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Kiersten_love
Member
08-03-2001
| Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 10:19 pm
Oh My!!!!! i just checked out your site Teach, and i checked out the recipe section..and guess what??? you can make breads and cakes too. I am so shocked, I never knew it was so versatile. Now does anyone have some of those recipes we can try out??? 
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 3:03 am
I make pea soup and navy bean soup in the crockpot all the time! I use the 16oz bag of dry split peas (or navy beans). I don't use the kind that have those little "flavor packs" in the bag. Just the beans, nothing but the beans. Then, if the recipe on the bag says to use 6 cups of water, I use at least 4 cans of chicken broth. One can of broth is just under 2 cups, and Mom and I both like our soups more on the brothy side, so I usually use more liquid than it calls for. I don't soak the beans/peas. I just rinse them, throw them in the crock, add in the broth, and some grated carrots. I usually use the small bag of carrots, and run them through the food processor to grate them. The carrots will usually cook down to where you can't really see them, but they really add flavor! Throw in a ham bone or two (always save/freeze the ham bones from the holiday dinners for this purpose! Don't even need to thaw them out, just take them out of the freezer and throw them in the soup!). I usually throw all this stuff together before I head to bed. Then get up in the morning and start stirring the stuff to see if its getting too thick (always have another can or two of broth to throw in just in case!). As the ham bone cooks down, I usually start plucking out the chunks of fat that may come off, as well as lifting out the larger chunks of ham meat that might need a little assistance in getting broken down into smaller bits (I just set the larger chunks on a plate, shred them a bit with a couple of forks, and then dump the whole mess back in the crock). I just let it cook on low all day, until we get a hankering to eat.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 3:13 am
Who, do you cook it all night or just let it soak overnight? Kiersten, when your power goes out, the crockpot just didn't turn back on when it came back on? It was completely off? that's odd, i have had my power go out and my crockpots come back on when the power comes back.
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 3:22 am
I let it cook all night (on low). When I get up its cooked down enough (and soaked up the liquid enough) to know if I need to add more broth. Then I just let it keep cooking during the day as well. Since I'm home I'm there to keep stirring to make sure it doesn't burn. With the peas, by the time I get up they are softened, but not quite cooked down to the desired pea soup consistancy. The beans usually have swelled up considerably, and I add more broth to make it more soupy. Just to clarify....I don't cook the peas and beans together. I just use the same basic recipe, and use either the peas or the beans! LOL! Oh, and I noticed I failed to mention the carrots I use are those bagged "baby carrots." I find them much more flavorful. And now I'm trying to remember if I use a whole bag on one crock of soup, or split the bag between the beans and the pea soups (since I usually make them one day after the other, then freeze the left overs. I haven't made my yearly batch this year yet! I know one year I made the pea soup too "carroty." So I froze the rest, and used it as a "base" to make the next batch, and just didn't add carrots and ham the next go-round (since it was already in the base). But I think when you start throwing in the ingredients, you can kinda tell by how it looks if theres too many carrots. I guess I'm not too helpful with my "recipes," since this kind of stuff I usually just throw things together till it "looks right." 
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 3:43 am
Oh, and another thing....(I keep remembering after I post, and now its too late to edit!). With the pea soup, I notice once you've refrigerated the left overs (assuming you might have some more the next day before freezing the rest), it always gets really really thick, and we often have to add water when reheating so we don't have to use a knife and fork to eat it (LOL). So if I am making some I know I'm going to mostly freeze, I'll make it a bit on the thin side, so once its been refridgerated/frozen, it comes out a better consistency. Oh, and the perfect "soup freezing" container....those Glad brand containers that are sort of rectangular, and hold 24 oz. They hold a perfect amount to serve two people. So I just fill up those containers, label them and stack them in the freezer! That "base" for the pea soup I mentioned in the previous post (when I made it too carroty)...I used two of the "Glad" containers (frozen) base, put in the 4 cans of broth, 1 bag of peas, plugged in the crock and went to bed. Then I got up and stirred, and checked the thickness throughout the day as usual. For the beans, a small diced onion goes well in it too when you are thowing things together. Can't remember now if I put it in the pea soup. For some reason it doesn't sound "right." Geeze, my memory is really bad this year!
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Kiersten_love
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 2:23 pm
Tex when the power goes out here, the crock goes out, but when the power came on, it was on but not to where it was set for the cooking time. But i will try it again....
