Slow Cooker Archives - The Midnight Baker

Copycat Olive Garden Chicken and Pasta

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 23:00:37 +0000

Copycat Olive Garden chicken and pasta is a delicious slow cooker dinner that’s easy to make.

Copycat Olive Garden Chicken And Pasta: It’s As Good As They Say!

I believe this one originated on Tik Tok. There’s a lot of recipes that go viral from there just like that feta and tomato pasta. There’s a reason they become viral; they’re usually easy and very tasty. This copycat Olive Garden chicken and pasta is no different.

This recipe makes a lot so if you have family who have huge appetites–meaning teenage boys–then there won’t be any leftovers. For lighter appetites there will be leftovers but hear me out here–this tastes even better the next day! I usually dislike any reheated chicken, but this is very good.

The Pasta

That would be any tubular shape you like. I used penne here but ziti, rigatoni or elbows will do just fine. So will small or medium shells. As always, use what you have.

One thing here is this is not a total slow cooker recipe. You cook the pasta conventionally. I’d like to try this where you’d let the pasta cook along with everything else, but there’d have to be more liquid added in order to cook the pasta. The recipe doesn’t have that much liquid so there’d have to be adjustments. You might be able to get away with it if you used regular egg noodles, but I’m not sure. So if anyone feels like experimenting, please let me know your results.

The Sauce

The sauce is pretty simple. It’s broth, salad dressing and cream cheese.

The recipe calls for the brand-name Olive Garden dressing. I was careful to use that because in a comparison of other Italian dressings on the store shelf, it looked somewhere between the creamy and traditional varieties. Since I want something I make to come out as it should, initially I will use exactly what’s called for in the recipe. The good thing here is you don’t use the entire bottle so you can pop it in the fridge to either use on salads or for another time you make.

Personally, I found the finished product a bit on the dry side so I just added a bit of cream to make it more juicy.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Copycat Olive Garden Chicken and Pasta

Easy and delicious

Prep Time10

Cook Time4

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: olive garden chicken, olive garden copycat chicken recipe, slow cooker chicken and pasta, tik tok chicken

Servings: 6

Calories: 741kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1.5-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
8 oz Olive Garden Italian dressing from a 16oz bottle
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese jarred is fine too
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp of parsley
1/4 cup of melted butter
8 oz Chicken broth
4 oz heavy cream
8 ounce block of full fat cream cheese
16 ounces penne pasta

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of your slow cooker.
In a separate bowl, mix the Olive Garden Italian dressing, cream, butter, broth, parmesan, pepper & parsley until combined.
Pour the mixture over the chicken breasts
Place the cream cheese on top.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
When the chicken is tender boil your pasta according to box directions and drain.
Shred the chicken with 2 forks mixing everything together.
Toss the pasta in with the chicken and sauce and sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese if desired.

Nutrition

The post Copycat Olive Garden Chicken and Pasta appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Slow Cooker Alfredo Ravioli Lasagna

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 23:00:57 +0000

Slow cooker Alfredo ravioli lasagna is a real treat!

Easy Peasy Slow Cooker Alfredo Ravioli Lasagna

This has got to be one of the easiest meals you can make. It’s versatile too because it’s fine to go off the reservation and use other flavors and meats.

I got this idea from a comment on a recipe posting by my friend Mary who runs Sweet Little Bluebird. Her recipe was with standard tomato sauce and cheese ravioli. I’ve made it that way and it’s totally delicious. We both opted for the fresh refrigerated ravioli instead of the frozen kind. I would imagine that you could substitute the frozen kind if you either par- cooked it or let it thaw. If not then this would have to cook longer, perhaps an hour or two, if you left it frozen.

Alfredo Sauce

What makes this slow cooker Alfredo ravioli lasagna so very easy is that it depends on convenience ingredients such as jarred Alfredo sauce. There are many good brands on the market so it’s up to you what you buy. And if you like stuff a bit more saucy, then double the amount called for in the recipe.

