Tag Archives: Crockpot

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Slow Cooker Cajun Alfredo Pasta

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Slow Cooker Cajun Alfredo Pasta

I admit I get tired of brown rice and beans recipes.  They are healthy but sometimes boring.  Sometimes I need to do something different.  In honor of Mardi Gras I searched “Cajun Crockpot Recipes”.  I found “Slow Cooker Cajun Alfredo Pasta Recipe” and decided to have fun.  It looked easy too. 

 

Here is the link for the original recipe. http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-cajun-alfredo-pasta-recipe

 

I did make one notable change as I thought 10 to 14 ounces of pasta would be too much.  I settled for 8 ounces which worked well here.  Below are the ingredients I used.

  • 1 Teaspoon – Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon – grated parmesan (powdered kind)
  • 1 Teaspoon of Pepper
  • 1 15 oz. jar of Alfredo Sauce (I accidentally bought the roasted garlic one)
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Paprika
  • Pinch of Nutmeg
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 1/3 Cup of Fresh Grated Parmesan
  • 1 8 oz. box of Banza Chickpea Pasta (Shells)

 

I added all the ingredients with the exception of the pasta to my crockpot.  The picture below is just the liquid.  I am following the original recipe to a tee at this point.

 

After 2 hours in the low position I added Banza Chickpea Pasta (Shells).  I just discovered them at my local grocery story and am now a fan.  Fooducate lists them as a Top Product (A-) and it takes like regular pasta.  I looked at their store locator which indicates you can buy at Target stores.

 

Below is my picture after turning the crockpot off.  I cooked the pasta for one hour.  I probably should have cooked it just a little bit longer.  I am thinking 90 minutes to 2 hours instead of one but still this recipe came out well.

Below is my last picture which was my lunch Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Tuesday I went to a Fred Pryor seminar in North Haven, Connecticut and I had no place to heat it up.

I will make this again.  I think next time I will make my own Alfredo Sauce as I know the one I used was not the healthiest.  Still I am pleased with this.

 

For more of the different crockpot recipes I have tried, visit my site at http://alzibluk.com/category/crockpot/.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
http://alzibluk.com

PS:More Family Time?

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese By Fitslowcookerqueen

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5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese By Fitslowcookerqueen

Out of all the social media apps I use I think Instagram (username alzibluk) is my favorite.  All we are doing is sharing pictures.  I have gotten to be friends with people with similar interests.  I do not go on Facebook as much as everything is just politics or someone doing something horrific.

 

I started taking pictures of different crockpot recipes when user fitslowcookerqueen found me.  She started liking my pictures so I started liking hers.  I went to her site where I found “5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese.”  I was looking for an easy one and I happen to find it here.  Below is her site, ingredient list and her instructions.

http://fitslowcookerqueen.com/slow-cooker-mac-cheese/

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 32 ounces macaroni, uncooked
  • 16 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 4 cups almond milk
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 2 tsp poultry seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add all ingredients to the slow cooker.
  • Stir to mix well.
  • Cook HIGH 1-2 hours or LOW 2-3.

 

The only thing I did different was use coconut oil instead of cooking spray.  Below is my picture before I turned the power on.

I cooked it on low for 3 hours.  I then unplugged my crockpot and let it cool down for a while.  It came out a little dryer than it should be but I thoroughly enjoyed the taste.

I will most definitely try this again.  I think it is a great base.  I see cooking it with mushrooms, bacon, etc. in the future.

 

A few weeks ago I tried a recipe I found called “4 Ingredient Mac & Cheese.” It actually gave me heartburn.  Each time I cooked the leftovers I got the heartburn.  There was no heartburn associated with the recipe above.  I did want to share that experience.

 

I was glad to get away from the brown rice, lentil and quinoa recipes I have been making.  Although they are great and healthy, it gets boring week after week.  It was great to mix it up.

 

If you have a recipe you would like to share I encourage you to join my group at Markethive.  Posting to the group’s blog will get your recipe featured on other sites.  I am also pinning recipes I am trying on Pinterest.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
http://alanzibluk.com
e-mail: alan@internetguy.ws

PS: Are you getting enough Fish Oil?

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mac amp Cheese By Fitslowcookerqueen

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5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese By Fitslowcookerqueen

Out of all the social media apps I use I think Instagram (username alzibluk) is my favorite.  All we are doing is sharing pictures.  I have gotten to be friends with people with similar interests.  I do not go on Facebook as much as everything is just politics or someone doing something horrific.

 

I started taking pictures of different crockpot recipes when user fitslowcookerqueen found me.  She started liking my pictures so I started liking hers.  I went to her site where I found “5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese.”  I was looking for an easy one and I happen to find it here.  Below is her site, ingredient list and her instructions.

http://fitslowcookerqueen.com/slow-cooker-mac-cheese/

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 32 ounces macaroni, uncooked
  • 16 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 4 cups almond milk
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 2 tsp poultry seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add all ingredients to the slow cooker.
  • Stir to mix well.
  • Cook HIGH 1-2 hours or LOW 2-3.