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Kiersten_love
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 2:25 pm
YUMMY...your soup sounds wonderful Whoami. I love split pea soup. I usually make it on the stove, but if I can have a day of luck with the crock I most definitely will try yours out. thanks 
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 3:19 pm
Sheesh, your crockpot sounds way more techncial than mine! I just turn mine on and then turn it off all by myself 5, 8 or 10 hours later! LOL Who, I am going to try that recipe!
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Jewels
Member
09-23-2000
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 3:43 pm
I'm making a Meatball Stew in my crock pot tomorrow...I'll let you know if it turns out any good. I also make a really good Spaghetti Sauce in mine, it makes a huge amount so I have alot left to put in the freezer. Let me know if you would be interested in that recipe and I'll dig it out.
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 4:20 pm
Hope the soup turns out for ya Kiersten and Texannie! Especially with my vague descriptions! I prodded Mom's memory, and she agreed we do indeed use the onions in both the navy bean soup, and the pea soup. I just run it through the same food processor (well, its actually an electric grater thingy ma-jig) as I do the carrots. That way there's no large chunks of onion (or carrot) in the soup. And of course, I fish out all the bone bits before I serve up (and later freeze) the soup! That "basic" recipe works well with most bean type soups. I've used it for those bags of dry beans that have 15 different beans in it. And also with Anasazi beans (although those had a bit of a sweet taste to them, so I'm not sure I really cared for it). Also used it for a bag of beans that were labeled "Cajan bean soup." I still have containers of all those different experiments in the freezer. Our old standbyes are the navy bean soup (mom's favorite) and the pea soup (my favorite) though.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 4:26 pm
Who, that's how I cook so no prob for me following your 'recipe'! LOL We do cajun bean (or 12 bean) soup all the time..yummy!
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 5:15 pm
Another old stand by for our crock pot is stew. Again, I set it up the night before and let it cook overnight and into the next day. Again, no quantities of ingredients, just till it "looks right." I go and find some kind of meat (sometimes I even find some already cut into chunks and labeled "meat for stew." ). Brown the chunks, set aside. Peel and quarter potatoes. Throw in a bag of those "baby carrots" (yes, I use them a lot!). Add a large onion, usually quartered (or even....uh "eighthed?" LOL). Also add a can of diced tomatoes (I usually use the 24oz can) juice and all. I mix up all the ingredients (sans meat), then layer the meat on top of the whole mess, so as it does it's "overnight gig" the meat's juices can drip down into the rest of the mix. Pour in enough beef broth to cover the whole mess. Plug it in and go to bed. Get up the next morning, and just do the stirring/testing/making sure it won't burn thing....again, just let it cook on warm until ya get a hankering to eat! Oh, and so none of the drippings/flavor from browning the meat gets lost or wasted, I usually pour one of the cans of broth I intend to throw into the crock into the pan I browned the meat in first. That way it will soak up the drippings from the meat out of the pan. Then I pour that into the crock. Our favorite way to eat the stew is to take our serving, mash it up a bit on our plate, and then use a ladle to pour the broth over the whole thing. The potatoes mashed up a bit like that with the broth poured over it is especially yummy.
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Bubbakitty
Member
01-29-2005
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 5:42 pm
I also make a really good Spaghetti Sauce in mine, it makes a huge amount so I have alot left to put in the freezer. Let me know if you would be interested in that recipe and I'll dig it out Count me in as interested!
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Friday, January 20, 2006 - 6:46 am
Does anyone have a favorite chili recipe?
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Bandit
Member
07-29-2001
| Friday, January 20, 2006 - 9:34 am
I'm interested in the spaghetti sauce recipe as well as a good chili recipe!
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Jewels
Member
09-23-2000
| Friday, January 20, 2006 - 2:56 pm
Okay, here it is...it's pretty basic, but it is really good. Meaty Spaghetti Sauce 1 lb. ground beef 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage 1 med. green pepper, chopped 1 med. onion, chopped 8 garlic cloves, minced 3 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) Italian diced tomatoes, drained 2 cans (15 oz. each) tomato sauce 2 cans (6 oz. each) tomato paste 1/3 cup sugar 2 tblsp. Italian seasoning 1 tblsp. dried basil 2 tsp. dried marjoram 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp pepper In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef and sausage until no longer pink; drain. Transer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir in green pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, paste, sugar and seasonings; mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until bubbly. Yield: 12 servings.
