Let's be honest, there are tons of way to make a quick red pasta sauce for dinner. It might take an hour at most and with the real cheater methods it can take as little as 5 minutes. But recently, I had some leftover chuck roast that needed to be cooked and I was tired of the braised meats like pot roast and short ribs and wanted something Italian. Chuck roast has to be cooked long to be tender and delicious. So I decided to use the crockpot to make a chuck roast spaghetti sauce.
If you like your spaghetti sauce with ground meat in it you'll find this is a little strange. If you're one of those people who has your own meat grinder though; you could potentially grind your chuck. Or you could just use ground beef or sausage if you're trying to use up your beef. The sauce turned out pretty good for simmering away in the crock pot all day--passable for leftovers.
The dish is more like an Italian strogonoff except without mushrooms. The fresh beet fettuccine I used also played off the strogonoff feel by tasting a lot more like egg noodles than bold pasta flavor.
So the age old question - Can you make spaghetti sauce in the crockpot? has been answered. Yes.
Oh and did I mention that I cheated even in the actual making? This a true set it and forget it meal.
Ingredients
1 jar (20oz) favorite marinara pasta sauce
1 lb chuck roast, cubed
1 Can whole tomatoes in juice, torn into pieces
2 cloves garlic, smashed and separated into pieces
salt
1t crushed red pepper
1 1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 t tomato paste
pasta, for serving
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients except pasta in the slow cooker.
2. Set cooker for 8-9 hours on low (I did 9 and it warmed for 3 and then shut off).
3. Around the end of the cook time, boil water and cook pasta
4. Serve with pasta
Showing posts with label crockpot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crockpot. Show all posts
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Monday, November 24, 2008
Braised Brisket with Cranberries
Thursday I whipped up Braised Brisket with Cranberries. I gave it a creative flair by making it in the crock pot instead of braising it. Probably not the best choice--but I just thought it would be easier than planning to be home for 3 1/2 hours in one go on a work day.
I also skipped the browning of the meat. This probably was also a mistake because it didn't have that delicious carmelization. But whatever, I decided to be daring.
This corkscrew gave me a lot of problems with the timing and I ended up leaving ridiculously late for work (but it didn't actually take long to get there). I totally have a nicer, more useful corkscrew too, but alas it was at Joey's house.
Anyway, once I got the wine open, I poured it, the broth, the spices, the onions, the meat, the cranberries and whatever else it called for and set it to forget it.
After work, I came home to a great smelling apartment. I served the brisket with cornbread...I think I should have tried the real method. As it turned out, the brisket tasted exactly like the other brisket I made before with completely different ingredients. The broth/sauce was missing flavor. The brisket tasted best when I added a bunch of Heinz chili sauce to the mixture.
Recipe here. If you try it the real way, and it's amazing, let me know.
I also skipped the browning of the meat. This probably was also a mistake because it didn't have that delicious carmelization. But whatever, I decided to be daring.
This corkscrew gave me a lot of problems with the timing and I ended up leaving ridiculously late for work (but it didn't actually take long to get there). I totally have a nicer, more useful corkscrew too, but alas it was at Joey's house.
Anyway, once I got the wine open, I poured it, the broth, the spices, the onions, the meat, the cranberries and whatever else it called for and set it to forget it.
After work, I came home to a great smelling apartment. I served the brisket with cornbread...I think I should have tried the real method. As it turned out, the brisket tasted exactly like the other brisket I made before with completely different ingredients. The broth/sauce was missing flavor. The brisket tasted best when I added a bunch of Heinz chili sauce to the mixture.
Recipe here. If you try it the real way, and it's amazing, let me know.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Crock Pot Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
After reading Liz's post about making chicken in the crock pot, I decided that I ought to try making a whole chicken for once in the crock pot. I absolutely love the crock pot because it allows me to make dinner when I am at work. I come home and my house smells just like home is supposed to smell. The best part is that you can make pretty much the whole dinner in there and just round it out with a little fruit or salad or a steamed vegetable or maybe some bread or pasta.
