Reader Giveaway: West Bend Versatility Cooker

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of slow cooker meals.  Don't get me wrong, I like spending time in my kitchen making meals from scratch when I have the time.  But sometimes a slow cooker makes things so much easier when you can just prepare the ingredients, put everything in the slow cooker and let the meal cook itself when you're at work or out running errands.

After my recent blog post about my Slow Cooker Beef Stew, the folks at West Bend reached out to me about doing a giveaway for their six-quart versatility cooker. 

Photo Provided by West Bend

The versatility cooker allows you to use the pot as a slow cooker but also on the stove top and in the oven.  The warming base can also be used to heat the slow cooker, a warming plate or a griddle.  It seems pretty awesome!

Photo Provided by West Bend

I wasn't too familiar with West Bend so I took a look at their products and there were a lot of interesting things.  Since making ice cream is on my 30 by 30 list, I am definitely curious about the canister ice cream maker and will be taking a closer look at it.

So, how can you win this versatility cooker?  There are two different ways to enter the giveaway:

1.  Head over to the West Bend website and leave a comment on this blog telling me which of their products looks the most interesting to you.
2.  For a second chance to win the versatility cooker, "like" West Bend's Facebook page and leave a comment telling me you've done so. 

All blog entries must be entered by Sunday, April 3rd at 11:59 PM EST.  A winner will be selected by Random.org.  This contest is open for U.S. residents only.

An Unconventional Slow Cooker Red Sauce

I love cooking on the weekends because I usually have plenty of time to cook slowly and to unwind.  I'll usually pick a recipe that takes a little more time - time that I don't often have during the week.  But this past Sunday, I had a list of errands to run and tasks to complete so I decide to take out my slow cooker and do some lazy weekend cooking.

I took out a package of sweet chicken and apple sausage from the freezer and let it thaw. 

I thought that the sausage would go well with red sauce and pasta.  I couldn't get Renee's Vegetable Loaded Homemade Spaghetti Sauce out of my head so I decided to make my own version using the slow cooker and some ingredients from the pantry, freezer and fridge.

I started by adding a can of crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker.

I then added half a bottle of leftover Rocko's Gourmet Bloody Mary mix. 

I also had a package of Tuscan bread dipping herbs in my fridge that I still hadn't opened up.  I thought these herb and garlic seasonings would be great for a red sauce.

I wanted to make this sauce hearty so I drained and rinsed a can of butter beans and also added that to the slow cooker.

I also minced up a few leftover garlic cloves and added that to the sauce.

I had an open bag of frozen peas in the freezer and I added about a quarter of the bag to the sauce.

I gave the sauce a stir and seasoned it with salt and pepper.  I gave everything a taste and the sauce was way too spicy from the Bloody Mary blend.  I decided to add a small can of diced tomatoes to the sauce to help mellow it out.

I let the sauce cook on low for eight hours. 

At the seventh hour, I added the sliced thawed chicken sausage to the sauce, along with eight Bove's frozen meatballs. 

I let the meatballs and sausage cook in the sauce for an hour.  While the sauce was simmering, I boiled a pot of salted water and added a mix of whole wheat penne and regular penne.

When the pasta was done, I served it with a healthy helping of the red sauce and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.  The pasta sauce was definitely not traditional.  The peas and butter beans thickened the sauce up while the Bloody Mary blend added some heat.  This sauce was hearty, spicy and definitely hit the spot! 

Tell me, do you like cooking on the weekends?  If so, what did you cook up this past weekend?

"Kitchen Sink" Spicy Vegetable Soup

Once the cool weather of fall approaches, I become reacquainted with one of my trusty friends in the kitchen - the slow cooker.  I remember when I put this appliance on my holiday wish list a few years ago and my mother told me that she was surprised.  She knew that I loved to cook but she didn't think I was at the point in my life where I would need a slow cooker to save time in the kitchen.  It may sound strange but I think in that moment, she began to really appreciate me as a young woman trying to balance both my career and my home life.  Since then, my mother will photocopy from magazines or print out from websites slow cooker recipes that she thinks that I will really enjoy.  Cooking has always been something that connects me to my mother and I strangely think that the slow cooker only strengthened that bond.