However, you may prefer to make your own. There’s many reasons why you should consider doing so. Your own is fresher, tastes better and is more economical. All you’d have to do is follow my simple recipe for quick Alfredo sauce.

Your Own Ravioli?

If you want to get really into totally homemade, you can make your own ravioli. There’s many contraptions made to do this, but making them without those contraptions is, believe it or not, a lot easier. If you have a pasta roller, it’s super simple. You can follow my guide on ravioli making in the linked post. If you want the classic cheese filling, a simple Google search will lead you to many recipes.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Slow Cooker Alfredo Ravioli Lasagna

Easy prep

Prep Time5

Cook Time4

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: slow cooker ravioli lasagna, slow cooker white lasagna

Servings: 6

Calories: 877kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

24 oz fresh mushroom ravioli
1 lb sweet Italian sausage meat
28 oz Alfredo sauce or your own homemade

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Brown the sausage meat and drain the fat.
Spray the bottom of a 5 quart (or larger) slow cooker with non-stick spray.
Layer sauce, ravioli and sausage in the slow cooker beginning and ending with the sauce. There should be at least 2 layers.
Cook on low for 4 hours.

Nutrition

The post Slow Cooker Alfredo Ravioli Lasagna appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Slow Cooker Herb Bread

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 28 May 2022 23:00:51 +0000

Slow cooker herb bread gives you fresh bread without turning on your oven.

Don’t Heat The Kitchen–Slow Cooker Herb Bread

You don’t have to give up having freshly baked bread in the summer months! Stay cool and use your slow cooker to bake a nice loaf of bread.

Yes, you can bake in your crock pot. My sister has baked in hers for years. When she told me she did, I have to admit I was in disbelief. That is until I tried it myself using her go-to banana bread recipe. After I tried it, I was a total believer.

Herbs

This slow cooker bread lends itself to many herb flavors.

I used chives because I like them and they were growing in my garden profusely. The bread didn’t have a strong chive flavor because I always go easy with herb flavorings. However, I will add more the next time since the flavor was too subtle.

If you want to use herbs such as basil, rosemary or thyme, I’d advise going lightly with those the first time you make this. They are rather strongly flavored herbs and too much can really spoil the flavor–turning something nice to something that tastes medicinal.

If you find you want a more prominent flavor, then by all means add a bit more herb the next time you make it.

Browning

Where the bottom of the bread will brown, the top will not. If the pale shade doesn’t bother you, then you’re set to go.

For my taste, I like a little browning for eye appeal. What I did was brush the top with a bit of olive oil and pop it. under the broiler for a couple of minutes. That did the trick–at least for my taste.

This bread has a nice moist texture that would be great made as dinner rolls. You could divide the dough into individual rolls and “bake” them like that. Personally, I’d stick to using a smaller slow cooker if you’re going to make this into rolls. A 5 quart round cooker would be the perfect size.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Slow Cooker Herb Bread

Great recipe for summer bread--no oven required

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baking bread in a slow cooker, baking in a slow cooker, easy herb bread recipe

Servings: 8

Calories: 252kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp rapid yeast
2 1/2 cups bread strong flour or all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tbs honey
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tbs chopped fresh chives thyme or rosemary

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix the water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Let it stand 5 minutes and if bubbles form, the yeast is active.
Using a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix the yeast mixture and the remaining ingredients until a soft dough forms. Let the machine knead for about 5 more minutes until the dough is soft and elastic. This may be kneaded by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.
Line a slow cooker (I used a round 4 qt) with parchment paper. Form the dough into a ball and place in the lined slow cooker.
Set the cooker to high and cook for 1-1 1/2 hours. The bread is done if it makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.
As the top won't be brown, you can pop it under a hot broiler for a few minutes to brown the top.

Nutrition

The post Slow Cooker Herb Bread appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Slow Cooker Crack Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 00:00:02 +0000

Slow cooker crack chicken may not be the most elegant meal you serve, but it’s really delicious and great comfort food.

