This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking. If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.
I'm also joining Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge this month. I'm going for Pin Obsessed, since I have already tried three pins that I describe in this post. Trish's link to the challenge is here.
When we moved to NYC five years ago, our apartment kitchen was much smaller than the roomy one back home. In order to use my crockpot, I had to keep it on top of the stove because there was no counter space.
One day, I had the crockpot on top of the stove and mistakenly turned on the burner next to it. The flame burned the front of the crockpot, and the control panel kinda, sorta melted a little bit. As it turns out, I could still use the crockpot, but it was tricky trying to turn on the different settings.
Finally after four years, I decided this was ridiculous and maybe a wee bit dangerous, so I bought a new All-Clad Slow Cooker because it was on sale at my local Sur La Table and I had a coupon. So now I had to use the crockpot to break it in.
I turned to Pinterest to find some new recipes to go onto the crockpot and lucky me, I hit on three good ones right off the bat. The first one I tried was Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef from ShugarySweet.com. I made it for our Sunday dinner and it made such a tasty gravy, we really liked the balsamic flavor. I served it over mashed potatoes and all four guys enjoyed it. I was a little disappointed that the next day's leftovers, which I served over egg noodles, was not as tasty. It was much better over the potatoes.
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| Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef |
Next up I made Chicken Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches from foodfamilyfinds.com, which were so easy. Two tablespoons of butter, add sliced onions and green peppers, top with sliced chicken breasts and let it cook. I worried that there was not enough liquid, but it wasn't a problem. Toss them on a hoagie roll, add provolone cheese and melt under the broiler. (Pay attention to this, I burned my first two ones because I forgot they were under the broiler.) I don't like peppers and onions, but I loved this dish.
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| Philly Chicken Cheesesteaks |
The third recipe I made was Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin from laurassweetspot.com. Again, I am not a big pork tenderloin fan, I always seem to over cook it and dry it out, but this turned out so juicy and had so much flavor. Maybe it's the balsamic vinegar that is the big winner here as I used it in two recipes and they were both wonderful. With the leftovers, I made pork sliders with Trader Joe's Carolina Gold BBQ sauce and topped them with cole slaw. They were yummy.
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| Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Tenderloin |
What are your favorite crockpot recipes? Let me know in comments.
OMG, all three of these sound fabulous! And it's definitely time to dust off the crockpot and turn to warmer, heartier dinners. We love balsamic vinegar, so those recipes are sure winners.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Philly Chicken Cheese steak. I've always eaten Philly Cheese steak hoagies. The Philly Chicken looks so delicious. I happen to love green peppers and onions. I have a very nice crock pot. Need to use it more.....
ReplyDeleteI love using my crockpot and was just looking around for some good new recipes to try -- these sound perfect. I saw the pork tenderloin one and pinned it recently too. :)
ReplyDeleteI love my crockpot. I want to make a soup this weekend. All three of your pins look yummy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining the challenge Diane! One of the dangers, though, is that sometimes I find myself pinning more from the things everyone else creates! ;) The first recipe sounds delicious. One of my favorite things to use the crockpot for is a giant pot of spaghetti sauce that I jar up and freeze for rainy days. Makes dinner such a breeze!
ReplyDeleteDi, I am still pretty much a crockpot newbie - it's a bit hit and miss. I think I bought one that is too big which is part of the problem and it sure does soak up bench space. Cheers
ReplyDeleteThese all look SO good! I pinned the pork recipe earlier in the week and plan to try it soon - love balsamic vinegar. So glad you finally got a new crock pot;-)
ReplyDeleteYum! These sound delicious, especially the first and third ones.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite slow cooker recipe is for red wine and garlic lamb shanks! So good!
Oh my ... every one of the dishes sounds delicious! I plan to check them all out and add to my growing pinterest collection!
ReplyDeleteWe lived in NYC in the 80s and I do remember the very small kitchen. However, now that the children are grown, we are hoping to return to the Big Apple for an extended vacation (perhaps six months or so). I know the small kitchen will be an adjustment, but I am ready for that challenge.
I don't have a crock pot but every time I read a recipe in Weekend Cooking, I get really tempted! I love the idea of Philly Cheesesteak made with chicken.
ReplyDeleteI must try the balsamic beef recipe. I love my crock pot and balsamic vinegar is a wonderful flavouring.
ReplyDeleteI hate when that happens. I like cooking with a crockpot-it is a great way to do some slow cooking.
ReplyDeleteI love slow cooking with a crockpot. How disappointing to have ruined your pot.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a crockpot (small apartment kitchen that I share with two other girls!), but I'm starting to consider it... I keep seeing delicious recipes in Weekend Cooking posts!
ReplyDeleteMust be coming into perfect weather for you now for using the slow cooker. I love the sound of the balsamic glazed pork - that one has my name all over it :-)
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