Crockpotluck

Mike Brandt said:

We're having a potluck lunch at work tomorrow, and I'd like to use my
crockpot - I've only ever used it for keeping things warm, but I'm
up for using it to cook.

There are a million crockpot recipes out there on the web, but I
thought that I'd ask here where the people seem more real: Do you
have a favorite crockpot recipe that travels well (not too soupy!)
and cooks in, say, 4 hours? I'll do the prep work at home in the
morning, then let it cook at the office.

Whatever you choose (you give not a hint even as to category)I think it
would be prudent to fully cook it at home and then bring the crock to
work for reheating. In fact, especially since it's obvious you're
barely a newbie cook, I'd strongly suggest you prepare the dish at home
by conventional methods and then use the crock at work strictly for
what it actually is, a chaffing dish. In fact whatever you decide to
prepare first do a test run at home... your co-workers are not your
guinea pigs. I can actually cook but still would never consider serving
a dish I hadn't prepared previously. Why don't you play it safe, dump
a few cans of your favorite baked beans into the crock with a pound of
sliced hotdogs... that's what the vast majority of rfc's crockers would
actually do, although they'd claim something gormay; pressure potted
southern fried chicken (nuked chicken dogs w/blackeyed peas).

Sheldon

Mike Brandt said:

We're having a potluck lunch at work tomorrow, and I'd like to use my
crockpot - I've only ever used it for keeping things warm, but I'm
up for using it to cook.

There are a million crockpot recipes out there on the web, but I
thought that I'd ask here where the people seem more real: Do you
have a favorite crockpot recipe that travels well (not too soupy!)
and cooks in, say, 4 hours? I'll do the prep work at home in the
morning, then let it cook at the office.

Thanks for your help!

I got rave reviews over this and many requests for the recipe. Note the
recipe is not for the crockpot but I adapted it and it works just fine. It
does have a sauce, but if here's a tip. Seal the crockpot well with foil
and then put the lid on. Use two large rubber bands to secure the lid by
stretching the bands from one handle, over the lid, to the other handle.

Savory Chicken

2 lbs. chicken thighs
peanut oil for frying*
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 thin slices ginger root
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce
1/2 c. water
2 Tbs. dry sherry
2 Tbs. brown sugar

Heat oil in a large deep skillet* (I broil them on a rack to reduce fat).
Quickly fry chicken until golden brown. Remove chicken and drain all but a
little of the oil. Stir in onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, about
2 minutes. Blend together teriyaki, sherry, water and sugar. Add chicken
back to the pan; bring sauce just to the boil and then reduce the heat.
Cover and simmer about 40 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Also if
necessary thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry. Remove chicken to a
platter and spoon the sauce over the chicken.

Note, after the chicken is browned and the vegetables are sauteed, the
entire thing may be finished in a crockpot on HIGH, about 3 hours. Good for
pot lucks.

Jill

One time on Usenet said:

We're having a potluck lunch at work tomorrow, and I'd like to use my
crockpot - I've only ever used it for keeping things warm, but I'm
up for using it to cook.

There are a million crockpot recipes out there on the web, but I
thought that I'd ask here where the people seem more real: Do you
have a favorite crockpot recipe that travels well (not too soupy!)

Hmmm, I like teriyaki chicken wings in the crockpot for potluck, but
you have to tape or otherwise secure the lid during travel, so that
might be "too soupy". Chicken & Rice is good, see recipe at end of
post. Or look for the "Crock Pot Twist on Meatloaf" and/or "Ping:
Jill (Crockpot Meatloaf)" threads via Google.

Quoted message said:

and cooks in, say, 4 hours? I'll do the prep work at home in the
morning, then let it cook at the office.

Make sure you've got it on "high" during the cooking phase, then
turn to "low" to hold the tempurature for a while, no more than
an hour...

Crock Pot Chicken & Rice (Jani Briggs)

10-12 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
1½ C. raw white or brown rice (not Instant rice)
3½ C water
1 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1½ T. butter or margarine
1 green pepper, diced
½ small white onion, diced
2 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
Black Pepper (to taste)
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)

Put all ingredients into crock pot, mix well. Cover; cook on "low"
setting for 8-10 hours, or "high" for 4-5 hours. Stir once or twice
during last two hours, adding more water if necessary.