Slow Cooker Crack Chicken–Comfort Food

While a slow cooker is an all-season method of cooking, almost everyone immediately thinks of fall and winter as the time to cook in one. I imagine that’s because stews, pot roasts and soups are warm comforts when the weather turns in.

Since the weather by me is definitely turning in, I dusted off my slow cooker to make this crack chicken. In fact I could think of nothing else to eat since I saw Sarah from The Magical Slow Cooker post her recipe. And if you’re looking to use your crock pot more than you do, bookmark her site!

I’ve based my recipe off of hers but I substituted some ingredients that tailored it more to my taste and on ingredients I had on hand.

Thighs Or Breasts?

Since thighs and breasts–especially the boneless skinless variety are pretty much interchangeable in most recipes.

I have both on hand in my freezer but when it comes to slow cookers, I prefer the thighs. I find chicken breast gets a bit to dry for my tastes so I opt for the thighs. Again, it’s a matter of what you have on hand and personal taste. Although in this recipe, with the creamy sauce that makes itself as the dish cooks, breast will probably work just as well and not be too dry.

If You’re Watching Your Sodium…

This may not be the dish for you if you have dietary restrictions for sodium. However if you want to reduce the amount of salt just for personal taste and/or your sodium-restricted diet is not too severe, there are measures you can take.

I have no dietary restrictions but the older I get, the less I like salty-tasting food. The cheese is pretty salty and since I didn’t want to eliminate that, I tried to do it elsewhere. I make my own ranch seasoning and I make that salt-free (recipe link is in the ingredient list) and I used a sodium-reduced soup and I have a recipe for making your own condensed cream soups too if you want to make it yourself. In fact since condensed cream soups are used a lot in slow cooker recipes, you may want to bookmark my recipe–and remember you can make them with no salt too.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Slow Cooker Crack Chicken

Easy peasy family meal for a chilly night

Prep Time5

Cook Time7

Course: Main, Main Course, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crockpot crack chicken, slow cooker dinners using chicken thighs

Servings: 6

Calories: 498kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup ranch seasoning mix or 1 packet of store bought
8 oz cream cheese cubed
1 can 10.5 oz cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup crisp bacon diced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sliced green onions

Instructions

Place chicken thighs in a single layer at the bottom of a slow cooker (mine is 7 qt).
Sprinkle the top of the chicken with the ranch seasoning, then spread the soup on top then finally distribute the cubed cream cheese on top of it all.
Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or high 4-5 hours (times can vary--mine was done in 4 hours on high). Do not lift the lid until the minimum time is up.
Shred the chicken--this can be done right in the slow cooker using 2 forks. Stir in the bacon then top with the cheese. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with green onion and serve.

Video

Nutrition

The post Slow Cooker Crack Chicken appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 23:00:25 +0000

Your slow cooker is your best friend in every season. Use it to make these delicious Korean short ribs.

Korean Style Short Ribs

Since I’m just beginning to appreciate Korean-style food, I go for simple recipes that don’t involve too much work.

Asian cooking, particularly Chinese, is a love of mine. Even though the cooking times for most Asian dishes is quick, the preparation generally isn’t. This is why when I dip my toes (and fingers) into another cuisine, I look for the simplest recipes. One of the first I tried was these simple Korean beef tips. Because they were so good, I wanted to try more recipes.

Short Ribs

There are a few ways to cut short ribs. Any style will do in this recipe.

I usually watch for a sale because they’re quite pricy. Although it’s no longer cut that way anymore, they are actually from the bottom of a standing prime rib roast. I remember when a prime rib came with the short ribs attached. This is why they are probably pretty expensive. However, they have a wonderful flavor and the splurge is worth it.

FYI I used the ones with the short bones for this because I had them on hand.

Gochujang

While you can substitute red pepper flakes for gochujang, the latter has a taste that the flakes do not.

