CrockPot Tomatoes and Goat Cheese with Cranberry Balsamic Syrup

Day 151.

Happy Friday! Although Fridays are supposed to be margarita nights, you should scrap that plan and go get a nice bottle of red wine and the ingredients to make these stuffed tomato slices.

In your crockpot.

They are so good you will be tempted to say bad words.

The Ingredients.

adapted from Simply Ming

--4 medium vine ripened tomatoes

--3 T balsamic vinegar

--log of goat cheese

--1/4 cup dried cranberries

--1/4 t kosher salt

--1/4 t black pepper

--1 T sesame oil ( I think this could be optional)

The Directions.

I used a 6qt oval Smart-Pot for this recipe. My tomatoes touched and some were on top of each other. If you are going to use a 4qt, put the tomatoes on top staggered a bit. They will turn out fine.

--Swirl the balsamic vinegar on the bottom of your crockpot.

--slice the tomatoes into thick slices

--slice the goat cheese. In the original recipe, Ming says to use dental floss. Our dental floss is either mint or bubble gum flavor, so I used a knife. It worked fine.

--put the goat cheese on top of the tomatoes and then add the tomatoes to the crock

--sprinkle your salt and pepper

--add the dried cranberries

--pour the 1 T of sesame oil evenly over the top of the tomatoes and goat cheese

cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or until the goat cheese is melty and the tomatoes are starting to pucker and look so good you have to eat them or you're going to freak out.

The Verdict.

Oh My Little Pony, these couldn't possibly be any better. I do think the sesame oil is optional---the balsamic and the juice from the tomatoes add enough moisture for the roasting to occur, and I could not taste the sesame flavor at all. If you don't have sesame oil, I think you could omit the oil fully or try a nice olive oil.

The kids loved these. I so wish they didn't, so I could have eaten them all myself. They were intrigued to try goat cheese for the first time, especially because they've been hearing about my friend Alison and her goat farm. Hi Alison! Goat cheese is like a nice, creamy, mild feta. I have found it at Trader Joe's and in the regular grocery store in the "nice cheese" case. If you wanted to, you could use feta for this dish, but I totally recommend trying the goat.

We ate them warm with our fingers, but they'd taste great on slices of french bread, probably.

CrockPot Jalapeño Poppers Recipe

Day 167.

Happy Father's Day! If you are looking to make dad some awesome manly meat today, I suggest:

A-1 and Dijon Steak

Blue Cheese and Steak Roll-Ups

Korean Barbecue Ribs

Lamb Chops

and if he's vegetarian...

Eggplant Parmesan with Feta

OR, make him these yummy jalapeño poppers. Because they have cheese and bacon in them, and everyone knows that the way to a man's heart is through cheese and bacon. And since they aren't breaded and deep-fried you can kind of sort of pass them off as health food.

sort of.

The Ingredients.

--10 jalapeños

--1/2 block cream cheese

--1/4 cup sour cream

--1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

--9 pieces of crumbled bacon (I used turkey, but go ahead and use PORK!)

--1/3 cup water

The Directions.

I used a round 4 qt Crock-Pot for this dish.

Okay. I have never before cut up jalapeños. When I used them in the chili and the Korean ribs, they were whole, and when we made cioppino, Adam cut them up.

The food tv people say to use gloves when cutting up jalapeños. LISTEN TO THEM. I was in pain, PAIN, for about 3 hours in all of my fingers. I took Aleve and sat with an icepack for quite a while, I was so very bothered by the juice. Be aware.

I actually just shuddered typing this out, remembering the sting. Please be careful.

Anyhow, wearing gloves, cut the tops off of the jalapeños, and scrape out the membrane and all of the little white seeds with a knife under running water.

In a bowl, mix together your stuffing mixture of cream cheese, parmesan cheese, sour cream, and crumbled bacon.

Fill the empty jalapeño cavities with the stuffing. I used my fingers. You could probably be fancy and pipe it in with a plastic bag, but the fingers worked.

Put the 1/3 cup of water at the bottom of your crockpot, and lay the stuffed jalapenos on top.

Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 3-4. They are done when the skin of the jalapenos start to wilt and look wrinkly.

Serve hot or at room temperature. I like them best at room temperature.

The Verdict.

These are delicious, and aren't overly spicy---the heat was just right for me. I made them for my brother and his wife, but didn't think to make them until right before we ate dinner. So we had them after dinner and dessert, which is a bit weird. I was too full to enjoy them that night, but adored the leftovers.

which I ate for breakfast.

with coffee.

because I'm a total weird-o.

CrockPot White Bean and Pesto Spread

Day 190.

Yay! Another Little Dipper recipe!

This is such a yummy spread, and it is so easy it practically makes itself. It must eat itself, too, because I have no idea where it went. I made a batch, took a picture, and then it disappeared.

Keep the ingredients on hand for last-minute company. They will keep in your pantry forever, and you will thank me when your guests eyeballs roll back in glee.

The Ingredients.

- 1 cup of drained and rinsed white beans (cannelloni, white kidney)
- 1/4 cup prepared pesto

The Directions.

After draining and rinsing the beans, scoop out one cup. Smash them. I used my Pampered Chef chopper thingy, but you could squeeze them in a zipper bag or use a tiny food processor, too.

Mix the smashed beans with a 1/4 cup of pesto. Add mixture to the Little Dipper, close it up, and plug it in.

There isn't a heat setting on a Little Dipper, you just plug it in. I cooked our dip for about 45 minutes, and it was warm and gooey.

Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or crustini.

I made crustini out of leftover bread that I had made for the french dip sandwiches. It was easy--I dipped the pieces in a bit of olive oil, then sprinkled with salt and pepper. I baked them in the oven at 400 degrees until the bottoms were toasty, then broiled until the tops were toasty, too.

The Verdict.

These were great. I liked how the beans soaked up the oil from the pesto, and the flavor was pronounced, but mild at the same time. All four of us enjoyed this snack.

CrockPot Crab with Sundried Tomatoes and Horseradish Spread

Day 201.

I was playing in the kitchen yesterday and came up with this crab spread. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not---even after I ate two rice cakes smeared with the stuff. Adam thought it was too fussy.

But! I got to use my Little Dipper. And I think that thing is just so darn adorable, that everything that comes out of it tastes like princess food. And that can't be a bad thing.

Ever.

The Ingredients.

--1 4.25 oz can of crab meat, drained

--2 T prepared horseradish cream

--5 reconstituted sun dried tomato halves

--1/4 cup parmesan/romano cheese

--3 fresh basil leaves

The Directions.

Soak the dried sun dried tomatoes in some hot water until they are soft and pliable. Chop. You could use the sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, but be sure to wring out the oil, or your pate will be awfully oily.

Drain the can of crab and add it to the little crockpot. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, the horseradish, chopped fresh basil leaves, and the cheese.

Mix with a fork.

Cover and cook (there isn't a temperature adjustment knob on the Little Dipper) for about an hour.

Serve with pita chips, corn chips, or on rice cakes.

The Verdict.

This was good, but maybe a bit too flavorful. I like horseradish, but maybe mixed with both the crab and the sun dried tomatoes was too much. It didn't stop me from eating a bunch, but it might have been better with fewer full-of-flavor ingredients.

The kids had no interest, whatsoever, in giving this dip/spread a try.

Baked Brie CrockPot Recipe

Day 208.

Happy Saturday! One of my most-requested and best-received crockpot appetizers is brie with candied pecans and cranberries. I like making it, because it's so gosh darn easy and because it seems more involved and elegant than it really is.

I was reminded about baked brie in a pastry crust last week when I was thumbing through and old cookbook put out by Pillsbury. I had a wheel of brie in the fridge, and thought I might as well try to do it in the crockpot.

The Ingredients.

