slow cooker | The Foodies' Kitchen

Four Bean Chili

My bulk Tuesdays are getting old. We’re kind of tired of lentils, red bean chili or chickpeas, so I needed (and still need) to find some new twists for my leguminous Tuesday lunches. I was happy to find this Four Bean Chili recipe, even though we’re still talking about beans… and chili… again, I find that mixing four different types of beans in an all-vegetarian meal would certainly bring a different twist.

I didn’t use any canned ingredients simply because I prefer to use fresh cooked beans. You can certainly use cans to make this an even easier meal. I also incorporated zucchini to the mix, you can add any variety you like.

Helga

4 Bean Chili

Recipe adapted from Clean Eating Recipes

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup black beans (dry, uncooked)
1 cup pinto beans (dry, uncooked)
1 cup kidney beans (dry, uncooked)
1 cup cannellini beans (dry, uncooked)
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 sliced zucchini
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth

Procedure:

The night before, get your slow cooker and mix beans together with enough water to cover them. Cook on Low for 8-9 Hours. (You can add a little salt to the water, onion and garlic and a bay leaf)
Next morning, drain your cooked beans. Sautee the onions and garlic in the olive oil, using a medium-sized soup pot.
Add all other ingredients and your drained cooked beans and stir to combine.
Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for approximately 10 minutes and remove from heat.
Allow to cool and serve.

09:39 AM
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- Chili, dinner, four bean, Lunch, slow cooker
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Freezer Method & Slow Cooking: Beef & Vegetable Goulash

Browsing through Pinterest (isn’t it addictive?!) I saw quite a few pins on slow cooking meals and frozen meals. I could certainly use the help this stew freezer method of cooking brings to someone with a tight schedule, like me. I tried a couple of recipes and let me tell you, this method IS a lifesaver. And not only that, the recipes are really delicious. I wouldn’t do this every day, but I do like to prepare them at least once a week, especially for my busiest day which is Monday.

First thing to do, is defrost your meat. I do that on Sunday, at noon. Prepare the recipe, which in my case, yields for two meals because you divide the whole thing into 2 resealable freezer bags and each bag is enough for 4 servings. Mark each bag with the cooking instructions (see my photo). At night I throw all the ingredients from one of the bags into my slow cooker, I turn it on Low at about 10pm before I go to sleep, and on Monday morning my meal is ready. I can forget about it and not worry about how I’m going to squeeze in the time to make lunch between house duties, office duties, picking Kristen up from school and taking her to swim class. (I have to get to all that before lunch time, which on Monday’s is at 2). I know a lot of us have hectic days like those, so I hope you will give this method a try.

The key is to organize yourself. Pick out at least 2 recipes and get the ingredients you need for one day of chopping and mixing. You’ll have a month’s worth of once a week freezer meals ready to help you out on your busiest days.

Freezer Method: Beef & Vegetable Goulash

Recipe adapted from Mama and Baby Love

Ingredients
Yields: 2 freezer bags, 4 serving each.

3 cups chopped onions
2 cups coarsely chopped green bell peppers.
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
2 cups of carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup of cooked peas (fresh or frozen)
2-3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into one inch cubes
2 500 gram cartons of crushed pureed tomatoes
2 tablespoons of paprika
2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup of white wine

Note: When you’re ready to cook, and you have transferred your prepared meal to your slow cooker, add some fresh herbs: 1 bay leaf and 1 spring of thyme.

Procedure:

Mix everything and divide into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.
Day of cooking, defrost your bag ahead of time. dump it into your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or low 6-8 hours, depending on your specific slow cooker.
I make white rice to go with this, but cooked noodles are also a great choice. You can add a little sour cream on top before serving.
Enjoy!

10:38 AM
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- Beef, dinner, freezer cooking, goulash, Lunch, make ahead, slow cooker, Vegetables
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Beef Bourguignon (Slow Cooker Recipe)

Actually, I made Beef Bourguignon without Mushrooms I didn’t have any at home, but decided to try the recipe anyway, I did add one peeled potato, cut into squares.

I haven’t taken advantage of my Crockpot, I should really try more recipes for it. Preparation time is usually about 15 minutes, you just put everything in there, leave it cooking overnight and next morning when you wake up, lunch is ready!

Beef Bourguignon (slow cooker recipe)

Yields:6 – 8 servings
Recipe from Crockpot.com

Ingredients:
6 strips bacon, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
3 pounds beef rump, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons flour
10 ounces beef broth, can condensed
2 cups red or Burgundy wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon whole thyme
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 pound white onions, peeled
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

Sauté bacon in a skillet on stovetop set to medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside.
Add beef cubes to skillet and brown well. Remove meat and set aside.
Brown carrot and onion in skillet and transfer to stoneware. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in flour, add broth, and mix well.
Add beef and bacon to stoneware, mix, and place in slow cooker heating base.
Add wine, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, onions, and mushrooms. Cover; cook on Low for 10-12 hours or on High for 5-6 hours.