Last night I cooked an entire crock pot of food with no intention of eating it anytime this week. This is the beauty of the crock pot! I know that next week I want to make a big batch of chicken soup. But, I don’t want it to be a day long project, I need it to be an easy meal.

So last night, I crock potted four boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 c. baby carrots, half an onion, 1 T. parsley and a little salt and pepper. I set it on high for 4 hours. When it was done, all the broth went into plastic containers for the freezer and the chicken and carrots are in the refrigerator for lunches today. Voila– when I want to make my soup, I simply put the brick of frozen chicken broth into a pot and let it simmer back to soup.  Then I can add noodles or rice or more vegetables and have my meal done in a matter of minutes.

Homemade chicken broth is a healthier alternative to using boxed broths or bouillion. Store-bought bases are much higher in sodium and usually have that weird yellow tinge. This easy recipe means that my soup will taste flavorful and look authentic.

You can do this recipe with beef as well, but when the broth cools, I would suggest skimming the fat off of the top. BL/SL chicken breasts are very lean and don’t leave much to skim off, but since most cuts of beef have a higher fat content, you would want to remove some the excess.  You can also make vegetable broth (try using carrots, celery, leeks, onions and parsley) or fish broth (from any part of the fish) in your crock pot. 

After you make your broth, your chicken, beef, fish or veggies are cooked very soft, but most of the flavor has been boiled out. But, the meat is a great texture to add sauces too, try forking the meat apart and adding BBQ sauce for pulled sandwiches or chopping up chicken for curried chicken salad (see roasted chicken post for recipe). The vegetables can be glazed or broiled and served as a side dish with any future meal.

Hopefully, this post has you thinking ahead to future meals and you’ll let your crock pot do your base preparations. Enjoy!

There is something special about the first time we take the cover off the grill, fill the tank of gas and scrub off all the crisps from last season’s leftovers still charred to the grill. But while we might be eager to welcome warmer weather, there are lots of great ways to enjoy grillable meats without having to unearth your outdoor kitchen. If you are still buried in snow or are out of gas for the grill, this recipe is a good way to try your brats in a new way.

When you pick your beer, think about the flavors and aftertaste that you get when you drink it. A heavy and bitter dark beer may taste smooth when cold, but it may become a little too intense when it cooks and evaporates. A light easy beer that reminds you of cheap nights in college isn’t going to add much to your meat. I suggest trying an amber, a red or a seasonal beer. It doesn’t make much of a difference if you use a can or a bottle, just as long as it isn’t flat when you pour it in. There is something very unique about the effervescing smell of carbination bubbles soaking into freshly sliced onions and fresh sausages that just makes me think of summer BBQs, outdoor concerts and sitting in the stands at baseball games. Are you with me? Then “go team go” and enjoy your drunk and cheesy sausages!

6  italian sausages (hot, mild or sweet mild)

6 oz beer

1/2 onion, sliced

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (at least)

Lay sausages flat in the crockpot and lay thinly sliced onions on top. Pour half a beer onto the meat and if it’s after noon o’clock, drink the other half! Cook on high for 4 hours. Put one sausage and some onions on a bun and then sprinkle with lots of shredded cheese. Feel free to decorate your drunk and cheesy sausage with any variety of condiments.

(if you want more specific details– I made this yesterday with hot italian chicken sausages, Amstel Light beer and shredded mild cheddar up on top with a squirt of yellow mustard)   🙂

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I remember when I bought my first crock pot. No wait, that’s a lie. I remember when I picked my first crock pot and scanned the bar code ever so sweetly to add it to my wedding registry in the hopes that a dear friend or family member would buy it for me. If it was you, thanks again. Look what you’ve started! And if it wasn’t you, then make a mental note– when you get married, you can put money on the fact that I’ll be the one to buy your crock pot.

But what now? It’s been years since I’ve been married, I’ve got months until my next birthday and let’s face it, December is a looong way away. I need to buy one for myself.  So last night, I sat down with my computer and went shopping. I read reviews, I priced things out, I compared chain stores vs. internet sales. I even checked out craigslist and a variety of other web sites to see if I could buy one that was already loved and enjoyed.

Before I tell you which one I bought (no endorsements here or paid advertising, I’ll just tell you since you’re curious), I’d like to walk you through my process. You might find yourself in the same situation the more you visit me and want to cook in your crock pot even more!

DISCLAIMER: Crock Pot is actually a brand name. I technically should be using the term “slow cooker” and this site should be called “dinnerisaslowcook” but that wouldn’t be as funny. I use the term crock pot in the same way I ask for a Kleenex after I sneeze– you know exactly what I’m talking about without me needing to ask for a facial tissue.

My primary concern for my new crockpot was shape. I have a Proctor Silex round one that I love, but I really wanted an oval shaped pot. In order to do chicken (see my roasted chicken and curried chicken salad post), corned beef (check back next week), or other meats, I really needed the oval shape. Plus, it works well to use a trivet in an oval pot, giving me the opportunity to also make custards, breads or desserts.

I also wanted a larger pot. The one I use now is 5-quart and that works really well for soups especially. But I wanted to upgrade to the 6-quart capacity since it always seems my pot is filled to the lid with everything I make. I was thrilled to find out that in the last 10 years there are also so many advancements that have happened to the crock pot! You can now get different colors or stainless steel, delayed starts and timers. 

