Three Favorite Fall "CrockPot Recipes"

There's a chill in the air today and I think it's time to pull out one of my favorite small kitchen appliances, the versatile electric slow cooker or crockpot .

Here are three of my favorite fall recipes for your slow cookery enjoyment!

Crockpot Tomato Sauce

There are tons of tomatoes in my garden so it's time to make Crock-Pot Tomato Sauce (remember Crock Pot is a licensed trademarked name for Rival Small Appliances and only applies to their brand of slow cookers) I use it here because I have a Rival Crockpot! You can use any slow cooker for this recipe.

Ingredients

3 T. olive oil, 2 c. diced onions, 2 c. shredded carrots, 1 and ½ c. diced green or red pepper, 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced, 8-9 cups of fresh peeled and diced tomatoes, (suggestions below for peeling tomatoes easily), 1 6 oz can of tomato paste, 1 T. packed brown sugar, 1 t. salt, 2 t. dried oregano or minced fresh, and 3 t. dried basil or mince about 4 T. fresh basil, pepper to taste, can add small amount of red pepper if you like a spicier sauce.

Method

Heat the oil in skillet over med heat and sauté onions, carrots, bell pepper and garlic until soft and tender. Place the sautéed vegetables in the "crockpot" and add tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Cook on high heat setting for about 8 hours. Makes about 12 cups of sauce, can be divided and frozen as needed. Delicious with fresh pasta and fresh mozzarella cheese balls tossed with it! Add a few leaves of fresh basil for a stronger basil flavor when you serve the pasta.

Sweet Chicken Stew

Cook some basmati rice when you get home and this slowcooker dish is ready to serve. Serve with fresh fruit slices and celery sticks for a complete meal in minutes.

Ingredients

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast halves diced in 1 inch pieces, 1 c. chopped onion, 3 to 4 med. carrots in cut chunks, ½ c. chicken broth, 1 T. finely chopped ginger or 1 t. ground ginger, 1 T. brown sugar, 3 T. soy sauce, ¼ t. red pepper flakes, 1 t. cornstarch, 1 c. pineapple chunks, canned or fresh, 1 red bell pepper about 1 c. cut into 1 inch pieces. (I've also chopped up one sweet potato and added this to this stew and at the end stirred in 2 T. peanut butter ( I know, peanut butter! It gives it a definite Caribbean or South African taste!, sprinkle with chopped peanuts if you do, yum!)

Method

Sautee chicken in 1 t. olive oil till lightly browned, remove and brown onion. Place chicken, onions, carrots, broth, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce and pepper in Crockpot. Cook for 7 to 8 hours till vegetables are tender. Mix cornstarch and about ¼ c. pineapple juice or water and stir into chicken mixture. Stir in pineapple and bell peppers. Cover and cook on high for about 15 minutes longer. Serve over rice and fetch the fortune cookies for this yummy sweet crockpot chicken. You can splash some vinegar into the chicken mix at the end to add a bit of sour to it.

Polly Bergen's Chili for a crowd!

Supposedly this recipe was created by Polly Bergen who was a popular actress in the 50's and 60's. At least that what my sister in law told me. I don't know about that but I do know we love this chili recipe in the fall!

Ingredients

3 T. olive oil, 4 lbs lean ground chuck, 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced, 6 large yellow onions, chopped (you can throw in half sweet onions if you like a sweeter onion flavor, 4 green bell peppers, seeded and diced, 3 diced celery stalks, four 15 oz can chili beans ( I use Brooks), three 28 oz cans of tomatoes, undrained, two 6 oz cans of tomato paste, ¼ c. New Mexican red chili powder or chili powder of your choice, 3 shakes of cayenne pepper or pepper to your taste, 1 T. cumin, 3 whole cloves, 1 bay leaf, 3 T. red wine vinegar and salt to taste.

Method

Brown the ground chuck, you may have to do this in small batches and just keep adding it to the crockpot, then brown onions, green pepper, celery and garlic. Add all ingredients to the crockpot and simmer on low for 9 to 12 hours. The longer it simmers, the better it gets!

Serve with favorite toppings like fresh cilantro, lime wedges, guacamole, shredded cheese, olives, roasted green chili peppers, sour cream and of course crackers or cornbread!