I’d say just make sure you have a crock pot in good repair and that the cord isn’t nicked or loose.
One from a garage sale that has a frayed end where it connects to the pot might not be the one for you. Yours sounds fine. Live on the edge 
[QUOTE=asb_own_me;5224929]
I’d say just make sure you have a crock pot in good repair and that the cord isn’t nicked or loose.
One from a garage sale that has a frayed end where it connects to the pot might not be the one for you. Yours sounds fine. Live on the edge :D[/QUOTE]
Oooo, I am totally a live on the edge type girl! Why, just last week, I drove to the mailbox WITHOUT my seat belt on!!!
I really am such a wimp. Ok, after posting in the thread about having no time and making riding work with a f/t job, and now seeing this thread and realizing I may need to wild my life up a bit ;), I think I’m going to dig out the slow cooker!
I, too, make Eye-Talian beef in the CP. 
Cut up chunks of rump roast, add bay leaves, italian spices, garlic, parlsey, beef broth and vinegar. The juice from the pepperoncinis too. I got spoiled, I worked at a high drawer restaurant back in college and they made their italian beef from the leftover prime rib!
Don’t forget some country pork ribs and sauerkraut - add cut up apples and onions to soften the sauer. Make a baked potato in the micro, add some sour cream, have some rye bread and a cold beer. Wow what a way to come home after the barn work! The warmth and the smell in the winter time. D LUX
I’d be nervous using a circa 1970’s one but mine is about a year old and so I’m not too nervous.
I also figure, worst case scenario, the house burns down. There’s nothing living inside most days so…
Stupid theory but it helps me get through the day!
chicken taco soup is awesome and I used Miller Lite.
keepin’ it HR
I use my oldest crockpot (#1 of 3) that I broke the lid to for making hot mash on the coldest Winter days.
I put in 1/2 their grain ration and water to fill then plug it in the barn & let it go all day.
I improvised a lid from foil & a supplement bucket lid.
Add cold water to bring to serving temp, molasses & serve.
You can also add raisins, cutup apples or carrots & of course: mints!
Prepare for slurping noises.
Vegetarian here so most of the crock pot recipes aren’t useful for me, but I like to make “gourmet” baked potatoes sometimes after riding or trimming, and am short on time.
Large baking potatoes
Broccoli (steamed)
Parmesan cheese shredded (or your favorite cheese)
Sour cream
Chives (I buy the pre-cut dehydrated ones)
Fresh ground black pepper
Start to finish is only 15 minutes and they’re so good
I love all the suggestions here! The 365 website is great! My faves to make in the crock pot are black bean soup, pot roast (or red wine beef stew with green beans), and veggie soup. I definitely need to try some of these other recipes. I have done ribs before, and they turned out great, but I have no idea what recipe I used.
I’m going to do this one this weekend. I can’t wait! I will let you all know how it goes!
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/10/most-simple-thai-beef-crockpot-recipe.html
I’m also paranoid about leaving it on all day so I’m treating it like it’s puppy being weaned from his crate. First day I was just in the other room. Next time I will just leave the house for a short time, gradually working my way up until I’m gone for the entire day…Apparently I think my method will teach the crockpot not to burn down the house… :rolleyes:
2 of my fave crock pot recipes
BAKED POTATO SOUP
6 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut inton 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion chopped- I use 1 1/2 cups frozen chopped onion)
3 cans seasoned chicken broth with roasted garlic
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 cup heavy whipping cream or half and half
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 TB chopped fresh chives
stir potato cubes and next 5 ingredients in 5 Qt. slow cooker
cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 8 hours until potatoes are tender. Mash mixture until potatoes are mashed and soup is thickened. Stir in 1 cup whipping cream or H&H, 1 cup cheese and chipped fresh chives.
Serve with crumbled bacon, cheddar chease, sour cream
TURKEY OR CHICKEN FAJITAS
4 turkey tenderloins, about 2 lbs. or 2 lbs of chicken breasts
1 enveop of taco seasoning mix
1 celery rib, chopped (I usually keep frozen pre chopped celery in baggies
in the freezer)
1 onion, chipped (use frozen pre chopped)
1 can Rotel (diced tomatores with green chiles, undrained
1 cup shredded 2% reduced fat cheddar cheese
Soft tao size flour tortillas
toppings: lettuce, sour cream, olives, chopped tomato
Cut turkey into 2 1/2 inch strips, place in a ziploc freezer bag (1 gallon) freezer bag, add taco season, seal and shake to coat.
Place turkey, celery and onion in the slow cooker, stir in rotel
cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours. Stir in cheese. Serve on tortillas with sides.
[QUOTE=Thanatos;5224897]
Ok, I am a paranoid, crazy person. Is there a danger of having the slow cooker on all day while you are away? I am always so scared to come home to a burned down house (I don’t run the dryer when I’m away because of that) and thusly, have a beautiful slow cooker that I only use on weekends when I am already home all day which seems to defeat the advertised purpose. Any thoughts on the risk? Or am I being stupid as I have no qualms about going out and sitting on the back of 1200 pounds of flight animal, leaping over large, heavy obstacles at decently high rates of speed but I’m scared of the crock pot? (see? I made it horse-related).[/QUOTE]
I bet you could try using a timer. One of those plug in light timers from Home Depot or Lowe’s.