I scoured the web for a roasted chicken recipe for the crock pot and came up short. Everything I found was for just unflavored chicken. I was concerned because a lot of times I make a recipe for the crock pot it comes out lacking flavor. So, I decided to make it up instead.
Last night, I cut up some parsnips, carrots, and onions into bite sized pieces. I put them in a gallon size ziploc bag with some Lawry's seasoning salt, Thyme and garlic as well as a sprig of rosemary and set them in the refrigerator overnight.
I also dressed the chicken (just like Amelia Bedelia) with some salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and garlic. I put the garlic in the cavity and removed the other stuff that was in there. However, I was pretty grossed out dealing with the whole chicken. It was a little close to real life animal for me. I had this same problem once when I needed boneless pork shoulder but was distracted by the low price of boned pork shoulder (called Pork Arm Picnic--which should have stopped me immediately)--the thing that was worse about that was that you could feel the joints. Disgusting. So, I had a lot of trouble with the chicken, but I manged to dress it and then put it on a plate in the fridge overnight covered with foil.
I have to leave for work before 7 in order to get there with the shortest possible commute in minutes. I leave myself 30 minutes to get ready and leave in the morning. Because I did most of the preperation last night, I was able to prepare the pot in just 7 minutes, set it to cook, and still leave before 7. Impressive, I know.
I used the probe feature on my crock pot for the first time and I was a little worried about it. I read the Betty Crocker cookbook basics about cooking a whole chicken in the oven. I learned that it has to be 180 degrees to be fully cooked in the thickest part of the thigh. This is where they lost me. I know what a chicken thigh is, but when I looked at the bird sitting there, I couldn't really determine where the thigh was. I guessed, and apparently I got it right. Phew. The probe switches the crock to Warm after it reaches the tempurtare inputed in the morning.
The chicken turned out to be flavorful and delicious except the breast part was a tad dry (but I don't usually like the breast part in general, it was pretty much as dry as any chicken breast is usually). The vegetables, while fully cooked were tasteless, I don't know how to fix that though, so we just salted them.
Crock Pot Roasted Chicken and Vegetables - Served 3 with 1/2 chicken leftover
Ingredients:
1 Whole 5+ pound chicken
1 bag parsnips
4 red potatoes
3 large carrots
1 brown or yellow onion (I made a recipe with a red onion and it didn't hold up at all in the crock)
6 cloves of garlic, papery skins removed
3 sprigs rosemary
salt or lawrys seasoning salt
pepper
dried Thyme
Directions:
1. The night before, remove giblets from chicken and replace with garlic and 2 rosemary sprigs. 2. Sprinkle salt, pepper and thyme on both sides of the chicken, rub in
3. Cut up carrots, onion and parsnips into bite sized chunks--don't cut them too small or they will turn to mush
4. Sprinkle vegetables with salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary and store in a ziploc bag overnight
5. In the morning, spread vegetables on the bottom of the crockpot
6. Place the chicken backside up on top of the vegetables. Shift veggies to be sure that chicken fits in.
7. Insert the probe into the thickest part of the thigh avoiding the bone
8. Set the crockpot to stop cooking once it hits 180 degrees (I can't tell you in hours, but I know I left at 7 and it was at 32 degrees and I arrived home at 6:30 and it was on warm)
9. Serve chicken with vegetables straight from the pot
I scoured the web for a roasted chicken recipe for the crock pot and came up short. Everything I found was for just unflavored chicken. I was concerned because a lot of times I make a recipe for the crock pot it comes out lacking flavor. So, I decided to make it up instead.
Last night, I cut up some parsnips, carrots, and onions into bite sized pieces. I put them in a gallon size ziploc bag with some Lawry's seasoning salt, Thyme and garlic as well as a sprig of rosemary and set them in the refrigerator overnight.
