15 Crowd-Pleasing Family Meals from the Slow Cooker

Even if you’re the world’s most avid home cook, let’s be honest: Between work, family commitments, and now, holiday shopping, sometimes you just need to get dinner done. For those days, turn to one-pot pleasers that are packed with flavor and sure to make everyone—from your pea-averse five-year-old to your persnickety significant other—happy. Here are 14 that never leave our crockpot rotation.

1. Chicken Adobo

Chowhound

At this crockpot dish’s core is meat or poultry braised in a vinegary sauce. This easy, mild version cooks onions, chicken, soy sauce, and vinegar in a slow cooker, and takes advantage of bone-in chicken thighs’ extra flavor from the bones. The onions absorb the savory sauce, and all that’s needed to complete the meal is a pile of steamed rice to soak everything up. Get our Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo recipe.

2. Pork Ramen

Eva Kolenko

Here is a simplified, yet still delicious, version of ramen that boasts plenty of succulent braised pork. If you can’t find high-quality fresh ramen noodles, use fresh thin Chinese egg noodles or fresh linguine. Serve the soup with your favorite ramen embellishments. Get Kim Laidlaw’s Slow Cooker Pork Ramen recipe.

3. Pulled Pork Enchiladas

Chowhound

Pork shoulder, dried chiles, and tomatoes slowly turn luscious over as many as 10 hours in the slow cooker, then get turned into a memorable filling, rolled into sauce-dipped tortillas and baked under a blanket of cheese. Serve these on a Sunday afternoon with a refreshing tangle of jicama and orange salad and a pitcher of agua de Jamaica or beer. Get our Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Enchiladas recipe.

4. Chipotle Chili

Chowhound

Made with chicken thighs, canned cannellini beans, and a handful of other ingredients, this crockpot chili tastes way more complicated than it is. It’s a a rich, smoky-tasting one-bowl dinner, perfect for laid-back Sundays. Get our Slow Cooker Chipotle Chili recipe.

5. Slow Cooker Chicken Mole

Chowhound

With an entire can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, along with ancho chiles and almonds, this mole is nicely spicy without being overbearing. Prep is a breeze: Just sblend everything up, put it in the slow cooker with some chicken, and forget about it for 4 to 8 hours. The recipe yields lots of extra sauce, so put some out with tortilla chips before serving it for dinner. Get our Slow Cooker Chicken Mole recipe.

6. Root Vegetable Stew

Chowhound

When slowly cooked, root vegetables morph into sweet deliciousness. Use vegetable (or mushroom) broth here, and you’ve got a hearty, vegan, and gluten-free dinner. Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, sweet potatoes—they’re delicious, and healthy. Get our Slow Cooker Root Vegetable Stew recipe.

7. Chicken Thighs with Olives and Fennel

Chowhound

Skinless, bone-in chicken thighs pick up tenderness and deep flavor in this pretty much effortless slow cooker recipe with French flavors. Fresh fennel bulbs, orange zest and juice, black olives, and whole-grain mustard simmer with the chicken, in a one-crock dish that needs only buttered noodles or rice pilaf. Get our Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs with Olives and Fennel recipe.

8. Spaghetti Bolognese

Chowhound

Don’t expect this slow cooker version of Bolognese, which calls for atypical ingredients like porcini mushrooms and ground cinnamon, to be traditional, but do expect your family to go back for seconds anyway. Get our Spaghetti Bolognese recipe.

9. Jambalaya

Alaska From Scratch

Spicy andouille sausage is traditional to jambalaya, but if the kids don’t have a high tolerance for heat, substitute regular smoked sausage and pass around Cajun seasoning and Tabasco for the adults at the table. Get Alaska From Scratch’sJambalaya recipe.

10. Beef Stroganoff

Fresh Slowcooking

There’s a reason beef stroganoff is a classic not just in Russia but all around the world: The dish exudes a sense of luxuriousness while still managing to be one of the most affordable entrées on the block. Get Fresh Slowcooking’s Beef Stroganoff recipe.

11. Vegetable Lasagna

Weelicious

This veggie lasagna is a win all around. Your spouse will be excited the kids are eating vegetables; the kids’ll be excited they’re eating pasta and melted cheese; you’ll be excited you’re coming home to a ready-made dinner. Get Weelicious’s Vegetable Lasagna recipe.

