Crock pot cooking. Anyone doing it?

[LatinaCurves]

Anyone using a crock pot to cook in bulk? We are four in my household, me, my husband, 19 and 16 year old boys (who also eat like grown men).  That's a LOT of protein no matter what diet lifestyle we lead. 

 

I do know how to cook. I just tend to be a bit lazy about it sometimes and pick up the phone and place an order instead.  NOT going to happen on the W30 program...

 

Care to swap some recipe's?

 

I'm researching some right now: 

 

Pork rib or roast

Chicken whole or pieces

Ground turkey or beef chili

Beef fajita

 

 

[Tina R]

I would check out Nom Nom Paleo's blog. She has some great crock pot recipes. Or check out The Clothes Make The Girl. There is a e book called easy paleo slow cooker recipes. It was free when I got it, not sure I would pay more than $1 for it. Most of the recipes in this book are not whole30 compliant. Here are two. Chicken Verde - 2 - 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1 jar salsa verde (make sure it is compliant). Cook on low 5 hrs. Beef Curry, 2 - 3 lb Chuck roast, 3 Tbs red curry paste, 1 can coconut milk. Cook on low 6 - 8 hrs.

[KathyV]

I LOVE my crockpot!!!!!  I use it for whole chickens (high for 4hrs or low for 6hrs.), sweet potatoes (kinda have to watch them, due to different sizes) as well as squashes.   My bone broths turn out great!!  For the beef, I place it on low for a good 24hrs, and for chicken it can be close to 24 hrs too.

 

I sometimes have a hard time with the roast, I tend to over cook it...frustrating cause it is not cheap.

 

hope some of this helps

[Khhdesign]

I use my crockpot A LOT!

For chili, I use a slightly different recipe, but the Well Fed chocolate chili version is very similar.

Cook a whole chicken by filling it with wedges of onion and lemon, rub with olive oil and spices, put it in the crockpot (I put mine breast side down to keep it juicy), and cook on low 8 hours or all day. Toss the skin and bones back in with the liquid, add veggie scraps, fill with water, cook another day and you have broth

Pork chops with a jar of salsa is tasty.

A cut-up chicken plus lots of veggies and a little broth makes a nice chicken stew.

Really, I have found that nearly any combination of meat and veggies works, and most "stew" type recipes can be done in the crockpot.

[LatinaCurves]

Great ideas ladies!  Thanks so much for sharing.  I've checked out some of those sites for recipe's.  Some of the pictures make me drool! loll

 

I found a beef stew recipe to add to my list of crock pot recipe's from Robb Wolf's site.  Sounds yummy too. 

 

http://robbwolf.com/2011/12/15/paleo-beef-stew-in-slow-cooker/

 

 

Paleo Beef Stew in Slow Cooker Recipe

Servings: 4

Ingredients: 1.5 lbs Beef stew cubes
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic minced
14 oz can low sodium diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen spinach

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp italian seasoning (optional)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground pepper

Instructions: place beef in crock pot, coat with the oil. Mix seasoning in small bowl then sprinkle the mixture over the beef.
place cubed sweet potatoes and sliced onion and garlic on top of meat.
pour diced tomatoes on top of vegetables, then cover with spinach.
Cover and cook 6-8 hours on Low.

Notes: Seasonings can be very flexible according to your taste.

 

[LatinaCurves]

Here's a Jambalaya Recipe that I found that seems to be W30 compliant. 

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/colleens-slow-cooker-jambalaya/

 

 

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes

• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped

• 1 cup chopped celery

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

• 2 teaspoons dried parsley

• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails

•  

• Directions
  1. In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
  2. Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.

 

 

[SharynF]

I use a slow cooker several times a week. I have three

 

My favourite chicken recipe is Jason at Paleopot's Chili Cilantro Lime Chicken

 

For a sweet potato apple idea try this. I eat it with thick Greek yogurt when I am not Whole30ing but it's great with any pork dish too. Good for kids despite the cayenne. 

 

I also cook a pork shoulder for pulled pork each week and I use my large slow cooker for bulk casseroles and stews to freeze and also for bone broth. 

[LadyM]

Oooh, Sharyn, I'm going to try that chicken recipe. Thank you!

[homerfrizzell]

Slow cooking is awesome. Goat shoulder yesterday and pork ribs are in for tonight. .

[**Ann**]

I have discovered, other than meatballs and soups, I really don't like crock pot dishes.  With that said, chilis,soups, meatballs in sauce are things I used my crockpot for.

