I will also say that this season I’ve made more recipes with a pork shoulder (also referred to as a pork butt) than I have in past Crock It! seasons. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite cuts of meat. Here’s why: much of the fat can be trimmed before cooking, it cooks up very tender, and it’s extremely inexpensive. I typically purchase an 8-pound shoulder from Fresh Direct and it usually costs me only about $8 and change. I’m not aware of many other kinds of meat where I can get eight pounds for $8. So, in our post-holiday money-saving meal planning, I’m getting creative with pork shoulder.

This recipe fed our family of five with plenty leftover. My kids loved the mild taste of the meat and I think one of them even said, “this is the best pork you’ve ever made.” My kids like my cooking, but I don’t hear this one often.

Slow Cooked Pork With Fennel, Carrots, and Onion

Ingredients:

1 pork shoulder, 2-3 pounds

1 yellow onion, diced

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 fennel bulb, cut in large chunks

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

4 cups chicken broth

What’s Next:

In a large dutch oven, brown pork shoulder on all sides. Place in slow cooker.

Add onion, carrot and fennel to same pot, adding oil if necessary. Season with Italian seasoning. When vegetables are soft (after about 5-7 minutes) add to slow cooker, spreading around pork.

Add broth. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.

Remove pork from slow cooker, and shred with two forks.

Combine pork and vegetables, discarding most of  the cooking broth. Toss with pasta (I used rigatoni) and serve.

 Notes from my experience:

This is a really easy meal, especially if you are feeding a lot of people or want leftovers for later.

Because the pork shoulder is a relatively large piece of meat, it’s also very forgiving. This meal could sit on the warm setting in the slow cooker for a while and not be ruined.

I would definitely make it again, adding diced tomatoes and maybe some large-leaf spinach at the end.

You can follow all of my cooking adventures on Twitter @TracyCooksIt

So, when a friend of mine gave me a recipe for a cornbread casserole she makes, I headed straight for my mixing bowl and oven. It’s been a couple of years since I made it, but last week I had one of those great brainstorming moments which usually starts with, “I wonder if….” What happens after that is either fabulous, or something that I just chalk up to a learning experince. I have a 50/50 chance either way, but I love when it works out. This time it did.

All I needed was a way to convert a recipe meant for the oven into something that can work in my Crock-Pot. It’s possible, but doesn’t always quite work out the way one might want. Some of the recipes I’ve made in the past have involved placing a kitchen towel over the top of my Crock-Pot between the stoneware base and the glass lid. This absorbs the steam, creating a drier cooking environment. Using that technique for this recipe was just the adjustment I needed. In the end, this recipe had the same crispy edges that are produced in the oven with the melt in your mouth cheesiness of the rest of the dish.

Slow Cooker Corn Bread Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of creamed corn

1 egg

1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix

1 8-ounce container of sour cream

1 stick of butter, melted

1/4 cup diced jalapenos or any other hot pepper if you like hot peppers (OPTIONAL)

1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

What’s Next:

Mix all ingredients except for the cheese in a large bowl.

Place in slow cooker.

Add kitchen towel folded in half to the top of  the slow cooker.

Crock Pot with Towel Folded Over Twice

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.

Sprinkle melted cheese on top and cook for another 20 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve as a side to just about anything and enjoy!

You can follow all of my cooking adventures on Twitter @TracyCooksIt

Ingredients:

1 red pepper cut in a  large dice

1 orange pepper cut in a large dice

1 onion cut in a large dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

red pepper flakes, to taste depending on how spicy you like it

1 bag of dry pinto beans

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3 bay leaves

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1-2 lbs. kielbasa depending on how many people you are feeding

1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained

What’s Next:

1. Brown kielbasa on stove and slice into diagonal pieces. Set aside.
2. Saute onions and peppers in remaining oil for about 8-10 minutes. Add minced garlic and thyme. Saute for another 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and red pepper flakes.
3. Add sauteed vegetables to slow cooker. Pour in broth, water and beans. Add kielbasa and stir to combine. Nestle bay leaves into mixture.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until beans are soft. Add drained diced tomatoes, stir, cover and cook for another 30 minutes.
5. Serve with warm baguette.