I made Lamb Stew yesterday:
Lamb Stew Meat
Red Potatoes
Onion
Garlic
Bag of Frozen Veggies
Beef Broth
The spices you like
I did make a rue of butter and flour to thinken it up a little. 8 hours later, I had some wonderful stew! Plus, mostly veggies, a little meat and no “Cream of” soups.
[QUOTE=Thanatos;5224897]
Ok, I am a paranoid, crazy person. Is there a danger of having the slow cooker on all day while you are away? I am always so scared to come home to a burned down house (I don’t run the dryer when I’m away because of that) and thusly, have a beautiful slow cooker that I only use on weekends when I am already home all day which seems to defeat the advertised purpose. Any thoughts on the risk?[/QUOTE]
A crock pot uses roughly the same energy as an incandescent light bulb. Not even close in energy use, or risk, to leaving your dryer on while you’re gone. If you’ve ever left a light on when you’re out of the house, you’ve taken a comparable risk–meaning very little risk at all.
In terms of safety, I place my crock pot on my stovetop when I use it (since that’s probably the most fire-retardant surface in my kitchen), I make sure the surface beneath it is dry and clear in all directions, and I make sure the recipe is sufficiently watery to keep the food from burning.
here is one I tried last night/is very good:
Pork and beans
1 tsp sage and rosemary (neither is my fave spice when dry so I only used 1/2 tsp)
3 cloves of crushed fresh garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 to 2.5 lb pork roast
4 Tb olive oil
1 diced onion (I used 1/2 since mine was a strong onion!)
1 cup white wine
2 cans of white beans (I had 1 can of white beans/1 can of pinto beans on the shelf so that is what went in)
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/4 c fresh or 2 TB dry parsley
Cook 6 hours on low (mine is in longer since I am gone all day!)
A slightly different twist for freezing cold winter mornings -
Do up a big batch of Pioneer Porridge from Nora Mill, add butter and brown sugar and cinnamon and keep it on Low or Warm in the tack room. Really yummy and warms you up from the inside out. http://www.noramill.com
I’m big on winging it for a lot of my recipes. I had a ton of baby carrots and red potatoes to use up when I looked through the fridge yesterday morning…so I threw them in the crock pot. Probably about 3-4 cups of carrots and taters each (taters halved or quartered), one large onion, diced, about 2 cups of vegetable stock, some pepper, some chili powder, and a can of RoTel (diced chilis and tomatoes if you’re not familiar with that).
Then I took a pork tenderloin roast (I think it was about 3 lbs), cut it into quarters, quick seared it in a pan with olive oil and garlic, and dropped it in the crock pot.
Then I went back to my office for the day, having taken an entire 10 minutes from my workday to prepare the feast.
Husband came home and dug in and pronounced it “Incredible”. I, of course, was eager to share with him that I had “slaved over a hot stove all day” and it was such “hard work”
The thing about Bear Creek Soups is the sodium. One CUP of the prepared soups is about 40% of your daily sodium recommended. ONE cup. Who has ONE cup of soup for dinner?
We do them camping/pack trips but dang at the salt in that stuff. And the MSG variants…there’s more salt than carrots in their Navy Bean soup.
[QUOTE=Alterrain;5224827]
I am vegan, so this may not appeal to all of you, but the DH LOVES IT (and he eats everything)
xtra firm tofu, cubed. put it in the bottom
cover with peas, carrot, corn, etc (sugar snap peas!)
dump on: premade vindaloo sauce OR
can coconut milk, can tomato sauce, curry powder, a little cayenne.
Serve over rice, or with naan.
I have made this with pumpkin and butternut squash instead of tofu also. YUMMY![/QUOTE]
I’m totally going to try this out!
Lamb and Black Bean Chili
DancingAppy mentioned the lamb stew. I just made a delicious lamb chili for a chili cook-off last Sat. First time idea and I can’t believe that I’ve never made this before!
browned ground lamb w/ ground cumin mixed in, rinse pan and use deglaze liquid!
canned diced tomatoes
onion
garlic, cumin seed, cilantro
any kind of chopped up pepppers to taste
1 cup of dry red wine, water as needed
add cans of black beans (drained) at the end so they are not too soft.
This was so yummy - need more red wine when eating!! :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=jn4jenny;5225961]
A crock pot uses roughly the same energy as an incandescent light bulb. Not even close in energy use, or risk, to leaving your dryer on while you’re gone. If you’ve ever left a light on when you’re out of the house, you’ve taken a comparable risk–meaning very little risk at all.
In terms of safety, I place my crock pot on my stovetop when I use it (since that’s probably the most fire-retardant surface in my kitchen), I make sure the surface beneath it is dry and clear in all directions, and I make sure the recipe is sufficiently watery to keep the food from burning.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! That’s a good analogy and helpful tips, too. I think I really need to just suck it up and try it out.
I snort laughed when I read that. Maybe we could clicker train our crock pots? Or is their natural crockpotership we can use to teach the crock pot to behave itself and not be naughty?
