Cooking Crock pot crazy

[piratesmate]

guess who can't tell page number from posts?

Been there, done that. LOL

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

This is in my crockpot as we speak
I added a can of Rotel Tomatoes to it

Packet of taco seasoning
can of tomato sauce
can of black beans
can of corn
cup or so of salsa if desired
chicken breasts

Put it all in the crock pot and cook on low all day. An hour before serving, toss in a brick of cream cheese, cubed (I used fat free) after an hour, stir and serve over rice. The left over sauce makes an excellent dip, too.

 

[paintnolish]

You'll have to let me know how you like it!

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

our whole family LOVED IT
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, its a keeper!

You'll have to let me know how you like it!

 

[MazdaUK]

I've suggested over on the swapping thtread that the next recipe swap should be a crockpot one

 

[fel3232]

great recipee. thanks

 

[MazdaUK]

How big is a bag of mozarella? Over here we tend to buy it in balls - one or two in a bag of liquid. Do you buy ready-grated mozarella? What sort of weight? And do you think low-fat soft cheese (eg philly) would work instread of ricotta? (thinking of calories!!)

Thanks! Want to try this!

 

[byrdsnest]

I usually use 2 cups of shredded mozzarella...as long as you like the taste and texture I am suer the ricotta woudl be fine too!

 

[piratesmate]

How big is a bag of mozarella? Over here we tend to buy it in balls - one or two in a bag of liquid. Do you buy ready-grated mozarella? What sort of weight? And do you think low-fat soft cheese (eg philly) would work instread of ricotta? (thinking of calories!!)

Thanks! Want to try this!

I can't imagine how frustrating it must get to need to find substitutes for all our convenience foods. I have to admit that your posts asking such questions always make me stop & question the nutritional value of foods that are a little "too convenient". I really should go check the difference between shredded mozzarella & a ball of it. You wouldn't think they'd be different, but...

Anyway, yes. We can buy bags of ready-grated mozzarella. I buy the bags that hold 2 cups/8 ounce, but I think you can buy 1 cup/4 ounce bags. I always hated grating that ball of cheese...the beginning is fine, but I was always losing skin off knuckles by the time I got to the end. So I haven't bought it that way in years! I'm pretty sure the recipe meant to use the 2 cup size since it kind of needs that much to cover the area of the crock. I'm sure you could use less if you don't mind it being less, ummm cheesy. LOL

As for replacing the riccotta cheese...when we were kids my mother always used small curd cottage cheese in lasagna. We didn't know any different & thought it was fine. The consistency is closer to ricotta than cream cheese would be. I did a quick comparison of calories & if the site I used was right, cottage cheese is your best bet.
1 cup large or small curd cottage cheese = 232 calories
1 cup part skim ricotta = 339 calories
1 cup low fat cream cheese = 554 calories

And as long as we're clarifying things, I used a 1 pound box of pasta.

 

[MazdaUK]

Thanks Piratesmate. I hate cottage cheese though-looks like sick to me I might use Quark - that's very low fat and a similar texture.

I use a rotary grater for cheese - Pampered Chef do a good one with fine and thick drums

 

[MazdaUK]

and the WHOEL family loved it - picky 8-year old, discernig DH and starving (and choosy) 15yo all wiped the plate clean! Its from the Crockpot Lady, and I used the home-made alternative to soup, adding a t of dried herbs (herbes de Provence). a DEFINITE KEEPER!


CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
--4 chicken breast halves, pounded thin
--4-8 slices of ham
--4-8 slices of swiss cheese (i used cheddar as we had some slices left)

--can of your favorite cream-of-something soup
--2 T low fat milk

UNLESS you're a crazy California hippie like me. Then you can use instead:

--1 T butter
--3 T flour (Pamela's)
--1/2 cup low-fat milk (soy in our case)
--1/2 cup chicken broth
--1/4 t salt
--1/4 t black pepper (I added 1 t herbs as well)

The Directions.

I used a 6qt oval Smart-Pot for this recipe. A 4qt would have been better. My crock wasn't full enough. If you only have a large, consider upping to 6 breast halves--(psst. if you do up it, you don't really need another can of soup. Unless you do 8 halves. Then you should use another).

Spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Pound chicken breasts flat (put them in a ziplock before you pound so chicken juice doesn't spray all over the kitchen grossing you out, and necessitate a call to the local Hazmat team).

Put a slice of the ham and a slice of the swiss cheese on the chicken breast and roll it up. Put it into the crockpot, seam side down. If desired, top with another piece of ham and cheese. Continue with the other pieces. It's okay to stagger-stack the chicken. It will still cook nicely for you.

If you are making your own "special soup," make a roux on the stovetop with the butter and flour, and whisk in the broth, milk, and spices. Pour on top of the chicken.

or! open can of cream-of soup. Pour into crockpot. Put the 2T of low fat milk into your empty can and swirl it around to get the remaining stuck on good stuff. Pour that in, too.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and has begun to brown on top. I took ours out for exactly 4 hours on high. It was cooked through, but could have stayed in longer to gain some color.