Notes from my experience:

• This recipe was easy enough to make and great for a cold rainy night.
• Do not under any circumstances leave out the diced tomatoes. They give this recipe an added dimension of flavor that does not exist without them.
• In the future (and I would definitely make this again) I would try regular sweet sausage and brown it without the casing (just as loose meat). Keeping everything else the same, I think it would make a great soup (this was more like a light stew).
• And one last thought: the bread dipped in the sauce was awesome!

I typically make applesauce the way my mother does. I throw a bunch of apples (skin, core and seeds) into a pot, add whole sticks of cinnamon and a very small amount of water, cook on low and wait for the mush. Put the mush through a food mill and I’m done.

Since the fall, I have managed to deplete every last jar I preserved and with May not being peak apple season, it’s actually been difficult to find a blend of apples. However, with a little perseverance, excitement over a new recipe, and fresh delivery of cinnamon from my mother in law it all came together.

So, thanks to Scott and my mother in law, I am trying this recipe in the hopes that it frees up some prep time and creates an easier and faster mashing experience. When we have roast pork for dinner tonight, this could come in very handy; it’s the only way my daughter will eat pork and I’m not a two-meal-in-a-night kind of person. Thank you Scott for sharing this recipe with me.

Scott’s Slow Cooker Applesauce

Ingredients:

• About 12-16 apples, just about any variety and they do not have to be perfect.
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• Small amount of water, sugar and salt

What’s Next:

1. Peel, core and coarsely chop as many apples as will fit in your crock pot (You can actually mound the apples higher than the top of the crock pot itself, since they cook down a lot).
2. Add 1-3 cinnamon sticks, each broken in half, to the apples.  The number of cinnamon sticks depends on how much you like cinnamon.  Push them in and amongst the apples, evenly spreading them out.
3. Place the lid on top of the apples, turn the crock pot to low and let the apples cook for 6-8  hours or until they are soft enough to mush when stirred with a long-handled spoon.  Or let the apples cook overnight, and wake up to the amazing aroma of apples and cinnamon – yum!
4. Taste the applesauce and adjust the sweetness by adding light brown sugar (or agave nectar, sugar in the raw, jaggery, etc.).  If you add the sweetener to the apples while they are cooking, the sugar will maintain the crispness of the apples, preventing them from becoming soft and turning into ‘sauce’.  Adjust with a pinch or two of salt, which will balance the sweetness.
5. Mash up the apples and remove cinnamon sticks. Or, pass cooked mushed apples though a food mill.
6. Serve warm or cold, depending on your preference

Notes from my experience:

• I did not peel my apples; I never do. This is what gives applesauce its color (think of it as the equivalent of leaving the skins on grapes to make red wine instead of white) and I’m lazy.
• I cooked my apples on low for the full 8 hours and then forgot about them while my Crock-Pot stayed on the warm setting. In my opinion, I should have turned off my Crock-Pot earlier and let them rest for a bit. They were almost too soft. However, after some time cooling, the sauce did thicken and then I sent it through the food mill.
• You will notice from the photo that the applesauce is a red/brown color. I’m not sure if this is the result of the skins, or the fresh whole cinnamon I used. In the fall when I use Paula Red apples the applesauce is pink. So fun.

Be warned: This is a favorite! As Scott wrote to me, “I started making the Crock-Pot Applesauce about 6/7 years ago, when my older daughter was in preschool.  She would bring it in to her school whenever she was assigned the class snack, and both the children and the teachers loved it so much, it became expected when both she and my younger daughter were assigned the snack.  Although we didn’t actually ‘plot’ it out, I think my girls were on the snack schedule just a bit more frequently than the other kids .”

