Crockpot Corned Beef and Veggies– My Way

Because of the sweet-tart liquid used, this doesn't get bitter when cooked a long time, and so has a wonderful taste and texture without a bad aftertaste. I buy corned beef brisket (any cut will do) when it goes on sale for $0.89/lb. around St. Patrick's Day. (I buy a bunch.) Then I put it in the freezer, in the original package. Try to get the one with separate spices, if you can. Just get it out and put it in the fridge about two days before you want to eat it; that should give it time to defrost. I use baby carrots for the carrots; they're about the same price as regular and no prep work involved. Use the big crockpot for this. If you're single and only have a small one, cut the brisket and everything else in half, and do it two days. The core of the cabbage is the tough white part that comes up in the middle where the stem is. Try to make sure the potatoes are approximately the same size, it makes for more even cooking. A complete meal, or serve with fruit, bread, or soup, as desired. 🙂 Continue reading

Crockpot Cranberry Chicken

My husband's favorite– luckily, easy enough for him to make. 😉 I buy family packs of chicken thighs and de-skin them before freezing, then defrost as many as I need to feed whomever I'm feeding. This is my modifications of a recipe from recipezaar.com, which was originally from "Company's Coming Slow-Cooker Recipes" or some such cookbook. The original recipe called for 8-12 chicken thighs. I wouldn't think it would be as good with 12; not enough sauce. I've successfully made it with as few as 3 thighs, and we sop up the extra sauce with bread. Pretty flexible. You could also use other pieces of bone-in skinned chicken; just make sure it's at least part dark meat to keep it moist enough. Excellent with steamed white rice. Continue reading