The super easy way:

--a wheel of brie
--refrigerated crescent rolls

The Gluten Free Way (or a home-made way of making crescent rolls):
from the best crescent roll recipe ever, thanks to Delightfully Gluten Free

--1 /4 cup butter
--3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese or sour cream
--1 cup Gluten Free Flour mix (I used Pamela's) or All-Purpose Flour
--1 t xanthum gum (omit if using AP flour)
--1/8 t salt
--1/4 t cream of tartar
--1/2 t baking soda
--1 T sugar

--wheel of brie

The Directions.

If making the dough at home, follow the tutorial from the Delightfully Gluten Free site. I used sour cream the first time I made this dough, but used the cottage cheese this time. Both types of dough were delicious.

Roll out the chilled dough or crescent rolls on a cutting board. Don't tear apart the little crescent roll triangles, keep them together. I didn't bother to use an actual rolling pin, I just squished the dough down with a piece of plastic wrap. Place the wheel of brie in the center and fold the dough around the edges. If you have enough dough to cover the top, go for it. I did not, and left a peek-hole.

Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, with a toothpick wedged in the cover for just a bit of a vent hole. I usually use a chopstick, but tried a toothpick this time. I did get some condensation on the lid, but was pleased with the results. Your brie will be done when the dough has browned on top, and begun to pull away from the sides of the crockpot, or dish.

I put the brie and the dough directly into my 4qt crockpot and baked it like that. In retrospect, I should have put the brie into an oven-safe round dish, and then put it into the crockpot for easier removal. I was able to get it out, but it wasn't very pretty. There may have been some bad words said.

The Verdict.

Oh Em Gee. Delicious, and very fun to make and present. I am overjoyed to have found this gluten free dough, and was so happy to give a nice big slice of this to my kids. They hated the cheese but liked the dough.

CrockPot Hoisin Chicken Wings Recipe

Day 223.

I love wings. I used to think that my love of wings was limited to those of the Buffalo variety, but in the past year or two my love has grown. I will gladly order a sampler appetizer platter of wings, or skip the pizza when out and stick just to the wings.

I've made teriyaki wings this year, and some sweet and spicy. Yesterday, I felt like Hoisin.

The Ingredients.

--2-3 lbs frozen chicken wings or drummettes
--1/2 cup prepared Hoisin Sauce (or your own, recipe down below)
--1/4 cup honey
--4-5 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
--1 inch of ginger, peeled and grated
--1 T sesame oil

Homemade Hoisin Sauce

4 T of soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari-wheat free are GF)
2 T peanut butter
1 T molasses or honey
2 chopped garlic cloves
2 t sesame oil
1 t hot sauce (I used Thai red chili paste; Tabasco or similar would work)
1/8 t ground black pepper

The Directions.

I used a 4 qt round crockpot for this dish. It was a perfect size.

Dump chicken into crockpot. Add the Hoisin sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. Stir well to mix flavors.
Cook on high for another 30 minutes.

The Verdict.

These were great! I love chicken wings.
My three-year old ate 7 or 8 and asked for me to make them for her birthday.

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Mini Slow Cooker Recipe

Day 224.

I used my Little Dipper Slow Cooker yesterday to make a Tex-Mex inspired black bean dip, and I loved it. It was kind of spicy, but the goat cheese complimented the spice nicely with it's creamy mellow flavor.

Since I used my Little Dipper, I cut the recipe down quite a bit to fit inside. Feel free to double, triple, or exponentially increase---it's very good, and I wouldn't mind making a whole meal out of chips and dip one day.

very soon.

The Ingredients.

--1/2 can of refried black beans
--2 cloves garlic, chopped
--1/2 of a lime, juiced
--1 t cayenne pepper
--1 t cumin
--2 T chopped cilantro leaves
--3-5 slices of goat cheese

The Directions.

Open the can of refried black beans, and scoop out about half of the contents into the Little Dipper. Squeeze in the lime juice. Add chopped garlic, the spices, and the cilantro leaves. Stir. Top with the sliced goat cheese.

Cover and plug in. The Little Dipper doesn't have a temperature gauge. Cook for 1-2 hours, or until the goat cheese has melted and the beans are warm and gooey.

Serve with corn tortilla chips.

The Verdict.

