Ginger Spiced Applesauce

Applesauce is one of my favorite things to make in a slow cooker. It is so simple and quick to make and you can add whatever flavor enhancers your prefer. I love a nice spiced applesauce in the fall; it works as a side dish, by itself, or on top of some vanilla ice cream (give it a shot…it's delicious.)

This applesauce is a bit different though…instead of using any traditional liquid or sugar, I instead used some Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Hard Cider and, oh boy, is it yummy and it screams fall.

For this applesauce, I used my Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker. The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget Slow Cooker, allows me to set a specific cooking time and then it automatically switches to warm, just in case I get busy while this is cooking away. I don’t have to worry about it burning. 

Ginger Spiced Applesauce

by Jenny

6 medium to large apples – I used Granny Smith for the tartness, but you can use either Macintosh, Cortland, or any other apple you prefer.

3/4 cup Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Hard Cider

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Peel, core and dice the apples in large pieces – discard the peels and cores.  

Add all ingredients to slow cooker and set on low for about 4 hours*.  

Apples will become extremely soft/mushy. Mash apples with a fork or potato masher and enjoy!  

Keep in an airtight container for up to one week.

Extremely easy to make, throw it all in the slow cooker and come back in a few hours for some very tasty (if I do say so myself) applesauce! Best part – it is naturally gluten-free. If you choose to not use the hard cider, you can substitute that for 1/3 cup of water and 1/4 cup of honey.

*These instructions are specific to the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker, so if you are not using this one, you may need to adjust it slightly.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I love the holiday season; especially all of the cooking that is involved with it. However, there are days where, if you are like me, get overwhelmed with making sure everything is all set before everyone arrives. This is the perfect time to bring out your slow cooker! I use my HamiltonBeach 6 qt. Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker.  I use this slow cooker because of the programming capabilities that it offers. You can set it to program, probe, or manual – I make this recipe using the program mode so I can set the specific time, choose between high and low heat, and when programmed time is up, it automatically switches to warm…which let’s face it = less stress!

This recipe can be adjusted to your level of spice preference, it is super easy to make…simply place all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, Set ‘n Forget! Makes for a delicious appetizer for any holiday party or gathering.

To make sure this is gluten-free, simply read all of the ingredients and allergen warnings. I haven’t tried it yet, but if you wanted to make a dairy free version, simply substitute out dairy free versions of the ingredients listed below.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

By Jenny

2 ½- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (either boiled chicken breast, store-bought rotisserie, or even canned chicken will work well)

16 ounces 1/3 fat cream cheese

2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

2 cups ranch dressing (try to avoid the low fat or fat free – it separates too much)

1 – 1 ½ cups hot sauce (Franks is my favorite for this)

Red Bell Pepper Strips

Celery Strips

Tortilla Chips

Prepare chicken – boil until cooked throughout and shred, or shred a rotisserie chicken. Set aside. Cube the cream cheese

Place all ingredients into the slow cooker in layers (cream cheese, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, ranch dressing, hot sauce, chicken, and then repeat). Cover the slow cooker and set it to cook for 2 hours on low.* Open, and stir dip well.

To serve, either place the dip in a large bowl, or leave in the slow cooker. Enjoy with vegetable strips such as peppers and celery or with tortilla chips.

*These instructions are specific to the Hamilton Beach 6 qt. Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker, so if you are not using this one, you may need to adjust it slightly.

Indian Style Beef Curry

When the weather starts to get cold outside I start thinking about hearty, body-warming dishes to serve my family. The only trouble is, usually those types of dishes take hours to prepare and are virtually impossible to make in the middle of the week. That’s where the handy dandy slow cooker comes in. It takes a weekend meal and plops it right into the middle of the week!

Now, I’ve traveled all over the world. And I have to say my favorite food destination was Singapore. Why? Because Singapore offered a very diverse array of flavorful curries - Indian and Thai (among others.) When I was little I was introduced to Asnie, a beautiful Malaysian woman (whom I adored with all my heart.) I noticed that she would always bring her own curry lunch or dinner, which was significantly hotter than anything we ever ate. I used to beg her to let me try her curry. She always hesitated but relented under my barrage of begging. HOLY CANOLI IT WAS HOT. But, I loved it. She would laugh and tell me that I was very brave. I learned a lot from Asnie. But mostly I learned to appreciate her culture and all of the cultures around which I was surrounded. In her honor, I made my own version of an Indian curry. But, let me preface this with the fact that I know that there are a lot of vegetarian Indian curries. My Indian Beef Curry is my own take on a traditionally vegetarian dish. It’s a work in progress. I’m still perfecting this recipe, but here it is in all its naked glory. I hope you enjoy.

