Barbecue Ribs & Cabbage in the Slow Cooker – An Easy Dinner That Satisfies!

Tags

barbecue, crockpot, pork, recipe, red cabbage, ribs, sauce, slow cooker

It has been way too long since I’ve posted anything and I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but after posting something on Facebook I had a request to post this recipe. Pork ribs were on sale at my local grocery store, so I picked up a rack. With the cold weather, we haven’t been in barbecue mode, but I have been in slow cooker mode! So slow cooker ribs it is! 

I was looking through one of my cook books and saw a few recipes for ribs with saurkraut. Now that sounds interesting! I didn’t have much saurkraut on hand, but I did have a jar of red cabbage. This sounded even better to me! I must say, it did not disappoint! The ribs were tender and delicious and the cabbage was incredibly tasty!

This meal was super easy to make and was incredibly satisfying! My family loved it! I served it with a side of corn and some fresh baked sourdough bread. I made my own sourdough starter for the first time, but that is another post!

Barbecue Ribs & Cabbage in the Slow Cooker

1 rack of pork ribs (I used loin back ribs), cut to fit in slow cooker, I cut mine in half

1 – 12 oz jar of German red cabbage

2 cups of barbecue sauce (I used 1 cup of Kinder’s Sweet Sriracha BBQ sauce and 1 cup Kinder’s California Gold BBQ sauce) 

2 tsp liquid smoke

Season ribs with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Cover ribs with red cabbage,then pour over BBQ sauce and finally, sprinkle on the liquid smoke. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Cook shorter time for on the bone ribs. Cook longer for fall off the bone meat. Mine was somewhere in between and was very nice to eat.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash and Zucchini Soup – Another Low Sodium Choice

Tags

Butternut Squash, crockpot, low sodium, slow cooker, soup, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini

I’m still on my quest to make tasty, low sodium meals for my inlaws. In cooking for others, in addition to my own brood at home, I’ve found the slow cooker to be an immense help! I load it up in the morning and let it cook all day and by dinner time, I’m still up for cooking dinner for our household. Today’s meal was a delicious, hearty squash soup that would be a great autumn meal! I love the warm, fresh flavor of butternut squash and that beautiful orange color makes for stunning soups! This recipe is very low sodium. You can add some, if that’s not an issue for you, but this was pretty tasty as is. As I always like to say, play with your food! This soup is a perfect opportunity to play with your herbs and spices.

I didn’t happen to have any carrots on hand, but those would have been a great add to this soup! This recipe coud easily be adapted to be vegan friendly.

Butternut Squash and Zucchini Soup

2 zucchini, thickly sliced

1 medium butternut squash, cubed

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 large white onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, mince or pressed

2 tsp garlic and herb Mrs. Dash

1 tsp Table Blend Mrs. Dash

2 tsp fresh thyme, removed from stems and chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp cardamom 

1/4 tsp Chinese five spice

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I used some of my homemade chicken broth, so I know there was no salt)

1/2 cup fat free half and half

Add all ingredients except the half and half to your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until all veggies are tender. Add half and half for the last 15 minutes of cooking time. I have an immersion blender, so I used this right in my slow cooker pot to blend this up and make it a smooth texture. You can also transfer to a blender or food processor in small batches and blend until smoot. As always, be extremely careful when transferring and blending hot liquids. Hold that lid in place, so hot liquid doesn’t explode into your face!!!

Be careful and enjoy!

Mushroom Ranch Potatoes – Slow Cooked Potatoes Exploding With Flavor!!!

Tags

Cheese, cream of mushroom, crockpot, onion, potatoes, ranch dressing, slow cooker, southern hasbrowns

Life has been a little crazy lately, so I was looking to make a fairly easy dinner for the family last night. These Mushroom Ranch Potatoes filled the bill! It was as simple as chopping a little onion and dumping my ingredients in the slow cooker! The pay out was great tasting potatoes though! The cream of mushroom soup and cheese gave it creamyness and the ranch dressing mix and onion gave it wonderful savory flavor. This was good enough to serve as a holiday side dish and would be easy to increase for a crowd. It would also be good topped with some panko or bread crumbs!

I served these with a Beer Butt Chicken (Yes, you read this right!) and some local, organic corn on the cob. Mmmm! It was a delicious dinner!

