Ahira's Hangar

(except for Salad and Fruit/Cheese Board)

On the various cooking forums I frequent, I continuously read posts from cooks griping about not having enough oven space for preparing the main course and sides, as well as other items which need to go in to the oven, for festive gatherings. I own five crockpots, and strongly encourage everyone to make use of them where they can.

So, to encourage y'all to consider doing so, I put together a selection of recipes that I feel could be used to make an entire festive meal with very little use of the range and oven.

I hope others will post favorite crockpot recipes which could be used for this purpose as well.

Appetizers:

Hot Dog and Bacon Roll-Ups

2 pounds (20) hot dogs, cut in thirds crosswise
1 pound bacon (20 slices), cut in thirds crosswise
brown sugar

Take a piece of hot dog and piece of bacon, wrap bacon around hot dog. Secure bacon to hot dogs with toothpicks. Place one layer of wrapped hot dogs in bottom of crockpot and sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Repeat until all the hot dogs have been used, ending with more brown sugar. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or cook on HIGH 3 to 4 hours.
Makes 60 hot dog and bacon appetizers.

Grape Jelly and Chili Meatballs

1 1/2 cups chili sauce
1 cup grape jelly (can use currant jelly)
1 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 pound frozen meatballs (small diameter, if possible)

Combine chili sauce, grape jelly, and mustard in Crock Pot and stir well. Cook, covered on high, for 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the frozen meatballs, stir to coat, cover and cook on Low 4 to 6 hours.

Sugared Pecans and/or Walnuts

16 ounces pecans or walnut halves
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Turn slow cooker to HIGH about 15 minutes in advance. In hot slow cooker, stir together the nuts and butter. Add the powdered sugar, stirring to blend and coat evenly. Cover and cook on HIGH for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to LOW and remove lid; cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 2 to 3 hours, or until the nuts are coated with a crisp glaze.
Transfer the nuts to a bowl.
In another small bowl, combine the spices; sift over the nuts, stirring to coat evenly.
Let cool before serving.

Soup:

Curried Butternut Squash & Apple Soup
A Cuisinart slow cooker recipe. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for a vegetarian alternative.
SERVES 6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes (weigh after peeling & seeding)
1 lb apple, peeled, cored &, cut into wedges
1/4 cup raw jasmine rice
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Sour cream or plain yogurt, optional

In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
Add onions & celery and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent.
Add curry powder and ginger and cook for 5 to 6 minutes longer over low heat, until veggies are softened and spices are fragrant.
Place butternut squash, apples, and rice in slow cooker (in that order).
Add chicken stock, salt and pepper.
Cook on high for 1 hour, then reduce to low temperature and cook 5 additional hours.
Puree the soup to a completely smooth texture with hand blender or blender.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt, if desired.

(serve salad of choice)

Entrée:

Crockpot Stuffed Turkey Breast
Yield: 8 Servings

1/4 cup Butter; melted
1 small Onion; finely chopped
1/2 cup Celery; finely chopped
2 1/2 oz Bacon croutons
1 cup Chicken stock
1 TBS Parsley, fresh; minced
1/2 tsp Poultry seasoning
1 Turkey breast, whole-uncooked
Salt; to taste
Pepper; to taste
Cheesecloth (about 24x36"-for each turkey breast)
Wine, white, dry

Combine butter, onion, celery, croutons, stock, parsley, and poultry seasoning. Cut turkey breast in thick slices, from breastbone to rib cage, leaving slices attached to bone. Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Soak cheesecloth in wine.

Set turkey on cheesecloth. Stuff bread mixture into slits of turkey. Fold one end of cheesecloth over other to cover meat.

Place on metal rack or trivet in slow-cooking pot. Cover pot and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or until tender. Pour additional wine over turkey during cooking. Remove from pot and take cheesecloth off immediately. If browner breast is preferred, remove from pot and brown in 400°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand 10 min.

Drippings may be thickened for gravy if desired.

Serve each person one or more thick slices of turkey with dressing in between. This recipe designed for 4 1/2 quart or larger slow cooking pot.

Side Dishes:

Slow Cooker “Stuffing”

Use any stuffing recipe desired.
Mix according to directions.
Lightly grease crockery and put in mixture.
Cover and cook on High 45 minutes.
Turn crockpot to Low.
If you have an older crockpot, cook six to eight hours.
If you have a newer crockpot which cooks at higher temperature, cook four hours and serve or switch to Low.

