Slow Cooker Moussaka

A friend gave me a slow cooker recipe for this popular Greek dish that I think is every bit as good as the oven-baked varieties, although if you want the topping to be brown, you need to use the broiler oven at the end of the cooking process to achieve this.

Here’s what you need:

• 2 small- to medium-sized egg plants, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 can (14 oz.) chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2½ cups milk
• Pinch of ground nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
• ¾ cup Cheddar cheese (or preferably, Kefolotiri, if you can find it)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs

Here’s what to do:

• Place the eggplant slices in a large strainer, positioning them in alternating layers with salt sprinkled on each layer. Allow the excess liquid to drain from the eggplant; then rinse the slices under cold water and pat them dry with paper towels.
•  Brush the eggplant with olive oil (reserve half of the olive oil for later use), and then place the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Position the baking sheet under the broiler oven and cook until the slices are soft and lightly browned; then turn the slices to brown the other side. You may have to use two baking sheets, depending on the number of eggplant slices you have; or, if you’re using one baking sheet, you can simply repeat the process if you cannot fit all of the slices in a single layer on one baking sheet.
• Place half the eggplant slices on the bottom of the crock pot; then turn the slow cooker to the high heat setting. Set aside the other half of the eggplant slices.
• In a heavy skillet, heat the rest of the olive oil and sauté the onions (over medium-high heat) until softened; then add the garlic and the ground lamb and cook until the meat is nicely browned.
• Add the oregano, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and the can of tomatoes to the skillet; mix well; and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Once the mixture in the skillet begins to boil, remove the skillet from the heat and pour the contents into the slow cooker, covering the eggplant slices.
• Place the remaining eggplant slices on top of the meat mixture, cover, and cook on high heat for two hours.
• When the two hours cooking time has nearly elapsed, prepare the cheese topping. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the flour, and stir over medium heat for about one minute; then gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until it has thickened; then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the nutmeg and two-thirds of the cheese.
• After the sauce has cooled about five minutes, beat in the egg yolk. Make sure the sauce is not too hot, otherwise the egg yolk might scramble.
• Pour the sauce into the crock pot, cover, and cook for an additional two hours.
• Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the remaining one-third of the cheese over the top of the moussaka; then place the crock pot under the broiler oven for several minutes to brown the top of the sauce. This step is purely optional, but I think it makes the dish look and taste even better. If you don’t want to use the broiler oven, simply cover the crock pot and cook for another five to ten minutes or so.

I usually avoid slow cooker recipes like this one, which have several auxiliary steps that are required to produce the finished dish. I most often prefer recipes in which you simply throw everything into the crock pot, set the heat on low, and forget about it until the dish is ready to serve; but this recipe looked so good that I thought I would break with tradition. The result was better than I expected, so I guess the extra steps preparing this entrée were well worth the effort.

 

Slow Cooker White Bean and Ham Soup

This is a good time of the year to enjoy a hearty, satisfying soup—one that you can throw together in a hurry and simmer in the slow cooker for a few hours while you’re enjoying other pursuits—and so, with that in mind, I prepared “Slow Cooker White Bean and Ham Soup,” which is a recipe that I found on RecipeTips.com. With all kinds of good things, such as ham hocks, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, white beans (Great Northern or Navy), chicken stock, and a number of seasonings, this soup is really a one-dish meal.

 

With a slice or two of fresh bakery bread, this delicious crock pot soup makes a satisfying meal for those cool autumn nights when you’re really in the mood for some comfort food. Enjoy!

 

Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas

This great tasting recipe transforms an ordinary pork shoulder roast into an ultra-tender and moist dish with a hint of sweetness that complements the mild spiciness of the meat. The sweet ingredients include apple cider vinegar and brown sugar, and the spicy/savory ingredients include crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic powder, and seasoning salt. This recipe, “Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas,” is featured on RecipeTips.com in their slow cooker recipe collection.

This Mexican pork specialty can be served as a main meat dish with a variety of side dishes, or the meat can be pulled apart and placed on warmed tortillas. You can top the meat with sour cream, guacamole, and/or salsa and serve the tasty creation as a terrific lunch or dinnertime food wrap. Enjoy!

 

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken: My Version

I thought I would share with you a slow cooker chicken recipe that has become one of my favorites: “Slow Cooker Orange Chicken.” It’s actually a recipe that I found on the Internet that I adapted to my own taste.

