Slow Cooker Left Overs/Suprise Soup

What do you have in the fridge that's left over from last week? What do you have in the freezer that you really need to use before freezer burn sets in? Lets put it all in the slow cooker and see what happens!

Yesterday I was trying to think of something to make for dinner tonight, so I started rooting around the freezer. That's when I decided to use up some things that needed to be used before they went bad. I had some bone in, skin on chicken thighs that had been in the freezer for a few months. I put them in a gallon size plastic bag and started adding stuff. I had about 1 1/2 cups of gravy from Thanksgiving that I had frozen in ice cube trays, so I added that to the bag. Then I started looking at my leftover, fresh veggies. I had carrots, some green beans, half a yellow onion, and two red potatoes, so I cut them up and put them in the bag. I added a little minced garlic and a tablespoon of dried thyme, but I wanted something more. I also had an open bag of peas in the freezer, so that went in the bag too. Next I added a healthy dose of freshly cracked black pepper, and I figured that was enough. Plus the bag was now too full to close.

This morning I dumped it all in the crock, but then I decided that it needed more liquid, so I also added a jar of gravy that was in my pantry. I set it on low and went about my day.

Eight hours later I checked the slow cooker. It was looking pretty good, but I decided to remove the chicken so that I could take off the skin and de-bone it. It basically fell apart. I put the de-boned chicken back in the crock and mixed it all up. Mmmm, things are starting to look pretty good in there!

Next I started a pot of rice to give it a little more body, then I skimmed the fat off the top. I added the juice from a lemon and called it "Chicken Stoup". It's not quite a soup, but not quite a stew.

This wasn't exactly impressive cuisine, but it was tasty and filling.

The Pioneer Woman's Friend Cathy's Sherried Tomato Soup

This is NOT my recipe, but my good friend Kelly introduced me to it and I had to make it. Plus, this is my soup for the 52 Weeks of Cooking: Week 3, Soups. Here is The Pioneer Woman's Friend Cathy's Sherried Tomato Soup.  I'm not even going to post the recipe, just the link and a picture of my soup, because I'm tired, and posting the recipe would be kind of redundant. I made it almost exactly the way it was written, except I did leave it on the heat for a little while, simmering while I waited for hubby to finish a project. When he was ready to eat, I added the cream and herbs. Super easy, and SUPER yummy!

The bread is one of those Fleischman's no knead bread mixes. I made the Italian herb. Also super easy and super yummy. I topped the bread with a little soft, herbed cheese so that I could get the feel of having a gourmet grilled cheese with my soup, but with very little effort on my part.

Kale Sauteed with Bacon

Kale is delicious. Bacon is delicious. Together, they are magic!

2 bunches of kale (This stuff really cooks down and we love it!)
4-6 pieces of bacon, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Start by removing the kale leaves from their stems. I just  tear it right off the stems.

Next I put it in a colander for a good rinse.

Put the bacon in a large pan and bring the heat to about medium, maybe a little lower.

Once the bacon is about halfway cooked start adding the kale.

Every few minutes you should move the kale around in the pan with some tongs, flipping it over and mixing it up with the bacon.

Continue adding the kale as it wilts down, until it is all in the pan. 

Cook to desired texture. I like to be sure that it is all wilted and some of it is starting to get a little crispy. Add salt and pepper to taste. I don't add any salt because there is enough in the bacon, but I do add freshly cracked pepper.

Slow Cooked Pork Chops with Sauerkraut

I'm kind of in love with my Crock Pot right now. Today is the third time I've used it this week. My dinner plans had to change up a bit at the last minute when I discovered that my butternut squash was rotting on the shelf. I had to think fast and come up with a new plan, so I started looking around the fridge and pantry, and this is what I've come up with...

4 boneless pork chops (You can use bone-in, but this is what I had in the freezer.)
1 2lb bag of sauerkraut
2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 medium yellow onion, halved, peeled and sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of apple cider or juice

I was going to do this in two slow cooker liners because my husband hates sauerkraut, but after I prepped it all, I discovered that one of the bags was leaking. I started by putting the frozen pork chops in the bag, 3 in one bag, and 1 in another. The bag with three chops got the whole bag of kraut.

I added some sliced onion to each bag.

Then I added the apples.

Next I put in some garlic.

Then I added 1 cup of apple cider to the large bag, and a half cup to the small bag. When I went to put the large bag in the crock I noticed the leak, so I dumped the whole mess into the crock, then put the small bag in on one side, with the whole top of the bag sticking out of the top.

Add salt and pepper to taste, then cook it on low for about 8 hours. I served this with sauteed kale with bacon and mashed potatoes.

 And Hubby's without the kraut...

Chinese slow cooked short ribs

This is my second post this week for 52 weeks of cooking. I made fried rice earlier in the week, but I really wanted to try to make something that had a bit more of an authentic Chinese flavor profile to it as well. I've also never made short ribs, so I figured I'd give them a shot. I know this isn't a true Chinese recipe, but I looked at a bunch of recipes on line and took elements of several to come up with this, and I adapted it to cook in the crock pot.

I really need better plates :)

1 medium yellow onion, sliced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/8 cup light brown sugar
veg oil for frying
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
4 lbs short ribs
2/3 cup of plum wine
2/3 rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
3 cups of beef broth
1 bunch of scallions

The first thing I did was slice the onions and put them in the crock pot.

Next I added the minced garlic, Chinese five spice, soy sauce and brown sugar.

 Now it's time to get to work on the ribs. Slice them into single ribs.

Put the flour onto a large plate, then coat the ribs all over with flour.

Put about 1/2 to 3/8 of an inch of vegetable oil into a frying pan. When it's hot, start adding the ribs. Turn them often, and just cook them long enough to brown on all sides.

As they brown add them to the crock.

Now add the plum wine, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce and beef broth.

 Cook this on low for 8-10 hours. When I got home from work I added some scallions and let them cook with it while I made some steamed broccoli and white rice.

And here is the finished product with some additional scallions for garnish. This was so tender and flavorful!

Slow Simmered Chili

It felt like a chili kind of day today...

1.5 lbs ground chuck
1 lb chorizo sausage
1 can tomato paste
1 can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can rotel diced tomatoes and green chilis
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
5.5 oz can of V-8
1 12 oz beer (I used Budweiser)
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cocoa powder
6-7 shakes of your favorite hot sauce, I used Cholula
4 dashes of Worcestershire
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, then sliced and minced

Brown the ground chuck in a large pan, then drain the fat. Move the ground chuck from the large pan to a large pot.

Next, remove the chorizo from it's casings, then brown that in the large pan, then drain the fat. Add this to the large pot.

So now you have ground chuck and chorizo sausage, browned and in a pot together.

Now it's time to start adding stuff. Add the Rotel, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, the beer, all the fresh veggies and the seasonings. Mix it all together really well. I still felt like this needed more liquid, so I added about a cup of water. The last thing you add are the dried chipotle chilies, just resting on top of it all. I kept mine at a low simmer for about 6 hours, stirring about every half hour. This gives everything time to really absorb all the flavors.

I served this with some simple corn bread topped with sliced poblano peppers and cheddar cheese, sour cream and scallions for garnish.

This is a modified version of Kenny G's recipe from the Big Green Egg Forum. I did not use my egg today, but I wanted to give Kenny G some credit for being my guide on this chili.