12. Latin-Caribbean Beans and Rice

The Perfect Pantry

In Puerto Rico, black beans and rice are cooked with recaíto, a mix of onions, garlic, green peppers, and cilantro; Cuban-style beans and rice are similar, but infused with the scent of sofrito, a medley of onions, garlic, green peppers, and tomatoes. This recipe takes inspiration from both, and manages to be flavorful without winding up too spicy. Get The Perfect Pantry’s Latin-Caribbean Beans and Rice recipe.

13. Japanese Curry

Just Hungry

Because it’s not too pungent, Japanese-style curry makes a lovely candidate for a family dinner, even if you have spice-averse eaters to please. Opt for a mild curry mix to keep everyone happy. Get Filing Away Cupcakes’ Japanese Curry recipe.

14. Healthier Eggplant Parmesan

A Sunshiny Day

Eggplant parmesan usually calls for frying slices of breaded eggplant before topping them with cheese, then serving with a generous heap of spaghetti in red sauce. This lightened-up rendition—a deconstructed version with eggplant, melted mozzarella, and homemade breadcrumbs—cuts out all the oil without making any flavor concessions. Get A Sunshiny Day’s Healthier Eggplant Parmesan recipe.

18. Kung Pao Chicken

Chowhound

Here’s a great spin on a classic Chinese takeout kung pao chicken for the slow cooker. The convenience and ease of a slow cooker enhances the aromatic flavors of Sichuan cooking by allowing the chicken to braise in a complex sweet and spicy sauce. Get our Kung Pao Chicken recipe.

Related video: Slow Cooker Beef Chili

from Food News – Chowhound https://ift.tt/2OkLRLY
via IFTTT

10 Great Slow Cooker Jams, Preserves, and Condiments

The crockpot just might be the perfect cooking appliance for ketchups, jams, fruit butters, and other cooked-down things. These are all things best left to transform on their own, in the presence of steady, pervasive heat. The other great thing about crockpotting in summer is you can set it, and flee the stuffiness of the kitchen. Here are 10 recipes that’s be humming away in our kitchen for the rest of the season.

1. Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter

Chowhound

In this old-fashioned fruit butter recipe, a puree of fresh blueberries cooks down for at least 4 hours in the slow cooker. Sugar, lemon, cinnamon, and nutmeg join the berries in the last hour of cooking. Get our Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter recipe.

2. Slow Cooker Honey BBQ Sauce

Top Ate on Your Plate

Combine ketchup, honey, brown sugar, vinegar, soy and Worcestershire sauces and a few aromatics, cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, and you’ve got the perfect thing to slather onto ribs. Get Top Ate on Your Plate’s Slow Cooker Honey BBQ Sauce recipe.

3. Slow Cooker Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

The Cottage Mama

Four ingredients—fresh rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and cinnamon—and 6 or 7 hours of unsupervised simmering in the crockpot are all you need. Get The Cottage Mama’s Slow Cooker Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam recipe.

4. Slow Cooker Bacon Compote

Chowhound

Spoon some onto pizza along with jalapeños and red onions or try it as a meaty nacho topping, even toast a bagel and top with cream cheese and bacon compote—it’s fantastic. Get our Slow Cooker Bacon Compote recipe.

5. Slow Cooker Peach Jam

New Leaf Wellness

“If you’ve never made homemade jam before,” writes Kelly on New Leaf Wellness, “then this is the recipe for you. Super quick and easy to prep.” Get Kelly’s Slow Cooker Peach Jam recipe.

6. Paleo Slow Cooker Ketchup

Plated With Style

Medjool dates give this ketchup sweetness without refined sugar, and long, slow cooking gives the spices a chance to fully to give up their flavors. Get Plated With Style’s Paleo Slow Cooker Ketchup recipe.

7. Slow Cooker Spicy Relish

Chowhound

This works on a whole range of casual foods besides franks—nachos, burgers, tacos, you name it. Since this recipe makes a lot, you’ll be able to extend your condiment adventure into next season. Get our Slow Cooker Spicy Relish recipe.