Very tasty. I was quite pleased with the kick the dip had, and loved how the goat cheese was creamy and mellow. The cilantro gave a "freshness" that I really appreciated---it didn't just taste like a canned bean dip. The kids mostly scooped the goat cheese off the top, but did try the black bean dip enough to know that it was spicy.

I have the other half of the can in the fridge, and plan on making this for myself for lunch while I watch taped Olympics.

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P.S. I'm having Feed Burner issues. I don't use a reader myself, so I don't really understand them. If anyone knows what I should do to fix whatever error is happening that makes it look like I haven't updated since February, I'd love to hear from you! crockpotlady AT gmail DOT com.
xoxo steph

CrockPot Barbecued Shrimp Recipe

Day 246.

This recipe is taken directly from The Pioneer Woman. We had the best weekend, ever, and spent the night with our good friends at their new house. My friend, Nancy, says, "bring your crockpot and make something really good. I'm going to invite my sisters, and their boyfriends, too."

Nothing like a little pressure....

But you really can't go wrong with a PW recipe, and I had bookmarked her spicy barbecued shrimp eons ago, and was waiting for a good occasion to make it.

I know I've said it before, but the crockpot rocks. It totally and completely rocks. I love bringing food to people's houses, but it always becomes a bit awkward when you need to prepare and cook the food while you are there. Will the oven be available? How about a stove burner? You just don't come across that problem when visiting with a crockpot dish. There is always, always an available outlet, and you can easily stash the crockpot in the bathroom or garage if your host is low on counter space.

The Ingredients.
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

--2 pounds fresh raw shell-on shrimp (ask the fish guy for shrimp in the 21-25 per pound size range)
--1 stick of butter (it's a lot, but it was supposed to be 2!)
--1/4 cup olive oil
--1/4 cup gluten free Worcestershire sauce
--1-2 T Tabasco sauce (I used 1 1/2)
--1 tsp ground black pepper
--1 tsp kosher salt
--3 lemons, juiced
--1 T chopped fresh basil

The Directions.

You'll need a 5 to 6 quart crockpot for this meal.
Rinse the shrimp, but don't soak them too much. Dump them into the crockpot.

Add the stick of butter, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce. Measure out the tobasco, salt and pepper, and throw that in there, too. Juice the lemons, and add that, and top with the freshly chopped basil. Toss just a bit with a big spoon to mingle the flavors. The butter will be in a big stick, but that's okay.

If you are wearing a white shirt, it will get sprinkled with oily Worcestershire spots. You will feel sad, but a good friend will hand you a raspberry martini so you'll stop caring.

Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes. You'll know the shrimp is done when it has turned pink, and can be peeled easily. I turned ours off at exactly 2 hours. It was perfect.

Serve with bread to sop up the juice. We did do that. My little one who has celiac wouldn't touch a shrimp if it was covered in chocolate, so I wasn't terribly worried about gluten goobers. If you are GF, I'd make a fresh loaf of your favorite bread to go along with this. The juice is amazing.

The Verdict.

This was so good, I think I only got to eat one or two. We had 8 grown-ups and at least 2 kids who gobbled the shrimp. This is a very fun get-together dish, something that I would definitely serve again. I was thrilled with the way the shrimp cooked in the crockpot--they were perfect.

CrockPot Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe

Day 243.

More tomatoes! Tomatoes are good for you. They have stuff in them that is good. Vitamins.

I had more tomatoes on the counter, and decided to stuff them with some leftover cheese I had in the fridge. I had a little baggy with some goat cheese, some feta, and a little block of cream cheese that I must have picked up on sale.

I have stuffed jalapeno peppers and bell pepper with success, and assumed that the tomatoes would work the same way.


The Ingredients.

--5 or more largish vine-ripened tomatoes
--creamy cheese. You'll need about 2 T per tomato. I used a mixture of cream cheese, goat, and feta. Ricotta and maybe even cottage cheese would work, too.
--one garlic clove, chopped
--2 T fresh chopped basil

The Directions.

Cut the core out of each tomato. This is much more difficult that I thought it would be. I got slimy and gross and made one of my new back-to-school tops polka-dotty. Wear an apron.

