I love pot roast. I guess it reminds me of Sunday dinners as a kid. My mom ALWAYS made pot roast. We would always complain she overcooked it. But seriously, I really love a tender, falling apart pot roast, it’s pure comfort food.

I am not a fan of casseroles. Not really sure why. Pot roasts are sort of my answer to the one dish meal dilemma. Sure, life gets busy and I need something I can just throw in the slow cooker or oven, but I want it to taste really good.

Honestly, I prefer cooking roasts in the oven. However, there are those days when a slow cooker is really a life saver.

Unfortunately for me, if you have looked at many slow cooker pot roast recipes you’ll realize that almost all of them contain cream of mushroom soup (not a fan) or onion soup mix (also not a fan and really confused on the gluten issue here).

So, I was really happy to see a slow-cooker country style roast in my America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I adapted this recipe to suit my needs, I didn’t’ really want to cook a 6 pound roast as they suggest and, well, I can’t follow a recipe. So this is my interpretation of their version.

I was really happy with the results and no canned soups or soup mixes in sight. I know slow cookers vary, but it really does take a LONG time to cook, so be prepared to start this early in the day if you want to eat this for dinner.

Although I think chuck roasts are really excellent slow cooked, you can use a different roast if you like. I often use a different cut if there is a sale..sshhhh don’t tell America’s Test Kitchen, they insist only a chuck roast will do

Slow Cooker Pot Roast with red potatoes.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Although you could place this directly in the slow cooker without browning it, I think it really improves the texture of the meat.

• 1 (3 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 pound baby carrots (or peeled, chopped carrots)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 (14 oz) can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 large red potatoes, halved
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add roast and season with salt and pepper. Brown roast on all sides, be sure to let roast brown well before trying to turn or roast will tear. Reduce heat if oil begins to smoke. Brown on all sides, this process will take 8-10 minutes total. Add roast to slow cooker.
2. Add onions, carrot, and garlic to pan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes (add 1 tsp to oil if necessary to prevent vegetables from sticking). Add wine and scrape up any browned bits. Simmer until wine has reduced by half, about 1 minute, then pour into slow cooker.
3. Add tomatoes, broth, thyme, bay leaf and potatoes to slow cooker. Cover and cook until meat is tender and, 9-10 hours on low or 6-7 hours on high.
4. Transfer the roast and potatoes to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaf and using an immersion blender (or let cool slightly and transfer to a food processor), blend liquid in slow cooker until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Slice roast, serve with potatoes and sauce.

Crock Pot, Main Dishes Slow cooker pot roast

Refried beans are such a great thing to have on hand. They can be used in main dishes, dips, as a side, and what kid doesn’t love a bean and cheese quesadilla? And they are so inexpensive and easy to make.

I have tried a couple different recipes to make homemade refried beans, and I have found that this adaptation from a recipe on allrecipes works the best for me. It is simple, you just throw everything in the slow cooker, when the beans are done you strain and mash. It couldn’t be much easier, and they taste a lot better than canned refried beans. If you don’t have chicken broth, or want to make it vegetarian, you could certainly use vegetable broth or water; but you might need to add extra salt.

This recipe makes pretty mild beans, if you want to add a kick, you could use more jalapeno pepper, or add hot sauce, taco seasoning, spices etc. It is a good basic recipe that can be modified to suit your taste.  And like most slow cooker recipes, this makes a lot of food; but don’t worry, the beans freeze really well.

A dish or refried beans.

Homemade refried beans and homemade tortillas, simply the best bean and cheese quesadilla you could eat.

Refried Beans Without the Refry

• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed (black beans or a combo of both beans also works well)
• 1/2 jalapeno, chopped
• 2 Tb garlic, minced
• ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 9 cups chicken broth
• salt, optional
  

1. Place onion, beans, jalapeno, garlic, pepper and cumin in slow cooker. Add broth and stir to combine. Cook on high 8 hours, adding more water or broth if needed.
2. Once beans have cooked, strain and reserve liquid. Mash beans with potato masher, or for a smoother texture use an immersion blender (you can also cool them slightly and use food processor, I find this gives the smoothest texture). Add reserved liquid as needed to get desired consistency. Add salt if needed.
   

Crock Pot, Sides crock pot refried beans, Gluten Free, gluten free refried beans, refried beans without the refry, slow cooker refried beans

We have a new produce store near our house, so I have been stopping in every couple of days to pick up produce. They have been having an apple sale, so I bought a 10 pound bag with the intention of making apple pie filling. Well, my weekend came and went and still I have a 10 pound bag of apples on my counter and even more eating apples in the fridge. Today is filled with extracurricular activities, not leaving nearly enough time to get apple pie filling made; but slow cooker applesauce, that I can do.

My mom has always made her own applesauce, I am sure it stems from the fact she lives in the country and has apple tress, along with all her friends and neighbors, so she has an abundant supply of free apples. I guess I have always been around homemade applesauce, so it doesn’t seem like too big of a chore, however there are a few different ways to make applesauce and I have found the easiest way is to make it in your slow cooker. You simply add the ingredients and forget about it; and the best part, your house will be filled with the amazing aroma of spiced apples. Simply delicious.

You could use any apple you want here, I know the “experts” say that Jonagold, Pink Lady, Macoun, Gala, and Fuji are the best due to their balanced flavor and water content; but I just use what I have and adjust the water and sugar as needed. So if you choose to use a really tart apple, know that you might have to add a little extra sugar; for a sweet apple, use less sugar. Today I used a combination of Honeycrips and Granny Smiths. If you prefer your applesauce unsweetened, just leave out the sugar and spices; my version tastes very similar to an apple pie filling. I think applesauce is pretty forgiving, so if you have never made it, give it a try. It is a great rainy day activity with the kids. I am sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy and good it is, especially when served warm.