I judge how readily available certain products are if I can find them in my local stores. I no longer live in a large metropolitan area so the selection many times is limited. If I can get this stuff, you probably will be able to as well.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs

Melt-in-your-mouth delicious

Prep Time15

Cook Time8

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: korean ribs, lorean beef in slow cooker, slow cooker korean short ribs

Servings: 6

Calories: 517kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 pounds beef short ribs

Sauce:

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup beef broth
2 tbs rice vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbs sesame oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs fresh ginger minced
1 medium onion thinly sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes optional or 2 tablespoons Gochujang

Thickening:

3 tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place ribs in the crock; top with sliced onion.
In a small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients and pour over the ribs. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or on high 3-4 hours. (Cookers vary so check after minimum time given)
Remove ribs from the cooker. Skim fat from the liquid.
Mix the cornstarch and water and whisk into liquid; blend well. Place meat back in the pot and cook for 20 minutes.

Nutrition

The post Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Hong Kong Ribs

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 22 May 2021 23:00:58 +0000

Hong Kong ribs are great done outdoors but are just as good all year round.

Hong Kong Ribs: A Real Treat

These Hong Kong-style ribs are a real treat for anyone who eats them. These ribs are so good I guess you think they’re hard to make. Nope, they’re very easy. The hardest part is waiting for them to finish marinating.

I bet you have most of the ingredients on hand too. The only thing you may have to buy is five spice powder and hoisin sauce. And the hoisin sauce is a great investment because you can use it in so many things such as Hoisin Pot Roast.

Long Marinating Equals Great Taste

Most recipes call for marinating anything (with the exception of shellfish) from 4-12 hours.

Personally, I’ve never tasted anything marinated for the minimum time that tastes really good. It always seems to lack a full flavor. The only exception I’ve experienced is when I’ve used my vacuum sealer’s marinating pan. However, that device is so small that it’s not practical for ribs.

These ribs require a long marinating time to develop their great flavor. Overnight is the minimum time for them to develop the flavor. Marinating for 12 hours is even better.

Cooking Methods

The ribs finish off the same way regardless of the initial cooking method.

Leave the ribs in slabs. Don’t cut them into individual ribs until they’ve finished cooking. They are much easier to handle that way.

Now you can do the initial cooking in a slow cooker, Instant Pot, oven or by indirect heat over an outside grill.

When it comes to the slow cooker, I’m giving an approximate time because all slow cookers cook differently. The approximate time I give won’t produce “fall-off-the-bone” texture either.

For the Instant Pot, that time will result in fully cooked ribs but they will still have body–again not “fall-off-the-bone.”

Bear in mind that for the above methods, the times are approximate. You can, of course, cook them longer, but if they’re overcooked, they can’t be saved.

Individual tastes vary for this kind of stuff so cook them the way you want them. But keep in mind they will be difficult to finish off either on the grill or under the broiler if they’re falling apart.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Hong Kong Ribs

Easy and succulent ribs Hong Kong Style

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Marinate12

Total Time13 45

Course: Appetizer, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: restaurant style pork ribs, ribs for cookouts, tailgating recipes for ribs

Servings: 4

Calories: 1101kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

5 lbs pork baby back ribs about 2 racks

Marinade:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Chinese wine or dry sherry
2 tbs hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp red food coloring Optional
pinch Chinese five-spice powder

Glaze:

1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp hoisin sauce

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix all marinade ingredients in a small bowl, combining well.
Place ribs (you may cut racks in half if you don't have huge bags, but don't cut into individual ribs--you do that after the final cooking) in a large zipper freezer bag and pour in marinade. Seal bag and turn a few times to coat the ribs. Place bag(s) in the refrigerator overnight.
Remove ribs from the bag and drain well. For slow cooker and Instant Pot cook methods, reserve the marinade.
Ribs may be cooked in several ways. Slow cooker--add a cup of marinade to the crock along with the ribs and cook on low for approximately 5-6 hours. For Instant Pot, place the ribs in the pot along with a cup of marinade then cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Release pressure immediately. For the oven, place ribs on rack and bake at 350F/180C for 90 minutes. For indirect grilling, place ribs on the unlit side of the grill and roast for 2 hours.
To finish--mix glaze ingredients and brush over the rib racks. Grill over direct heat until glaze is bubbling. If doing indoors, place ribs under the broiler and broil until the glaze bubbles.