 

The only thing I did different was use coconut oil instead of cooking spray.  Below is my picture before I turned the power on.

I cooked it on low for 3 hours.  I then unplugged my crockpot and let it cool down for a while.  It came out a little dryer than it should be but I thoroughly enjoyed the taste.

I will most definitely try this again.  I think it is a great base.  I see cooking it with mushrooms, bacon, etc. in the future.

 

A few weeks ago I tried a recipe I found called “4 Ingredient Mac & Cheese.” It actually gave me heartburn.  Each time I cooked the leftovers I got the heartburn.  There was no heartburn associated with the recipe above.  I did want to share that experience.

 

I was glad to get away from the brown rice, lentil and quinoa recipes I have been making.  Although they are great and healthy, it gets boring week after week.  It was great to mix it up.

 

If you have a recipe you would like to share I encourage you to join my group at Markethive.  Posting to the group’s blog will get your recipe featured on other sites.  I am also pinning recipes I am trying on Pinterest.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
http://alanzibluk.com
e-mail: alan@internetguy.ws

PS: Are you getting enough Fish Oil?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Crockpot Recipes, General, Markethive

Slow Cooker Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry

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Slow Cooker Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry

I have been experimenting with cauliflower lately as it is so versatile.  I do like curry.  I did a search for “curry cauliflower crockpot” and found “Slow Cooker Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry” by Erin.

 

Below is the link to her site.  This is her recipe.  I added a few more cloves of garlic and one avocado to it but that was it.  I pretty much put avocado in everything.

http://www.wellplated.com/cauliflower-curry/

 

Below are the ingredients and directions from her site.  I just copied and pasted.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Red Lentils
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 2 tablespoons red curry paste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 (29 ounce) can tomato puree (not tomato sauce)
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk (use full fat—it’s worth it)
  • Freshly chopped cilantro, for serving
  • Brown rice, cooked quinoa, farro, or similar for serving

Directions:

  1. Place the lentils in the bottom of a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Add the onions, garlic, cauliflower, ginger, curry paste, salt, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cayenne, and cardamom, then stir to combine.
  2. Pour the tomato puree over the top of the cauliflower and lentils. Refill the tomato puree can halfway with water, then pour it over the top of the slow cooker ingredients so that they are covered with liquid. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours, until the lentils are soft.
  3. Just before serving, stir in the coconut milk. Serve over brown rice, quinoa, or farro, topped with fresh cilantro.

 

Below is the picture before I turned the power on to high.

Below is the picture after 5 hours in the high position.  I added this to cooked quinoa.

I am glad my local grocery store carries Bob’s Red Mill Red Lentils.  Fooducate gave it a grade of A-.

 

I am a huge cilantro fan.  Besides taste, it possesses good amounts of antioxidants, vitamins, essentials oils, etc.  Cilantro is our friend.

 

I will make this again as I believe it is healthy.

 

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
http://alanzibluk.com
e-mail: alan@internetguy.ws

PS: Antioxidants are our friends.

 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Crockpot Recipes, Markethive

Crockpot Black Beans and Brown Rice

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Crockpot Black Beans and Brown Rice

My Favorite Crockpot Recipe So Far

This is the first blogpost in the Markethive Group called Crockpot Recipes.  I encourage anyone reading this to join and share their crockpot recipes.  It will be featured on different websites.  I also plan in the future to make a Pinterest board for crockpot recipes to pin the ones I like.

 

The recipe I am sharing I got from mostly homemade mom.  Below is her link.  The recipe is perfect.  I was impressed how easy and delicious it came out.  I am not a fan of sour cream so I did not use it.

 

http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/2014/01/crockpot-black-beans-rice.html

 

Although the recipe is wonderful, I can’t help myself but always add more things to it.  It is fun to experiment.  Below are the ingredients I used.

  • 2 (14 oz) packages of black beans, drained and rinsed. (I use Fig Foods Black Beans)
  • 1 uncooked cup of brown rice (I use Texmati Brown Rice)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup salsa (I used Frontera Hot Roasted Habanero Salsa)
  • 2 tsp cumin (I bought Cumin Seeds from Amazon)
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp salt (I use Himalayan Pink Salt)
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 diced onion (my idea)
  • 5 minced gloves of garlic (my idea)
  • 1 avocado (my idea)
  • 1 jalapeno pepper (my idea)
  • A handful of mushrooms cut into smaller pieces (my idea)

 

I greased my crockpot with coconut oil and threw all the contents in it.  Below is my picture of it before I turned on the power.

 

Following the original recipe I put my crockpot in the low setting.  The original recipe called for 3 hours cooking time, the picture below was 4 hours 30 minutes later.  I waited for the liquid to soak up.

