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Originally posted by Jess:
BG - I made those Frijoles Charros this weekend, and they are sooo good. I am not a bean person, but R assures me that they are just like the ones he had at home. I guess frijoles charros are sort of a hangover food, like menudo. (Me, I can't imagine eating either with a hangover.)

By the by, where are you from?

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Wow! You're the first person I know of that's made a recipe I posted... it gives me kind of a giddy feeling. I'm so pleased that you and R liked them.

BionicGirl, my house is smelling yummy already! I just pulled my crockpot out of the cabinet and have started cooking Frijoles Charros. I forgot to pick up celery at the grocery store, and they were out of garlic cloves when I did my shopping, but I have all the other ingredients cooking away in my CP. By 6PM, PST, it should be finished and I can't wait! I substituted garlic salt for the cloves.

THE BOMB filling for burritos, tacos, etc. in the crock:

A 4-5 lb 7-bone chuck steak (You know, the big, flat, bony package. Visualize it cut up and judge what will fit in your crock)

1 can of beer (I used Bud Light)

2 4 oz. cans chopped green chilies

1 16 oz can "Mexican-style" chopped tomatoes

One large tomato, chopped. One medium/small onion, chopped.

SEASONINGS: Salt, pepper, cumin, dried oregano, coriander seed if you have it, dehydrated onion, garlic if you feel like it...amounts are really to taste.

Trim 7-bone chuck steak of most fat, cut into manageable pieces. Brown if you like. Place in crock, pour beer over. Add cans of chilies and can of tomatoes, season with s &p, about 1 tsp cumin, and rest of seasoning to taste.
This is what I did: Set it on low for about 10 hours. By then it smelled awesome and was really tender. I fished out the bones and any big chunks of fat, shredded the meat up with 2 forks, and then tossed in the chopped tomato and onion and stirred it all up. I checked the seasoning (don't add more salt yet). Then I set it on high for another 2 1/2 hours. (By then, we were ready to do the lambada, the forbidden dance, because of the aroma.)
It's pretty juicy because of the beer, so I scooped out the meat into a large skillet and reduced as much liquid out as I could. Check for salt necessity (I like salt!) and it's ready to serve with shredded cheese, cilantro, tortillas, lettuce, tomato, whatever. And I saved the flavorful broth left in the crock, froze it, and I'm sure I'll be able to do something with it.

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Originally posted by Andrea:

THE BOMB filling for burritos, tacos, etc. in the crock:

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Originally posted by jessicazee:
I made applesauce in my crockpot once - just cut-up peeled apples (like MacIntosh or Granny Smith), maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, a little butter, and a dash of salt. It's the potato pancake accompianment deluxe.

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Originally posted by mitsuyan:
We have clarified that it is not good to put frozen meat into your crock pot.

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Seriously? I went home at lunch today to get my Sweet & Sour Chicken started and found that my chicken wasn't comletely thawed. I just dumped it in there anyway, though. Do you think it'll be okay? I'm a little freaked out about this whole thing anyway because I'm sort of adapting a non-crockpot recipe. Of course, I'm a half-wit, though, ,and I didn't realize that the only rice I have is Minute Rice, and you can't put that in the slow cooker. I was all set to dump everything in there all at once, but now I'll have to make the rice separately when I get home.

Woe is me! I actually have to slave away making Minute Rice!

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For food safety reasons, recipies in the slow cooker need to reach a safe cooking teperature (140 degrees F) within three hours. That's why it isn't a good idea to assemble ingredients and refrigerate them, or use frozen ingredients.

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Take a round steak and slice it on the underside. Insert a length of chorizo sausage the same size as the steak. Brown the roast in a little olive oil and then dump in a cup of water, a can of tomato sauce, a quarter cup of flour, a large onion sliced, a sm. green pepper sliced, some oregano, bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper and - 3 teaspoons of paprika. Have you ever used that much paprika in anything?

Sarah's Martini Herbed Chicken (serves 2)

4 chicken thighs
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup (or so) vermouth
Green olives
Onion slices
Herbes and spices (I used lemon pepper, salt, pepper, rosemary, and sage)

Arrange the onion slices in the bottom. Place the chicken thighs on top. (I'm sure you could use another cut of meat; this is just what I had.) Pour the chicken stock and vermouth over it. Season liberally. Drop some olives over the top (these were mostly for garnish, but gave it a little bit of flavor). Cook on low until done (mine cooked for about 7 hours). MMMmmmmmm... juicy, tender chicken.

Today I'm doing Drunken Hockey Chicken. Chicken crock-pot-cooked in beer. For friends coming over to watch hockey with me. Whee!

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
1 beef roast, any size or cut (don't waste a good cut of beef with this recipe, though)
1 bottle of your favourite barbecue sauce
1 onion, sliced
crusty rolls

Defrost roast if frozen. Place in slow cooker and cover with water. Cook on low for 7 hours. Drain liquid and shred meat with fork. Add barbeque sauce and onion and cook for one more hour. Scoop on to buns and have a napkin handy!!

Here is another super-easy (bachelor or sleep-deprived mom proof) meal:

Place 2-4 chicken breasts (or equivalent amount of chicken) in slow cooker. Cover with 1-2 cans condensed "creamy" soup (broccoli cheese is good) cook for 8 hours on low. Serve over rice.
I have also done this with pork chops with good results--just trim the fat or find really lean ones.

Santa Fe sweet potato soup

Soak 2 dried New Mexico chili peppers in boiling water for half an hour. Drain, discarding the water and the stems. Pat dry and chop up.

Heat 1 T. of oil over medium heat. Add 2 finely chopped onions and cook until softened. Add 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 chopped jalapeno pepper, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of dried oregano, and the New Mexico chilis. Cook for 1 minute and dump it all into the slow cooker, along with 4 cups of peeled and cubed sweet potatoes and 6 cups of chicken broth.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until sweet potatoes are tender. Puree the soup with your ever-useful immersion blender. Add 2 cups of frozen corn kernels and the zest and juice of one lime. Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes. In the meantime, have a frosty root beer and sit in another room under a ceiling fan (optional).

I have accumulated several of those little cookbooks that you pick up in the checkout aisle at the grocery store, all devoted to crockpot recipes. I noticed someone asked about meatless recipes. I'll have to remember to bring a couple of those to work with me or over to my BF's so I'll have them with me when I'm posting (I'll bring my favorite ones) because I know there are meatless recipes in them. There are some recipes for soups, but there are a lot of bean dishes and side dishes in them, too. At least one of the books has recipes for breads and desserts, too, although I've never tried them.

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Originally posted by crowjoy:
OOH, coconut chicken curry please!!

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Voila! The Coconut Chicken Curry recipe:
Makes 4 Servings

1 T Veggie Oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 medium potatoes, peeled & chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
½ t salt
½ t black pepper
1½ t curry powder
1 t hot sauce (more as desired)
1 C chicken broth
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen peas, thawed

Heat oil in a med. Skillet. Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides. Place potatoes and onion in the slow cooker. Place browned chicken breasts on top. Combine coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, hot sauce, and chicken broth in a bowl and stir thoroughly. Add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours.

One ½ hour before serving, add peas on top of chicken mixture. Just before serving, stir mixture thoroughly. Serve over cooked rice or Asian noodles, if desired.

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice
Serves 8

2 cans (10¾ oz) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1½ cups Water
1 pkg. (6 oz) Seasoned Long Grain & Wild Rice Mix
4 large Carrots, thickly sliced (about 3 cups)
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lbs.)