On Monday, I was excited to have the day off from work.  I headed to the gym bright and early while accompanying Bret on his walk to work (since he unfortunately didn't have the day off) and I was excited to have the entire day to myself.  Although I wanted to cook something yummy in the kitchen, I also wanted to spend some of this gorgeous day outside.  I thought that the perfect compromise would be to utilize my slow cooker.

I looked in my fridge and I found a few straggler ingredients that had been sitting in there for way too long.

Since I had a can of lentil soup and a can of whole peeled tomatoes, I decided to make a "kitchen sink" variation of my Rustic Tomato Lentil and Chicken Sausage soup.

I started out by opening the can of whole peeled tomatoes and adding that to the slow cooker. 

I then added the can of the lentil soup.  I like using lentil soup because it really thickens up the soup while adding some hearty lentil flavor.  I washed three of the carrots and sliced them up unpeeled.

I also purchased two beautiful hot pepper the previous day at the SOWA Open Market. 

I sliced these peppers up and very loosely de-seeded them.  I wasn't worry about the soup being too hot as Bret and I both like our food to be spicy!

I then chopped up five cloves of garlic and two small yellow onions.  I added this to the slow cooker as well.

I sliced and halved up four sweet apple chicken sausages. 

I added this to the slow cooker, along with two cups of the chicken broth, and a tablespoon each of herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper. 

I mixed all the ingredients together and put the slow cooker on low for six hours. 

After about three hours, I check on the soup.  It looked okay but it didn't have the thick consistency I desired.  I think this is because I used the whole peeled tomatoes instead of my usual can of diced or crushed tomatoes.  I used a knife to slice up the whole peeled tomatoes and also added a can of diced tomatoes.  I put the slow cooker on high for the last three hours.

While the soup continued to slowly cook, I made my first homemade loaf of bread (blog post to come).  By the time Bret came home from work, he said that our apartment smelled unbelievable from both the soup and the bread.  And after a long day at work, he was ready to eat!  I ladled out some soup.

And I added a fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.

The soup was definitely the spiciest batch I've made to date.  I thought that it might have even been a little too spicy but Bret said he liked it just that way.  The carrots and chicken sausages added some nice sweetness to contrast with the heat.  I've made variations of this soup so many times and I'm constantly playing around with it.  I like adding new ingredients each time to make it a little different.

Since I made a huge batch, we had enough for leftovers for lunch today and I froze the rest for one of those lazy nights when we just don't feel like cooking!

Do you use a slow cooker in your kitchen? If so, what do you like to make using your slow cooker?

Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs

On Sunday, B and I decided to make braised short ribs.  We received two pounds (bone-in) of short ribs from Stillman's Farm via our farmers market delivery on Friday and we were excited to put the short ribs to use right away.

B found this simple recipe online to braise the short ribs using a slow cooker and I thought this would be the perfect way to cook our short ribs until they were tender.  Although the recipe used a lot of different ingredients, it was still fairly simple and straightforward.

First, B tossed the short ribs in a bag with flour, salt and pepper.  Don't you love the action shot?

When the short ribs had a nice coating, B gave the short ribs a nice sear in a pan with melted butter.  When the short ribs had browned, B placed them in the slow cooker while we worked on our liquid components.  I put B on stirring duty while I prepared the ingredients.  Reading down the recipe, I first started out by chopping up a cup of white onion.

I added one cup of beef stock to the onions and B got going on heating these two ingredients on the stove.  The recipe called for beef broth but I had a box of beef stock open in the refrigerator and I didn't want it to go to waste.

I then measured out three-quarter cup of red wine vinegar, which was added to the pan.

Next I measured out a three-quarter cup of brown sugar.  I filled the measuring cup but I didn't pack it.

I also measured out a quarter cup of Sriracha chili sauce.  Nothing will wake you up like working with spicy chili sauce first thing on a Sunday morning!

I also measured out two tablespoons of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, along with a generous teaspoon of chili powder.

And finally, we used our garlic press to add four minced cloves of garlic to the pan.  The recipe only calls for two tablespoons but I love garlic and I always add more to any recipe where I can.

When all of the ingredients were in the pan, B kept stirring until the liquid ingredients came to a boil.