 

 

This was the third time I have made this.  It is great by itself.  You can use it for dipping tortilla chips or making burritos.  This time I am using it for soft shell tacos.

 

I like using Maria and Ricardo’s Soft Corn Tortillas.  They taste great and do not fall part like other soft shell tacos.  I have experimented with others but keep coming back to them.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
http://alanzibluk.com
e-mail: alan@internetguy.ws

PS:  Visionex for supporting clear vision and optimal long-term eye health.
Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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I would actually bring this to a party and/or social gathering

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I would actually bring this to a party and/or social gathering
Super Easy Mexican Crockpot Casserole

This is a follow up to my last blog post “Fairly Easy Chickpea, Lentil, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole” as this week I made “Super Easy Mexican Crockpot Casserole” by Alexis.  Below is her recipe which I copied from her website.
 
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup long-grain brown rice
  • 2½ cups vegetable broth
  • 1-15oz can black beans, drained
  • ¾ cup chunky salsa
  • 1 cup frozen corn (I used Trader Joe's roasted corn)
  • 1 large bell pepper, chopped
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1¼ tsp cumin
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese (or more, to taste)
  • Avocado, for topping
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Place all ingredients except cheese and avocado in a 5-qt crockpot. Cook on high (covered) for about 2½ hours, or until rice is cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed.
  2. Turn off crock-pot. Stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with diced avocado and more salsa on top.
NOTES
Adapted from my Super Easy Chickpea, Broccoli and Brown Rice Crockpot Casserole
 
I recently bought measuring spoons and a measuring cup to do these recipes.  I did everything listed above.  I substituted one 15 oz. package of Fig Food Co. Black Beans instead of a can as it has less sodium.  I also used pink Himalayan salt instead of regular salt.

It took me exactly three hours to cooks this in my crockpot.  Below is my three hours later picture.

The title of this blog post is “I would actually bring this to a party and/or social gathering.”  I am impressed how well it came out.  I can see myself bringing this to a Super Bowl or a work place gathering.  It would be interesting to hear what others thought of it.  I am proud of myself for making this.  Below was my lunch this past Monday and it was just recipe alone.

While cooking the recipe I used the leftover vegetable broth and made Quinoa.  I don’t want to toss anything away.  It cooked well and added the leftover salsa to it.  I put this in a separate container and added this to my lunch Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  It was a good combination however I would only feel comfortable sharing with others what I had on Monday.

Next week, a recipe that came with my crockpot.  This Sunday I will make Vegetable Curry.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
e-mail: alan@internetguy.ws
 
 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Fairly Easy Chickpea, Lentil, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole

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Fairly Easy Chickpea, Lentil, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole

When I received my crockpot one of the first things I did was search “easy crockpot recipes”.  I immediately found “SUPER EASY CHICKPEA, BROWN RICE & BROCCOLI CROCKPOT CASSEROLE” by Alexis. 

According to her website she is a “Registered Dietitian and whole foods enthusiast”.  I love her site and I will try this weekend her “Super Easy Mexican Crockpot Casserole” and later “Slow Cooker Curried Butternut Chili”. Easy instructions as I do not like complicated.

Below is her recipe for Super Easy Chickpea, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup long-grain brown rice
  • 2½ cups vegetable broth
  • 1-15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
  • 1-12 oz. package of frozen broccoli
  • ½ medium onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1-5.3 oz. container plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more, to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place rice, vegetable broth, chickpeas, broccoli, onion, garlic and salt in a 5 qt. slow cooker. Cook on high (covered) for 2 to 2½ hours, or until rice is cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed.
  2. Turn off crock-pot. Stir in Greek yogurt and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I have never met Alexis but would like to thank her for the above recipe.  Seriously I would not have been able to figure out alone how well the ingredients worked with each other.  It has given me ideas and I give credit where credit is due.

This was the second time I made this recipe.  In both cases the cooking time was precisely three hours.  This time I used one 15 oz. package of Fig Food Co. Chickpeas instead of a can as it has less sodium.  I also used pink Himalayan salt instead of regular salt.

I have a tendency to mix brown rice and lentils together.  I decided to use the left over vegetable broth to make lentils.  I use Daily Pantry Medley of Lentils.  The instructions calls for two cups of water to cook the lentils in, I had exactly two cups of leftover vegetable broth.  It took longer for the liquid to absorb but it worked.

After three hours when the Super Easy Chickpea, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole was completed I added the lentils above into the crockpot for another 30 minutes.  I then turned off the crockpot and stirred in the yogurt and cheese.  Below is a picture of “Fairly Easy Chickpea, Lentil, Brown Rice & Broccoli Crockpot Casserole.”

The original recipe makes for four servings, I wanted more for the work week.  The lentils made it happen and I was glad to use up the leftover vegetable broth.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
http://alanzibluk.com
e-mail: alan@internetguy.ws

PS:  I was here before Dr. Oz.

 

 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member