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Jewels
Member
09-23-2000
| Friday, January 20, 2006 - 3:02 pm
Since I am here I'll type up the recipe for the Meatball Stew that I have in the crock pot right now. It smells really good so hopefully it will taste just as good! Meatball Stew 3 med. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 pkg. (16 oz.) fresh baby carrots, quartered 1 large onion, chopped 3 celery ribs, sliced 1 pkg. (12 oz.) frozen cooked meatballs 1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed tomato soup, undiluted 1 can (10-1/2 oz.) beef grazy 1 cup water 1 envelope onion soup mix 2 tsp. beef bouillon granules Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and meatballs in a 5-qt. slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over meatball micture. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Yield: 6 servings.
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Bandit
Member
07-29-2001
| Friday, January 20, 2006 - 3:24 pm
Thanks, Jewels!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, January 20, 2006 - 8:03 pm
How do you feel about White Chili? 6-8 cups chicken broth 1/2 C chopped onion 1 - 4 oz. can chopped green chilies' 3 cans drained, rinsed northern beans 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used canned stuff from Sam's Club, but can nuke chicken in microwave too or substitute chopped ham) 2 TB ground cumin 1 TB dried oregano 1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (less if you don't like spicy) Stir and cook all day on low. With canned chicken and a veggie chopper, this takes about 3 minutes to throw together. Before serving, I usually thicken it a little. I put 1/4 cup flour in a bowl and add enough cold water to make a paste, stirring until flour is smooth. Add to crockpot and stir for 3-4 minutes. If you were to make the long version w/NON-canned beans, it would be thicker anyway.
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Kiersten_love
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, January 20, 2006 - 10:07 pm
thanks jewels, teach and whoami..great recipes. i am going to use it this weekend, as I hope to be home so I can make sure it stays on LOL. Tex, I have a digital one, in case you didn't realize that, so when it goes out and comes back on it doesn't go back to the cooking stage. Maybe you have an older model that works all the time. 
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 4:07 am
Kierston, well that makes more sense! LOL i have two, but neither are digital. I suggest you return the digital one and get the non digital one given your power outage problems. These are the two I have 6 Quart Oval Smart-Pot™ Programmable Slow Cooker http://www.crockpot.com/programmable.html# 3.5 Quart Oval Slow Cooker http://www.crockpot.com/traditional.html
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 4:08 am
This is Rival's site...lots of good tips and recipes.....i want that barbecue crockpot! LOL http://www.crockpot.com/index.aspx
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 4:15 am
Maris, I may lose my Texas citizenship over this, but here is my recipe for chili. (you can do it in the crockpot or on the stove). (I don't like all the fancy Texas chili recipes using masa and such) Go to the store and buy a can (or two) of Rotel Chili Fixin's http://www.texmex.net/Products/foods.htm#RO*TEL and follow the recipe on the back of the can.
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 5:09 am
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Saturday, January 21, 2006 - 3:17 pm
LOL Texannie! That sounds like the chili I make. I do sort of embellish on the cans though. Lets see if I can dredge up my memory of the chili I made last year....(again, actual proportions are "till it looks good" kinda thing!) And again, I set it up the night before, and spend the next day stirring and checking until we get a hankering to eat! 1 can chili beans 1 can black beans 1 can of any kind of bean that looks like it might do well in a chili! (optional! LOL) hamburger--browned and drained onion-diced 1 can diced tomatoes 1 pkg chili seasoning (those tiny little square packs) Throw the whole mess (including any juices the beans/tomatoes were canned in) in the crock, plug in on low and go to bed! Stir and taste in the morning, see if it needs any more seasoning (always have a few more of those little packs on hand just in case). If it needs more liquid, another can of diced tomatoes might be ok too, as long as it doesn't get overpowered with tomatoes. The longer it cooks during the day, the longer all those spices and things have to cook into each other. Oh, and the chili beans...I used the "hot" chili beans, and of course they still had barely a kick at all! So the chili seasoning helps out a little! That "optional" can of beans could be a can of "normal" chili beans, and then one can of "hot." Whatever suits your taste buds! The thing I love the most about all the crock recipes I've submitted is the "plug in the crock, cook on low and go to bed." Its so nice to wake up to the smell of these yummy things permeating the house!
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