Shrimp Jambalaya in the Crockpot

Wednesdays are usually crockpot dinner days. I have handbell choir rehearsal and don't get home until around 8- far too late to just start thinking about dinner! Hubby Adam isn't big on cooking and is too busy with schoolwork, so he can't deal with dinner either. And so every since we got the slow cooker for Christmas, it's gotten a workout on Wednesdays.

This week I asked Adam to pick something out for us to have that wasn't too labor intensive and wasn't tomato based. I can't say he succeeded in either of those requests, but the dinner he chose was in fact really good. And he helped with it!

We ended up with shrimp jambalaya which had a nice amount of spice and was quite the hearty meal. This was good just as is, but would also be great to play with the flavors for something different. The sausage was really really good and tender, and all of the flavors and ingredients blended beautifully. But isn't that why folks love their slowcookers?!


Shrimp Jambalaya
Slightly modified from the Rival Cookbook that came with the crockpot

• 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  
• 6 Andouille Sausages, cut into bite sized sliced
  
• 1 Red Pepper (it was supposed to be green), chopped
  
• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 2 Large Stalks of Celery, chopped
  
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
  
• 1 14 oz. Can of Whole Tomatoes
  
• 1/3 C. Tomato Paste
  
• 1 C. Chicken Broth
  
• 1 T. Dried Parsley
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. Dried Basil
  
• 1 tsp. Dried Oregano
  
• 1 Tbsp. Tabasco Sauce
  
• 1 tsp. Cayenne Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Black Powder
  
• Dash of Salt
  
• 1 lbs. Raw Shrimp, peeled with no tails
  
• 2-3 C. Cooked White Rice

1. Mix together the chicken, sausage, tomato products, veggies, and spices in a slow cooker.
   
2. Cook over low heat for 8-10 hours. (Cooking time can be cut in half by cooking on high, but we never do that.)
   
3. With about 30 minutes left on the clock, add in the shrimp to the crockpot.
   
4. When finished, serve over a big helping of rice.

Crockpot Beef Bourig... um, something French

OK- I hate the French language! I admit it. Something about French really drives me up a wall. It really is a very pretty language to listen to- much better than Spanish, German, English. But it bugs me. What makes it worse is I can't pronounce anything French. Including the name of this recipe... Bourguignon.

As I've said time and time again, I generally don't make beef meals because I stink at cooking it. And my poor little husband is saddened because he really does like it, especially as a special treat now and again. So I decided to use the crockpot to see if I could make a tasty tender beef dish.

According to him, this was great. The meat was in fact very tender, it smelled wonderful, and the flavors all melded together nicely, but I didn't like it. I think I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like tomato-based flavors. I like pasta sauce, and I like raw tomatoes, but you can keep your tomato soup, your tomato chili and apparently your tomato infused beef bourguignon. Sorry hon, this one ain't comin' back. I will however use the same process to make you beef again soon.


French Beef Bourguignon
Slightly modified from Crock-Pot.com

• 1+ lbs Boneless Beef Chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 2 C. Carrots, sliced
  
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
  
• 1 14.5 oz Can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
  
• 1 C. Mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1 C Cheap Red Wine
  
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme Leaves
  
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Basil, chopped
  
• 2 tsp. Dry Mustard
  
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
  
• 1/4 C. Red Wine
  
• 2 Tbsp. Flour

1. In a pan, brown the beef on all sides.
   
2. Pour cooked beef into slow cooker and add in all the remaining ingredients except the final 1/4 C. wine and flour. Give a stir to blend.
   
3. Cook over Low heat for 5-7 hours.
   
4. About 15 minutes before serving, blend together the remaining wine and flour to create a thick slurry. Gently stir in this mixture to the beef, raise the heat to High and allow the sauce to thicken up some. This will serve as a type of gravy.
   
5. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Mom made, Cat approved. Yup, our cat Tyson coveted dinner while I photographed it on the only available surface in the house, the loveseat, thanks to my husband's architecture projects coating the dining room table and the rest of our tables being swamped in papers and junk. Ty Guy was good though- he gave it some big sniffs but stayed in his donut bed. Good boy.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

My father in law was in town a few weeks ago to help us install our dishwasher- yay! (We had no dishwasher prior to this and my parents gave us a very generous Christmas gift to help with that situation- thanks Mom & Dad!) He came up on a Saturday afternoon and I needed to make something delicious for me and the boys to watch one of the last Patriots games of the season.

Dad is a BBQ fan and I thought this was a great opportunity to try out the new slow cooker for some pulled pork. Wow, so simple and the boys adored it! Did I mention it was sinfully easy with the slow cooker?


BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

• Pork Butt/ Shoulder
  
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
  
• 2/3 C. Beef Broth
  
• 1-2 C. BBQ Sauce
  
• Pinch Brown Sugar
  
• Salt & Pepper
  
• Buns for serving

1. Season the pork cut with salt and pepper and place it in the slow cooker.
   
2. Pour in beef broth and about 1/4 C. BBQ sauce. Sprinkle onions and brown sugar over the top of the meat.
   
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. About 2-3 hours before it is cooked, quickly open the lid and pour in another 1/4 C. of BBQ sauce.
   
4. When the meat is ridiculously tender, it is ready for shredding.
   
5. Remove the meat and place in a large bowl. Using 2 forks facing, shred the pork. Grasp the forks in either hand and shred by dragging the utensils in opposite directions of each other.
   
6. Stir in as much additional BBQ sauce as suits your fancy- you can keep it dry or make it really messy! Serve warm on nice big buns with napkins!

Breaking in the Crockpot - Lemon Chicken

I exchanged a second fondue set I got for Christmas for a big ol' slow cooker this year. I was adament about not ever having a slow cooker- it just didn't seem like the thing for me. I'm a stove top cooker, I don't make roasts and chilis and stuff like that. Why do I need one of these things that everyone raves about? And where am I going to store it?!?

Ok, so I store it in the basement since it doesn't get used that often. But I'm impressed with what it's produced. I'll admit, my first attempt at chili- using my regular recipe with no changes- didn't go so well. But this, what I'm calling the real maiden voyage, was in fact quite delicious!

I love roast chicken, but it takes so long to cook and I don't have the energy at the end of my work days. But lo and behold, the crockpot takes all the work out of it. And it is even moister and tastier than from the oven.

I'm a convert!


Slow Cooker Whole Lemon Chicken

• Whole Chicken, around 4 lbs.
  
• Heavy Splash of White Wine/ Chicken Broth
  
• 2 Lemons
• 1-3 Garlic Cloves, partially smashed
  
• 1-2 Green Onion Stalks, chopped
  
• 1-2 Tbsp Butter, chopped
  
• Dried Thyme
  
• Salt & Pepper

1. Place chicken in slow cooker. I believe I placed mine breast down, but I can't even figure out which way is up, let alone remember what I did a month ago!
   
2. Pour wine/ broth in the bottom of the slow cooker.
   
3. Slice up one of the lemons and place the slices in the cavity. Add the crushed garlic to the cavity as well.
   
4. Carefully lift up the skin of the roaster chicken and place pieces of butter under the skin. Try to push it down and all around. Any excess that you don't want to put under the skin should be placed on top.
   
5. Zest some of the remaining lemon onto the chicken. Cut in half and squeeze the juice over the chicken and into the bottom of the pot.
   
6. Sprinkle chicken with green onion, thyme, salt and pepper.
   
7. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until good and moist. The chicken may dry out on top and split, but the meat will be tender and moist!