I also dressed the chicken (just like Amelia Bedelia) with some salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and garlic. I put the garlic in the cavity and removed the other stuff that was in there. However, I was pretty grossed out dealing with the whole chicken. It was a little close to real life animal for me. I had this same problem once when I needed boneless pork shoulder but was distracted by the low price of boned pork shoulder (called Pork Arm Picnic--which should have stopped me immediately)--the thing that was worse about that was that you could feel the joints. Disgusting. So, I had a lot of trouble with the chicken, but I manged to dress it and then put it on a plate in the fridge overnight covered with foil.
I have to leave for work before 7 in order to get there with the shortest possible commute in minutes. I leave myself 30 minutes to get ready and leave in the morning. Because I did most of the preperation last night, I was able to prepare the pot in just 7 minutes, set it to cook, and still leave before 7. Impressive, I know.
I used the probe feature on my crock pot for the first time and I was a little worried about it. I read the Betty Crocker cookbook basics about cooking a whole chicken in the oven. I learned that it has to be 180 degrees to be fully cooked in the thickest part of the thigh. This is where they lost me. I know what a chicken thigh is, but when I looked at the bird sitting there, I couldn't really determine where the thigh was. I guessed, and apparently I got it right. Phew. The probe switches the crock to Warm after it reaches the tempurtare inputed in the morning.
The chicken turned out to be flavorful and delicious except the breast part was a tad dry (but I don't usually like the breast part in general, it was pretty much as dry as any chicken breast is usually). The vegetables, while fully cooked were tasteless, I don't know how to fix that though, so we just salted them.
Crock Pot Roasted Chicken and Vegetables - Served 3 with 1/2 chicken leftover
Ingredients:
1 Whole 5+ pound chicken
1 bag parsnips
4 red potatoes
3 large carrots
1 brown or yellow onion (I made a recipe with a red onion and it didn't hold up at all in the crock)
6 cloves of garlic, papery skins removed
3 sprigs rosemary
salt or lawrys seasoning salt
pepper
dried Thyme
Directions:
1. The night before, remove giblets from chicken and replace with garlic and 2 rosemary sprigs. 2. Sprinkle salt, pepper and thyme on both sides of the chicken, rub in
3. Cut up carrots, onion and parsnips into bite sized chunks--don't cut them too small or they will turn to mush
4. Sprinkle vegetables with salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary and store in a ziploc bag overnight
5. In the morning, spread vegetables on the bottom of the crockpot
6. Place the chicken backside up on top of the vegetables. Shift veggies to be sure that chicken fits in.
7. Insert the probe into the thickest part of the thigh avoiding the bone
8. Set the crockpot to stop cooking once it hits 180 degrees (I can't tell you in hours, but I know I left at 7 and it was at 32 degrees and I arrived home at 6:30 and it was on warm)
9. Serve chicken with vegetables straight from the pot
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Country Style Pork Ribs
This weekend, while on a last minute dinner quest for butter, my fiance and I noticed a great sale on country-style pork ribs--only 99 cents a pound! We pounced on the opportunity and purchased a 5.44 pound rack.
That night, we scoured through my selection of slow cooker recipes and finally found just what we were looking for in one of my most helpful books. We chose this recipe because we only needed to buy two additional ingredients to make it! Overall, a very cheap dinner.
We chose Wednesday as the day to cook it up because the most diners were available to partake. My
fiance and I knew we didn't need to eat 5 pounds of ribs ourselves, so on Tuesday night I organized all the ingredients and set them out so that before I left for work (by 7am at the latest) I could throw everything together in the crockpot--just set it, and forget it.
All the ingredients besides the meat and the onions were really just to make the sauce to cook it in--a basic bbq sauce. If you want to make this recipe even simpler, forget all the ingredients and just pour 3 cups of your favorite bbq sauce over the meat and onions.
