‘Slow Cooker’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Easy Coleslaw

November 4, 2017 · Narrative

A simple and delicious coleslaw recipe is one of those must-have, keep-in-your-back-pocket things; here’s my new favorite.

I’m not going to lie, NaBloPoMo, the movement where bloggers aim to post content daily for a month is challenging. I was actually in bed by 9 pm yesterday (this week has kicked my butt!) when I remembered that I hadn’t posted yet. Eeeks! But luckily I had just taken a picture of a nearby lake that very morning, and phew, made it to Day Four. Only 26 more to go! It’s just a question of getting back into the routine, and since we know it takes 21 days to form a habit, but the time the month of November is done, I should be golden. ;)

If you saw the recipe I posted the other day for the Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken, you’ll definitely need to have a tasty coleslaw recipe in your arsenal as well. It’s the perfect light crunch for going on top of your chicken before you cover it with your bun top.

And, tbh, I happen to like coleslaw as a side dish as well, though my kids would heartily disagree. While I can sometimes get away with adding cabbage into a recipe without them complaining (too much) like this Hamburger Stir Fry, coleslaw so far ain’t happening with either of them.

S’alright, just means more for me.

I love this recipe because it comes together lickety-split. Aside from the cabbage, I bet you have all the other ingredients on hand. A quick mix of the dressing and you’re done. And best of all, it doesn’t have that heavy mayonnaise taste that can sometimes be way.too.much.

Hungry for more?
Since you’ll have some of your bagged cabbage mix leftover, this Cranberry Broccoli Salad is a tasty way to use it up.

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Recipe: Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken (NaBloPoMo)

November 1, 2017 · Narrative

Slow cooker meals are a lifesaver sometimes, and this Hawaiian Chicken is a tasty little godsend to have in your repertoire.

First things first. Have you heard of National Blog Posting Month (also known as NaBloPoMo)? It has been around, like, forever, but even though I’ve been blogging since 2005 (eeeks!), I have never done it. It’s when bloggers vow to blog (or try to blog!) every day during the month of November. Regular readers I’m sure have noticed that I don’t blog with the same consistency that I used to back in the day. I posted 6-7 days a week for the first few years, then I dropped to five days a week, and for the past few years, my goal has been 2-3 days a week. And even then, I struggle.

The struggle is for a variety of reasons. Over the years of this blog, I’ve had a baby. A miscarriage. Another baby. A divorce. A huge job change. In general, life has happened. And when something has to slip, it’s usually this space. I look at other successful bloggers and see they’re able to post crazy amounts of content weekly (like YoungHouseLove used to), and there are bloggers on the other end of the spectrum that only post a handful of times a year and still enjoy success (Orangette comes to mind). My posting frequency, or lack thereof, is just some arbitrary schedule that I started on my own, so, really, although I beat myself up about it sometimes, in the grand scheme of things … I’d rather blog because I’m inspired or passionate about something, not because I haven’t posted enough this week.

Ya feel me?

Some days I just don’t have anything to say (imagine that?!) and sometimes life just gets in the way. That being said, I’ve got some big goals for 2018, and this blog continues to be part of the journey. So when I saw a brief mention of NaBloPoMo in a facebook group I’m in, I thought it was just the motivation I needed to get back on track.

And! One of my oldest (and first) blogging friends is joining in the NaBloPoMo movement with me as well, so when you’re done here, be sure to visit Sarah at Sarah’s Cucina Bella to see how she’s kicking off the month.

So here goes!

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Recipe: Slow Cooker Pot Roast

July 25, 2017 · Narrative

A tender, juicy, and delicious pot roast that will be the star of your dinner table.

Now that we’re knee-deep in July, you might be in the throes of I CAN’T BEAR TO TURN ON MY OVEN. Normally, I would feel your pain, but New Jersey is in this weird phase of mid-70 degree weather. As usual, Mother Nature is pretty confused. But I’ll take it!

If you happen to be experiencing normal summer heat, using your slow cooker is a great way to still feed your family a delicious dinner without breaking a sweat. And since we’re coming up on a busy Fall season for our family, meals that I can literally throw together are at the top of my list.