 

I make a super easy chicken soup- chicken broth, 2 rotisserie chicken breasts broken up into bite size pieces, a bunch of frozen sliced carrots and chopped celery.  Season to taste. When the carrots are tender, I know its brewed long enough.  Quick, easy, love it.

 

My beef stew is similar, but I haven't gotten the seasonings to perfection yet.  bite size pieces of top round, braised, beef broth, chopped rhutabagas and sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms, garlic and diced onions, some balsamic vinegar or coconut aminos, and season to taste.  pretty good, but I prefer the chicken soup.

 

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I can't seem to get a whole chicken to come out as flavorful or moist and juicy in the crock as when I roast it in the oven myself or buy a rotisserie chicken.  I'm just a fan of cooking my meats in the crock--prefer oven or stove top.

[iteach]

Thank you for sharing!

 

That beef stew sounds wonderful...and easy to do. 

 

 

 

I have found a couple of ways to make beef, pork, and chicken in the crock pot before Whole30.

 

I put a whole roast or whole 4 pounds of chicken breasts in a crock pot with 1 stick of real butter (today it would be 1/2 cup ghee), salt and pepper, a whole sliced onion, along with 4-6 pepperoncinis. Then I'd cook it on med/high all day and come home to shredded beef, pork, or chicken.

 

Correction: I'd come home and shred the meat directly inside the crock pot with a fork and mix in the juices and seasonings a little more.

[gardengirl]

@ Ann: do you place the chicken breast side down? This keeps it juicy. I also make sure to season meat after slow cooking, as it seems to dissipate when cooked that way.

[LatinaCurves]

YUM! My mouth is watering just going over the recipe's. And looking forward to using my crock pot!  Thank you all for sharing.

[Kristina Wright]

I'm less of a crockpot aficionado, but I'm planning to make the Well Fed chocolate chili sometime next week. I can't wait!

 

What I DO make that feeds a houseful (me, my mom, my fiance, and our housemate, who eat like you just described) is roast chicken. I get two 4-5 lb chickens and I roast them in a nice, wide lasagne pan per the Julia Child recipe posted on Nom Nom Paleo (http://nomnompaleo.com/post/26079656034/julia-childs-classic-roast-chicken). I just use olive oil or clarified butter instead of unclarified butter to make it compliant and I skip the roasted veggies in the pan in favor of roasting a tray of broccoli. I double a batch of sweet potatoes the night before and I throw them back in the oven to reheat while the chicken rests and broccoli finishes.

 

There is consistently a whole chicken left over that can go in the soup pot (that's the plan for this week!), gets cut up for salad, or just makes a second meal as-is.

[Alysia]

I use my crockpot for as many things as I can. One thing that I find super useful is cooking squash/sweet potatoes in the crock pot! 

 

I use it to cook acorn/butternut/spaghetti squash while I'm at work so it'll be ready by the time I get home for dinner. All you have to do is put it in the pot with a cup of water and set it on low for 8 hours. Perfect squash every time!

[beespajamas]

My only problem with crock pot cooking is that the cooking aromas seem to make me feel ravenous all day long.  (This is probably not an issue if you are away from home during the day.)  To solve this problem, I have found I can set up my crock pot on our garage work bench if it isn't too cold outside; then our evening meal can cook all day without the enticing smell of dinner driving me crazy!

[GLC1968]

I use a slow cooker several times a week. I have three

 

My favourite chicken recipe is Jason at Paleopot's Chili Cilantro Lime Chicken

 

For a sweet potato apple idea try this. I eat it with thick Greek yogurt when I am not Whole30ing but it's great with any pork dish too. Good for kids despite the cayenne. 

 

I also cook a pork shoulder for pulled pork each week and I use my large slow cooker for bulk casseroles and stews to freeze and also for bone broth. 

 

I made this chicken recipe yesterday and it was fabulous!  I did an assortment of breasts and thighs (bone in, skin on) and the breasts were a tad dry but the thighs were incredible!  I served it with the citrus cauliflower rice from Well Fed 2 and we were both tempted to lick our plates clean.  Soooo delicious!

 

Here is another paleopot recipe that I use all the time as well:

http://paleopot.com/2011/05/paleopot-pine-nut-meatballs-with-assorted-veggies-and-spinach-crock-pot-slow-cooker-recipe/

Super easy and full of veggies (I usually PILE in the spinach!).

[aliciadunn]

I am not much of a crock-potter just because of the logistics (my workdays are long, and I usually cook for just me and one other person, not a huge family like some of you!). But, I just CANNOT get enough of this pulled pork recipe from Everyday Paleo! It's so simple and no liquid needs to be added, but it still comes out so juicy.

 

http://everydaypaleo.com/beyond-easy-pulled-pork/