In a bowl, cream together the cheese that you are going to use with the chopped garlic and basil. Stuff the cheese mixture into the cored tomatoes.

Pour 1/4 cup of water into the crockpot you are going to use. I used a 4 quart with 5 tomatoes, and easily could have put another 5 in there.

Nestle the tomatoes into the bottom of your crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours. These will not take long at all. If you overcook, it's not the end of the world, they will just begin to lose their shape and you'll get a stewy tomato covered with yummy cheese.

The Verdict.

I ate them all. We were going out to dinner, and were meeting Adam. The kids already had on nice(ish) clothes and I didn't want tomato juice on them.

So I took one for the team and ate them all myself.

Then I went out and ate an entire platter of Flautas.

I'm going to go for a run today.

Apple, Cheddar, and Turkey Meatballs CrockPot Recipe

Day 250.

I can't believe I've sat and typed at a brand "new post" screen for 250 days in a row. I am beginning to not remember what I used to do each morning. I certainly didn't eat cold meatballs for breakfast with my coffee.

I hate it that I'm posting this on a Saturday, because Internet traffic is terribly low on Saturday, and these are so good I feel like bowling them down the street. 1) to show-off these terribly awesome meatballs, and 2) to dissipate the pack of tweens with skateboards hanging out on the corner.

The Ingredients.

--1 1/2 pound extra lean ground turkey
--1 egg
--1 tsp kosher salt
--1 tsp ground black pepper
--1 tsp onion powder
--1 green apple, peeled and shredded
--1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
--1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries

The Directions.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground turkey with the ingredients. I used my hands.

Make golf-ball sized meatballs, and drop them into your crockpot. I used a 6 quart crockpot, but you could use any size over 3 quart, probably. These made enough meatballs to feed our family of 4 for dinner, with 8 leftover for breakfast and lunch. If you have a large family, or would like to cook enough to freeze, double or triple the recipe. You can definitely stagger-stack the meatballs on top of each other.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 5-9---the cooking time will depend on how many meatballs are in the crock, and the size of your machine. The more full it is, the longer it will take to cook.

I cooked 1 1/2 pounds of meatballs in a 6 quart for exactly 4 hours on high. I could have left them in a bit longer to brown the ones on the very top, but we were hungry.
While they cook, juice will collect on the bottom of the crock, and the meatballs will start off getting bright white and slimy looking. Don't be alarmed---they will continue to cook and will begin to brown. They (miraculously enough!) don't seem to stick together in a big blob---you'll be able to separate them.

The Verdict.

We all really liked these a lot. They're delicious. Moist, flavorful, and fun to pop in your mouth. I did need to fish the cranberries out of my three-year-old's plate, because evidently eating warm cranberries is "wrong."

Little Dipper Southwestern Salsa Dip

Day 261.

yay, a Little Dipper recipe! I love this Little Dipper because it's so gosh darn cute, but I'm having a hard time coming up with mini-sized dips or sauces to cook in it.

I made up this dip. I kind of wish I had something else to post in it's place, but I don't. There is nothing wrong with it---it just tastes a bit different. I can't decide if the different is good or bad. Just different. The kids ate a few chips dipped in it, then asked for a slice of cheddar cheese. Adam came home, I threw a chip in his mouth covered in dip, and he said "huh. that's different."

I love that man.

So. If you have a favorite warm dip and think I can make it in a Little Dipper, please let me know.

'cuz I obviously could use some help.

The Ingredients.

--2 cups of prepared salsa
--1 package of dried Ranch salad dressing/dip mix
--1/2 cup shredded white cheese (I had Monterey Jack in the house)

The Directions.

The Little Dipper says that it only holds 1 cup. I started with 2/3 of a cup of salsa, and stirred in the Ranch dressing packet. It was so tangy and weird, I added another 2/3 of a cup. That gave me 1 1/3 cups inside. And it still tasted weird. So I added another 2/3 of salsa. And I'm pretty sure that gives me 2 whole cups.