I spied this recipe on Instagram last month and I saved it because, besides being easy, it fell pretty neatly in the “clean eating” box I love to check. And with a teenage boy, and not only his growing appetite, but also his love for pot roast, I figured I had a slam dunk.

And I was right.

Just a few simple ingredients, and a couple of hours in your slow cooker, and you’ll be rewarded with pull-apart-tender meat with a delicious flavorful sauce. The tomatoes are juicy and burst with every bite. After our first dinner with this recipe, I couldn’t wait for leftovers the next day, and it made for a perfect week’s worth of lunches for me.

It’s delicious as is, but could also be served over mashed potatoes, quinoa, or mashed cauliflower. I made a garlic mashed cauliflower, and it was to-die-for. You can’t screw this one up, and whether the summer temps are making you dread your kitchen, or you’re just looking for simple and tasty meal, you won’t be disappointed.

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Recipe: Vegetable Stoup

October 14, 2015 · Narrative

Fall weather always means using the slow cooker more, and this recipe for Vegetable Stoup is just the thing to take the chill off.

Last week, I got a head start on cooking (and being organized!), and made Egg & Ham Cups, giving myself a week’s worth of breakfast.

Which means I forgot my lunch every. single. day.

I kid you not.

You know the struggle.

Getting everyone out of the house in the morning. On time. With everything that everyone needs.

If something is going to slip, better it be my lunch, instead of my coffee, the kids’ breakfast, or their homework.

So, priorities.

This weekend, I tackled a week’s worth of my lunches by way of this Vegetable Stoup.

Stoup. Thicker than a soup, thinner than a stew. I take no credit for the word (that’s Rachael Ray’s creativity), although the recipe is mine.

And it couldn’t be simpler.

Chop a bunch of things. Open a few cans. Put it all in the slow cooker.

Four hours later, and you’re rewarded with lunch for the week.

Or a light dinner or five.

Depends on how you roll.

It’s the perfect recipe to take advantage of some Fall veggies. And get a good solid boost of fiber by way of the beans.

To make it easier for me in the mornings, once the Vegetable Stoup is done, I portion it out into a bunch of containers, so it’s a super simple case of grab-and-go.

Although the stoup is delicious by itself, it makes a great vehicle for toppings too.

A dollop of sour cream. Diced avocado. Shredded cheese. Even a few crumbled tortilla chips.

Go crazy.

It’s pretty healthy, after all….

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Cheese Steak Sandwich

September 29, 2014 · Narrative

Prep this easy slow cooker meal the day before, and you’ll have a delicious Chicken Cheese Steak Sandwich ready for dinner on a busy weeknight.

Normally I could start by saying “Now that it’s the end of September, the cooler temperatures mean it’s the perfect time to dig out the slow cooker and start working on making comfort food recipes.”

But then Mother Nature decided to get seriously confused and has given us several days of near 90 degree temps.

But if you’ve been coming here long enough, you know that I don’t always cook or eat by the seasons. I’ve been known, on many an occasion, to make hot soup in the summer, and I drink iced coffee even when the temperatures drop to the negative numbers.

That’s just how we roll.

So this time, this slow cooker recipe isn’t brought to you because it’s Fall and we need comfort food. It’s brought to you because it’s the perfect thing to prep ahead for a busy weeknight.

And busy weeknights?

We all got ’em.

I made this on Sunday, when I knew I would have a stretch of time to play with the slow cooker, and then I just reheated it for dinner tonight.

Which means that tonight, it only took me about 15 minutes to get this on the table.

And that’s totally my favorite kind of dinner.

Because this doesn’t have yellow cheese and caramelized onions and steak, it’s, of course, not a legit Philly cheese steak.

It’s not trying to be that.

It is, however, doing very well as its counterpart … a chicken version with next to no ingredients and pretty much guilt-free, clean eating.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

Put chicken, sliced green peppers, and onions in your slow cooker. Add a couple seasonings. Let it do its thing for a few hours.

Stuff it into toasted rolls.

Top with cheese.

Pop it under the broiler for a minute so the cheese melts.

Devour.

This is one of those you-can’t-screw-it-up kind of recipes, and you’ll find yourself putting it into regular rotation. And because it’s so simple, you can easily mix it up a bit. Add tomato sauce and make it into Italian Chicken Cheese Steaks. Or add sliced black olives and banana peppers to give it a little extra bit of oomph.

