It's autumn, which means...

[calzephyr]

Every home should have a slow cooker. If I get fanatical about it, it's because it's simply magical. Ingredients go in and delicious meals come out :) It is often forgiving and a life saver for cheap cuts of meat. It's inexpensive and will last for years :D 

I actually have an official Crockpot buffet. It's this big thing that has three 2.5 quart crocks. You can make soup, dinner and dessert all at once, or three kinds of warm drinks or chili for a party. It's amazing. I don't use it very often, but when I do, it's well worth it.

I accidentally bought a pound of radishes recently when doing online grocery shopping. That's a surprising amount of radishes. I looked online for radish recipes and one of them suggested adding them to beef stew. So into one crock went half a bound of radishes, four carrots, a red pepper, half a package of stewing meat that was languishing in the freezer, some garlic, lots of ground pepper, a boullion cube, two cups of water and two tablespoons of soy sauce. When I arrived home, I switched it to the warm setting and added a cup of frozen broccoli. The broccoli steamed while the rice cooker was on.

The broccoli was a nice touch as slow cooker dinners can get brown real fast. All the colour cooked out of the radishes and they had a mellow taste along with a potato like texture. Whew! I didn't have to try and get rid of them at work :) I would totally buy radishes again.

The second crock was a soup that I think will benefit from more salt or lemon - something to give it a little zip. I had a brand new carton of vegetable broth that had just expired. Before dumping that in, I let a half cup of red lentils soak in a cup of water while I cut up the other ingredients - namely a red pepper and garlic. I added the broth and when I got home I added some frozen peas. Whew! I hate letting food go to waste.

The third crock was left empty, sadly. Next time it won't be!

Comments

[ponitacupcake.livejournal.com]

I want one!

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

You won't be disappointed :)

[gingervere.livejournal.com]

I have one and I've never used it! I should try something this weekend. I'm sure I'll get hooked once I try.

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Cool! The possibilities are endless with slow cookers, which I think is what makes them so exciting. There is an excellent community called what a crock here on LJ too.