So the Little Dipper can hold 2 cups. I did stir in the cheese, but it mostly melted away (except that I used Kraft because it was on sale and it's coated with some weird anti-stick coating so it doesn't melt as nicely as other shredded cheese or cheese that you shred yourself. I should know this. But I still get sucked in to the buy-one-get-one deals at Safeway.)

Cover and cook for about 2 hours (there is no heat setting on a Little Dipper). Since the Dipper is so full, it will take longer than normal.

The Verdict.

It's not offensive, but it's not very good. Ranch may taste good with teriyaki sauce, but it doesn't go well with salsa.

Fancy Cheese Fondue Little Dipper Recipe

Day 270.

It's Friday Fondue Day! I've had quite a few fondue recipes bookmarked on the computer and torn out of magazines, but I haven't made any yet. I don't really know why, and since I have less than 100! days to go, I figured I better get cracking.

So, for the next few Fridays, I'm going to post a fondue recipe until I run out. That means that my Friday Fondue Day will really be on Thursday.

I made this in a Little Dipper, but you can use any small crockpot, or insert an oven-safe dish into your big one. Or you can quadruple everything and have a big vat of cheesiness.

The Ingredients.

--1/4 cup each of 3 "fancy" cheeses. I used goat, gruyere, and swiss
--1/4 cup white wine
--1/2 tsp nutmeg

The Directions.

Shred the hard cheese and put them in the Little Dipper. Add the goat cheese. Pour in the white wine and sprinkle the nutmeg on top. No need to stir---it will melt together.

Plug in the Little Dipper. Cook for 45 minutes, then stir. Cover again and heat until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with bread, croutons, crackers, or your favorite dipping vegetables.

I made large croutons out of a loaf of Trader Joe's Brown Rice bread. All I did was brush olive oil on both sides, and sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper. Then bake at 400 until golden, flipping once.

The Verdict.

Very tasty. The kids really liked this more than I wanted them to. I kind of thought this was going to be a grown-up snack, but they ate a LOT. I'm envisioning a fondue party in our future.

CrockPot Cream Cheese, Sausage, and Rotel Dip

Day 277.

Happy Friday Fondue Day! Except this is more of a dip, than an actual fondue. I've never been very good at rules.

This dip is famous. This is The Internet's Dip. When I posted that I needed more recipes for the Little Dipper, I got no less than FORTY emails telling me about this dip. Pretty much everybody acknowledged that the ingredients were weird and shouldn't taste good together, but they just do.

Last night I had the extreme honor of going to a local book signing for Sleep Is For the Weak (which you should totally buy for everybody you know for a holiday gift) and then the fabulous Mizz Jenny spent the night.

Because I love her, and I know how much she loves The Internet, I made her this dip. I also gave her pink champagne. Because nothing says high-class like rotel and sausage dip with pink champagne.

The Ingredients.

--8 oz block of cream cheese
--1 can tomatoes and green chiles (aka Rotel), drained
--1 lb breakfast sausage, browned and drained

The Directions.

I didn't use the Little Dipper (I said I wasn't good at rules!), I used my 1.5 quart crockpot, and it was the right size. You'll need to cut the recipe in half to fit the Little Dipper.

Brown the sausage on the stove, and drain on paper towels.

Unwrap the cream cheese, and put it into your crockpot. Chop up the sausage and add on top. Drain the Rotel, and add it.

Cover and cook on low for about 90 minutes, or on high for 45. Stir well and eat with tortilla chips.

The Verdict.

Dude. This is good. I can not believe how good it is.

The ingredients are still weird. I totally agree.

Brie with Apricot Topping CrockPot Recipe

This recipe is part of Oprah.com's Holiday Food Blogger Roundup. Welcome Oprah.com readers! Thank you for stopping by. xoxo steph

Day 286.

I didn't even try to light this properly and attempt a nice picture. Instead, I removed the stoneware from the base, wrapped it up in a beach towel, grabbed a sleeve of crackers and plopped on the couch in front of the TV. When Adam or the kids got near, I snarled and batted them away with my arm.