No matter how you make it, you can’t go wrong.

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Recipe: Cozy Slow-Cooker Chicken ‘n’ Brown Rice {for the Dogs}

April 1, 2014 · Narrative

A hearty, nutritious stew with all natural ingredients that your pups will love you for.

I probably cook for our dogs once a month, sometimes more often. Everything from just boiled chicken (shredding the cooked chicken to mix in with their dry food and saving the “chicken water” as another mix-in) and peanut butter and bacon dog treats, to full-on stews. I do it for a variety of reasons, but most recently it has been because Merry hasn’t been feeling well the past six weeks or so. At the last vet visit, the doctor reported that she had lost a bit of weight; luckily, though, she hadn’t lost her appetite.

We have done a battery of tests and tried different medicines over the past month and a half in an effort to figure out what is wrong with her. I knew something wasn’t right, and just didn’t know what … until yesterday.

The short version is that we have found out that she has huge masses in her lungs. While it is good that we finally have a clear answer, unfortunately it couldn’t be worse news. The vet is hedging on her being with us for another 1-3 months, and sometime during that time we will likely have to make a very tough call and let her go. The kids are understandably upset, they do love her so, but because there is nothing final happening now, they are not having to deal with the true finality yet. Although Merry is a pain in the arse sometimes, she is our pain in the arse. She was our first official foster, and has been with us for only a year and a half. The rough guesstimate on her age is six, and well, that’s so young for her to be dealing with something like this. So we have pain medication to help keep any breathing struggles at bay and from now until whenever, we will spoil her rotten.

Her continued appetite is a good sign. Case in point, she downed six chicken nuggets on the way to the vet yesterday.

And we make stew.

Although this recipe was specifically written for dogs, it doesn’t have anything weird in it and is totally human-friendly too. I chopped, chopped, chopped for what seemed like a half hour on Sunday morning. Then I threw everything in the crock pot and headed out to do a few quick errands with the kids. By the time we arrived home a few hours later, I had forgotten all about it.

Until we walked in the door and smelled it.

Amazeballs.

These are some lucky dogs. Lung masses notwithstanding.

And as I scooped some in a bowl to take a picture, I was sorely missing being able to eat butternut squash. Soon enough.

The stew is full of good things for pups, and it made a nice quantity. With one batch, I have enough for the week for our two dogs, and my parents’ dog, mixing a little bit in with their dry dog food every night for dinner.

Clean bowls every night.

Food is love. And in this limbo stage while Merry is still with us, we’re going to give her as much as we possibly can.

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Recipe: Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Brisket

January 10, 2012 · Narrative

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

The slow cooker is your friend.

For those that already know this, awesomeness!

For the rest of you, what are you waiting for?

If it’s the beast that mine is, I know it’s a pain to lug it out of the cabinet.

To clean up the pot after you’re done using it.

Especially if you have to configure your other dishwasher contents to not only make sure it fits, but also that it gets clean.

Something I usually leave to Mystic because he loads the darn dishwasher like nobody’s business.

Mostly because he thinks about the sprayer, the water, how things are tilted and positioned. When he loads the dishwasher and it gets emptied, it looks like this:

Everything gets clean.

When I load it? A totally different story. I don’t put all that thought into it. I put things where there’s space. Period. End of story.

But I digress.

Every time I think “slow cooker,” I think of Ron Popeil’s popular saying “Set it and forget it.” Of course he’s talking about his fancy rotisserie cooker thing. That none of us needs. But it’s still the basic concept.

Put a bunch of ingredients into your slow cooker.

Go to work.

Forget about it.

Work all day.

Come home tired, spent, and ready to occupy the middle cushion of your couch and watch the newest episode of fill-in-your-blank favorite show.

Open your front door and exclaim, “What IS that smell? It smells delicious.”

Oh right. That’s YOUR DINNER. That’s all done. As soon as you walk in the door.

Is it any wonder that the O’Malley slow cooker is in service at least once a week?

I should probably use it even more than once a week. Eventually I’ll work up to that, but for the past six months or so, I’ve been keeping good with my once-a-week commitment.

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