BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

2 boneless pork shoulder butt roasts (about 2 3/4lbs each)
3 cups hickory BBQ sauce
3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp powder)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Put roasts into 5 - 7 quart slow cooker. Combine 2 cups BBQ sauce, remaining 3 ingredients, and 1/2 cup water in medium bowl. Pour over roasts. Cook, covered, on High for 4-5 hours until tender. Transfer roasts to large plate. Shred pork using 2 forks. remove and discard any visible fat. Skim and discard fat from sauce. Return pork to sauce. Add remaining BBQ sauce. Stir. Cook, covered, on High for 30 minutes until heated through., Makes about 10 cups.

Recipe can be halved, or frozen for later use. Also good in wraps. For gluten free version, omit Worcestershire sauce.

African Quinoa Stew

1 1/2 cup Chopped Onion
2 cans of kidney beans (19 oz)
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
6 Tbsp peanut butter

Heat large, greased frying pan on medium. Add onion. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Transfer to 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. Add remaining 4 ingredients, 1 cup water and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir. Cook, covered, on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2 1/2 t o3 hours. Makes 8 cups.

Recipe can be halfed. Still good without the beans, if you are not a bean fan...just add diced tomatoes.

No Beans Chili

One Pound Of Bacon Cut Into Very Small Pieces.
Five Pounds Of Lean Trimmed Small Cubes Of Beef Brisket.
1/3 Cup McCormick Chili Powder.
1 Large Heaping Tablespoon Minced Fresh Garlic.
1 Large Heaping Tablespoon Ground Cayenne Pepper.
1 Tablespoon Cumin.
1 Tablespoon Oregano.
1 Tablespoon Ground Sea Salt.
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper.
3 Four Ounce Cans Green Chili's.
36 ounces  Apple Juice
1 28 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes.
1 Teaspoon Coriander.
1 Six Ounce Can Tomato Paste.
1 Ounce Unsweetened Chocolate Very Coarsely Chopped. 
1/2 cup milk

One Pound Of Red Sweet Onion Diced Very Fine.

Your chocolate needs to be chopped up fine and it deepens the flavor of this delicious chili and darkens the sauce. I even use my fine cheese grater and grate the chocolate.

You will want to start with a large skillet. In it you want to place your diced up bacon and cook until crisp. Move bacon to slow cooker, and drain most of the grease from the pan. Using the remaining grease, cook your diced onion and your garlic until tender. Transfer to crock pot.

Now you will want to add all your other ingredients and cook on either high for 2 hours, or low for 6 hours. 

Your chili should now be done and ready to eat. Test it out by trying a couple pieces of your meat. It should be tender by now and starting to come apart. If its not tender keep cooking until your meat is tender. Add another 12 ounces of apple juice if your chili gets to thick. If you want more hot add more ground cayenne pepper. If it is too hot, add more milk. 

You can serve your chili with a garnish of shredded cheddar cheese, fine chopped cilantro, and/or sour cream. 

Crock Pot Lasagna

I use my oval 5qt crock pot. You will need to suit the noodle amount to your crock pot if it is not like mine.

I take my lasagna noodles(oven ready or not) and break them in half. I use 4 halfs per layer, but it all depends on whether yours is round or not to how many per layer you want. I boil my noodles for 15 minutes, even if they are oven ready, as they turn out better that way in the crock pot.

You can cook your meat sauce any way you want. I find the dryer your sauce, the better. Personally, I use:

1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 - 2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp Basil

Cook until more of a pasty consistancy than saucy.
Than, to finish off the meat sauce, I take and add 1/3 - 1/2 cup salsa before adding it to the crockpot.

crockpot Layering directions:

noodles
meat sauce
noodles
cottage cheese - 500mL container
noodles
meat sauce
noodles

I then take the Grated Italian Cheese mix so its ready to sprinkle it on top 5 minutes before serving....or else it looks really gross!! Because my crock pot is removeable, I also broil it until the cheese is crispy and bubbly just before serving as Rob likes the top layer crispy.

If assembling while ingredients are still warm, than can be cooked on low for 1.5 - 4hrs. I put mine together before church, and it was delish. I would not recommend cooking on high for more than 1 hr if assembling while warm. If all ingredients are cold, than can cook on high for 2 hrs, but wouldn't do it longer than that.

Crock Pot Chicken Nuggets

--4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

--4 T butter or olive oil (I used butter)

--4 eggs

--1 cup breadcrumbs, or a mixture of cracker, cereal, tortilla chip, etc. crumbs.

--1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

--1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

--1 T flax seed meal (optional---I threw it in. They'll never know.)

The Directions

I used 6 chicken breast halves, and layered the cut up pieces in a 6 quart Smart Set Crock-Pot.

Make sure the chicken is fully thawed. Cut into child-size pieces. I found that the smaller pieces I made cooked better than the larger ones. The larger ones also didn't get crispy on top---stick to about 2 inch pieces.

In a bowl, mix the melted butter or oil with the egg. Blend up the cracker and cereal crumbs to make a fine bread crumb mixture and pour into a pie plate.

Spray your crockpot with cooking spray. I did not. You really should.

Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, and then toss in the crumbs. Put a layer of battered chicken pieces in the bottom of the crock. When the bottom is full, add a piece of aluminum foil. Poke tiny holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. I found that the layer I did with the most holes worked the best, and the layer I skimped on resulted in soggy topping. The holes are important.

I made 4 layers with 6 cut-up chicken breast halves.

Cover your crock, but vent the lid with a wooden spoon or chopstick. Cook on high for 2-4 hours. Melissa's took 2 hours to cook, my batch took 4. After cooking, we both left our crockpots on warm for a few hours before eating.