This couldn't possibly taste any better.

The Ingredients.
adapted from the Halloween issue of Taste of Home

--1 large round or wedge of brie (the round I used was 13.2 oz)
--1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
--2 T brown sugar
--2 T water
--1 tsp balsamic vinegar
--1/4 tsp dried rosemary
--1/2 cup chopped walnuts

The Directions.

I used a 1.5 mini round crockpot. If you are going to use a big one, put the brie in an oven-safe dish. As long as the dish and the crockpot heat together, you're all good.

If your brie has a really hard rind, cut the top part off. This was the first time I had used this brand of brie---I've always reached for the stuff from Trader Joe's---and I was alarmed at how thick the rind was.

Put the brie into the crockpot.

In a bowl, mix the chopped apricots, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, water and rosemary together. Spoon on top of the brie.
Sprinkle on the chopped walnuts.

Cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours, or on low for about 3. Check after an hour in both cases just in case.

Serve with your favorite crackers or apple slices.

The Verdict.

I eventually shared with Adam. We had it as dinner.

The flavor is so amazing, and the brie got so gooey and amazing. I think I just drooled a bit.
mmmm.

CrockPot Baba Ganoush Recipe

Day 291.

It's Fondue Friday! I found this recipe while I was perusing Alanna's A Veggie Venture site for eggplant recipes.

I was sold by the name. I had heard of baba ganoush before, but had no idea what it was. Alanna shared that it's pretty much an eggplant hummus.

mmmm. hummus.

I love me some hummus. I love it so much I don't care a bit how that sentence breaks every rule in the grammar book (is there a grammar book?). I blame Chris Jordan for my hummus addiction.

The Ingredients.
adapted from A Veggie Venture

--1 large eggplant (if you're fancy you can call it aubergine)
--2 cloves garlic
--1 lemon, juiced
--2 T tahini (sesame paste, in the peanut butter aisle, but NOT at Trader Joe's. weird.)
--1 T dried parsley flakes, or 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves
--salt and pepper to taste

The Directions.

Wash and dry your eggplant, and poke it a few times with a fork.

Plop it into your crockpot (you'll need probably at least a 3 quart for it to fit properly) and cook on high for 3 hours.

After cooking, the eggplant skin will be crinkled and the flesh inside will have shrunk a bit. This is good.

Carefully (use tongs. trust me. my fingers ache while I'm typing this.) remove the eggplant and cut in half with a knife. Scrape out any big chunks of seeds.

Get out the blender.

Using a spoon, remove the flesh from the eggplant skin and drop it (the flesh, not the skin) into the blender. Add the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and tahini. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Blend. Add additional lemon, salt or pepper as needed.

Serve with your favorite fresh veggies, crackers, pita bread, or brown rice tortilla wedges.

The Verdict.

This was tasty. I brought it to a play date up the street and none of the kids tried it.

Adam thought it could use more lemon and salt. The other dad thought it could use more heat, and the other mom thought it could use another garlic clove.

But we still ate it all...

I will make this again. The hardest thing was finding the tahini---I was surprised that Safeway carried it, and Trader Joe's did not.

CrockPot Crab Dip Recipe

Day 327.

Dip! With crab meat! And cream cheese!

Do better things than this exist?

I don't actually think so.

We had a houseful of people last night and I was thrilled that Christine emailed me earlier in the week with her famous crab dip recipe. I changed a few things, but this is definitely her recipe. Thank you, Christine!

The Ingredients.

--1 pound crab meat (imitation crab meat is NOT gluten free. Go for the real stuff!)
--3 packages (8oz each) cream cheese
--1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (or you can use 1/2 cup jarred salsa)
--1 can chilies and tomatoes, drained (Rotel)
--1/2 cup milk
--2 lemons, optional

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart crockpot. This feeds 20 people as an appetizer, or one cranky woman as a meal.

Sort through the crab and make sure that there aren't any shells.

Cube the cream cheese and put it into your crockpot. Plug it in and turn to high to begin melting the cream cheese. Add the buffalo wing sauce (or salsa), milk, and the drained can of Rotel.

