My new hero, courtesy of my BIL, Denis.

We tested the new slow cooker yesterday with mixed results. The cooker worked perfectly. The meal I put into it was less than stellar - my own fault. Since it was only edible by putting the contents into a flour tortilla I will not share the details. OK, here are the details:

2 cups uncooked white rice
1 can black beans, drained
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can Ro-tel
1 cup vegetable stock

Set cooker for 7 hours on Low.

The meat was tender, but looked nasty. The rice was super sticky - we determined later than rather than the regular rice used, I should have used Basmati rice and less stock or no stock. And I should have added one more can of beans. And seasoned the whole thing. So we sliced the chicken and wrapped it all up in tortillas - a dash of salsa, sour cream and cheese and it filled the stomach. But we both agree it won’t be repeated.

Next up in the new slow cooker - BBQ pulled pork with homemade buns (leftover from our hamburgers a few weeks ago) - tomorrow! Woo!

And don’t think I won’t be hunting for recipes at that A Year of CrockPotting blog.

1. oh no, Jen! I’m sorry that it didn’t work out.  Were you following one of the recipes posted, or winging it?  I don’t remember making something this year with those ingredients.

   Working with raw rice is tricky---you have to get the ratios pretty close to perfect, or you get a sloppy mess or crunchy rice.

   If you have any questions about what might or might not work, you are more than welcome at any time to email me.

   xoxo
   steph

   Posted by  on  03/26/08  at  12:02 PM

2. I used to use a crock pot and never had any problems with it. But I’ve always had this niggling worry at the back of my mind about cooking meats, especially chicken, at low temperatures.

   Posted by  on  03/26/08  at  01:53 PM

3. Hey, crockpot lady! Have no fear - the disaster was not your recipe. I just threw things in there hoping it would work!

   I was worried about the rice. I’m going to keep trying with it though - I’m sure there’s a way to get good rice in a one pot meal in the crock pot.

   Uncle Bill - slow cooking is fine with meats. We’ve never gotten sick in a year or so of regular crock pot cooking. The trick with chicken is that it really needs to be bone-in chicken. Boneless just dries out too much in the slow cooker. I know this, but I still try.

   Posted by jen  on  03/26/08  at  02:31 PM

4. Glad you like the blog. Let me know how the recipes turn out. Sorry the first one in the new pot was a disaster. They can’t all be good, right? Enjoy!

   Posted by  on  03/26/08  at  03:05 PM

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