Crock pot ideas/Recipie

[annie]

Sounds yummy. I usually have cilantro around for the bunnies. I so rarely use it for my own meals!

Does anyone ever put chicken in a CP frozen (or nearly so)? Most recipes call for cooking on low 6-8 hours, but DH and I will be away from the house for 10 - sometimes 11 hours. My recent attempt with Cornish game hens had them falling apart as I tried to remove them. They were yummy, but I'd like a better "presentation" and perhaps would have done so if I cooked them only 8 hours, instead of 10-11. I wondered if I could put them in half frozen, or if I was just inviting a good case of botulism!!

I often cook completely frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot. Just open the package the throw them in, add whatever seasonings, etc. and they cook on low for 8-10 hours. They are quite done! Never had any problems. If you were doing an entire chicken, it might take a bit more time. Cornish hens are small, tho', so I think they'd work well. I may have to try that! What else did you put in with them, Regina?

[Tuckervill]

I, too put frozen chicken breasts in the crock-pot. Works just fine, and yes, it does keep them from falling apart altogether.

Make sure it's a long slow cook, though. They won't be done on High after 6 hours.

Karen

[7rider]

I often cook completely frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot. Just open the package the throw them in, add whatever seasonings, etc. and they cook on low for 8-10 hours. They are quite done! Never had any problems. If you were doing an entire chicken, it might take a bit more time. Cornish hens are small, tho', so I think they'd work well. I may have to try that! What else did you put in with them, Regina?

Thanks!
I just put a bunch of diced potatoes, carrots, and onions. A little S&P and seasoning on the birds. I went for simple.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow, I am very pleased about this-
For xmas I gave one of my daughters and her partner a crock pot and my favorite vegetarian crock cook book. I figured they might experiment with it for soups. They are vegetarians.
Well my daughter called last night and told me it has totally changed their LIFE! They both go to work around noon and come home tired in the evening. They've been planning their crock meals and getting the ingredients fo 3 meals at a time and then chopping everything in the morning and setting it up and going off.
My daughter says they love chopping and preparing the stuff together in the morning, and they just lOVE coming home with everything ready and smelling good. She also says they are eating much more healthily because of it- buying more fresh veggies and unusual things like parsnips and kinds of exotic beans and greens that they had never tried or considered before. I was so thrilled by her excitement & enthusiasm! Guess I picked a good present for them.

[Kitsune06]

Ok, ok. Ladies? You win. I went and got a crock pot today. I got a big-ish one because ideally.... er... someday... I fully intend to entertain guests etc, and want to be able to feed them decently. Yes, my flair for asian cuisine serves the purpose well, but guests will eventually get sick of my offerings if that's *all* I've got. ...and if I go out riding etc I can eat like a little horse. Where does it all go?!

Anyway. yes. Crock pot.
Hey, Knot, what was that chicken soup recipe that you posted on TD around page 140s or 180s, when you had that awful cold? The one with ginger in it?
I've got a nub of ginger and I'm not sure if I want to use it now or hang on to it but it's getting squooshy like ginger does after awhile....

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Good for you, Kit!

Crock pots say you shouldn't cook in them unless they are at least halfway full. If you bought a large one (5 qts or more) and you are only one person, you can still make a great recipe and then freeze half of it for you to eat later on, and still have enough to eat 2 nights in a row. My daughter says 3 crockpot meals (hers is 4 qt) feed her and her partner for a whole week.
This is my favorite slowcooker recipe book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/155...945325-5402446
I like it because it uses so many nice fresh vegetable ingredients and interesting spices. I'm not a vegetarian but I love these fresh healthy recipes and I can add always some chicken or other meat if I want. Avoid the now dated older recipe books you might find in garage sales- the ones that use Cream of MUSH soup and Lipton's dried onion soup mix in every recipe.
Keep us posted on your slowcooker adventures!

[Kitsune06]

...ok, seriously, Cream of Mushroom soup is a staple.
Anything can be cooked with Cream of Mushroom soup.
My dad's best recipe was
1 sweet onion, cut up and sweated in oil until softer
"enough" cream of mushroom soup. (this always changed... basically enough to get a good consistency)
carrots, potatoes, broccoli, peas, etc
1-2c of white wine
and wild game of choice.
This is really, very good with venison tenderloin cut very, very finely, but quartered squirrel, musk rat, chicken (the stuff you can't easily pare off the bones), turtle, turkey, fox snake, gamehen, etc.... work really well as well.
And every meat lends its own flavor. Venison is better with red wines, squirrel with tawny port (lends a sweet taste to it) but don't overdo it, turtle can be difficult but always, ALWAYS worth it, wild turkey, off cuts of venison, squirrel and such are generally best cooked for a very long time, or they can be tough.

Back-country cooking 101.

[chickwhorips]

welcome to the crock side kit.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

...ok, seriously, Cream of Mushroom soup is a staple.
Anything can be cooked with Cream of Mushroom soup...
This is really, very good with venison tenderloin cut very, very finely, but quartered squirrel, musk rat, chicken (the stuff you can't easily pare off the bones), turtle, turkey, fox snake, gamehen, etc.... work really well as well.
And every meat lends its own flavor. Venison is better with red wines, squirrel with tawny port (lends a sweet taste to it) but don't overdo it, turtle can be difficult but always, ALWAYS worth it, wild turkey, off cuts of venison, squirrel and such are generally best cooked for a very long time, or they can be tough.

Back-country cooking 101.

True, anything "can" be cooked in canned cream of mushroom soup. But then it pretty much always tastes like canned cream of mushroom soup.

We grew up with Urban Cooking 101...sauteed cockroach in stale beer and stewed rat in Boone's Farm Apple wine reduction. (Roach needs to be cooked a long time to bring out the subtle bouquet of Blag Flag.)
Seriously though- what kind of turtle are you talking here? I have a good snapping turtle cooking story.