These ribs fell right off the bone when they were done, but all the flavors from the cooking were completely lost, the meat was floating in a dark liquid filled with fat that fell in just like the meat. I didn't serve the liquid in the pot or the onions with the meat, instead, we used the reserved bbq sauce as well as a bottled sauce I had in the fridge to season up our meat. If you expect traditional bbq'd ribs, you'll be disappointed, but if you expect fall off the bone pork, you're in for a treat.
Country Style Pork Ribs
Ingredients:
1 large onion, thickly sliced and separated into rings
2 1/2-3 pounds of pork country style ribs--I used 5.44 pounds, so this might have had an impact on the extreme loss of liquid--I totally forgot to double the recipe as I had planned, but I doubt it made much of a difference
1 1/2C low-sodium V8
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/4 C molasses (my fiance couldn't believe I had this on hand)
3T vinegar
1t dry mustard
1/4t salt
1/4t pepper
1/4t dried thyme
1/4t dried rosemary
Directions:
Line the bottom of your slow cooker (mine is 6qts) with onion rings
Top with meat, cut into large chunks if necessary
Mix all the remaining ingredients together (should yield 4 cups)
Pour 3 cups of sauce over meat
Set the timer for 10-12 hours on the low setting (I did 10 hours)
Forget it.
Does anyone have any ideas of what to do with the leftovers to make a different meal out of it?
That night, we scoured through my selection of slow cooker recipes and finally found just what we were looking for in one of my most helpful books. We chose this recipe because we only needed to buy two additional ingredients to make it! Overall, a very cheap dinner.
We chose Wednesday as the day to cook it up because the most diners were available to partake. My
fiance and I knew we didn't need to eat 5 pounds of ribs ourselves, so on Tuesday night I organized all the ingredients and set them out so that before I left for work (by 7am at the latest) I could throw everything together in the crockpot--just set it, and forget it.
All the ingredients besides the meat and the onions were really just to make the sauce to cook it in--a basic bbq sauce. If you want to make this recipe even simpler, forget all the ingredients and just pour 3 cups of your favorite bbq sauce over the meat and onions.These ribs fell right off the bone when they were done, but all the flavors from the cooking were completely lost, the meat was floating in a dark liquid filled with fat that fell in just like the meat. I didn't serve the liquid in the pot or the onions with the meat, instead, we used the reserved bbq sauce as well as a bottled sauce I had in the fridge to season up our meat. If you expect traditional bbq'd ribs, you'll be disappointed, but if you expect fall off the bone pork, you're in for a treat.
Country Style Pork Ribs
Ingredients:
1 large onion, thickly sliced and separated into rings
2 1/2-3 pounds of pork country style ribs--I used 5.44 pounds, so this might have had an impact on the extreme loss of liquid--I totally forgot to double the recipe as I had planned, but I doubt it made much of a difference
1 1/2C low-sodium V8
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/4 C molasses (my fiance couldn't believe I had this on hand)
3T vinegar
1t dry mustard
1/4t salt
1/4t pepper
1/4t dried thyme
1/4t dried rosemary
Directions:
Line the bottom of your slow cooker (mine is 6qts) with onion rings
Top with meat, cut into large chunks if necessary
Mix all the remaining ingredients together (should yield 4 cups)
Pour 3 cups of sauce over meat
Set the timer for 10-12 hours on the low setting (I did 10 hours)
Forget it.
Does anyone have any ideas of what to do with the leftovers to make a different meal out of it?
Friday, July 11, 2008
Tried It...
Well, I ended up making the Crock pot Indian Curry recipe I mentioned in the entry below. It turned out okay, a bit bland. It definitely needed something else, I salted it & Jake used hot sauce. I wouldn't make this again...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Crockpot 365
I saw this lady on Rachel Ray yesterday that made a New Year's resolution to use her crock pot everyday for the entire year! Wow...I know I couldn't do that. I think I am going to try the Indian Curry Recipe. Here is her blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
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