Meatballs (adapted from Slow Cooker Meatballs Recipe)

Meatballs (adapted from Easy Slow Cooker Meatballs recipe)

1.5 lbs. ground beef or turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use gluten free)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 minced garlic cloves
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
A little parm, salt, pepper

Mix ingredients and form into meatballs.
Freeze or bake on baking sheet at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Or, in a slow cooker, mix 1 28 oz jar spaghetti sauce with meatballs and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Slow-Cooker White Bean Soup With Andouille and Collards

Slow-Cooker White Bean Soup With Andouille and Collards
****Susan's note: I made this with double the sausage, which was perfect.  Make sure you use a spicy sausage.  I also used a little less collards and more broth than called for.



Serves 6 Hands-On Time: 10min Total Time: 8hr 00m
Ingredients
1 pound dried white beans (such as cannellini or great Northern)
1/2 pound andouille sausage links, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bunch collard greens, stems discarded and leaves cut into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
kosher salt and black pepper
olive oil and bread sticks, for serving
Directions
In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beans, sausage, onion, celery, and thyme. Add the broth and stir to combine.
Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
Twenty minutes before serving, discard the thyme stems, add the collard greens, cover, and cook until the greens are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the vinegar and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Drizzle with the olive oil and serve with the bread sticks.
By Dawn Perry , Real Simple
March, 2011

Nutritional Information
Per Serving
Calories 393
Fat 8g
Sat Fat 4g
Cholesterol 28mg
Sodium 670mg
Protein 30g
Carbohydrate 51g
Sugar 4g
Fiber 14g
Iron 9mg
Calcium 212mg

Slow Cooker French Onion Beef Stew

Slow Cooker French Onion Beef Stew
From Woman's Day Dec. 2011


***Susan's Note: I used organic free range beef from Wegmans for this recipe, and I used applesauce instead of apple juice because that's all I had.  I also added a bag of pre-cut Mirepoix from Wegmans.    I am usually not a slow cooker user because I always have to have the food cook longer than it states on a workday because I am gone up to 10 hours during the day.  This cooked for 9 hours on low and it was delicious.

• 1 can(s) low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup(s) apple juice
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-in. pieces
• 2  onions, thinly sliced
• 1.5 pound(s) lean beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1/2-in. pieces
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 4  thick slices country bread
• 4 ounce(s) Gruyère or Swiss cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1 tsp leaves

directions

1. Tie a piece of thread or kitchen twine around the thyme sprigs and place them in a 5- to 6-qt slow cooker. Add the chicken broth, apple juice, carrots and onions and mix to combine.
2. Season the beef with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper; sprinkle with the flour. Add the beef and any excess flour to the slow cooker and mix to combine. Cook, covered, until the beef and vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high.
3. When the stew has 10 minutes left to cook, heat the broiler. Place the bread on a foil-lined broiler-proof baking sheet. Sprinkle with the cheese and remaining tsp thyme. Broil until the cheese starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the stew into bowls and top with the Gruyère toasts.

tips & techniques

To make ahead, refrigerate the stew for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw, if frozen, then reheat, covered, over medium heat. Make the toasts just before serving.

Laura's Quick Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

***Susan's Note: I had a bunch of cans of beans and tomato sauces and stuff that I wanted to use up, so I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It was easier to put together than the other turkey chili recipe on my blog. This recipe recieved 502 reviews, with an average of 4 1/2 stars. What makes me laugh, though, is that most of the reviewers modified the recipe. I did, too!!

My modifications:
- omitted allspice (I don't have this in my cupboard)
- used 1 can diced tomatoes in place of one can of tomato soup
- added 1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
- didn't cook the turkey in oil
- replaced the 2 cans regular kidney beans with 2 cans rinsed/drained chili beans

I cooked it on high for 4 hours and it was yummy!

Laura's Quick Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey
2 (10.75 ounce) cans low sodium tomato soup
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch ground allspice
salt to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place turkey in the skillet, and cook until evenly brown; drain.
Coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray, and mix in turkey, tomato soup, kidney beans, black beans and onion. Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, allspice and salt.
Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High.

Kim's Turkey Chili - YUM

Turkey Chili

**Susan's note: This calls for cooked turkey (hello day after Thanksgiving!) but you can just cook up some ground turkey meat and use it.

Ingredients

* 2 cups chopped onion
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
* 1 cup chopped green pepper
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 (35 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, crushed
* 2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained
* 2 Tbsp tomato paste
* 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock
* 2 Tbsp chili powder (or up to 4 Tbsp if you like it really hot)
* 1 Tbsp ground cumin
* 1 Tbsp dried hot red pepper flakes
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 Tbsp salt, plus more if desired to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 3 to 4 cups of shredded, cooked turkey meat
* Sugar

* Shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, sour cream for optional garnish.

Method

1 In a large, 8-quart, thick-bottom pot, cook the onion and green pepper over medium high heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for a minute or two more. Add a bit more olive oil if needed.

2 Add tomatoes, tomato paste, stock. beans, oregano, salt, pepper, and cooked turkey meat. Bring mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for an hour.

3 Salt to taste. Add 1 to 3 teaspoons of sugar to take the edge of the acidity of the tomatoes if desired.

The chili may be made in advance and chilled for 2 days, or frozen for 2 months.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, and or sour cream. Serve alone, over rice, or with corn bread.

Makes about 12 cups. Serves 8.