Indian Style Beef Curry
by Maryjo
Adapted from the recipe for Kerala Beef Curry by Recipes 'R' Simple

3 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 pounds beef, cut into large 2 1/2- to 3-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt to season beef
1 cup onion, chopped (1 medium onion)
1 medium cinnamon stick, whole
2 Tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons turmeric
6 whole cloves
4 whole green cardamom seeds
4 black peppercorns
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)
1 Tablespoon ginger paste
1 Tablespoon garlic paste
3 Serrano peppers, sliced
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 fresh tomato, cut into about 8 pieces
6 cups water
3 to 4 fresh whole curry leaves (you can substitute 2 bay leaves if you don’t have curry leaves)
4 teaspoons salt
2 pounds potatoes
1 1/2 cups cauliflower flowerets
1/2 cup dried green lentils
1/2 cup dried brown or red lentils
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

Heat the coconut oil on high in a Dutch oven. Season the beef with salt. Divide the cubed beef into two batches. Brown the first batch of beef on all sides, about 4 minutes. Remove to a plate and brown the second batch on all sides, about 4 minutes. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside. Remove the pot from the heat and add the onion, cinnamon stick, garam masala, turmeric, cloves, cardamom seeds, peppercorns, paprika, chili powder, ground coriander, cumin, fenugreek seeds, ginger paste, garlic paste and Serrano peppers. Put it back on the heat on medium-high and stir around in the bottom of the pot until fragrant (about 2 minutes.) Add the tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes and curry leaves (or bay leaves) and stir together. If it is too thick or starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, add about 1/4 cup of water to the pot and reduce the heat a little. Put the beef back in the pot and stir to coat with the spices. Transfer everything to the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker. Add 6 cups of water, 4 teaspoons of salt and the potatoes. Stir and then cover. Cook on low heat for 7 hours.

After 7 hours of cooking, cut your cauliflower into 1 1/2-inch flowerets and wash the lentils to be sure there are no stones hidden among them. Add the cauliflower and lentils to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Turn the temperature up to high and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and the curry leaves (or bay leaves) and stir in the chopped fresh coriander. Serve over steamed jasmine rice.

Liquid Gold, My First Christmas Gift to Myself

Every year we are bombarded with magazine articles, television segments and blog posts about how to consume Thanksgiving leftovers in the days following Thanksgiving. I love those recipes! Look forward to them every year! This is not one of those recipes. This is a recipe of what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers on Thanksgiving Day itself! Too full? Can't imagine it?

How many times have you read about the wonders of homemade stock? Have you ever made it? I do and regularly. I save chicken carcasses and put them in ziplocs in the freezer and I also do the same with my veggie scraps. Until this year, it never occurred to me to use my turkey carcass. And even if you've never saved a veggie scrap in your life, on the days leading up to Thanksgiving the perfect ones are in abundance. Celery, carrots, parsley, and onions are just what you need for good stock.

Even though I normally save my carcasses and scraps and freeze them, why wait? Why bag? Why not just put my turkey carcass directly in my Hamilton BeachSet & Forget® 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker and let the stock cook overnight? The carcass is just sitting there on Thanksgiving! My friend, Matt Baird, says the best stock comes from bones that have never been frozen, so there ya go! Wisdom right from the mouth of my favorite butcher.

Post-Thanksgiving Dinner Overnight Turkey Stock
by Sandra

1 turkey carcass, in pieces, including leftover skin, meat scraps, pan drippings
Veggie scraps including celery, onion, carrots or other non-starchy scraps
A few springs of parsley
1 Tablespoon peppercorns
1-2 bay leaves
Water

Place all ingredients, besides the water, in the slow cooker.  Add as much water as you can. Set the slow cooker on low. Sleep off the L-tryptophan! You can cook the stock for as little as 10 hours and I've cooked it as long as nearly 24, so cook it for as long as fits in your schedule and until it is a rich, golden color and tastes delicious. Cool the broth down in an ice bath in your kitchen sink (another tip from Matt the Butcher) and then strain the solids and freeze in ziplocs with 2 cups of stock per bag. Lay the bags flat in the freezer to maximize space. Remember to label the bags with the date. If you want to make fat-free broth, after straining away the solids, put the broth in the refrigerator to cool completely. The fat becomes a solid layer on the top. Simply break it up and discard it.

P.S. Are you going away for Thanksgiving dinner this year? You might check in advance with your host, but I know if I had a guest who offered to set up my slow cooker for overnight stock, I'd invite that guest back every year!

Slow Fideo

I was attending a trial in San Antonio, TX and we went to a local place by the courthouse for lunch. The person I was with ate fideo 5 days in a row. So I finally tried it and loved it. Ground beef made it good but I knew chorizo would make it better. Try it and see what you think.

Fideo y Chorizo
by Willie

2 pounds Mexican chorizo sausages

2 11.5 ounce cans tomato juice
2 dried ancho chiles, seeded and deveined
3 dried guajillo chiles, seeded and deveined
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
28 ounces good chicken stock, homemade if you have it
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
14 ounces dried fideo noodles

Place Mexican chorizo sausages in the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker. Add tomato juice. Soak the chiles in a quart sized canning jar. Fill the jar with the hottest water you can get from the tap. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes or so. Pour the peppers and soaking liquid in a blender and liquefy. Pour the contents of the blender through a fine mesh strainer into the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, stock, garlic, onion, oregano, and cumin. Stir. Cook on high for 3 hours. Add fideo noodles. Cook another 30 minutes on high. Serve.

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

I love my slow cooker, but since I cook just for just my husband and I most of the time, I own a small 2-quart model. If you will be cooking in a larger model for your family, please double this recipe. I find that the 2-quart size is just perfect for us. I love being able to throw ingredients in it and when we are ready for dinner we have a wonderful hot meal. My crock pot meals are some of our favorites!

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken With Preserved Lemons & Olives

I love Middle-Eastern-inspired dishes, and Moroccan Chicken is a favorite! Traditionally made in a tagine, this recipe is adapted for the slow cooker, with much the same results. The combination of spicy, sweet, and pungent is delightful on the taste buds!!