Green Bean Casserole

Follow favorite recipe and cook on Low until heated through.
If made in an oven safe crock insert, finish by topping with fried onions and placing for five minutes in the oven.

(This next is an adaptation of a Gooseberry Patch Farmhouse Chr-stmas recipe that I am attempting for the first time. It is not tried and true yet)

Vanilla Glazed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

3 lbs Sweet Potatoes, Peeled (I use one third sweet potatoes, one third parsnips and one third carrots. Similar to a tsimmis mix)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp orange zest, grated
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup orange juice
1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Slice root vegetables in to 1/4" slices. Place in crockery. Whisk together ingredients except pecans and pour over vegetables. Cover and cook on Low for seven to nine hours, stirring occasionally to keep coated. If glaze is not thickened, remove vegetables from crockery at end of cooking time to a jelly roll pan and brush sauce evenly over the vegetables. Broil 6" from heat until golden, about 6 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans. Makes 6 servings.

Bread:

Place frozen yeast rolls in bottom of well greased crockpot, cover and set on Low until risen. Turn to High and cook until rolls are brown. They will not get as dark as oven baked rolls, but they will cook through.

Desserts:

Cheese board with appropriate fruit
We like apples and grapes.

First, a dessert we consider a fairly elegant option:

Apricot Glazed Pears

6 large Ripe, firm fresh pears
1 cup Apple juice
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 tablespoon Butter or reduced-fat margarine
1 Cinnamon stick
1 jar (12 oz. size) apricot preserves

Peel pears, leaving them whole with stem intact. Place in slow cooker. Add apple juice, vanilla, butter and cinnamon stick. Cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Remove pears with slotted spoon. Place in individual dessert dishes. Heat apricot preserves in small saucepan until melted. Top each pear with preserves sauce.

And now the “baked” dessert options…

Crockpot Apple “Cake” Dessert

6 apples peeled, cored and sliced
8 oz yellow cake mix
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
sugar
cinnamon

Put slices of apples in crockery. Pour half a package of dry cake mix over apples. Drizzle butter over cake mix. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture over all, cover and cook on low 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Keep checking and it's done when the apples are soft.

Crockpot Lemon Poppyseed Upsidedown Cake
This cake makes its own custard-like topping.

1 package Lemon-Poppyseed Bread Mix
1 egg
8 ounces light sour cream
1/2 cup water

Sauce:

1 TBS butter
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
juice from one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

Mix the first 4 ingredients together until well moistened. Spread batter in a lightly greased 3 1/2 quart crockpot. Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Pour boiling mixture over the batter; cover and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Edges will be slightly browned. Turn heat off and leave in the pot for about 30 minutes with cover slightly ajar. When cool enough to handle, hold a large plate over the top of the pot then invert.

Crockpot Carrot Cake

yellow cake mix
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup water

Line bottom of slow cooker with foil. Pour in batter. Place 5 paper towels between cooker and lid. Put wooden match or equivalent in size between paper and lid to allow steam to escape. Do not lift lid for at least 2 hours. Cook on hi for at least 2 1/2 hours or till toothpick comes out clean when tested. Leave in, shut off cooker to cool at least 20 min. Loosen sides of cake with knife. Invert cake onto plate, foil up. Then on to rack foil side down to cool. Remove foil before serving.

Crockpot Creamy Orange Cheesecake Recipe
(this method works for nearly any 7” cheesecake recipe)

Crust:

3/4 cup cookie or graham cracker crumbs
2 TBS sugar
3 TBS melted butter

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese (light)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tsp orange or lemon zest, or dried grated rind
1 TBS flour
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine crumbs with sugar; mix in melted butter until well moistened. Pat into a 7-inch spring form pan.

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs and yolk and beat for about 3 minutes on medium with a hand-held electric mixer. Beat in orange juice, zest, flour, and vanilla. Beat for another 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared crust; place on a rack or aluminum foil ring in the crockery cooker (so it doesn't rest on the bottom of the pot). Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Turn off and leave for 1 to 2 hours, until cool enough to remove. Cool completely and remove the sides of the pan. Chill before serving, and store leftovers in the refrigerator.

I hope this gives you an idea of what can be done with the crockpot.

speaking of crockpots - at the little store at work they now carry crockpots with two pots with their own controls. So - a double barreled crockpot, so to speak. I am thinking about getting one - they would be perfect for parties and holidays, and big family dinners.