Crockpot Apple Butter

Approx. 3 lb. apples
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Dash of salt
3/4 cup water or fresh apple cider

Fill Crock-pot 3/4 full with peeled, cored and sliced apples. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook on low setting overnight or until the butter is of a thick, spreadable consistency. If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened. Stir often as butter thickens to prevent scorching. Store in refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Freeze for longer storage. Variation: For a less sweet apple butter, substitute 1 cup honey for the sugar. To can the apple butter, pack into hot jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

My changes:
- I reduced the sugar to 1 cup. Now that its done it tastes fine, but I decided to add some brown sugar to it, just to give it a little something more. I used a large spoon from the silverware drawer and put two heaping spoonfuls in. It tastes perfect to me now! 3 cups of sugar would have been way too much!
- I used apple juice instead of water
- Mine has been cooking on low for 16 hours! I put it in at 4:30pm yesterday. By 10pm it was just mushy chunks of apples, so I left it overnight. I woke up to nice dark brown chunky apple butter. I used a submerssion handheld blender to smooth it out. Its perfect! Now its on warm while I wait for the jars to sanitize in the dishwasher. I'm going to attempt canning!

Crockpot Lasagna

http://www.oprah.com/food/Crock-Pot-Lasagna-Recipe

Ingredients
3 cans (14.4 ounces) crushed tomatoes
3 cloves garlic , finely chopped
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 containers (15 ounces each) fresh ricotta
2 cups (8 ounces) grated mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
12 lasagna noodles (about three-quarters of a 1-pound box)
5 ounces (about 6 cups) baby spinach

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, red pepper and black pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella and Parmesan.

In the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, spread a thin layer of the sauce. Top with 3 of the noodles (breaking to fit as necessary). Spread about 1 cup of the sauce over the noodles and layer with 2 cups of the spinach and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture. Repeat twice more with the noodles, sauce, spinach and cheese mixture. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, sauce and 1 cup mozzarella.

Cook on low, covered, until the noodles are tender—especially in the center of the lasagna—about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
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Microwave White Chicken Chili

Ingredients
¾ tsp salt, divided
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 poblano peppers
1 medium onion
1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsp Southwestern Seasoning Mix
2 cans (15.5 oz each) Great Northern beans, drained
1 jar (16 oz) salsa Verde

Directions:
1. Using (5-in.) Santoku Knife, slice about ¼ in. off the pointed top of garlic heads to expose cloves. Place garlic cut side up in Classic Batter Bowl. Sprinkle garlic with ¼ tsp of the salt and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the oil. Cover batter bowl with lid; microwave on HIGH 3 minutes or until garlic is soft. Set aside to cool.

2. Meanwhile, finely dice peppers using Santoku Knife. Chop onion using Food Chopper. Combine peppers and onion in Deep Covered Baker. Trim and finely dice chicken using Boning Knife. Add chicken, seasoning mix, remaining 1 tbsp oil and remaining ½ tsp salt to baker; mix well using Master Scraper. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 4 minutes; stir to separate chicken. Cover; microwave an additional 4-6 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

3. Meanwhile, gently squeeze cooled garlic from heads into batter bowl (discard skins); mash using Mix ‘N Masher. Add beans and salsa to batter bowl. Transfer bean mixture to baker; mix well. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 5-7 minutes or until chili is heated through.

Yield: 8 servings (8 cups)
Nutrients per serving (1 cup):
Calories 230, Total Fat 7 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 70 mg, Carbohydrate 21 g, Protein 21 g, Sodium 750 mg, Fiber 4 g

Cook’s Tips: Taco seasoning mix can be substituted for the Southwestern Seasoning Mix, if desired. Omit salt. Serve this chili with optional toppings such as shredded cheese, sour cream, lime wedges, diced avocado or chopped cilantro. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be substituted for the chicken thighs, if desired. ©The Pampered Chef, Ltd., 2009

Pioneer Woman's Italian Drip Beef

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 6 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 10

Ingredients
1 whole Beef Chuck Roast, 2.5 To 4 Pounds
1 can Beef Consomme Or Beef Broth
3 Tablespoons (heaping) Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ cups Water
½ jars (16 Oz) Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice
Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls

Preparation Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a heavy pot or dutch oven. Stir lightly to combine seasoning with the liquid.
Cover and bake in a 275 degree oven* for 5 to 6 hours, or until meat is fork-tender and falling apart.
Remove from oven. With two forks, completely shred all meat, leaving no large chunks behind. Serve immediately, or keep warm over a simmer on the stove.
May make the day before, then store in the refrigerator. Remove the hardened fat from the top before reheating.
Serve on buttered, toasted rolls. Top with cheese and melt under the broiler if desired. Serve with juices from the pot.

link

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
6 green peppers
1 lb extra lean ground beef
3/4 cup long grain white rice, raw
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 ounce) can original stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can tomato soup
1/2-3/4 cup chili sauce
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper

Directions
Wash peppers, cut tops off and remove core. Drain and chop stewed tomatoes, reserving liquid.
In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef, rice, onion, garlic, 1/2 of the chopped stewed drained tomatoes, salt and pepper.
Stuff peppers with this mixture and sit in the crockpot standing up. Trim bottoms of any especially wonky peppers though they should stand and up packed nicely.
Combine tomato soup, chili sauce, the rest of the chopped tomatoes and reserved stewed tomato liquid. Check the consistency as you may not need all of the reserved tomato liquid.
Pour sauce over peppers.
Cook on low 6-8 hours or until tender. This can take less or more time as crockpots differ wildly.

Crock-pot Pot Roast

16 oz can whole-berry cranberry sauce
5.5 oz can apricot nectar
2 tsp cider or distilled white vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped (I increased to 1 cup.)
1 tsp salt
2-1/2 pound boneless pork loin roast

Mix all ingredients except pork in 3 qt or larger slow cooker. Trim fat off pork. Add meat to slow-cooker and spoon some of mixture over it. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until pork in done and tender. Remove pork, slice. Spoon fat, if any, off sauce and serve with pork. (My friend who passed along this recipe said to add extra onions and apricots.)