Notes

Cooking time calculated for oven cooking method

Nutrition

The post Hong Kong Ribs appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Deluxe Sausage & Mushroom Stuffing

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 00:00:20 +0000

Elevate your stuffing from ordinary to outstanding this Thanksgiving with this creative use of good old pantry staples.

Great Stuffing

With the holidays almost upon us, many of us are planning our menus right now. Is stuffing on your Thanksgiving list? It is on mine–always.

We all like the “basic” stuffing in this household with some additions. In years past, I’d stuff the bird with traditional seasoned bread stuffing, but stuff the neck area with pure bulk sausage. That’s pretty much a British tradition (for Christmas as they don’t have Thanksgiving there) that I kept up from Mom.

But recently I’ve taken to roasting the bird unstuffed and doing the stuffing in a separate casserole. It’s a trade-off because the turkey cooks faster, but sometimes the stuffing gets a bit dry. I wanted to preserve the crunchy and toasty top on the stuffing, but eliminate the dryness below the surface.

My stuffing recipe replaces part of the water/broth with cream of mushroom soup. The addition of the soup gives the stuffing more depth of flavor and does away with the dryness I spoke of earlier in the post. My additions were mild sausage, onions, celery and extra mushrooms–I used the small button variety there, but larger ones can be used as well as long as they are sliced. These are extras that we like, but substitute your own faves if any of these are not to your liking.

Start out by chopping your veggies.

Next comes browning the sausage, onion and mushrooms. You’ll want to drain this as there’s quite a bit of fat that will come out of the sausage.

Then, mix your soup, the broth, the sausage mixture and the celery. I don’t saute the celery with the sausage because I like to preserve the bit of crunch it provides.

Now just add your croutons (they can be seasoned or unseasoned) to the soup mixture and mix well so all the croutons are coated. I recommend using unseasoned croutons so you can control your seasonings.

Place the mixture in a baking dish, and voila, you’re done!

It’s as easy as that! And another benefit here is you can also make this in your slow cooker!

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Deluxe Sausage & Mushroom Stuffing--A New Twist on a Holiday Favorite

Elevate your stuffing from ordinary to outstanding this Thanksgiving with this creative use of cream of mushroom soup.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: breads, Pork, side dishes, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baby bella mushrooms, sausage, stuffing recipe

Servings: 8 -10

Calories: 337kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

23 oz cream of mushroom soup
1 lb mild bulk sausage
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 oz fresh button mushrooms sliced in half*
1 cup chicken broth
12 oz bag seasoned stuffing croutons**
2 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

*canned may be substituted or an equal amount of larger mushrooms, sliced
**Unseasoned stuffing croutons may be substituted. Add 2-4 tsp poultry seasoning, if desired, to the soup mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
Brown sausage, onion and mushrooms in a large skillet; drain and cool slightly.
Mix the soup, celery, broth and browned sausage mixture in a very large bowl.
Add the croutons and stir so they are well coated with the soup mixture.
Turn stuffing into prepared pan and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake for 25-30 minutes covered.
Remove foil, drizzle with melted butter and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until top is browned.
SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS:
Follow recipe up until the addition of the croutons to the soup mixture.
Lightly spray the liner of a 5-6 quart slow cooker with non-stick spray.
Add the stuffing mixture to the slow cooker.
Cook on low 4-6 hours, high 2-4 hours. Slow cooker times are approximate, always check for doneness at minimum time.
Switch to warm setting until ready to serve.

Notes

You can substitute 2 10.5 oz cans of cream of mushroom soup for the stated family-size can.

Nutrition

The post Deluxe Sausage & Mushroom Stuffing appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Hoisin Pot Roast

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 23:00:53 +0000

Bring out your crockpot and keep the kitchen cool with this delicious hoisin pot roast.

