Crock pot ideas/Recipie

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Madscot,
You can find a lot of info and recipes free on the web for slow cookers.
I got this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Cookers-D...e=UTF8&s=books
"Slow Cookers for Dummies" and it has all the info you'll ever need to know, written in an easy to understand way. Look to the right of the page for used copies which are cheaper (i got a used one myself). It has some good recipes too, using FRESH ingredients.
And yes, it IS safe to leave cooking while you are out. (as long as you follow the instructions, and the pot is at least half full but not more than 2/3 full) That's really why I bought mine, becasue I love to make soup for my husband but I always felt uneasy about leaving a pot simmering on the stove when I went out.

[bikerchic]

I've got a turkey carcass in the freezer just begging to be thrown into a crock pot and turned into soup, yum!

Perfect for this cold northwest weather too.

[trashalicious]

my favorite crockpot recipe:

brown rice squash "risotto"

it's super easy to make and very tasty. don't be put off by the fact that it's from "fatfreevegan.com" - i brought this to thanksgiving at my very traditional, omnivorous family get-together and everyone loved it. they didn't even guess that it's vegan, or so good for you!

and for the record, i got my crockpot at value village for $5 and it's been great. nothing fancy, but neither am i....

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Trashalicious,

That's a nice website! I recognized the Chipotle-kissed recipe as also being in the book I just book:
http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Vegetari...e=UTF8&s=books
I really like this book, it gives a lot of good tips for cooking with FRESH food in the slow cooker. I wonder if there are other recipes shared between your link and my book...
I do eat meat, but I like the "freshness" of the vegetarian cooking style and I figure I can always throw a few bits of chicken or fish etc into any dish if I want to.
When I was looking for a slow cooker recipe book a couple of weeks ago, I browsed through WAY too many books of recipes calling for canned cream of mystery soup or dried onion soup, canned chicken(!), canned mushrooms, etc. Pretty mushy sounding concoctions to me. Reminded me of the scary recipes from 30 years ago, when I last had a crockpot!

I will be exploring some of the other recipes on the link you gave. Thanks!

This morning I put together a pretty good hearty veggie stew in the slow cooker and we ate it this evening. DH has been sick with bad cough and cold and I am slightly sick now, trying to fight it off. So I figured all the vegetables would be good for that.

My older daughter (28) wanted to know all about my new slow cooker over the phone and she sounded very enthusiastic, wanting to know how she should get one... She actually IS a vegetarian, and on a very low budget too. She loves beans and soups and such. So for Xmas I am getting her a smaller crock pot (3 1/2 qt) and the same book I got. It would be ideal for her and her partner's lifestyle. I told her perhaps Santa would read her mind and know just what she wanted.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Tomorrow DH and I are going to be pretty busy. First ride (hopefully) on his NEW BIKE down to town for breakfast, then perhaps a longer ride afterwards if weather permits. Then on to play music at a friend's pottery show and sale. Then after that about 6 friends are coming over to play more music at our house and I said I'd have some sweet potato soup with crusty bread, and a fire in the fireplace.
Knowing I wouldn't have much time to cook tomorrow, I pre-peeled and chopped all the veggies this evening and refrigerated them in a covered bowl overnight. I sauteed the onions already & have organic veggie stock that I buy and keep on hand.

In the morning before we head out on our bikes I'll just throw all this stuff in the crock pot on low, it'll be ready by 4:00 or so:
4 large sweet potatoes & 1 small butternut squash, peeled & cut into 1" chunks
1 small chopped onion browned in olive oil
4-5 cups veg. stock (start with 4, add 5th if needed at end)
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
some cumin and some sage
salt and pepper
chopped raw onion and red pepper for garnish
crusty bread loaves

I have a nifty immersion blender-stick to blend the soup chunks into a thick creamy consistency, right in the crockpot, before the guests come. Handy for making black bean soup too.
This was sort of a combination between two similar sweet pot. soup recipes I found and my own ideas. This will be only my 4th slowcooker dish since i got it a couple weeks ago. So far everything has come out well.
Hope this one does!