Sesame Chicken
(serves 4)

2.5lbs skinless chicken pieces ( I used thighs and drumsticks)
1/2 dozen medium brown mushrooms
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sambal oelek
2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds + some for garnish if desired.
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons chinese cooking wine
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro for garnish

Put mushrooms in slow cooker or crockpot followed by chicken. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken. Cook on high for 3 hours. ( You can probably cook on low for 6-8, but I haven’t tired this.) Serve with rice or noodles and extra gravy.

Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine and Cinnamon
(serves 4)
Adapted from Vij’s Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine

2 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 piece of cinnamon bark ~ 2 inches long
2 small or 1 large onion, finely chopped
2 big cloves garlic, minced
1 cup canned whole tomatoes, drained of juice and gently mashed to break up
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 cup red wine
4 cups chicken stock
6 bone-in beef short ribs

Heat oil to medium heat, add butter\ghee and stir until melted. Add cumin seeds and saute for 30 seconds. Add onion and cinnamon and saute until lightly browned, about 5 -7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Lower heat to medium low. Add tomatoes and remaining spices and stir until combined. Turn heat up to medium and cook until oil separates from tomatoes, stirring occasionally. Should be at most 15 minutes. Add wine and chicken stock and simmer, uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until reduced by almost half.

(You can do it ahead of time to this point and refrigerate.) Add short ribs and sauce to slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Separate sauce from ribs and remove bones. Allow sauce and ribs to cool a bit and then store them in the fridge. You want to refrigerate it long enough to have all the fat rise to the top and solidify, a day should be plenty. Spoon fat off the top, reheat sauce and then ribs.

Serve on steamed kale and with basmati rice.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
(serves 6)

1 onion chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
1 green pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can green chilies
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 large can of whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
6 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
1 quart water
1C frozen corn kernels

Optional toppings:
chopped green onion
minced fresh cilantro
grated cheddar cheese
sour cream or plain yogourt
corn tortilla strips. (Chop up tortilla spray with Pam, toss and bake at 400F for a few minutes)

Combine all ingredients up to and including the oregano in the slow cooker or crock pot and stir. Add chicken and water and stir. Place and low and cook for 6-8 hours (or 3-4 on high, I used a combination.) Remove chicken to a plate. Stir in corn. Shred chicken and stir back into the soup. Taste and correct for seasoning. Cook for another 10 minutes. Serve hot with optional toppings.

Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash
(serves 4)

2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons paprika
1t salt
1t hot pepper flakes (or use 1T hot paprika and remove 1T sweet paprika)
2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin removed
salt and pepper
1t canola oil or cooking spray
1/2C chicken stock
1/2C plain yogourt (2.5%)
3T fresh dill, plus garnish
Cooked Egg Noodles or Spaghetti Squash

Combine onions, paprika and salt in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet to medium and brown chicken in oil(or spray) until browned on all sides. Place on onions in slow cooker. In same pan add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken breasts and turn heat off. Stir in yogourt and dill. Slice chicken away from bone. Serve sauce over noodles, top with chicken and remaining dill.

Squash, Chickpea & Red Lentil Stew
(makes 8 servings)

3/4C dried chickpeas
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1C red lentils
4C chicken or vegetable stock
2T tomato paste
2T ginger, minced
1 1/2T cumin
1t salt
1/4t pepper
1 lime, juiced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1. Cover chickpeas in cold water by at least 2 inches. Soak overnight and then drain.
2. Combine the soaked chickpeas, squash, carrots, onion, lentils, broth, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, salt, and pepper in your slow cooker.
3. Cook on low until tender – I left mine on for the full 10+ hours since I had a long day.
4. If you are serving it all stir in lime juice (otherwise add when you serve). Serve sprinkled with cilantro.

