Crockpots

[lcsamano]

Does anyone use a crockpot still? I was going thru my cupboards the other day and found mine that I haven't used forever. Maybe I should take it out, dust it off and use it for during the week to help my husband out who usually has to cook.

[Mama Mangia]

Of course!!! I have several and I use them quite a bit!

They are great for summer roasting - you can make a great roast, chicken, ribs, etc. right in your kitchen without heating up the house on a hot and humid day!

My 6-qt. one cooks faster than my 3 1/2 qt. ones do. And I can do a rack of ribs in it on HIGH in 3 - 4 hours and they fall right off the bone.

BBQ or roast chicken gets done fast too that way. And its great when you have a day of working on the lawn and doing a lot of heavy work. It needs such little attention and gives a great meal!

Last week I made a meatloaf one day, roast chicken the next, ribs another day and prok chops another day. Today I've got it on again and I've got steak with onions and mushrooms. I tossed in some whole cleaned carrots and quartered some taters - now all I have to make is the gravy! One pot meal!

There is so much you can make with it!

Cleaning the 6-qt is easier cuz the liner comes out-but the others - well when the food is done I fill with water and after we are done eating I do the dishes, then the crockpot - it's not so bad. If it gets really bad - then fill with water and place a dryer sheet in there and let it sit for a few hours - clean as can be!

[lcsamano]

I will have to use mine. I never thought about putting ribs in there. We have done chicken and steaks in there but never ribs.

[Mama Mangia]

I hope you try it - I wash and pat dry my ribs (cut into serving pieces), season, slather on the BBQ sauce (both sides) and let it go! I did "re-arrange" them twice while cooking.

[Lila42]

Last week I made a meatloaf one day, roast chicken the next, ribs another day and prok chops another day. Today I've got it on again and I've got steak with onions and mushrooms. I tossed in some whole cleaned carrots and quartered some taters - now all I have to make is the gravy! One pot meal!***
Please, can you share your recipe for steak with onions and mushrooms...what cut of steak, how much? That sounds wonderful. If you don't mind, I would love to hear your recipes on those. Thank you in advance! It sounds like I could use a cheap cut of steak for this in the crockpot, as meats in the crockpot naturally come out tender. And how do you make your gravy, and can you come to my house and cook, please? LOL
I make things like pork or beef roast in the crockpot. Also ribs, but no steaks..

[r8rpwr]

I use the heck out of my crock pot. We both work all day and it is so nice to come home to dinner waiting for you, not to mention the house smells so nice.

We do red beans and rice a great deal. Also pot roast (in winter) and various chicken things.

[Mama Mangia]

Last week I made a meatloaf one day, roast chicken the next, ribs another day and prok chops another day. Today I've got it on again and I've got steak with onions and mushrooms. I tossed in some whole cleaned carrots and quartered some taters - now all I have to make is the gravy! One pot meal!***
Please, can you share your recipe for steak with onions and mushrooms...what cut of steak, how much? That sounds wonderful. If you don't mind, I would love to hear your recipes on those. Thank you in advance! It sounds like I could use a cheap cut of steak for this in the crockpot, as meats in the crockpot naturally come out tender. And how do you make your gravy, and can you come to my house and cook, please? LOL
I make things like pork or beef roast in the crockpot. Also ribs, but no steaks..

Lila - I would love to come over and cook for you! I love cooking and baking so much! As far as steak with onions and mushrooms - any steak you want. See I put the steak in my 6-qt. This time I made it with a round steak (I have used family steaks, etc. as well), and I had baby bella (baby portabella) mushrooms and vadalia onions. But button mushrooms and any onions work really well. Cheap meats come out so tender - no one would know the difference. I like to use basic seasonings - I like to taste the food I am eating. I do not believe in over seasoning or "hot saucing" everything to death. Salt, pepper, parsley and garlic give a fab flavor. The steak was frozen when I put it in the crockpot - so I collected the juices/water and placed in a bowl and put in the fridge until the steak was just about done. I didn't make my gravy in the crockpot this time - I did it in the pan with the pan juices from the crockpot, flour mixed with cold water and I added some beef boullion and water, touch of gravy master. Mashed potatoes with sour cream, milk, butter, salt and pepper if you do not want quartered taters. If you want you can cut your steak in pieces, slices, etc. - don't matter.

For my chicken - a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom and then I "roll" my chicken in it - salt, pepper, parsley and garlic. Make the gravy like I did for the steak - using chicken boullion instead. Or you can mix a can or two of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken or whatever with some milk anduse that as a nice sauce over chicken and taters. Whole chickens or just parts - don't matter. Falls right off the bone. Heck forget the chicken soup - slather on the BBQ sauce - it's great. I usually don't put the BBQ sauce on until it is half cooked. so that I can remove water/juices if I happen to use frozen chicken pieces.

Pork - pork chops - drizzle with oil, roll, season with salt, pepper, parsley and garlic. BBQ sauce if you want. And it falls off the bone! We don't like pork gravy in my house - so I make a basic gravy using boullion and water, thicken with flour and cold water.

My 6 qt. will even hold a 8-10 lb. turkey.

Roast beef is fork tender.

Veal falls off the bone.

Brown your stew meat (in a skillet if you want) and add your carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, seasonings and let cook. Not even a half hour before serving add frozen corn, peas, etc. Frozen stew meat is nice to just drop in the pot - makes its own gravy. Or use a cheap chuck steak (roast) and make pot raost the same way.

[medako]

I love my crock pot. I sometimes forget about it after I've put it away for a while, but when I rediscover it, I use it quite a bit. I use it more in the winter for soups and stews, but I need to start using it more in the summer to keep the house from getting so hot with the oven.

I kinda wish I had a smaller pot too. Sometimes I don't need to use the big crockpot for just a couple of chicken breasts or a small roast.

[medako]

Okay, got a question.

I have a small rack of ribs in the freezer and I was thinking about tossing them in the crockpot today. But once again, it's getting close to grocery time and I don't have any BBQ sauce to pour over them. (and I don't have all of the stuff to make my own). I know, I know...how could I run out of BBQ sauce? I have no idea! It's usually something I stay stocked up on.

Anyways, I have some KC Masterpiece BBQ spice rub that's pretty good. Do you think I could use season the meat with that?

[Mama Mangia]

why not? many people enjoy their ribs with a wonderful rub instead of the sauce on them! when people hear ribs - they automatically think of sauced ribs - but ribs do not need to be sauced to be wonderful!