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

One time on Usenet said:

It does have a sauce, but if here's a tip. Seal the crockpot well
with foil and then put the lid on. Use two large rubber bands to
secure the lid by stretching the bands from one handle, over the
lid, to the other handle.

<snip>

Now, that's a handy tip -- thanks, Jill... :-)

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

It does have a sauce, but if here's a tip. Seal the crockpot well
with foil and then put the lid on. Use two large rubber bands to
secure the lid by stretching the bands from one handle, over the
lid, to the other handle.

<snip>

Now, that's a handy tip -- thanks, Jill... :-)

You're quite welcome. Until I got my bigger oval crockpot a couple of years
ago, which came WITH bands (heheh) and a zip-up travel case to keep it warm,
I was already doing that. Should have patented the idea. Hindsight is
20/20 🙂

Jill

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

It does have a sauce, but if here's a tip. Seal the crockpot well
with foil and then put the lid on. Use two large rubber bands to
secure the lid by stretching the bands from one handle, over the
lid, to the other handle.

<snip>

Now, that's a handy tip -- thanks, Jill... :-)

Another handy tip I use myself is use the Glad Press-n-Seal to secure
the "soupyness". I have traveled with it and it does work, well. I was
suprised myself. I had made Spegetti Sauce.

Monica

Quoted message said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

It does have a sauce, but if here's a tip. Seal the crockpot well
with foil and then put the lid on. Use two large rubber bands to
secure the lid by stretching the bands from one handle, over the
lid, to the other handle.

<snip>

Now, that's a handy tip -- thanks, Jill... :-)

Another handy tip I use myself is use the Glad Press-n-Seal to secure
the "soupyness". I have traveled with it and it does work, well. I was
suprised myself. I had made Spegetti Sauce.

Monica

That's a good idea, too. I haven't tried the Press-n-Seal stuff since I
rarely use plastic wrap but I always have foil on hand. I'll keep it in
mind. Does the food have to be at room temp before you use the Glad wrap?

Jill

[email hidden] wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

It does have a sauce, but if here's a tip. Seal the crockpot well
with foil and then put the lid on. Use two large rubber bands to
secure the lid by stretching the bands from one handle, over the
lid, to the other handle.

<snip>

Now, that's a handy tip -- thanks, Jill... :-)

Another handy tip I use myself is use the Glad Press-n-Seal to secure
the "soupyness". I have traveled with it and it does work, well. I was
suprised myself. I had made Spegetti Sauce.

Monica

Those oven roast bags make good liners for crock pots when cooking messy
hard to clean up after things. You just toss the bag when finished. They
also help in stopping spills.

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic Since Aug 2004
1AC- 7.2, 7.3, 5.5, 5.6 mmol
Weight from 265 down to 219 lbs. and dropping.
Continuing to be Manitoban

I've been uncertain about cooking chicken in my slow cooker (Westbend
with a metal container and separate flat base). I'd be concerned about
the temp not coming up quick enough to prevent bacteria. ????Has anyone
used this type successfully? Thanks....Sharon

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

We're having a potluck lunch at work tomorrow, and I'd like to use my
crockpot - I've only ever used it for keeping things warm, but I'm
up for using it to cook.

There are a million crockpot recipes out there on the web, but I
thought that I'd ask here where the people seem more real: Do you
have a favorite crockpot recipe that travels well (not too soupy!)

Hmmm, I like teriyaki chicken wings in the crockpot for potluck, but
you have to tape or otherwise secure the lid during travel, so that
might be "too soupy". Chicken & Rice is good, see recipe at end of
post. Or look for the "Crock Pot Twist on Meatloaf" and/or "Ping:
Jill (Crockpot Meatloaf)" threads via Google.

Quoted message said:

and cooks in, say, 4 hours? I'll do the prep work at home in the
morning, then let it cook at the office.

Make sure you've got it on "high" during the cooking phase, then
turn to "low" to hold the tempurature for a while, no more than
an hour...

Crock Pot Chicken & Rice (Jani Briggs)

10-12 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
1½ C. raw white or brown rice (not Instant rice)
3½ C water
1 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1½ T. butter or margarine
1 green pepper, diced
½ small white onion, diced
2 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
Black Pepper (to taste)
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)

Put all ingredients into crock pot, mix well. Cover; cook on "low"
setting for 8-10 hours, or "high" for 4-5 hours. Stir once or twice
during last two hours, adding more water if necessary.