Here’s what you need:

• 8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
• 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ¾ cup orange marmalade
• ½ cup barbecue sauce (your favorite brand)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Here’s what to do:

• Mix the flour, garlic powder, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.
• Add the orange marmalade, barbecue sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and ginger to the slow cooker and stir.
• Add the coated chicken to the slow cooker.
• Cover the crock pot and cook the chicken on the low heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on the high heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.
• Serve the orange chicken atop a bed of cooked white rice.

I’ve found that you can cook the chicken for longer than 8 hours without any adverse effects, because if you put the chicken on before you go to work, it’s often not practical for most of us to get home within 8 hours. This is a very tasty recipe that I make at least once a month.

 

Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

Last evening, I enjoyed this tasty slow cooker version of beef bourguignon, and today, I had some of the leftovers for lunch. What a treat! I used a cheaper cut of beef for this recipe, but I still got excellent results, thanks to the ability of the slow cooker to tenderize even the toughest cut of meat.

Here’s what you need:

• 3 pounds of beef chuck or round roast
• salt and pepper to season the beef
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4 bacon slices, cut in one-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup of dry red wine
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste (Italian herb style)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 8 ounces pearl onions, peeled (I used frozen pearl onions that were already peeled.)
• 3 carrots sliced into half-inch discs
• 8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
• 6 ounces egg noodles cooked according to the package directions, drained
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup parsley, freshly chopped, to use as a garnish for the noodles

Here’s what to do:

• Cut the beef crosswise into one-inch thick slices. (If you place the meat in the freezer for about an hour, it will be easier to cut.)
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan.
• Salt and pepper the meat; then place it in the pan. Sauté the slices of beef, three at a time, over medium-high heat until browned on the outside and very rare in the middle, approximately 1-2 minutes on each side.
• Remove the beef slices from the pan and place them in the slow cooker.
• In the same pan, sauté the bacon on medium heat until lightly browned but not crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and transfer to the slow cooker.
• Drain all of the fat from the pan except for 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
• Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook on high heat for one minute, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add this liquid to the crock pot.
• Add to the crock pot the beef stock, tomato paste, thyme, salt, pepper, onions, carrots, and mushrooms.
• Cook on the low heat setting for 8 hours.
• If the sauce needs thickening, put 2 or 3 tablespoons of the sauce in a small bowl and stir in some cornstarch. Pour this mixture back into the slow cooker and stir until blended.
• Cook the noodles according to the package directions; then drain and toss with the butter. Sprinkle the noodles with the fresh parsley and top with the beef bourguignon.

A better cut of beef, such as a loin roast, is used when making the stovetop version of this recipe; however, this naturally tender, expensive cut isn’t a suitable candidate for the slow cooker, because the long, slow cooking process will cause the meat to fall apart, especially when cooked in a large quantity of liquid. Believe me, I’d much rather use a cheaper chuck or round roast and let the slow cooker take care of the tenderizing for me. Besides, I think the tougher cuts have more flavor. Try this recipe and see if you agree with me.

 

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Soup

My last post was about a Tex-Mex-inspired pot pie, and I liked it so much that I thought I’d share another Tex-Mex recipe this time. This one is a terrific soup that my neighbors made the other night and shared with me. It was their own recipe, which they referred to as simply “Tex-Mex Soup in the Slow Cooker.”

Here’s what you need:

• 5- or 6-quart slow cooker
• 1 ½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) of chicken broth
• 1 package (16 ounces) frozen corn, thawed
• 1 can black beans
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 roasted green or yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 roasted sweet red pepper, chopped
• 2 jalapenos, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Hot sauce or Tabasco (optional)

Here’s what to do:

• In a large skillet, sauté the chicken in the oil until lightly browned.
• Drain the oil from the chicken; then transfer the chicken to the slow cooker.
• Roast the sweet peppers, cool, and chop (Roast the peppers in the oven, or using a long fork, hold the peppers over the flame of a gas burner. Grilled peppers are equally good.)
• Stir in all of the remaining ingredients.
• Cover and cook on the low heat setting for 7 to 8 hours. Stir before serving.
• Increase the heat with hot sauce or Tabasco if desired.

This was a flavorful soup that had just enough heat to liven up the ingredients, but it wasn’t so overpowering that it disguised all of the other great flavors; however, I didn’t add any extra hot sauce or Tabasco. It was a different story with my neighbors who like to turn up the heat. Try this recipe—I think you’ll enjoy it.