Cook Roast for MAX Flavour

Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, I still see recipes that insist you should cook meat at high temperature for the first twenty minutes or so to seal it and then lower the level for the rest of the cooking time. Cooking meat at high temperature, whether in the oven, on the barbecue or in a pan does not seal it, it burns it and it changes the taste, because the outside of the meat generally has a covering of fat. Fat is what gives meat its unique flavor.
 
It’s not a good idea to cook meat covered inside a roasting tin. A much better way is to place the roast directly on the rungs of the oven with the roasting tin underneath it. In this way, you can pack vegetables in the roasting tin and they will cook nicely in the juices from the meat.

If you don’t like that idea, because it means you have to clean the rungs after use, put the meat on top of a rack in or on the roasting tin instead. You don’t need to buy a special tin for this, simply use a cake/cookie cooling rack or something similar. I have even used two or three kebab skewers and rested the roast on those in the roaster with the lid removed the whole time. When cooking the roast in the Crock Pot, I even use a rack to elevate the meat from the bottom of the pan.
 
COOKING IN OVEN
Cook your red meat at 350°F, 180°C, or gas mark 4.


Calculate your cooking time as 30 minutes for every 500 grams (roughly 1lb) of meat. This will produce thoroughly cooked beef that is well cooked on the outside and rare inside.

If you want to change anything - alter your cooking times accordingly but beware. There is a very thin line between meat that is well done and boot leather. If rare meat is more than you can handle, it’s a much better idea to use my cooking times but then turn the oven off and leave the meat in it for a further 30 minutes or so.

Which brings me to one more point; it’s very important to let the meat stand for at least 20 minutes before carving. Why? Because when you heat protein (which is what meat is) it shrinks and tightens. Allowing it to relax and cool a little restores some of its elasticity.

However it will continue to cook for a while after leaving the oven and the internal temperature will increase by as much as a further 10 degrees. Which is why you need a good 20 minutes resting time.

Just keep it in a warm place with a sheet of cooking foil over the top while you prepare the greens and gravy.

COOKING IN CROCKPOT

WHether frozen or thawed, cook on low, elevated to keep it up from the juices for better roasting. If thawed, cook for 5-6 hrs. If frozen, cook for 8-9 hours, checking at 6hrs.

Meatloaf

2 Tbsp mustard
3 "squirts" hot sauce
2 eggs
1/4 c salsa
1/4 c quick cook oats
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp seasoning salt
2-3 lbs ground beef

Mix all ingredients BUT the ground beef together in a bowl.
Add the ground beef, mixing well.
Add mixture to the crock pot.
Cook on low for 6-8 hrs, or high for 2.5 - 3.5 hrs.

Chicken Curry with Rice

•4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1 inch strips or chunks

•2 large onions, quartered and sliced thinly
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1 tablespoon soy sauce or Tamari
•1 teaspoon curry powder
•2 teaspoons chili powder
•1 teaspoon turmeric
•1 teaspoon ground ginger
•1/3 cup chicken broth or water
•hot cooked rice

Mix all ingredients, except rice, together in the slow cooker/Crock Pot. Cover and cook on low from 6 to 8 hours, or until chicken is tender. Serve over rice.

Chicken Coconut Curry

This ingredient list looks long; but most of the ingredients are spices that are quickly added to the crockpot.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 9 hours

• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 Tbsp. grated fresh gingeroot 
• 2" cinnamon stick 
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder 
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 
• 3-1/2 lb. chicken, cut up 
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch 
• 2 Tbsp. cold water 
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves 
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions 
• 1/2 cup mango chutney 
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 1/2 cup chopped coconut

Combine the onion, garlic, ginger root, cinnamon, curry powder, and red pepper flakes in 3-4 quart crockpot. Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange on top of onions and spices in crockpot. Pour chicken broth over all.


Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Remove chicken and keep warm in low oven, covered. Skim fat from crockpot. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir into juices remaining in crockpot. Increase heat to high and cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve chicken with sauce and chutney. Sprinkle with cilantro and green onions to serve, and serve with peanuts, and coconut. 6 servings

Crock Pot Pork Ribs

This is so easy, and my Husband loves it. You can also do the last few minutes on the BBQ if you want them to be more glazed than saucy.

A package of Pork Back Ribs
1 Bottle of Kraft BBQ Sauce
3 Tbsp Mustard

• Take the ribs, and cut them into small pieces of 3-4 bones each.
• Mix the sauce together in a bowl.
• Add half the ribs to the bottom of the crock pot.
• Pour half the sauce over top of the ribs.
• Add the remaining ribs, and top with the sauce.
• Let cook on Low for 6-7 hours.

This is really good served with Rice. We often put the remaining rib sauce on our rice...Mmm, tasty!

Crock Pot Chicken

This is a very simple, easy recipe for anyone to enjoy. I usually serve mine with rice, so I can use the left over sauce on it.

*8-9 chicken pieces of your choice or a small chicken cut into pieces
*1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

1. Put about 1/2 the chicken pieces into the crock pot.
2. Pour about 1/2 the bottle onto the chicken. Mix to coat pieces.
3. Add the remaining chicken on top of the other pieces.
4. Our the remaining sauce on top of the chicken.
5. Cover and cook: low = 5-6 hrs High = 2-3 hrs

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

3 - 5 chicken pieces, skinless

3 cups chicken broth or water with 2 pkgs Chicken OXO

1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp basil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 - 3 potatoes, chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced

3 handfuls of broad egg noodles

1. Add broth and all seasonings to crock pot, stir.
2. Chop chicken and add to pot. Add all vegetables.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs, or on high for 2-3 hrs. Chicken should no longer be pink.

Serve and enjoy.