Warranties are also important to me. People— do not throw away that quick survey that comes with your crock pot, fill it out and send it in. This is such an easy thing to do and I bet the number of people that don’t do it is astonishing. You don’t even need to supply your own stamp, now come on.

I decided on the 6-quart, oval shaped, stainless steel Crock Pot brand slow cooker.  It met all my criteria and was an affordable price.  I really like that I can set it for a certain amount of time and when it’s done, it automatically switches to keep warm. The pot itself is dishwasher, freezer and oven safe.  It also has a longer cord than most slow cookers; it may sound like a silly feature, but check out your kitchen and you too will realize how few outlets you have and even less counter space near the outlets.

I guess slow cookers are not big draw items–  crock pots were priced the same everywhere that I looked. You can order it from Amazon and get free super saver shipping. Free shipping is much easier than going shopping anywhere. I’m not lazy, I’m efficient. If you can wait a few days to get it, why gas up the car and go somewhere?! Order it from the comforts of your own couch. 

I also really liked the Hamilton Beach Set ‘n’ Forget Slow Cooker because it had a temperature probe attached so that the pot can tell when meat hits a certain temperature and is done. Such a smart tool! I actually already had bought my husband a temperature probe to use on the grill– it has a digital list of cooking temperatures for a variety of meats. So I figured I didn’t need this addition, but it’s a great way to make sure your crock pot meats are cooked perfectly.

On Amazon, a bunch of the Crock Pot brand pots are actually being sold right now include the “little dipper”- a 16 ounce mini crock pot, for free. This is a great mini-vesrion of the crock pot that can be used to keep dip warms, make fondue or make an individual bowl of oatmeal. I already owned one of these, so it wasn’t a huge selling feature for me. Yes, I have a lot of kitchen gadgets and yes, I’m running out of room but no, I am not ready to stop buying fun tools for cooking.

So there you have it. If you are looking to buy a crock pot, I hope this advice has been helpful. If you’ve read this far and didn’t need a crock pot, well then I’ve been happy to entertain you with my adventure.  Maybe you’ve realized that you too need a second crock pot and whether it’s a 6-quart one or a little dipper, I hope it helps bring you together with friends a family. Enjoy!

It’s Friday! I work hard all week waiting for today. Tonight we get to start our weekend. I can’t think of a better way to welcome the weekly 2-day vacation than to have a family meal together at home.  To make it more special, we are having guests this evening as well. Ok crock pot, it’s time to do your thing and make dinner tonight taste like it was hard to make (but really it’s only noon o’clock and it’s already done).

The most challenging part of this recipe is making sure that your meat will fit in the crock pot. If you have a round and more vertical design of a crock pot, you might have to use a cornish hen instead of a chicken if you want it to fit! This recipe really works best in a 5-6 qt. crockpot that is oval shaped. I just thought you should know this before you start trying to shove everything in and then being disappointed when it doesn’t fit.  (check out my next post about buying a new crock pot!)

If you have leftover chicken after tonight, I’d recommend making curried chicken salad tomorrow. Add a stalk of fresh, chopped celery (not a cooked one from the pot), add a small can of diced water chestnuts, 1/2 c. quartered red grapes and then enough mayo to make it a good consistency. Then, add curry powder, a little salt and pepper— I can’t tell you how much because I don’t know how much chicken you have left, but remember that curry powder becomes more potent after it gets a chance to fester. Make this salad up and then put it in the fridge for a couple hours– when it turns a darker copper color (from the curry), it’s ready to eat!

Well there you go, I guess it’s a two recipe day. You have one for today and one for tomorrow! 

Now for to the roasted chicken recipe:

1 3-4 lb. fresh chicken, thawed, rinsed and patted dry

2 T. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

8 oz. baby carrots

3 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch chunks

1/2 med. onion, cut into chunks

dash of paprika

salt and pepper

If you have a trivet that fits in your crock pot, I’d recommend using it. It keeps your chicken just elevated from sitting in it’s own juices and makes it MUCH easier to pull the chicken out when it is done (which makes for a nicer presentation too).  Place chicken in pot– to know it’s on the correct side, you should see the smooth skin covering the chicken breasts.  Brush the skin with the olive oil and sprinkle with the chopped garlic. Position the carrots, celery and onions around the bird. Sprinkle all contents with paprika, salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, depending on bird size.

This oatmeal is an easy way to invite your senses to wake up and start the day.  I love the surprise of removing the crock pot lid and seeing a beautiful bright purple, smelling the sweet steam and seeing the little bubbles around the edges on this thick and smooth oatmeal.

This would be a great holiday dish, easy to serve to overnight guests and would even be great for a morning meeting at work.  Seriously, they make portable crock pots for a reason! Enjoy this sweet treat for breakfast tomorrow. If you spend the rest of the day humming “Purple Rain” or singing “Flying Purple People Eater” to your kids, you can thank me later.

2 c. quick oats

2. c. water

1 c. milk

1 T. vanilla

1 can cherry pie filling

1 c. frozen blueberries

Put everything in the crockpot, stir gently and cook on “keep warm” for 8 hours over night. When you mix this in the morning, stir gently so you don’t make the blueberries fall apart— they will be juicy and ready to explode.