The Joy of Slow Cooker Meals – Easy Recipes to Try Today

I can point to a few recipes on this blog (like this chicken stew recipe) that were inspired by reading the What’s Cooking magazine ages ago.  Many of my recipes are Kraft Canada recipes that I end up modifying to some degree to add an extra veggie or swap a sauce.  But that’s what I’ve always loved about the Kraft Canada recipes – they are easy to modify, easy to make (most have a limited number of ingredients, not a whole shopping list worth) and are tasty.  Which ultimately is important.

Over the next year, I am excited to be a Kraft Canada What’s Cooking Contributor.  That means that I not only get to share with you the Kraft Canada recipes that are catching my eye on their site (have you seen some of the recipes? Go look! Bookmark the site! Trust me) but I will also be getting creative in the kitchen and making new recipes along the way.

I’m going to start this month’s post about one of my favourite ways to cook – using the slow cooker.

If you don’t have one, I can’t recommend that you get one enough. If you do have one, but you aren’t sure where to begin, hopefully this post will help a bit.  What’s important to remember with the slow cooker is that it’s really hard to mess it up.  You sort of just put a bunch of things in, make sure there is some liquid, and get cooking.  Okay, that’s not a precise science, and there is a bit more to it than that, but I feel like that’s what I do sometimes.  Sometimes, it’s so easy I tweet out the ingredients I’m using – and they fit in the 140 character limit. Stress free cooking makes me happy.

During the Fall and Winter months especially, we can’t help but use it.  The slow cooker frees us up to spend time doing other things in that notoriously busy, especially during the week, time that is about 4 pm on.

I love using the slow cooker because and it means that once I have prepped the meal (and bonus points for those of you who prep slow cooker meals ahead of time and freeze them) I don’t have to stress anymore.  I may have to quickly make some rice or get a loaf of bread to pair with a stew or soup, but really, once that slow cooker has started, it’s ready to go – in 3 to 8 hours.  I don’t have to stand at the stove top waiting, stirring and fussing.

Another reason I love about this way of cooking is that the kids can get involved. It’s easy for them to add to the pot (especially since it’s not hot at first) and to help stir it along the way.

We use the slow cooker at least once a week.  Slow cooker chicken ideas are swimming on the Kraft Canada site, so are slow cooker pork recipes.  If you are new to the slow cooker and aren’t sure where to start, try something like this chunky chicken chili.

Below are two of my current favourites when I’m looking to throw chicken thighs in the slow cooker.  Both are served over rice, and both have less than 8 ingredients.  These were randomly created by combining a existing recipes, surfing the net, and guessing.

For each of these recipes, add the ingredients in order in the slow cooker (unless otherwise stated), stir gently, and cook on high for about 3-4 hours, or until done.

(note: I’ve edited to add some recommended amounts, but these can fluctuate)

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken

1 package chicken thighs (4-6)

1 can coconut milk (large can, about 1.5 cups)

1 tbsp red curry paste

2 cups broth

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped frozen peas (add during the last 20 minutes of cooking time.)

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dates

1 package chicken thighs (4-6)

3/4 cup broth

1 cup pitted dates

1 tsp dried oregano

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

Enjoy!

Disclosure: I am a Kraft Canada #whatscooking contributor and am being compensated during the program.  I have shared links and recipes from the Kraft Canada website.  All opinions are my own.