Slow Cooker Emergency Chicken

Ingredients:

2-3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or whatever you have in your freezer that will feed a family)

Water or chicken broth or a combination of both

Various veggies, if needed (see notes below)

What’s Next:

Place your chicken items in your slow cooker. Fill to about halfway with liquid. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Remove chicken and shred.

Remove cooking liquid and discard.

Place chicken back in slow cooker. Add to chicken any kind of pre-made simmer sauce or marinade or anything that comes already in a jar.

Cover and cook on low for another 1-2 hours.

Notes from my experience:

This was truly an emergency dinner. I used a Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce and marinade and just poured the whole bottle in. I made some rice and stir fried veggies and we had instant chicken teriyaki. It worked.

Williams Sonoma also has some great simmer sauces that you can add to any cooked meat.

If your kids don’t like “flavors” then you can always shred the chicken, set it aside and give to them plain. I’ve done that when sauteing chicken and then preparing a pan sauce and it works well. Plus, you are not making two dinners.

Another option is to shred the chicken, add chicken broth, carrots, celery and onions and you have instant chicken soup without all the salt and preservatives that come in the canned variety. Add some grilled cheeses and it’s soup and sandwich night!

Barbecue sauce is also a good option. Add it to the chicken and serve on kaiser rolls. It’s pulled chicken (rather than pulled pork) sandwiches!

The result– you’ve inspired us to pull together a Top 10 Crock It recipe list from 2010. The results are below with even more exciting recipes coming in 2011. If you’ve made one, be sure to let us know what you thought of it, and please take the poll below to tell us what kind of recipes you’d like to see more of.

And above all, keep on slow cooking and enjoy!

1. Chocolate Caramel Pie
2. Chicken Fiesta Soup
3. Chicken Provencal
4. Potato Cheddar Chive Soup
5. Chocolate Chicken Chili Soup
6. Barbecued Baby Back Ribs
7. BBQ Pulled Pork
8. Simple Chicken
9. Tara’s Chicken
10. Beef Burgundy

Crockpot Chocolate Apple Cake

Ingredients:

What’s Next:

Notes from my experience:

• This is the funkiest looking cake batter I’ve ever seen! But in the end, the flavor was great.
• I would line the slow cooker with parchment paper rather than foil, it’s much easier to remove.
• I left out the walnuts- I have texture issues.
• I’d recommend serving the cake warm- it’s that kind of cake.
• I was a bit disappointed that the white chocolate chips all melted by the time the cake ws done. Next time I’d add them alter.
• Surprisingly, in my 6 quart Crock Pot, the cooking time was the same as in the original recipe for a 3 quart Crock Pot. I’d think that it would take longer to cook in a smaller container, but until I get a 3 quart Crock Pot, I won’t know for sure. My advice, pay close attention to the time. This is not the kind of  recipe you can set up and forget.
• And finally, the recipe description says it’s decadent with the 3 types of chocolate. I don’t know that I’d call it decadent, but it was good. To me, chocolate lava cake is decadent and I haven’t a slow cooker recipe for that yet, but I think I’ve found my next mission.

For the past several years, I’ve used my mother’s recipe for making Corned beef which basically involves placing a beef brisket, seasoning packet, a head of cabbage, and new potatoes in a pot, covering it with water, and serving dinner several hours later. For years this was our St. Patrick’s Day dinner and I loved it.

This year, I was lucky enough to receive an e-mail from Chef Scott Savokinas with his slow cooker recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage. This recipe involves using new ingredients (for me) such as whole-grain mustard and beer. I was immediately interested. Scott has given me permission to use his recipe on our site, and from the time I read the ingredients, I couldn’t wait to try it.