I cooked it on high for 4 hours, got scared and turned it to low, got scared and turned it to medium, then back to high whatever, three of us ate after 5 1/2 hours and one ate after 7 1/2 hours and it was tender and delicious for all of us! And my mum's crockpot is 3.5 litre with a 2.5 litre working capacity - in other words don't overfill it ;-) - in case that helps anyone

 

[MazdaUK]

Sorry, back again

Dry onion soup mix - is this liek "cup a soup" - add hot water and stir to make a cup of soup?

Dry salad dressing mix - could I just use herbs and stuff instead of that? I couldn't find ANY in our supermarkets!

TIA

 

[TPCShauna]

Sorry, back again

Dry onion soup mix - is this liek "cup a soup" - add hot water and stir to make a cup of soup?

Dry salad dressing mix - could I just use herbs and stuff instead of that? I couldn't find ANY in our supermarkets!

TIA

Dry onion soup mix is not "cup a soup". Here it is called Lipton Dry Soup Mix and comes in various flavors. Onion is the most popular.

It's basically onion powder, garlic powder, a bit of seasoning salt and dried minced onions.

The dry salad dressing mix brand we usually use is Good Seasons. You mix a little packet of herbs and spices with oil and water and you have instant Italian Dressing. I would imagine you could probably use your own herb blend but I don't know what would be in it. What recipe are you making?

 

[piratesmate]

Sorry, back again

Dry onion soup mix - is this liek "cup a soup" - add hot water and stir to make a cup of soup?

Dry salad dressing mix - could I just use herbs and stuff instead of that? I couldn't find ANY in our supermarkets!

TIA

I always substituted 1 - 2 teaspoons of granulated beef bouillon for the onion soup mix because I'm allergic to onions. To be honest, I think it tastes very similar - just without the onions. A very popular dip when I was growing up was a package of onion soup mix & a container of sour cream. I always loved it, but it made me break out in hives...so I do know what it tastes like.

As for the dry salad dressing mixes, I'm sure you could substitute any combination of herbs & spices that sound good for the recipe. I have easy access to any dried spices so that's what I always use since we don't use much salt. (the bouillon is one of the few exceptions & I just cut way back on the amount)

We're so spoiled here!!

 

[piratesmate]

Here's one I got from these boards some time ago, but haven't made. I have a question for anyone who has tried it. How long did you leave it in the crock - with the newer, hotter crocks? It says 6 hrs on Low, but most of the other cake recipes in this thread say 2 - 3 on High.

Thanks!

Chocolate Dessert – Crockpot
aka Triple Chocolate Mess

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1 cup water
1 pint sour cream
3/4 cup oil
6 ounces chocolate chips

In a large bowl stir together the cake mix and the pudding mix. In a medium
bowl, beat the eggs with the water, then add the sour cream and oil and stir
until smooth. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in the
chocolate chips.

Spray the inside of the crockpot with non-stick spray. Pour batter into
crockpot. Place a paper towel over the top of the crockpot and then cover and
cook on low for 6 hours. The paper towel absorbs the moisture and keeps it from
dripping back into the pot. Change it once or twice if it gets really wet.

Serve the dessert warm in a bowl with ice cream or whipped cream.

Yield: 10 servings

 

[MazdaUK]

Thanks ladies! I've managed to get a box of dried onion (or whatever) and I have garlic salt, so I'll add those when it calls for the Lipton (I don't have a special recipe in mind, it just crops up a lot!). and I have loads of dried and fresh herbs so I'll play with those instead of salad dressing mix - I just wanted to check it didn't have anything like dried oil (or whatever you know what I mean!) which I'd need to add in. I did find I could order the Lipton from e-bay, but I thought that was excessive


One other question - tomato sauce. Lots of recipes call for a tin or jar of tomato sauce. If I search for that in the online supermarket I get ketchup Is "tomato sauce" pureed whole tomatoes (eg passata) or like a tomato-based pasta sauce? Or should i just throw in tins of tomato in juice?

On the plus side I have sourced stovetop stuffing (I wasn't sure if Paxo would work) and bisquick, and I can even get shake and bake pancake mix Is it good for waffles too, do you know?

 

[piratesmate]

Thanks ladies! I've managed to get a box of dried onion (or whatever) and I have garlic salt, so I'll add those when it calls for the Lipton (I don't have a special recipe in mind, it just crops up a lot!). and I have loads of dried and fresh herbs so I'll play with those instead of salad dressing mix - I just wanted to check it didn't have anything like dried oil (or whatever you know what I mean!) which I'd need to add in. I did find I could order the Lipton from e-bay, but I thought that was excessive


One other question - tomato sauce. Lots of recipes call for a tin or jar of tomato sauce. If I search for that in the online supermarket I get ketchup Is "tomato sauce" pureed whole tomatoes (eg passata) or like a tomato-based pasta sauce? Or should i just throw in tins of tomato in juice?