Mushroom Ranch Potatoes

1 – 32 oz bag of frozen southern hash brown potatoes

1 – 14 oz can low-fat cream of mushroom soup

1/2 white onion, chopped

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Before opening the bag, break up the potatoes by throwing down bag or using a meat tenderizer to pound the bag. You want to be able to stir the potatoes with all the other ingredients. Spray a slow cooker pot with non-stick spray. Add all ingredients and stir until mixed. Cook for 5-6 hours on low.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce

Tags

Chicken, crockpot, Dinner, peanut, Rice, sauce, slow cooker, Thai

 
This was originally posted by another blogger, but it sounded so good!!! Now that my peanut hating daughter no longer lives at home, I’m going to have to try making this!!!

(This recipe is dairy free.) Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 7 hours on low (or 3 to 4 hours on high) Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts 1 cup coconut milk 3/4 c chunky PB 3 tbsp honey 3 tbsp soy sauce Juice from 1 lime 2 tbsp rice vinegar 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes […]

https://combschristensonfoodandstuff.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/crockpot-chicken-with-thai-peanut-sauce/

Slow Cooked Cheesy Ranch Potatoes – Easy, Make Ahead, and Delicious!!!

Tags

Cooking, crockpot, Food, pot luck, recipe, side dish, Slow Cooked Cheesy Ranch Potatoes, vegetarian

   
In the past, I have made a potato dish in the slow cooker. It was good, but really fattening. I decided to take the basics of that recipe and make a healthier version. I made these for a family Easter luncheon and everyone really seemed to enjoy them. They were very flavorful and convenient, because you can make them ahead of time and pop into the slow cooker. They were perfect for a big gathering on a busy day!

The combination of sautéed vegetables, cheese, sour cream and ranch dressing mix added a ton of flavor. Using frozen, southern hash brown potatoes makes the preparation of this dish a breeze. No peeling and cutting potatoes is required.

I did all the steps up until putting them on to cook in the slow cooker, the day before and then set the pot in the slow cooker at 7 a.m. Easter morning and they were ready for a 1 p.m. Lunch.

Slow Cooked Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

48 oz. frozen southern hash brown potatoes

1 bell pepper, finely diced

¾ white onion, finely diced

6 oz mushrooms, finely diced

1 ½ packets ranch dressing mix

16 oz fat free sour cream

1 ½ cup fat free or low fat motzarella cheese, shredded

½ cup fat free milk

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray and add potatoes. Spray frying pan with non-stick spray and sauté peppers, onion and mushrooms. Add vegetables to potatoes. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream, cheese, milk, ranch dressing mix, salt and pepper. Add to potatoes and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. This serves about 15-18 people.

Chicken Tortilla Soup – Slow Cooked Greatness!!!

Tags

chicken tortilla soup, Cooking, crockpot, Food, Pioneer Woman, recipe, slow cooker

  
I wish I could take credit for this fantastic recipe, but I have to give it to Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. I think this is the best soup I’ve made to date! I’m not used to Chicken Tortilla Soup with so much tomato in it, but this dish is just delicious. It has a bold, little bit spicy flavor and it does all that with a low fat content. It is a must try!

The great thing about slow cookers is you can put your food together earlier in the day when your energy is up. And then later in the day when you’re tired, BOOM, dinner is ready!!! 

The Pioneer Woman’s 

3 whole Chicken Breasts

2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Cumin

 Salt And Pepper, to taste

1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped

1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Chopped

1 whole Seeded Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Or Diced Tomatoes, With Juice

1 can Rotel

3 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (more If You Like The Soup More Liquidy)

4 ounces, weight Tomato Paste

1 whole Chipotle Pepper In Adobo (may Add 2 To 3 If You’d Like) (Don’t be tempted to dice them! Too spicy!)

1 can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed

1 Lime, Juiced

 Fixins: Sour Cream, Avocado, Cilantro Leaves, Grated Cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle on the chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper. Add the onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato paste, chipotle, and black beans. Stir, place the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on high for 5 hours or high (or 8 hours on low.) Stir in the lime juice. Pull out the chipotle peppers and discard or be careful about who gets them. Spicy stuff!

Using 2 forks, break up the chicken into chunks (or you may shred it more fine.) Taste and add more salt if the soup needs it. 

Serve it piping hot in a bowl with avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, and cilantro leaves on top.