Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

June 29, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

I tend to go in phases with meals and lately I’ve been really into using my slow cooker. Even though it’s almost July and not exactly slow cooker season, I’ve been enjoying the convenience of letting it do most of the work! Luckily there hasn’t been a heat wave yet to suppress my use of it yet. This recipe is a lovely combination of slow cooked chicken, white beans, peppers and spicy tex-mex flavors. I love the way slow cookers treat all kinds of meat–it just falls apart so nicely! And this recipe is no exception, the chicken turned out perfectly cooked and fall apart tender. As usual, slow cookers can vary by model so feel free to adjust cook time depending on how hot your cooker runs. This recipe can be adjusted based on your timing needs as well: cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. I used chicken breasts for the meat but feel free to mix it up and add dark meat–thighs, wings, etc. It all gets shredded in the end anyways and that is about all the work that is required for this recipe. It doesn’t get much better than that!
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Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Soup

June 13, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

I used to eat alphabet soup with beef and veggies all the time as a kid. This recipe brings me back to those days. Even though this soup knocks anything canned out of the park, the flavors remind me just a bit of the soup I used to have back in the day. This recipe is easy to throw together, and then the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you. Something about the slow cooker really brings together the flavors of the beef, the vegetables and the herbs. I used high quality ground beef for the meat and fresh oregano and thyme for seasoning. While this soup is great for winter time, it also works perfectly year round as an easy weeknight meal.
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Beef Enchilada Soup

February 6, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

Tex-mex food is awesome in pretty much every form, including soup! A lot of the U.S. has been dealing with some epic winter weather so to all of you fighting the deluge of snow (hey Chicago!), enchiladas are the perfect winter comfort food. This recipe is super easy to make with hardly any prep time involved. You can buy pre-made enchilada sauce at the grocery store but it’s fresher and easy to make at home. In my opinion it’s worth it to whip up a batch before you start cooking the soup. It can be made several days ahead of time as well if you’re short on cooking time. Possible toppings include: tortilla chips/strips, avocado slices, cilantro, lime slices, diced red onion, cheddar cheese, sour cream…I could go on. The end result was delicious with minimal effort. It can be easily converted to the slow cooker, just add everything into the pot on low and cook for 6-8 hours or 3-4 hours on high!
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Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Tacos

January 2, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Once I had a batch of Pickled Corn Salsa ready I took a nice pork shoulder and slow cooked it for some tasty tacos! The pork is marinated in tomatoes, onions and spices and slow cooked for about 4 hours in a crock pot. The pork ended up being succulent and fall apart tender. I was really happy with how soft and flavorful it turned out. The acids from the pickled salsa complimented the richness of the shredded pork. For garnish, I added a touch of lime and queso fresco.

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Tomato Curry Stew with Chickpeas and Potatoes

February 3, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

This stew is a staple recipe for me as it is easy to put together and is healthy and flavorful. When I want something light and healthy this is one of my favorite go to recipes. I use the slow cooker and all it requires is chopping the veggies and throwing everything in the crock pot to cook for about 8 hours. All the veggies get nice and soft and the flavors of the curry marinate until the stew is bursting with good curry flavor. I served it with warm curried rolls and topped with yogurt.
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Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup)

December 2, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Pasta e Fagioli is a traditional Italian peasant soup that translates to “pasta and beans.” It’s a soup that can be made with several types of pasta, usually tubettini, ditalini, or conchigliette. Prosciutto or pancetta is used for the base to give it a nice smoky flavor. I wanted to make a big batch so I used a slow cooker to cook the beans and broth. It turned out great, though I forgot to cut up the rosemary and it should really be finely chopped. Just before serving I mixed in the cooked pasta. I strained the rest of the noodles out before putting it away to prevent them from absorbing all the broth over night. The soup was great with a warm, crusty baguette and grated parmigiano reggiano.

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Creole Split Pea Soup with Andouille Sausage

November 16, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

After making a good pork roast it’s always great to use the leftovers in a soup. A great way to use the bone from a pork shoulder (or ham hock) is making pea soup. A few years ago I visited New Orleans and I was taken with the flavors they used in their soups and seafood so I decided to try a creole inspired pea soup. I started with a base of onion, garlic, celery, green pepper, and carrots which sauteed in butter until soft. Then I added some creole spices like thyme, sage, oregano, paprika, dried sassafras, and cayenne pepper. The andouille sausage was my favorite twist on the traditional pea soup. The sausage was delicious and had great sweet and spicy flavors.

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Chipotle Lentil and Bean Chili

October 30, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

October and November, in my opinion, are the best months for soups and chilis. I can’t really get enough of a warm bowl of something tasty during these months. Since I had quite a few leftover ingredients from other meals (e.g. lentils, beans, tomato sauce, cilantro, etc) I figured I should try creating a chili out of what I had sitting around. I kept looking around for more things to throw in and noticed I had some frozen green peppers and jalapenos, so I cut them up and threw them in too. I was very happy with how the chili turned out! This chili does not need an ounce of meat as it is packed with protein from the lentils, kidney beans, and pinto beans. The ground chipotle chilis were great and gave it a more smoky, aromatic flavor. I garnished the chili with sour cream and cilantro, but yogurt would be a good substitute for the sour cream.

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Lentil Stew with Italian Sausage and Spinach

October 2, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I wanted to kick off October with a good fall soup and lentil stew is a perfect fall and winter dish that is both hardy and healthy. I had never tried cooking Italian sausage in a soup before and I was happy with the results. The sausage became very tender through the slow cooking process. This stew is simply seasoned with bay, oregano, and balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar gives a nice depth of flavor and the acidity is very nice. The recipe could be prepared over the stove in a sauce pot instead of a slow cooker, just cook it for 2-3 hours on low. The spiciness of the sausage flavored the broth wonderfully and all this soup really needs is a thick crusted bread to accompany it.

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Chile Verde Roasted Pork Stew

September 18, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I had several pounds of shredded pork, I decided to make a stew out of the leftovers. This stew is an interpretation of a chile verde pork stew but with an addition of red chili flavors. Chile verde with pork is usually green and looks a lot like salsa verde. This stew has the flavors of a green chili with the addition of red chili flavors like paprika, chili powder, and ancho chilis. It turned out really well and I enjoyed all the layers of flavor this stew had. The recipe isn’t too difficult to throw together and it is a great way to use leftover pork roast. I recommend saving the bone from the pork shoulder and throwing it in this stew for added flavor.

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