On the plus side I have sourced stovetop stuffing (I wasn't sure if Paxo would work) and bisquick, and I can even get shake and bake pancake mix Is it good for waffles too, do you know?

Tomato sauce - It cracks me up that you got ketchup! Not remotely the same.

Ketchup is thick, sweet & tangy.

Tomato sauce is basically pureed tomatoes, but is probably cooked down a bit as it's thicker than tomato juice or just putting tomatoes through a blender...maybe if you just put the pulp in the blender...removing the seeds & surrounding liquid from the equation. It's pretty much the same consistency as what we call "spaghetti sauce".

Spaghetti sauce is what we use on pasta. It has herbs & spices in it. It may or may not have chunks of tomatoes & veggies in it.

Tomato paste is extremely thick; it does not pour. Essentially it's tomato sauce that has been reduced to a paste-like consistency, not unlike peanut butter.

Whether or not you could "just throw in tins of tomato in juice" would depend on what the finished product should be like & your tastes. For example, I have a tortilla soup recipe that calls for a can of tomato sauce. For that your tinned tomatoes would be fine - unless your family doesn't like chunks of tomatoes in it. But it might have too much liquid for something like chicken parmesan. KWIM?

When we were kids, my mother used Bisquick for waffles. Some people think they're too heavy though. It was all we knew so we thought they were great.

"I can even get shake and bake pancake mix" - That kind of confused me. I've never heard of it, unless you mean 2 different products. Shake & Bake is something to put on pork chops, with another variation is for chicken, and is supposed to make you not miss the fried versions. I don't bother with it as it's just extra calories. DH kind of misses it & wanted to have it last night, but I talked him into the WL Rib Rub & he was quite happy with that. OTOH if that's just a brand name of pancake mix, I don't see why it would make good waffles.

 

[piratesmate]

I tried a recipe I found on RecipeZaar for Rice Pudding in the crock pot today. I'll let you know how it turns out once it's finished. It's already been on High for almost 2 hours & isn't anywhere near done. I used an older crock because it was smaller than my oval. I hope it's working properly!

Oh - and according to the reviews, the cinnamon taste was very mild with just the sticks so I added a 1/2 tsp to it. Just FYI.

Rice Pudding – Crockpot
Serves 8

¾ c rice
1 can evaporated milk
2 c water
1/3 c sugar
½ c raisins
1½ tsp vanilla
¾ tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick (3”)

Combine all ingredients in crock except cinnamon stick; stir well. Float cinnamon stick in milk then cover. Cook on Low for 4 – 5 hrs or High for 2 – 2½ hours. Stir twice during cooking period.
Update: Total cooking time was more like 4 hours on High - but then I'd doubled the recipe.

 

[MazdaUK]

Rice pudding takes hours to cook properly in a conventional oven, so I'd expect at least 4 hours on high in a crockpot (but what do I know? I made it for DH once and he hated it - he likes Ambrosia rice pudding from a tin )

I think passata will do for tomato sauce - its not as thick as puree (which we get in tins or tubes) but it is smooth Its chopped and sieved tomoatoes IYSWIM

The pancake thing was a Betty Crocker -it looks a bit like a jug and apparently you add water and shake and it makes about 6 pancakes I decided against it as it was £1.49 and the bisquick will do the same job (many times over) for 49p, and is more natural (well, it uses eggs! and milk)

Is there a recipe for Chicken parmesan on here? I LOVE parmesan

 

[ddavis860]

Here is the recipe from "the Year in Crockpotting" for Chicken Parm:

Chicken Parmesan CrockPot Recipe


Day 57.



Chicken Parmesan is my comfort food. I love Italian food, and this is one of my favorite dishes. It translates very nicely to a crockpot, and gives the chef the opportunity to get out of the kitchen, and the house.



The Ingredients:


--2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
--1/2 cup bread crumbs
--1/4 cup parmesan cheese
--1/2 t Italian Seasoning
--1/4 t black pepper
--1/4 t kosher salt
--1 T olive oil
--1 beaten egg
--sliced mozzarella cheese
--favorite jarred marinara sauce



The Directions:


--spread the 1 T of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert
--whip the egg with a fork in a separate bowl
--mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the parmesan cheese in another separate dish
--dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings
--place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crock
--layer 2-3 slices of mozzarella cheese on top


--cover with entire jar of marinara sauce
--close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4. If your chicken is still frozen, it will take longer.
Serve with your favorite pasta. We chose penne brown rice pasta from Trader Joe's.




The Verdict.

This tasted great, was really easy, and presented well. This is definitely a dish you can serve to company without hesitation.