Frequently Asked CrockPot Chicken Questions (FACPCQs)

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Happy Sunday, Slow Cookerers!!!

It is the last day of September.

Tomorrow is the beginning of Crocktober, and I wanted to address a few misnomers floating around the internet and my inbox surrounding chicken.

Chicken is a staple protein in most households for dinner, and I get the most questions about chicken, so I thought I'd share some of my Frequently Asked CrockPot Chicken Questions

(FACPCQs)

and answers for you today, along with a list of over 70 Tried and True Recipes.

:-)

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What Chicken is Best to Use?

I usually recommend using thighs -- they hold up better in the slow cooker and have more flavor.

I personally prefer using boneless, skinless thighs but if you have bone-in that's fine -- just be aware that the chicken will be super tender and will fall from the bone.

( this means: watch out for bones when you are eating it! )

Why Is My Chicken is Mealy?

Okay -- so if you use breast pieces, especially pieces with no skin or bones, your chicken has very little fat.

This is great if you are keeping your dinner super lean, but texture wise-it can be a bit off-putting.

No worries.

My best suggestion would be to cut the meat into small chunks before using in the recipe, or take it out and shred it completely and then stir back into the sauce.

OR add butter. :-) that will help with the texture.

No Liquid with a Whole Chicken? Are you nuts?

Well, I might be in certain instances, but in this one, no, I am not.

:-)

There is no need to add additional cooking liquid if you are cooking an entire roaster chicken, or a bunch of wings and drumsticks (4 pounds and up).

The chicken will release tons of moisture all on it's own and if you add additional liquid it will end up "drowning" the meat and diluting the flavor added from your seasonings.

I promise your chicken will cook just fine without cups of water or broth. If you are super worried, then put a layer of parchment paper or foil over the top of the insert, and then put your lid on.

This way you can assure yourself that all the steam and moisture stays within the pot completely.

OKAY!!

I hope this helps a bit!

enjoy!! happy chickening!

:-0

steph

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---> HERE ARE THE 70 PLUS RECIPES <---

All Day Long Slow Cooker Recipes

Saturday, September 22, 2018

CrockPot Slow Cookers were a standard staple in suburban kitchens in the 70s and 80s.

In the 90s and 2000s, they dipped out of style for a while and then came back, full-force, to kitchens all over the world due to the economic downturn.

The original slogan from the 70s that Crock-Pot used in commercials was:

“cooks all day while the chef is away.”

And this worked REALLY well with the old-school pots that were on the market. These pots usually were cylindrical in shape and heated only from the bottom of the pot.

Most of these pots also did not have a removeable inserted pot – instead the ceramic cooking pot and the metal cooking base were fused.

This made clean-up difficult and the heat-only-from-the-bottom way of cooking wasn’t ideal when it came to getting food heated through quick enough to ward off bacteria.

SO.

During the “down turn” of slow cooking (90s thru early 2000s, as described earlier)—

Manufacturers decided to Improve the pots and make them safer and more user friendly.

Inserts were redesigned and could now be removed from the cooking base which helped with clean up.

You could now put the cook pot into the dishwasher!

The heating element was also redesigned to heat food from the bottom AND the sides of the pot.

This kept the FDA and scientist-type people happy and kept food borne illness away.

BUT.

There was a side effect from this reconfiguration.

The food no longer COOKED ALL DAY!

And that continues to be a problem for many many people. I know, because they write to me!

I’ve pointed out that all the newer pots on the market (the ones over $40… don’t get mad, that’s just what the technology costs!)

have timers in them which mean that if your recipe calls for only a 6 hour cook time but you are out of the house for 12 hours, it’s okay because your pot will automatically flip to a “warm” setting until you arrive home.

(If you are in the market for a new cooker, these are the ones that I personally recommend and use on a daily basis.)

BUT.

Maybe you don’t want to buy a new pot.

And maybe you don’t want to figure out how your own pot happens to cook –

And you just want food that will cook ALL DAY LONG.

Alright.

Here you go.

Enjoy!

Hereare 30 Recipes that are designed to cook for at least 8 to 10 hours.

Main Dishes.

All American Pot Roast

Asian Peanut Butter Pork

BBQ Pulled Pork

BBQ Beef Ribs

Broccoli Beef

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Glazed Corned Beef

Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Lazy Chicken

Leg of Lamb

Meat Lover’s Chili

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Rotisserie-Style Chicken

Shredded Korean Beef Tacos

Smoked Sausage and Beans

Smoky Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Vegetarian Curry

White Chili

Soups.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

End of Summer Harvest Soup

Italian-Style Calico Bean Soup

Original Taco Soup

Pasta Fagioli

Pesto Minestrone Soup

Slow Cooker Hearty Lima Bean Soup

Smokey Turkey and Black Bean Soup

Traditional Minestrone Soup

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

All recipes have been compiled and written up in a Handy Dandy downloadable ebook, for your convenience.

It is for sale in the ebook shop for $5.

Thank you for your support and for being here! Have a wonderful day, and happy slow cooking!!

steph

this is what real life looks like

Monday, August 27, 2018

Good morning!!

It's the first day of school (elementary school) in our house and that means that I've got the house back to myself for a few hours.

I should probably dust or vacuum or pop on a yoga video or go to Costco.

Instead, I am waiting for a plumber.

Real Life Organization. How to plan for the ups and downs and learn how to go with the flow.

Adam went out for a few hours last night to pick a team (or coordinate or something, I don't really get it) for Fantasy Football.

Since school was starting the next day, I decided to clean out the fridge.

and by clean it out, I mean I decided to test out the 2-week-old garbage disposal which said RIGHT ON THE BOX that it was Turbo-Powered and could handle chicken bones, orange peels, egg shells, and anything else I could throw down it in a fit of "How Come I'm The Only One in the House that Ever Cleans Out the Fridge????"

I think you see where I'm headed...

:-(

So, the alarm goes off at 5 am today because I want to make sure I can have coffee and a peaceful morning before everybody wakes up.

Except the sink looks kind of dirty. There's weird black stuff in it and some green leafy things.

No problem, I run hot water and hit the disposal switch.

Instead of going DOWN, stuff starts coming UP.

(this is when I'm realizing that it's all my fault so I get a little nervous and very softly mention to Adam who is just waking up that perhaps maybe the garbage disposal is not so very happy)

So he gets a flashlight and a screw driver and takes a look.

And then water starts shooting out from under the sink and he yells to get some buckets.

So I do.

the buckets fill quickly with gross chickeny and leafy grey water.

Adam says, "empty this one out so I can reuse it."

So I do.

BY POURING IT BACK DOWN THE SINK.

oops.

SO. Now I am waiting for a plumber.

The good news is that I did prepare for an easy morning by plugging in Overnight Pancakes.

How to make Overnight Pancakes in the CrockPot Slow Cooker

So the kids still got their morning pancakes (these cook in a scone-like texture, slice in wedges and then serve with syrup or honey or peanut butter),

and I promise I now have had an adequate amount of coffee that I can foreshadow pouring water down a broken sink onto my husband's head ....

I hope your morning is going better!

:-)

I'd like to pay homage to the late Senator McCain by sharing a recipe for his famous Lemon Pepper Ribs that he shared with the Today Show when he was running for president.

The ribs are lemon pepper -- and this spice rub is an absolutely delicious blend of garlic, lemon, pepper, and salt. I think you'll really enjoy it!