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

Melba's Jammin' <[email hidden]> wrote in news:thisisbogus-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

How much? The measure shows up as a pi sign on my newsreader. Thanks.

Crock Pot Chicken & Rice (Jani Briggs)

1.5 Cup raw white or brown rice (not Instant rice)
3.5 Cup water

1.5 Tbsp. butter or margarine

half a small white onion, diced

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic Since Aug 2004
1AC- 7.2, 7.3, 5.5, 5.6 mmol
Weight from 265 down to 219 lbs. and dropping.
Continuing to be Manitoban

Wayne Boatwright <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Comes through in fractions on mine.

It a newsreader feature ...Barb's quotation marks come thru to me as
superceded 2's and 3's. perhaps the 1/2 character sign in Mac-ese is a Pi
sign.

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic Since Aug 2004
1AC- 7.2, 7.3, 5.5, 5.6 mmol
Weight from 265 down to 219 lbs. and dropping.
Continuing to be Manitoban

biig said:

I've been uncertain about cooking chicken in my slow cooker
(Westbend with a metal container and separate flat base). I'd be
concerned about the temp not coming up quick enough to prevent
bacteria. ????Has anyone used this type successfully?
Thanks....Sharon

Oh, absolutely. It works perfectly well. The chicken goes in cold and the
crock pot (even on LOW for long cooking) cooks it sufficiently to not worry
about bacteria.

Jill

Quoted message said:

Gal Called J.J. said:

One time on Usenet said:

We're having a potluck lunch at work tomorrow, and I'd like to use
my crockpot - I've only ever used it for keeping things warm, but
I'm up for using it to cook.

There are a million crockpot recipes out there on the web, but I
thought that I'd ask here where the people seem more real: Do you
have a favorite crockpot recipe that travels well (not too soupy!)

Hmmm, I like teriyaki chicken wings in the crockpot for potluck, but
you have to tape or otherwise secure the lid during travel, so that
might be "too soupy". Chicken & Rice is good, see recipe at end of
post. Or look for the "Crock Pot Twist on Meatloaf" and/or "Ping:
Jill (Crockpot Meatloaf)" threads via Google.

Quoted message said:

and cooks in, say, 4 hours? I'll do the prep work at home in the
morning, then let it cook at the office.

Make sure you've got it on "high" during the cooking phase, then
turn to "low" to hold the tempurature for a while, no more than
an hour...

Crock Pot Chicken & Rice (Jani Briggs)

10-12 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
1½ C. raw white or brown rice (not Instant rice)
3½ C water
1 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1½ T. butter or margarine
1 green pepper, diced
½ small white onion, diced
2 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
Black Pepper (to taste)
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)

Put all ingredients into crock pot, mix well. Cover; cook on "low"
setting for 8-10 hours, or "high" for 4-5 hours. Stir once or twice
during last two hours, adding more water if necessary.

--
J.J. in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~
"You still haven't explained why the pool is
filled with elf blood." - Frylock, ATHF

jmcquown said:

biig said:

I've been uncertain about cooking chicken in my slow cooker
(Westbend with a metal container and separate flat base). I'd be
concerned about the temp not coming up quick enough to prevent
bacteria. ????Has anyone used this type successfully?
Thanks....Sharon

Oh, absolutely. It works perfectly well. The chicken goes in cold
and the crock pot (even on LOW for long cooking) cooks it sufficiently
to not worry about bacteria.

I also have a West Bend with separate pot and base - one nice thing
about it is that the pot can be used on the stovetop. This lets you
bring the braising liquid quickly up to temperature. (Leafing through
the manual last night, I also discovered that the base can be used as
a griddle! If you don't mind making one pancake at a time, I suppose.)

Thanks, Jill and Jani, for the recipes and tips. I was about to make
Jill's recipe when I learned that someone else is doing teriyaki chicken.
But a braised chicken dish sounded good, so I decided to do a crockpot
coq au vin. I've saved your recipes, however, and will try them in the
future.

