Dinner, Recipes, Side dishes, vegetarian
The title of this recipe is a lie. This isn’t a soup. But it’s not a stew and it’s not just a pasta main course, so I don’t know what else to call it. Technically, it does have broth in it, so therefore I qualify it as a soup. And since it’s my blog, I get the right to label it however I want to! But this is my disclaimer– there is nothing light weight or soupy about this dish. It is delicious and easy and full of flavor and takes just a few ingredients and a few minutes to make a whole meal. BUT– all of those details are way too much to put in the title, so I just call it tortellini soup. Enjoy!
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 brick of frozen chopped spinach (no need to thaw, just dump it in frozen)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 12-oz. packages of frozen cheese tortellini
Parmesan cheese
Put all ingredients EXCEPT tortellini in the crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours. Add frozen tortellini to the pot, stir it around and cook on high for one more hour. Top with a little Parmesan cheese when served.
Sarah’s Vegetable Chili
Filed under: Appetizer, Dinner, Recipes, Side dishes, vegetarian
I love when my friends and fans share their recipes… everyone loves a good crock pot dish that is worthy of sharing! So from one crock pot fanatic to another, here is Sarah’s recipe for vegetable chili. It sounds like a great way to use fresh produce and also make a vegetarian dish that will fill everyones’ bellies with happiness. I especially like her tools of measurement. Enjoy!
Chop one metric crap-ton (that’s 1 HUGE zucchini, 3 small bell peppers, 2 big handfuls of green and wax beans and 2 ears of corn, hulled) to bite-sized pieces and drop into crock pot. Add 3 (15 oz) cans of beans (I used pinto, kidney and dark kidney). Stir to combine.
Separately, combine 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce, 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste, 4 cloves minced garlic, 4 T chili powder, 1 T dried mustard powder, 1 t oregano and 1 t ground cumin. Plop over veggies.
Add 1 box (4 C) vegetable stock. (I like wetter chilis, but you can use less if you prefer a chunkier chili). Stir to combine and coat all the veggies with the chili goodness.
Pop on low for …. I think mine was on for about 10 hours, so I’ll go with the 8-10 hours on low. At this point, you can add cooked elbow noodles, sour cream, cheese, fresh onion….whatever you like.
I’m thinking carrots would sweeten it up a bit if that’s what you like. OOH! I bet barley would be good too….Lookie at me, cooking without a complete recipe. My sister would be so proud! 
Next recipe will be filled with “a pinch of” and “a dash of” and “half an eggshell of”….”
Crock Pot Summer Vegetable Puree
As much as winter is the time for soups and stews, I really like summer soups too. This one isn’t too hearty since it’s a puree and I think it tastes really light when it is served warm, not hot. I’ve had to become really creative with vegetables this summer— with so much amazing local produce, I tend to over buy!
I like to base this recipe on carrots, because the orange color of the puree is so inviting, but feel free to experiment with whatever is in your basket. Just remember to include a starch (potato, sweet potato, kohlrabi, etc.) to help thicken the dish and something sweet (apple, beet, melon, peach) to make this unique for summer. Herbs are totally up to your discretion, too. I like fresh basil, but if you have rosemary or thyme or some oregano, those would be great as well.
Whatever you do, you are making a crock pot of wonderful by using fresh vegetables and your imagination. This should be served in a bowl, but it’s perfect when it’s thicker than soup, but thinner than mashed potatoes. PS– it’s also a GREAT puree for baby food, but you can make it for your whole family to eat. Enjoy!
4 c. fresh carrots
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 yellow squash, cut into chunks
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
1 medium apple, cut off of core
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
6-8 leaves fresh basil
2-3 c. vegetable broth
Put all vegetables and herbs into the crock pot, pour broth on top. Cook on high for 6 hours. Using immulsion blender, puree in pot. (If you don’t have one, then let dish cool and puree in batches in a standard blender.) Serve with a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt on top and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.
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