Corned Beef and Cabbage (courtesy of Scott Savokinas)

Ingredients:

6 red potatoes, quartered

5 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed

3 stalks celery, cut in half

1 medium head cabbage, cut into 6 wedges

1 4- to 5-pound corned beef brisket (including spice packet)

1/4 cup whole-grain mustard

12-ounce bottle dark beer

What’s Next:
1.  With a basting brush, coat both sides of the brisket with the mustard.
2.  Place brisket in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.  Open seasoning packet and sprinkle spices over brisket.
3.  Place potatoes, carrots and celery on top of brisket.
4.  Add beer and enough water to barely cover the vegetables.
5.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours.
6.  Remove brisket and vegetables.  Place cabbage into slow cooker and cook on high for 30 minutes, or until cabbage is cooked to your liking.

Notes from my experience:

• This was a seriously easy recipe. Very little prep work was involved and I always like that. Dinner was “made” by 9:30 a.m.
• Typically I cook this meal on the stove top. What I liked was that by using my Crock-Pot, the smell was not as overwhelming as usual.
• As far as cooking time goes, I had to play with that a little bit. I’m a shredder of corned beef rather than a slice-against-the-grain-type. The 8 hours on low (for a 4 1/2lb. brisket) wasn’t going to be enough for super tender shredding. If you are a shredder, I’d suggest 6 hours on high. If you are a slicer, I’d keep with the 8-9 hours on low.
• I loved adding the cabbage at the end of cooking. It gave the cabbage so much more texture rather than the soggy mess it usually turns out to be.
• Scott had given me two pieces of advice before making this which are worth sharing: The first was that the mustard can be too strong for some people, so I cut back and only used about a teaspoon basted on each side. I needed my kids to eat this meal and they have “spice” issues. The second piece of advice was regarding which kind of beer to use. (Admittedly, I was a little obsessive here). He said to stay away from a stout, porter or ale. I used Heineken because that was what was in my refrigerator. It worked well, although I wouldn’t have thought of this as a dark beer.

Chef Scott Savokinas received his training in the kitchen of the restaurant his father owned for 40 years. More recently, Savokinas spent seven years as a regional chef for Williams-Sonoma. Currently living in northern New Jersey, his focus is on in-home interactive dinner parties where guests learn to make a meal and enjoy the fruits of their labor.  He believes that everyone can cook, they just need to learn the basics. Beyond adult cooking parties, Savokinas gives kids cooking classes which he says “can be hugely successful but there’s a magic formula.”  From personal experience, Savokinas is also well-versed in cooking for those with food allergies, something I could have used help with for my own kids.

Slow Cooker Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

Notes from my experience:

• I don’t do a lot of baking in my Crock Pot so I was a little skeptical, but in the end pleasantly surprised.
• This was an easy recipe– I even prepped my ingredients ahead of time and then put them all together around lunch so it would coordinate with after school arrival and there would be plenty of cooling time.
• My Crock Pot is a 6 quart, not a 5 quart, so next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I will reduce the cooking time to 3 hours. The brownies were a little too “cakey” for me. I like my brownies chewier.
• I took the liberty of omitting the nuts (I have texture issues and nuts in dessert is one of them) which is why I’ve listed them here as optional.
• I like white chocolate chips. I divided that last 1 cup of chocolate chips into half white and half semi sweet. In the end, the white chips got “lost” in the brownies. Next time, I think I will try sprinkling them on top for that last 1/2 hour of cooking rather than mixing them in with the batter.

Gina’s Crock-Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 14.4 oz. can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 15 oz. can black beans
• 8 oz. frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz. can fat-free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

What’s Next:

1. Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the slow cooker.
2. Season chicken breasts with salt and lay on top.
3. Cook on high for 6 hours.
4. 30 minutes before serving, remove chicken and shred with two forks. Return chicken to slow cooker. Adjust salt and seasoning.
5. Serve with rice.

Notes from my experience:

Again, this was a truly easy recipe.

I used four chicken breasts and probably could have used two or three. Feel free to adjust depending on the size of your family.

I had originally planned to make corn muffins to go with this, but ran out of time. I also think it would have been great with some added diced jalapeños or chipotle peppers for a little extra kick. Maybe next time. I do plan to make this again.