Tag: #SlowCooker

Posted in Cookbooks

Mostly Meatless

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Green Up Your Plate Without Totally Ditching the Meat

200+ plant-forward recipes for the modern-day omnivore looking to eat less meat

Vegetables take center stage in globally inspired nutritious meals, perfect for anyone following a Mediterranean diet

Attention plant-curious cooks, occasional vegetarians, even conflicted carnivores—anyone looking to reduce their meat consumption. This vibrant collection fills a needed middle ground with 200+ hearty recipes that center vegetables and make meat the sidekick. (About half the recipes include some form of meat!)

  • Re-engineers Your Favorites with Less Meat: Swiss Chard Enchiladas, Mostly Meatless Meatballs and Marinara, Bacon and Cheese Black Bean Burgers, and Parsnip and Chicken Shawarma bulk up comforting favorites with plants, while paring down the meat.
  • Vegetables at the Center (with Meat as a Seasoning): Embrace anchovies, bacon, and chorizo to season a heap of vegetables with a little meat—like in our Almost Beefless Beef Stew, Caldo Verde, and Breakfast Fried Rice with Spinach and Shiitakes.
  • Flavors from the Mediterranean, Asia, Central America, and Beyond: Recipes take inspiration from healthful eating traditions around the world, whether you’re craving Okonomiyaki, Hot Ukrainian Borscht, Peruvian Arroz con Pollo, or Mapo Tofu.
  • Emphasizes Ease and Efficiency: Cooking more plants doesn’t have to mean spending more time shopping or chopping. We streamlined at every stage of our recipes—leaning on widely available ingredients and shelf-stable pantry goods—to give you time back in your day.

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in Cookbooks

Dinner Tonight

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

200 Quick Recipes for Inspired Weeknight Cooking

Bold flavors meet time-saving tricks in 200 recipes (all ready in 45 minutes or less) that make weeknight dinners fun and stress-free.

When time is short and bellies are grumbling, America’s Test Kitchen’s streamlined guide to weeknight cooking is ready for you. It offers great meals that don’t require a ton of work. These meals also bring new flavors to the table. No matter your craving, you’ll find a dinner that fits the bill in under 45 minutes with easy cleanup. You might enjoy chicken salad with a fantastic dressing. Try Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Jicama and Banana Peppers. If you want umami-rich noodles, consider Chili Crisp Noodles. Or perhaps you desire a deeply comforting soup like Spicy Tomato Soup with Tortellini and Sausage.

Edited by Jack Bishop, TV cast member, tasting guru, and creator of the twice-weekly Dinner Tonight newsletter (which goes out to more than 1 million fans), this collection of 200 go-to recipes delivers plenty of ways to improve your weeknight eating:

  • Fresh Ideas for Pantry Staples: Are you staring blankly at your pantry? These recipes give it new life (canned tuna = Spaghetti al Tonno; frozen peas = Pea and Pistachio Pesto Pasta).
  • Modern Flavor Boosters: Every recipe showcases a smart way to add flavor, like an Old Bay–spiked lemon compound butter that melts over salmon fillets and pools into a bowl of confetti grits; or honey and red wine vinegar, which become a sweet yet sophisticated glaze for chicken.
  • Flexible Swaps: Got parsley but no cilantro? Ground turkey but no pork? These recipes indicate when swaps make sense.
  • Riff on Recipes to Make New Meals: The sauce for Murgh Makhani (aka Indian Butter Chicken) is so perfectly spiced, you’ll want to try it with tofu or chickpeas—we show you how.
  • Comfort-Food Flavors in Low-Key Renditions: Chicken Piccata Meatballs, Pork Meatball Bahn Mi (can you tell we love meatballs?), and Mezzi Rigatoni with Spicy Gochujang Tomato Sauce offer maximum appeal with minimal effort. And that’s just the beginning of what you’ll find.

Need help deciding? Themed lists let you choose dinner based on your mood, the season, or what’s on hand. There are even tips for scaling recipes for two. With 200 recipes plus ways to spin them, you’ve got more than a year of great ideas.

Posted in From My Kitchen

Slow-Cooker Country-Style Ribs

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

If you’re not using your slow cooker for ribs, you’re not using your slow cooker! These tender, saucy, slow-cooker country-style ribs come out perfect every time, and the Crockpot does nearly all the work for you.

Country-style pork ribs in the slow cooker are easy to prepare on a weeknight, but this dish is also perfect for a game-day snack or a holiday meal. Boneless pork ribs are also affordable, which is extra essential when feeding a family or a crowd.

And as with all the best barbecue ribs recipes, these slow-cooked pork country-style ribs go perfectly with your favorite barbecue sides, so you know this meal will be a hit.

Continue reading “Slow-Cooker Country-Style Ribs” →
Posted in From My Kitchen

Slow-Cooker Corn Chowder

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Discover the ultimate comfort food with our irresistible slow cooker corn chowder recipe. This hearty and creamy dish blends sweet corn with the rich flavors of bacon, potatoes and aromatic herbs. Perfect for chilly evenings or any time you’re craving a bowl of warmth and flavor. Our recipe promises a simple yet deeply satisfying soup.

The best part is, your slow cooker does all the work. Combine and refrigerate the ingredients for the corn chowder the night before, then pour the mixture into your crockpot and turn it on in the morning. When you come home from work, a hot, tasty meal awaits.

Ingredients for Slow-Cooker Corn Chowder

  • Milk: Milk is the main binder for this chowder. Its combination with the creamy soup creates a velvety base for the rest of the ingredients. You’ll need 2-1/2 cups of 2% milk but you can use 1% or reduced fat if that’s all you have.
  • Creamed corn: We’re not gatekeeping our secret to the creamiest corn chowder—it’s a can of cream-style corn.
  • Cream of mushroom soup: Condensed cream of mushroom soup also imparts lots of earthy, savory flavor and amps up the creamy factor in this slow-cooker chowder.
  • Frozen corn: Two types of corn add to the chunky nature of this chowder. We also used a bag of frozen kernels but canned or fresh would work too.
  • Hash brown potatoes: Traditional chowders usually involve onions and potatoes but we went one step further in the comfort food department with a cup of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes. It is a total game-changer in this soup.
  • Fully cooked ham: Ham and corn are a flavor-enhancing combination and sneak some protein into this chowder, too.
  • Onion: Sauteed onion bits add some sweetness to the soup and the chunky texture.
  • Parsley: A peppery herbaceous finish in the form of dried  (or fresh) parsley flakes is the right move.
  • Butter: For an extra silky, buttery chowder, you’ll need 2 tablespoons of butter.
  • Bacon: Although optional, crispy crumbled bacon is the ultimate topper for chowder.

Taste of Home

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

77 Slow Cooker Recipes to Make This Summer

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

By Rachel Vigoda
Taste of Home’s Editorial Process
Updated: Jun. 27, 2024

There’s no need to heat up the house when you can plug in your slow cooker. These summer slow cooker recipes are perfect for barbecues and backyard parties.

Taste of Home