Ahh, Simon & Garfunkel, macrame and the indespensible Crock Pot. If you are a child of the 70's, your mom had one of these, probably with some kind of stenciled flower design on it to make it look "homey". It gave the illusion of something simmering on the stove all day, while the lady of the house was out working, practicing yoga, or buying new bark-cloth curtains for the living room. In our kitchen, it sat right alongside the yogurt-maker and (unused) waffle iron.
Slow-cookers have made a comeback, right in time for the recession. You can find different varieties in various price ranges from brands like the original Rival or Cuisinart. The reasons for their new found popularity are most likely the same as they were 40 years ago - they are easy to use, save hours of hands-on time, and can make even the most humble of ingredients taste wonderful.
We recently bought the Hamilton Beach "Stay or Go" model at Best Buy, for a modest $39.99. I was happy with the way it looked out of the box - clean, modern, and without a flower stencil in sight. It has a couple of different programming modes to allow for cooking at different temperatures, and a probe that you can insert to test the doneness of your recipe without having to remove the lid. Both the ceramic insert and lid go into the dishwasher, which makes for easy cleanup, too.
Last night I tried a recipe for "Taco Chili" (well it was actually called "Taco Soup" but I think that sounds terribly unappetizing). It was pretty good - a breeze to prepare, inexpensive, and tasty. I would add more spices next time, but as is it makes a good meal for a family and each person can doctor it according to their tastes. It's from Paula Deen, so it's tailored for the average American palate, using ingredients that can be found at almost any grocery store. She drives me nuts, but she does have a handle on quick and easy home cooking. I changed a few things, like added hot sauce and put the chips on top rather than underneath the chili.
One thing to note about slow cookers is that they retain a lot of liquid, so it may look like you don't have enough, but you do. If you are adapting a regular stove top recipe to a slow cooker, decrease the amount of liquid used. Next up....BRAISING!
Taco Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 cups diced onions
- 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
- 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
- 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
- 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
- 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
- 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
- 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
- 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
- a few healthy shakes of hot sauce - my addition
- Corn chips, for garnish
- Sour cream, for garnish
- Grated cheese, for garnish
- Chopped green onions, for garnish
- Pickled jalapenos, for garnish
Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. Top with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.
