I decided to explore slow cooker recipes this year. I bought a new slow cooker and two cook books. This recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen book Slow Cooker Revolution. The recipe is fairly traditional except for the cooking of the vegetables and adding chard just before serving. So far this our favorite slow cooker recipe.

I prepared this recipe for New Year’s Day with fresh black-eyed peas. It was good. Leftovers were excellent, too!

Serves 8

Small boneless hams are available in the meat case at most supermarkets. An equal weight of ham steak can be used. To ensure that the rice cooks evenly, cover the surface with aluminum foil when cooking. Use low-sodium chicken broth or the dish will be too salty. Serve with hot sauce.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 (1- to 1 1/2-pound) boneless ham, cut into 3/4-inch-thick planks (see note)
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 celery ribs, chopped fine
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)
• 2 (16-ounce) bags frozen black-eyed peas
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
• 3 scallions, sliced thin

Instructions

1. BROWN PORK Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot and brown ham, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate with bacon.
2. COOK VEGETABLES Add onion and celery to pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, peas, bay leaves, and browned ham and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until beans are just tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer ham to cutting board and cut into ½-inch pieces.
3. SIMMER RICE Place rice in fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl. Rinse under running water until water runs clear, about 1 minute. Drain rice well and stir into pot. Place square of aluminum foil directly on surface of simmering liquid. Simmer covered until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes, stirring and repositioning foil twice during cooking. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with fork. Stir in scallions, bacon, and ham. Serve.

Hoppin’ John – Recipe | Cook’s Country – Recipes That Work

One of our favorite dishes is flank steak which I marinate in teriyaki sauce for several hours and then broil. I typically serve it with a green vegetable and potatoes. Provencal potatoes adds an abundance of complex flavors to a meat with a lot of flavor, too. It may be too much with this meat but we liked it.

Provencal New Potatoes Recipe

 

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 50 minutes

The garlic cloves are cooked with their peels still on (but crushed) to help keep the garlic from burning or drying out. The peels also help keep the mushy roasted garlic distinct, so that if an individual doesn’t want to eat garlic, it can be avoided. You can either remove the skins before serving, or let the individual remove them once served.

Ingredients

• 2 lb small new potatoes (look for the smallest you can find, the potatoes should be no bigger than 1 1/2 inches, if they are bigger, cut them into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 medium onion, sliced in the direction of root to top
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed with peel on (do not remove peel)
• 2-3 small to medium vine-ripened tomatoes, or plum tomatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 10 pitted olives, green and black (Kalamata and Nicoise)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp herbes de Provence
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives for garnish

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F

2 Put all ingredients (except chives) into a bowl, toss with your (clean) hands to coat completely with oil and seasonings.

3 Spread out in an even layer in a roasting pan.

4 Put the potatoes in the oven, cook for fifteen minutes at 400°F. Then reduce the heat to 375° and cook for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the onions and tomatoes are somewhat caramelized and the potatoes are cooked through. Halfway through cooking, stir the potatoes so that they remain well coated with oil and do not get dried out, and the bottom of the pan stays coated with oil.

5 Remove from oven and let sit until cooled to room temperature.

Sprinkle with freshly chopped chives to serve. Excellent served with steak and a side of greens. (You can toss fresh spinach or chard with the oil remaining in the potato roasting pan and put back into the oven for just a few minutes until just wilted.)

Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

Provencal New Potatoes Recipe | Simply Recipes

I made the Best Ever Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe and the Taco Seasoning I Recipe several times over the last couple of months to season ground beef for taco salad. The only difference between the recipes is the amount of cumin and black pepper. The Best Ever Taco Seasoning has 1/2 teaspoon more cumin and no black pepper. I think I liked it better than the Taco Seasoning I  I was using so I compared the ingredients. I guess I will have to do more testing.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Taco Seasoning I Recipe – Allrecipes.com

One of our favorite mid-week dishes is roast chicken with vegetables. I can pick up a four pound bird at about 99 cents per pound. The recipe is simple. Cut up a bunch of your favorite vegetables and put them in the bottom of your dish with about a half cup of water. I used cauliflower, carrots, red potatoes, and shallots in the picture below. Put a little vegetable oil, salt, and pepper on the bird and stick it on a vertical roaster. I cook the bird for an hour and a half at 350° and then start measuring the temperature with an instant thermometer. I pull it out of the oven when the temperature goes above 160° and let the bird sit on a cutting board for a five minutes while I stir the vegetables with the broth in the dish. We really like the broth and vegetables. I am not sure which part of this meal we like better, the chicken or the vegetables, although we normally do not have leftover vegetables.

Initially I did not like this granola. Eating this granola by itself did not work for me. So I started adding it to my morning cereal and developed quite a fondness for it. It made my cereal interesting. Every bite was a surprise.

This crunchy, sweet granola is studded with toasted almonds, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries and peaches. Feel free to substitute any combination of nuts and fruit, or swap the maple syrup for honey. It makes an ideal holiday gift, and will keep for up to two weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Ingredients

serves 6 cups

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of allspice (optional)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup diced dried peaches

Procedures

1. Position the oven rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 325°. Combine oats, coconut, almonds, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and allspice (if using) in large bowl. Add canola oil and maple syrup and stir until all ingredients are well combined.

2. Spread mixture on baking sheet and bake, stirring often, for 25 minutes. If nuts or coconut are toasting too quickly, turn oven down to 300°.

3. Remove granola from oven and let cool on pan for 20 minutes. Stir in dried cranberries and dried peaches. Cooled granola will keep for up to 2 weeks in sealed container at room temperature

Holiday Granola | Serious Eats : Recipes