groundnut stew

Based on a recipe I originally saw on the Radio Netherlands web site, of all places.

In a large Dutch Oven, brown

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3-4 lb boneless chicken thighs

for about 15 minutes. Remove them from the pan and set aside, reserving the drippings. In the drippings, cook

• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
  

until the onion is tender. Drain off the fat. Stir in

• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper

bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add

• browned chicken
• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained

and simmer 20 minutes. Then add

• 3/4 cup peanut butter

and simmer another 20 minutes.

Serve with couscous and fruit salad.

crock pot oatmeal

Derived from an Alton Brown recipe, this little guy is now ready to unleash on the public. Combine

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1 cup raisins or dried currants
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 tsp salt

in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or overnight.

Tip #1: greasing the crock pot first might make clean-up easier. Otherwise, you might want to soak it afterwards.

Tip #2: serve with sliced almonds sprinkled over the top.

peanut chicken stew

In a large pan or Dutch oven, brown

• 3 tblsp oil
• 3-4 lb boneless chicken thighs

for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside, reserving drippings. In the drippings, cook

• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and chopped

until the onion is tender. Drain off the fat. Stir in

• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground red pepper

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add

• browned chicken
• 1 15-oz can black beans

and simmer 20 minutes. Then add

• 3/4 c peanut butter (preferably the all natural, just-ground-peanuts kind)
  

and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Makes a whole bunch, but the leftovers freeze and reheat well. We usually serve with couscous and a fruit salad.

old crock pot recipe posts

Here are links to the recipes on this blog that predate the switch to the new Blogger (where I could start labeling posts as recipes.) They're crock pot recipes because, well, that's usually about how much time I have to cook.

• Crock Pot Chili
• Crock Pot Spaghetti Meat Sauce
• Crock Pot Marinara Sauce (which also works well with 1 lb. cut up stew meat added)
  

crock pot chili recipe

The crock pot chili was a success with the last few adjustments. Here's the recipe:

Cook

1/2 lb bacon, cut into small pieces

then, in the bacon drippings, brown

1 lb ground beef (or other ground meat)

finally, cook

1 onion, chopped

Put in crock pot along with

2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
1 small can pinto beans
1 can (14.5 oz) tomatoes, chopped or diced
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
one clove garlic, minced
1 c. water

Simmer all day on low.

This recipe's designed so you can load everything into the crock pot the night before and stick it in the fridge, then put it on to simmer the next morning. When you get home, add some corn bread, corn meal muffins, or buscuits (or, if you have one, set the bread machine to have fresh bread ready) and dinner's served.

To crank up the spice level, chop the jalapeños without seeding them first.

Now I need to figure out a good vegetarian chili recipe.

crock pot spaghetti meat sauce

Since I previously posted a marinara sauce recipe, I thought I'd follow up with this very reliable crock-pot meat sauce recipe. The directions assume you'll make the recipe the night before, put it in the fridge, then start it cooking in the morning for the following night's dinner.

Brown

1-1/2 lb ground meat (I usually use turkey or chicken, but beef will work)

Store the browned meat in the fridge for the next morning. Store it separately from the other ingredients.

Chop

1 onion
2 stalks celery
enough kalamata olives to make 1/4 cup

Put them into the crock pot along with

1 can (14-1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (12 oz) tomato paste
2 bay leaves
3 teaspoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons capers
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano

The next morning, mix the meat into the crock pot's contents and set it on low. Let it simmer a good 8 hours, or until you get home. Then cook some pasta, garlic bread, open a bottle of chianti, and feast!

Slow Cooker (Crock Pot) Marinara Sauce

I've promised this recipe to a couple folks, now. So I decided to share it with the world. Or at least the subset of the world that reads the Gazette...

The night before, chop

1 onion
8 cloves garlic (or buy the pre-chopped kind in the jar)

and put them in your crock pot. Add:

2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
2 tsp sugar
3 tsp dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

The next morning, cook on low all day (at least 8 hours). Then serve over pasta. It also freezes and re-heats well.