8. Slow Cooker Apple Butter

miydiy.com

Cook peeled, cored, and chunked apples for 3 hours, then purée with an immersion blender, add sugar and flavorings, and cook another 3 too 4 hours. Super easy. Get miydiy.com’s Slow Cooker Apple Butter recipe.

9. Slow Cooker Blueberry and Ginger Jam

BakingQueen74

Toss fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and ground ginger into the crockpot, then switch it on. The especially good thing about this recipe: It shouldn’t take longer than 3 hours. Get BakingQueen74’s Slow Cooker Blueberry and Ginger Jam recipe.

10. Slow Cooker Fruit Jam (No Added Sugar)

Fit SlowCooker Queen

A healthier alternative equally delicious .Get Fit SlowCooker Queen’s recipe here.

Related video: How to Hack Your Slow Cooker

from Food News – Chowhound https://ift.tt/2jNYnW3
via IFTTT

A Bevy of Butternut Squash Soups to Keep You Cozy Through the Fall

Butternut squash soup is one of those signature dishes that reminds everyone of fall. Almost too good to be true, it’s incredibly simple and requires little more than some patience and a large butternut squash that tastes even better if you roast it in the oven before pureeing. Lighter than chili but more robust than chicken noodle, it can go casual or elegant, and always tastes comforting and delicious, whether you tote it to work in a thermos, have it for a weeknight dinner, or serve it as a fancy first course. Seriously, it’s never not good. So check out these recipes for butternut squash soup that make the best of fall flavors (the color is pretty spectacular too).

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Chowhound

Chowhound’s basic recipe for butternut squash soup is delicately flavored with fresh sage, a little heavy cream, and topped with some toasted pumpkin seeds for a pleasing crunch. Get our Roasted Butternut Squash Soup recipe.

Thai Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Host the Toast

Thai red curry paste adds beautiful fragrance and spice to this vegan butternut squash soup, which is extra creamy thanks to coconut milk, and happens to be vegan. It can be made in the slow cooker too. Get the recipe.

Butternut Squash Soup with Cumin and Coriander

Fine Cooking

Cumin and coriander spice up this classic soup recipe, that you can top with plain yogurt or heavy cream for a garnish. Add some freshly chopped parsley for a bit of color and call it a night. Get the recipe.

Butternut Squash and Vanilla Soup

Chocolate and Zucchini

This vegetarian version of butternut squash soup has vegetable broth and a full tablespoon of vanilla extract that adds a nuanced touch of sweetness that only gets better the longer the flavors meld. Get the recipe.

Instant Pot Cajun Butternut Squash Soup

Little Spice Jar

Cajun seasoning and garlic croutons give a little kick to butternut squash soup. You can try it with crab stock and lump crab too, or with andouille sausage, but this Instant Pot version comes together lickety-split. Get the recipe.

Butternut Squash Farro Soup

Chowhound

A heartier cold weather inspired recipe, the farro and kale in this soup add texture and some additional protein. Try any type of grain you have on hand and serve with a crusty baguette for a perfect fall supper. Get our Butternut Squash Farro Soup recipe.

Creamy Spiced Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon

Just Jessie B

This paleo-friendly recipe has lots of flavor—garlic, cayenne, ginger, nutmeg, and coconut milk blend together to form a creamy and somewhat spicy soup. Top with crispy bacon bits. Get the recipe.

Maple Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Ambitious Kitchen

Maple syrup, apple, and carrot add a bit of sweetness to this butternut squash soup recipe. Make a double batch and keep some in the freezer as it reheats perfectly and you can never have too much soup on hand for unexpected dinner guests. Get the recipe.

Smoked Gruyere Butternut Squash Soup with Spicy Chickpeas

How Sweet Eats

Freshly grated gruyere and some full-fat coconut milk make this a reach and creamy soup that is absolutely outstanding when topped with the spicy chickpeas the recipe calls for. The smoked paprika and cayenne pepper on the chickpeas are a great match for the creamy butternut squash soup. Get the recipe.

Related Video: How to Make Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup

from Food News – Chowhound https://ift.tt/2x79dOC
via IFTTT

Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars

Get Recipe!

from Serious Eats: Recipes https://ift.tt/2x9o6Qd
via IFTTT

How to Throw an Instant Pot Dinner Party

I have to admit something.