One word of caution though, if you are tempted to start these at night and go to bed, just know that the smell will be quite strong, and quite possibly will prevent you from sleeping. Trust me, I know from experience. My husband has asked me to never again cook food in the slow cooker while we sleep, it just smells too good.

Slow Cooker Applesauce

• about 3 pounds apples, cored, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (white sugar would also work), optional
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin or apple pie spice, optional

1. Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.
2. When apples are very soft, smash with potato masher, fork, immersion blender, etc to get desired consistency. If very smooth consistency is desired, a blender or food processor would work well.
3. Applesauce can be served warm or cold. Leftovers need refrigerated or frozen.

Cooking With Kids, Crock Pot crock pot applesauce, Gluten Free, homemade applesauce, slow cooker applesauce

I am having one of those weeks. You probably know what kind of week I mean; the one where it would help if I was more organized, planned my meals better and just had more time. So, last night in an effort to be more of this organized super-mom I wish to be, I surveyed my fridge, seeing what quick meal ideas I could come up with. I had leftover homemade BBQ Sauce, so I decided I would defrost some chicken in the fridge overnight and make slow cooker bbq chicken the next day.

So, the next day happens. I go to throw my ingredients into the slow cooker, only to remember we don’t eat gluten. The only way I know how to serve shredded BBQ chicken is on a roll. And sure, I have made some gluten free breads and rolls, but they aren’t all that special. And truth be told, homemade bread is only worth the trouble if it tastes great, or at least good. And even if I did have a gluten free bread recipe up my sleeve, today was not a day I had time to make bread.

I do the only think I know to do, I call my sister and ask what else her family eats bbq shredded meat on or with. She suggests a baked potato, apparently this is popular in bbq country. So I chopped up some green onions, grated some cheddar cheese (although I think colby-jack would be better, I had none) and went about my day. When I arrived home, very tired and way past our regular dinner time, with a very grumpy toddler at my foot, I quickly washed up some potatoes, threw them in the microwave and had dinner on the table in no time. It was delicious, thanks Lynn. Dinner Saved.

BBQ Baked Potatoes

Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Chicken

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 cup Italian Dressing
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• diced onions and garlic, optional (my homemade bbq sauce has onions and garlic, so I don’t add more)

1. Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook around 3 hours on low. Using a fork, shred chicken and stir back into sauce to combine.
2. Cook on high for approximately 1 more hour, or until meat is done.

• 4-6 baked potatoes
• sour cream, cheese, green onions or chives, all optional but delicious

1. To serve, split open potatoes, lengthwise. Spoon chicken on top of potatoes. Top with optional ingredients if desired. Enjoy.

BBQ, Crock Pot, Main Dishes bbq baked potato, bbq chicken baked potato, Gluten Free

I have a love/hate relationship with my crock pot. I love the ease and convenience, but I have hated more than one slow cooker meal. And what is with all  the slow cooker recipes and the ingredients they call for, the cream of this, cream of that soup? And cheese whiz. The last thing I want slow cooking with my meat is a congealed can of fat or artificial cheese. Seriously, what were our mothers thinking? And slow cookers can be a pain in the you know what to wash.

Even with all the drawbacks, there are days when my crock pot is a life saver, especially now that we eat gluten free. Long gone are the days when we can just order a pizza or pick up some deli food on a hectic day. And between school, work, activities and normal family life, isn’t every week just a little chaotic? So, in the end I need my crock pot, but I also need dependable recipes that will produce a delicious meal. This isn’t always easy.

I have found that things that naturally require low and slow cooking also work the best in a crock pot, go figure, huh? Things I have been the happiest with are: beans, broths, stews, soups and roasts. Red meat seems to work better than chicken. Chicken is notorious for being easy to  over cook and dry out, so slow cook chicken with caution. Another warning, the old slow cookers required a longer cooking time. So if you are using an old recipe and a new crock pot, make sure to adjust the cooking time. I doubt anything requires 12 hours in a newer slow cooker, but this seemed to be the norm in the old ones. And please, for the love of all things delicious, do not use cream of anything soup. Your family and your arteries will thank you.

This is my all time favorite slow cooker meal. I believe it came from an old Taste of Home of Country magazine. Feel free to use a can of tomato sauce in place of the canned tomatoes if you prefer, it will be good either way. And the original recipe called for a 16 oz can of tomatoes, but the brands I use are all 14.5 oz cans, so I changed this accordingly. But I seriously doubt it will matter which size of can you use.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

• 1 1/2-2 pounds round steak (or any other appropriate cut)
• 2 Tb oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (if eating gf, San-J makes a good one)
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger  (or about 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced)
• 1-  14.5oz can of cut tomatoes with liquid (or a can of tomato sauce)
• 2 large bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tb Cornstarch

1. Cut beef into 3-inch strips and brown in oil in skillet (if short on time, browning  can be skipped). Place beef in slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, onion, garlic, sugar, pepper, ginger, tomatoes and green peppers. Cook on low 5-6 hours or until beef is tender.
3. Combine cornstarch and water in small dish. Stir into slow cooker and cook on high until thick; about 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Crock Pot, Main Dishes crock pot pepper steak, Gluten Free, slow cooker pepper steak