Beat The Heat

Never think of using your slow cooker in the summer? It’s something you should think about because you can make great dinners without heating your kitchen. This is especially good if your family is craving good old comfort food. Comfort food is one of those year-round things so this is where your slow cooker comes in handy.

So if your family is craving some delicious pot roast, here’s a great recipe for one that’s very easy, uses a minimum of ingredients and tastes fantastic.

Hoisin Pot Roast?

I bet you never thought of hoisin sauce and pot roast together.

Admittedly, it’s not the standard flavoring used in most pot roasts, but that’s exactly why you should be thinking of the two things together.

Hoisin sauce is well known as an Asian condiment and it’s readily available in any supermarket. You’ll find it where the soy sauce is kept. It’s thick and sweet, but not overly so. It also has a pleasant slight tartness and that is a perfect medium for the bold flavor of beef.

In fact, the cooking liquid is just hoisin sauce and a bit of water. You can’t get much simpler than that.

The Meat

This roast is tastiest when made with either chuck or rump roast as they are the most flavorful cuts. Other cuts may be used, but you’re wise to keep to the two that I mentioned.

If you plan to use chuck, the cook time is dependent on the shape. For instance, if you have what looks like a thick steak, then your pot roast will be done quicker than 8 hours. On the other hand if it’s shaped like a lump, it will require the full 8-10 hours of cook time.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Hoisin Pot Roast

Easiest pot roast recipe ever and everyone will love it

Prep Time5

Cook Time8

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: slow cooker recipes for beginners, unusual pot roast recipes, using hoisin sauce

Servings: 6

Calories: 688kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 lb beef chuck rump or bottom round roast
1 medium onion chopped
3 plums pitted and cut in half, see NOTES
1 cup hoisin sauce
3/4 cup water
1 tbs oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown roast on all sides.
Lay chopped onion in the bottom of a slow cooker--a 5 quart/5 liter or larger.
Place browned roast on top of the onions then mix the hoisin sauce with the water and pour it over the roast. Top roast with plums.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, high 4-6 hours. Times are approximate depending on your slow cooker as they all differ slightly.

Notes

You can substitute prunes for the fresh plums, but use only 3, cut in half.

Nutrition

The post Hoisin Pot Roast appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Slow Cooker Potato Chowder

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 00:00:36 +0000

Serve this potato chowder soup with a crusty roll and green salad and call it dinner.

Makes A Great Dinner

Well, after a short spell of spring-like weather, we’re back to cold and snow here.

With weather like that, my thoughts turn to a hearty and filling soup for dinner. This potato chowder surely fills the bill.

Serve it with a nice green salad and a hunk of homemade bread (since we all seem to be doing that now that we’ve been told to stay home and supplies are limited) and it’s pure comfort food.

It’s also good-for-the-soul food and a good way to use what you have on hand.

Fast Or Slow

The beauty of this soup recipe is that it can be done low and slow or in a jiffy on the stovetop.

The stovetop method is great for when you’ve been busy or totally forgot to plan something for dinner. Frankly with a lot of us, our minds have been other places lately with this health crisis. Thankfully, it’s a dinner that can be made quickly.

You also could be taking this time away from your job to take care of chores you’ve been putting off. Cleaning the house is usually the first thing. Well, you’re covered there too. You can just throw all of this in the slow cooker then set it and forget it and be off doing your chores.

Cream Cheese

I love cream cheese so I always have several bricks on hand. If you don’t–and for many reasons, don’t go running to the store to buy it–you can substitute other things here.

Do you have Greek yogurt? Use that. It’ll alter the taste a bit because it’s tangier than cream cheese, but it will work. Milk is good too in a pinch, as is evaporated milk. Cream is even better.

But guess what? It’s pretty darned good without it!

