It's cold AF and I'm trying to reduce the thought load this week. Let's share some slow cooker meals!
• I love making BBQ pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. This feeds a family of 4 at least twice (or it can, depends on loin size. We can be gluttons with BBQ 😂) I put a pork loin in on high after breakfast. At lunch I check to see how tender it is. I keep checking until I can take 2 forks and rip it to shreds. It's meant to be dinner so no rush. Then I add about 3/4s a bottle of our favorite sauce. Sweet Baby Ray's is *chefs kiss*. Stir it in and switch to low. I serve it on buns/bread with baby pickles. I usually make some sort of potatoes for a side (fries, chips, wedges, etc) but you can customize this meal and sides however.
I would drink this every day if I could. A friend gave me the base recipe and I have tailored it over the years into my own version. This is the way I enjoy it but feel free to make modifications of your own!
Ingredients:
1 gallon unfiltered apple juice/cider (if it doesn’t specifically say “unfiltered, it’s fine so long as it’s pure juice and doesn’t have any kind of additives)
1 large orange, cut into thin slices
3 cinnamon sticks
2-3 star anise (I use 2 big ones or 3 smaller ones)
3/4 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 inch ginger root, sliced
1 whole nutmeg
Materials:
Large stove pot, or a crock pot
Optional: Cheesecloth (large enough to bundle the the orange slices and cinnamon sticks up in)
Optional: Spice ball or large tea ball (I use the one pictured below)
Directions:
Place the apple juice into the pot/crock pot. If you’re using a cheesecloth, you can bundle the orange slices and cinnamon sticks up into it (like a bindle bag or drawstring bag) so that they aren’t free-floating in the entire container. If you are not using a cheesecloth, free-floating them is fine! Either way, add all the slices/sticks to the juice.
Put everything else (spices, ginger, etc) into the spice ball or tea ball and then place it in the pot as well. If you don’t have something like a spice ball, you can free-float them too (it just makes it a little trickier to clean up when you’re done).
If you are using a stovetop: Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer and cover for 2-3 hours (the longer it simmers the more spiced it will get).
If you are using a crockpot: Put it on High Heat (or a similar setting) for 2-3 hours and then just let it stay warm (mine has a Keep Warm setting) for the duration that you plan to drink it.
Remove the fruit and spices when the mixture is done simmering and serve!
Pro tip: For serving, I recommend using a ladle that has a lip, like the one shown below. It makes spillage a lot less likely!
@morcellement asked for some of my favorite crock pot recipes - here they are! Also keep in mind that most instant pot recipes can be made in the crock pot - it just takes longer!
Chicken and noodles - one of my husband’s favorite comfort meals!
Any type of chili is great in the crock pot, but I’ve made this chicken taco chili countless times and it’s a nice break from the typical chili flavor profile
This isn’t really abt bmw but I did have a question for y’all. Does anyone know any good crockpot/slow cooker/air fryer recipes that are pretty easy and good for meal planning? Pls help a poor college student out bc inflation is fucking crazy I stg. I’m not tryna end up like Jack and Eric when they tried to do thanksgiving 😭✋
It has occurred to me that if I want to have any amount of success in the kitchen I should probably stop being afraid of produce. I mean, its not the produce I’m afraid of. What I’m afraid of is bringing it home and finding bugs in it. I do not like bugs.
And I once bought a thing of strawberries, brought them home, and when I went to eat one there were literal clumps of dirt in the container. Its then that I realized that you need to WASH the produce. Which I never realized because one of my parents told me growing up that they washed it in the grocery stores with the little sprinkler things.
I don’t know why but at that moment, I just felt betrayed by the strawberries.
Anyway, the kitchen adventures will continue at a snail’s pace. Right now, I really want to learn slow cooker recipes. I want to be able to make soup, chili, and things like pulled pork, roast beef au jus sandwiches, and cheese steak. I have no idea why but I am really into sandwiches lately🤔
But here is my new slow cooker and set of cookie tins. They’re both made from copper, and the cookie tins are absolutely magical: The food doesn’t stick🤯 The slow cooker is a Crockpot brand, 3.5quarts, and fairly basic. All of these items were purchased from the Walmart app. The slow cooker was $30 and the tins were $16 for the whole set.