B poured the sauce over the short ribs in the slow cooker.  Since the liquid ingredients didn't cover the short ribs, B coated each side of the short ribs in the sauce but ultimately put the short ribs bone-side up to ensure that most of the meat would cook nicely in the juices.

We put the slow cooker on for nine hours but ended up taking the short ribs out in about eight hours when our horseradish cheddar mashed potatoes and fresh corn on the cob were both ready.  The meat was so tender that it fell clean off the bone.  We used the remaining sauce as a gravy for both the short ribs and the mashed potatoes and found it to be intoxicatedly spicy.

I would definitely call our first attempt at slow cooker braised short ribs a huge success and they made excellent leftovers for lunch the next day!

Speaking of horseradish cheddar mashed potatoes, have you entered by Cabot Cheese giveaway?

Rustic Slow Cooker Tomato Lentil and Chicken Sausage Soup

A few years ago, I took a cooking class with my friend A.  In fact, it was the first cooking class I ever experienced (if you don't count home economics back in middle school, which I don't).  The theme of the cooking class was easy stress-free weeknight cooking and we tried out a few different recipes.  One of the recipes was a chicken sausage lentil soup, which I instantly fell in love with because it is so easy and versatile.  Since that cooking class, I've made this recipe so many times that I don't even need to pull the actual recipe out and I've completely adapted it to my own taste.

Although the originally recipe was for the stovetop, I've recently been making it in the slow cooker.  I find that it is not only easier for me but it also allows the ingredients to really come together to layer the flavors.  I decided to make this soup in the slow cooker for Wednesday evening, which means that I would start the slow cooker in the morning before heading out to work.  To cut back on the prep time in the morning, I decided to prepare some of the raw ingredients on Tuesday night while B was rolling meatballs for our pasta dinner. 

I roughly chopped six cloves of garlic.

I also chopped a quarter of one huge onion that I found in the fridge.

I would have chopped up more of the onion for the soup until I discovered some leftover boiler onions in the fridge as well.  I peeled about six of the boiler onions and halved some of the large ones.

The next morning, I added these raw ingredients to the slow cooker pot.

I then moved onto my next ingredient - the roasted garlic chicken sausage with onions and herbs.  These chicken sausages are already fully cooked and make a really flavorful addition to this soup.

I sliced up all four links and added the chicken sausage to the slow cooker.

I then added about half a bag of frozen spinach.  The spinach was never part of the original recipe but I thought it would make a nice addition to this rustic soup.  I then added my liquid ingredients, including a cup of chicken broth, a large can of diced tomatoes, and a can of lentil soup.  I usually add black beans to the soup but I surprisingly didn't have any in my pantry so I added a can of drained garbanzo beans instead.

I also added a cup of the Kung Fu Girl reisling left over from the previous evening.  Wine was not an ingredient in the original recipe but I figured that it would add a nice liquid flavor to the soup.  I wasn't worried about the sweetness of the wine since it would all cook down during the day.

At this point, the slow cooker already looked colorful and smelled amazing. 

I of course had to season everything and added generous shakes of some of my favorite spices - herbs de Provence, fresh-cracked salt and peppercorn, along with crushed red pepper flakes.

I set the slow cooker on for eight hours on low and set off on my day.  When I got home from work last night, the soup made the whole kitchen smell so unbelievable. 

I wanted to make a side salad with the soup for dinner using leftover Olivia's Organics Spring Mix.  I added half a cucumber, a tomato and some Shy Brothers Hannahbell cheese.

The salad was light and refreshing, which was a perfect contrast to the thick and hearty soup. 

The soup had thickened while it simmered all day and it felt so warm on a cold day like yesterday.  If it were winter time, I totally would have dipped some crusty bread in this soup. but since it is spring, the soup was a perfect lighter choice.  The soup felt so filling with the spinach, tomatoes, garbanzo beans and chicken sausage yet still so healthy.  Here's a closer look:

Of course, we could only have a bowl each so B took some in today for lunch and we decided to freeze the rest.  I love having this soup in my freezer for one of those cold rainy weekends.  Who would have thought that one cooking class recipe would provide so much inspiration and deliciousness?