As I’m writing this, I just finished an ad-lib recipe in my own Instant Pot and I was devilishly careless. Working loosely from recipes for steak au poivre and beef stew, I paid far less attention to the things I normally do, like measurements and cooking times. I added a dash where a dollop was called for and stirred when I was supposed to whisk. I was bad, you guys. Really bad.

These all may sound like criminal offenses to the serious at-home or professional chef but I’m not to blame, I swear. These are side effects, sweet liberating side effects, of owning an Instant Pot: a magical machine whose praises we’ve sung before and one which allows freestyle cooks like myself to flourish in whimsy.

The oh-so-trendy Canadian-designed multi-cooker sports a self-proclaimed seven functions (in the basic model) including; slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice maker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker, warmer, and time machine. Okay, so it’s not a time machine in the way that this is a time machine, but you know those rich, layered flavors that seem achievable only through an hours-long braise or by letting a sauce simmer all afternoon? Instant Pot’s pressure cooking feature has the ability to (safely) impart “all day” flavor and tenderness in shockingly little time.

Because of this, flavors integrate faster and better than other quicker cooking methods, causing individual ingredients and their distinct profiles to give way to a more nuanced and balanced quality. In other words, it allows us to take calculated risks here and there with far less potential for ruining dinner and much more for discovering kitchen greatness.

That’s not to say recipes don’t matter when using the Instant Pot; they most certainly do. So put down the leftover bottle of coconut rum—it’s not going in your chili. But Instant Pot does free up the free-spirited among us for a little controlled experimentation. And if you’re a spice-huckin’ Gemini like me, it’s a bit of a dream come true.

So, how did my lil’ o’ this, lil’ o’ that, hybrid au poivre/beef stew turn out, you ask? As good and as dinner party-ready as anything I’ve cooked all year. With a little nifty maneuvering, Instant Pot can get you through your next dinner party from courses one to five and beyond.

In honor of my culinary feat of near negligence, try these wow ‘em dinner party recipes in your Instant Pot at your next hosted gathering and wait for a slow-building round of applause.

Instant Pot Roasted Garlic

A Real Food Journey

There is almost nothing that will instill a sense “everything is going to be okay” quite like whole roasted cloves of garlic. Put these out with some crusty bread and olives to welcome your guests as they mingle and drink that first glass of wine. Get the recipe.

Savory Spinach and Artichoke Cheesecake

Peas and Crayons

Instant Pot is a dream device for cooking cheesecake evenly every time. This spin reimagines the beloved spinach and artichoke dip with a far more sophisticated presentation. Another nice one to bring out as guests are arriving or mingling. Get the recipe.

Instant Pot Carrot Soup

Plated Cravings

If you own an Instant Pot, you know why the soup course is now the best course. With the ability to jam-pack eons of flavor in minutes with the pressure cooking feature, this carrot soup with ginger and coconut milk will taste like a million hours. Get the recipe.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Real Food Outlaws

Cream of asparagus soup will be an unexpected first or second course and no one will guess it took so little time to prepare. So don’t tell them. Get the recipe.

Pressure Cooker Porcini Mushroom Risotto

New York Times Cooking

With a 15-minute porcini mushroom risotto, you can finally invite Tom and his vegetarian girlfriend Pam to a dinner party. Serve this as a main or decadent second course. Get the recipe.

Pressure Cooker Lamb Shanks

Nom Nom Paleo

Good lamb shanks can take as much as 5-7 hours to get right sans Instant Pot. This version tastes like the real thing, because it is the real thing…only in a fraction of the time. Get the recipe.

Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Savory Tooth

Chicken Tikka Masala is comforting, exotic, and pleasing to almost any crowd. This version takes less then an hour with Instant Pot. Serve with naan and basmati rice. Get the recipe.

Better than Sex Chocolate Lava Cake

Adventures of a Nurse

If it’s ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ you’re looking for to finish off the evening, look no further than this “better than sex” chocolate lava cake made simple and under 10 minutes with Instant Pot. Get the recipe.

Related Video: How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Pho

from Food News – Chowhound https://ift.tt/2HCxEa4
via IFTTT