For the coq au vin, I adapted a recipe from the New York Times cook book.
Here's what I did:

I took 14 chicken legs, skinned them, then browned them in butter and
olive oil in a cast iron pan. While doing this, I diced about 2 oz. of
ham, chopped up an onion, minced a couple of cloves of garlic, and put
all of this plus the browned chicken legs in the crockpot. I added thyme,
bay leaves, salt and pepper to season. Then I warmed up 1/4 cup of
cognac, poured it over the chicken and ignited it. (Woo hoo! Flambe at
7 AM!) When the flames died out, I added about 1 1/2 cups of Bordaeux,
heated it to near-boiling on the stovetop, then drove it to work where
it now is simmering and making my office smell incredible.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks again,
-- Mike Brandt

Mike Brandt said:

jmcquown said:

biig said:

I've been uncertain about cooking chicken in my slow cooker
(Westbend with a metal container and separate flat base). I'd be
concerned about the temp not coming up quick enough to prevent
bacteria. ????Has anyone used this type successfully?
Thanks....Sharon

Oh, absolutely. It works perfectly well. The chicken goes in cold
and the crock pot (even on LOW for long cooking) cooks it
sufficiently to not worry about bacteria.

I also have a West Bend with separate pot and base - one nice thing
about it is that the pot can be used on the stovetop. This lets you
bring the braising liquid quickly up to temperature. (Leafing through
the manual last night, I also discovered that the base can be used as
a griddle! If you don't mind making one pancake at a time, I suppose.)

Heh heh... and a BIG pancake at that!

Quoted message said:

Thanks, Jill and Jani, for the recipes and tips. I was about to make
Jill's recipe when I learned that someone else is doing teriyaki
chicken. But a braised chicken dish sounded good, so I decided to do
a crockpot coq au vin. I've saved your recipes, however, and will try
them in the future.

You're welcome 🙂

Quoted message said:

For the coq au vin, I adapted a recipe from the New York Times cook
book. Here's what I did:

I took 14 chicken legs, skinned them, then browned them in butter and
olive oil in a cast iron pan. While doing this, I diced about 2 oz. of
ham, chopped up an onion, minced a couple of cloves of garlic, and put
all of this plus the browned chicken legs in the crockpot. I added
thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper to season. Then I warmed up 1/4
cup of cognac, poured it over the chicken and ignited it. (Woo hoo!
Flambe at 7 AM!)

What is it about men and fire? Never mind 😉

When the flames died out, I added about 1 1/2 cups

Quoted message said:

of Bordaeux, heated it to near-boiling on the stovetop, then drove it
to work where it now is simmering and making my office smell
incredible.

Where exactly is your office? I'll be there any minute now <G>

Quoted message said:

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks again,
-- Mike Brandt

Can't wait! I can smell it from here!

Jill

jmcquown said:

Mike Brandt said:

I also have a West Bend with separate pot and base - one nice thing
about it is that the pot can be used on the stovetop. This lets you
bring the braising liquid quickly up to temperature. (Leafing through
the manual last night, I also discovered that the base can be used as
a griddle! If you don't mind making one pancake at a time, I suppose.)

Heh heh... and a BIG pancake at that!

A big, funny-shaped oval pancake!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For the coq au vin, I adapted a recipe from the New York Times cook
book. Here's what I did:

I took 14 chicken legs, skinned them, then browned them in butter and
olive oil in a cast iron pan. While doing this, I diced about 2 oz. of
ham, chopped up an onion, minced a couple of cloves of garlic, and put
all of this plus the browned chicken legs in the crockpot. I added
thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper to season. Then I warmed up 1/4
cup of cognac, poured it over the chicken and ignited it. (Woo hoo!
Flambe at 7 AM!)

What is it about men and fire? Never mind 😉

Hey, booze and flames - what's not to love?

I forgat to mention that I also put in about a dozen small
crimini mushrooms.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When the flames died out, I added about 1 1/2 cups
of Bordaeux, heated it to near-boiling on the stovetop, then drove it
to work where it now is simmering and making my office smell
incredible.

Where exactly is your office? I'll be there any minute now <G>

Too late now, I'm afraid. Anyway, I'm in central New York State
so I don't think that you'd have made it in time.

The coq au vin was delicious, pretty much indistinguishable from
the normal oven version. There was a lot of other very good food too.
I've read accounts here of some pretty miserable sounding potlucks,
but ours are great - grad students from around the world bring all
sorts of tasty dishes, while we Americans do pretty darn well too.
My colleague the glassblower made quesadillas in her Fisher Isotemp
oven.

--
Mike Brandt

i don't really have any recipes. i don't measure anything. i think it's
neat we have the same last name!