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Slow Cooker Potato Chowder

Whether you use your slow cooker or make it on the stovetop, this soup is awesome

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Course: Dinner, Main, Slow Cooker, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cream soups for crock pot, potato chowder recipe, slow cooker potato soup

Servings: 8

Calories: 267kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs red or Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cubed
6 cups chicken stock
1 can cream of chicken soup can size 10.5 oz/310 ml
1 tbs fresh thyme
1 small onion chopped
salt & pepper to taste
8 oz cream cheese cubed
1/2 cup crisp bacon diced

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

SLOW COOKER:

Place the potatoes, stock, soup, thyme and onion in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for about 8 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cream cheese and stir until melted and blended. Serve topped with the diced bacon.

STOVETOP:

Follow the slow cooker instructions, except cook the potatoes, stock, etc., over a medium heat in a dutch oven until potatoes are tender. Add the cream cheese and stir until blended.

Nutrition

The post Slow Cooker Potato Chowder appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Slow Cooker Cajun Steak

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Let your slow cooker do all the work with this great tasting Cajun steak.

Slow Cooker Does The Work

Your slow cooker is a great way to prepare a tasty meal with little effort on your part.

This slow cooker Cajun steak is just one of those recipes. This recipe is a two-step process. The first step I consider to be important to build good flavor. It’s not entirely necessary but worth it provided you have the time.

The low slow cooking brings all the flavors together perfectly. The gravy is delicious too. Serve it simply on top of a mound of mashed potatoes.

Lends Itself To Substitutions

This Cajun steak lends itself to substituting what you have on hand. Since stores are mostly picked clean with what we’re going through, many of us are turning to what we have on hand to make meals.

Don’t have cube steak? If you have a beef roast in the freezer, cut that up into thin steak slices and that’ll work out fine. So will a London broil.

If you don’t have dry onion soup mix, then a tablespoon of beef bouillon granules and a tablespoon of dehydrated onion will work.

You can make your own Creole/Cajun seasoning with herbs and spices you have on your shelf. Of course you can leave it out, but the dish will be less spicy. However, it’ll still be delicious.

That One Extra Step

That extra step I spoke about in the first section is browning the meat.

Granted, it’s not entirely necessary. You can just dump and go with this recipe. But over the years I’ve discovered browning whatever meat you’re using improves the flavor greatly.

Another thing I do is deglaze the pan to get up all those delish burny bits at the bottom and incorporate that into any stock that’s used. So if you use a half cup of water to deglaze, just top that up with whatever stock you’re using.

The Recipe

Print Recipe Add to Recipe Box

Slow Cooker Cajun Steak

Wonderful comforting meal for the slow cooker

Prep Time15

Cook Time8

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cajun steak recipe, crockpot comfort meals, slow cooker beef

Servings: 12

Calories: 266kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs round steaks or cube steaks
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp salt optional
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
2 tbs oil
1 tbs Cajun seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups beef broth
2 tbs soy sauce
3 onions sliced thin
1 bell pepper sliced thin
1 envelope onion soup/dip mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup 10.5 oz each

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Dip both sides in the flour and shake off excess.
Heat a skillet with the vegetable oil.
Brown both sides of each piece of steak. You do not have to cook the meat until it is done. Just brown the outsides.
Spray the slow cooker with a cooking spray.
Layer the sliced onions and bell pepper.
Layer the steak on top of the onions and bell pepper.
In a bowl, mix the mushroom soup, onion soup mix, beef broth, soy sauce, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and paprika. Poor over steak in slow cooker
Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

Notes

Use a 6 or 7-quart slow cooker to make this smothered steak.

It is better to brown the meat before placing in slow cooker rather than simply season and flour the steak and toss it in the slow cooker. It works, but browning tastes much better.

I use lower-sodium products in this

If you can’t get onion soup mix, 1 tbs beef bouillon granules and 1 tbs dehydrated onion can substitute.

Be sure to mix the mushroom soup, onion soup mix, beef broth, soy sauce, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and paprika together before adding it to the slow cooker.
The slow cooker is so full not everything will be seasoned well if you do not stir it together first.

Nutrition

The post Slow Cooker Cajun Steak appeared first on The Midnight Baker.