Pat dry and salt and pepper 1C of beef stew meat. Heat a skillet to medium and add 1T of oil and brown the meat in batches. Remove and put in the slow cooker. Add 3 carrots and 3 stalks of celery roughly chopped. Turn heat down to medium low and saute for a few minutes. Add a healthy pinch of dried oregano and an even bigger one of basil. (If I had an onion I would’ve added it then.) Add 3 minced cloves of garlic and saute for another few. Add 1T of tomato paste and a glass of red wine. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until wine reduces. Add 2 chopped potatoes and 2C of stock. Stir to combine. Pour over meat in slow cooker and set on low for 8-10 hours. Serve with crunchy bread.

Italian Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks
(serves 4)

3 slices bacon, diced
4T flour
1T olive oil
1T rosemary, crushed
2 dried thai chilies, crushed
salt and pepper
4 lamb shanks, trimmed
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2T balsamic vinegar
2T anchovy paste
1 glass white wine
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2T tomato paste

1. In a large skillet cook bacon on medium low heat until crisp. Remove to slow cooker. Combine flour, rosemary, chiles, two good pinches of salt and grindings of pepper. Dust each lamb shank in the mixture.
2. Add olive oil to the pan and brown shanks on each side over medium heat. Remove and place in one layer in slow cooker.
3. Add onion, celery and carrot and cook for 3 minutes to soften. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add balsamic and white wine and let it cook to reduce halfways, and remaining ingredients, stir to combine and pour over shanks.
4. Set slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8 hours.
5. Can be made a day ahead, separate sauce from shanks when storing and spoon the fat off the sauce if necessary.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
(serves 6)
Adapted from the Gourmet Slow Cooker

3 lbs pork roast
1 ¾ cups ketchup
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
1 small onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
3 tablespoons chili paste, (sambal oelek)

Combine everything except the pork. Put pork in the slow cooker and pour sauce over top. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low. Remove and allow to cool enough to tear meat apart, add back to slow cooker and stir into sauce. Serve on warm, soft buns.

So here is how it works, put a bunch of chicken bits in your slow cooker. For example I used approximately 5C of necks and backs. Roughly chop a carrot, a stalk of celery and a small onion or part of one. Throw in a few peppercorns, a bay leaf and a sprig of parsley – if you are feeling fancy go ahead and tie it up with cheesecloth. Cover the whole thing with water with at least an inch of water on the top. (Total in my slow cooker was about 6Qt including the chicken and veggies.) Poke the chicken down if it floats, you want to make sure it is submerged. Now turn it on to low and walk away – for 10 to 12 hours. You now have chicken stock. Stick it in the fridge skim the fat off when it is solidified and use or freeze.

Tip: When you go to remove the stock from the pot use a ladle rather then draining it like pasta. Stirring up the stock can cloud it by stirring up all the impurities.

I like to do it overnight, pack the stock into the fridge in the morning and skim it in the evening and then it is ready to use.

Korean Style Ribs adapted from The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Volume II
(serves 4)

3 pounds pork or beef ribs, trimmed of excess fat and portioned
½C soy sauce
1C orange juice
2T rice vinegar
2T ginger, grated
2t hot chili flakes
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2T toasted sesame oil
2T honey
3T toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
2 scallions, thinly sliced for garnish
2T corn starch, as needed.

The night before:
Place a large saute pan over medium heat add ribs and cook for 15-20 minutes until browned on all sides. Cool quickly and transfer to the fridge in a sealed container*.
In a Tupperware combine the soy sauce, juice, vinegar, ginger, garlic, chili, oil and honey and mix well. Refrigerate.

The next day:
Transfer ribs to slow cooker and pour sauce over top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is very tender.
To serve arrange on a platter and pour sauce over top, garnish with scallion and sesame seeds.

If you have extra sauce, throw it in the fridge and use as the basis of stir fry sauce the next day. I marinated some chicken breast strips in a bit of this and a bit of chinese cooking wine, drained it and then tossed it in 1 part cornstarch, 1 part flour, 1 part sesame oil and 1 part peanut oil. Fry it up along with some veggies, add the sauce and a bit of water if necessary along with some noodles and poof fabulous stir fry. Toss with some cilantro, scallions, fresh ginger and toasted sesame seeds. A delicious way to stretch the leftovers.