Put in the crab, and stir gingerly to combine.

Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring every 20 to 30 minutes, or on high for no more than 2 hours, stirring often.

Serve with your favorite crackers, cubed bread, or celery sticks.
If you plan on serving out of the crockpot, you can "pretty it up" by inserting slices of lemon all the way around the edge of the dip in the crock.

The Verdict.

This was a hit. The crock was scraped clean.

CrockPot Dolmas Recipe

Day 344.

Jessica emailed me a few weeks ago and asked if I had a crockpot dolmas recipe. I didn't, but I do now! These are super easy, fun to make, and even more fun to eat. I was floored at how many my kids ate---they really liked them a lot.

The Ingredients.

1 jar grape leaves (8oz of leaves, in juice, near the pickles)
1/2 pound ground lamb
1/2 pound ground turkey breast
1 cup cooked white rice
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 lemons
1 egg
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp dill

The Directions.

I used a 6 quart crockpot, anything 4 quarts and up would work just fine. I got this recipe after putting a few together from this website according to the flavors I thought my family would enjoy, and from how I remember dolmas to taste. I really think there's no wrong or right way to do these, it's like meatloaf--everyone has their own version.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, rice, egg, spices, and juice from one lemon. Mix well with your hands to combine.

Drain and rinse the grape leaves.

Put a small amount of meat mixture into each grape leave, and roll to form a little packet. I'm pretty sure the vein-y part of the leaf is supposed to be inside, with the shiny side facing out. I didn't do this at first, but they do roll better if done that way. Place the wrapped packet into your crockpot. Repeat, until you run out of filling or leaves. It's okay to stagger-stack the dolmas in the crockpot.

I was able to make 24 before I ran out of filling. My crockpot could easily have handled another 24.

Squeeze the juice from the other lemon over the top of the dolmas. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is fully cooked. Mine were done right at 2 hours.

The Verdict.

These are so fun! We ate them as a meal, with leftover winter root vegetables. The kids liked them a lot, but one of them unrolled the leaf and just ate the filling, which was totally fine with me. I'm looking forward to making them again to serve to company.

CrockPot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Day 357.

It's the first day of Winter Vacation, and the girls and I are sick. Which means this is a very. normal. year. for us.

We'll be fine. We've got a bunch of books and videos from the library, the good tissue with the built-in Vicks, and 4 quarts of spinach artichoke dip.

This recipe comes from Joey in Minnesota who has a nineteen-month-old and is pregnant. She needs a juggling book for Christmas.

The Ingredients.

1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (9-ounce) bag baby spinach, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 T jalapeno slices, chopped

The Directions.

I used a 4-quart crockpot. Drain and chop artichoke hearts, and add to the crockpot. Scrunch the spinach and chop it the best you can---mostly try to get the long stems off if you can. Add to the crockpot. Add mayo, sour cream, and chopped jalapenos. Top with 1/2 cup each shredded mozzarella and Parmesan.

Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, or high for 1. Stir. The spinach should begin to welt. If it hasn't, cook some more. When the spinach is totally wilted, take the lid off and add the other 1/2 cup of each cheese, and let it melt while the lid remains off. The spinach will have created some liquid that doesn't really need to be in there.

Serve with your favorite chips, sliced veggies, or bread cubes.

The Verdict.

I liked this a lot. I couldn't taste the jalapenos at all and whined that it "wasn't working" (I wanted my sinuses to drain. lovely image, sorry. but that's what I was going for) but Adam and the kids could taste them and thought it was plenty spicy. I think though, I'd add many more jalapeno slices next time and maybe switch out the mayo for a half-block of cream cheese.

Little Dipper Cranberry Orange Dip

Day 362.

Raise your hand if you got a Little Dipper for the Holidays.

The Little Dipper is so much fun----here are all of the dips and things I've made this year: Little Dipper recipes. Except the chicken and brown rice casserole. I have no idea how that showed up in there. Weird.

Jen T. sent me this recipe, and the kids and I had it for lunch the other day. When it's cooked, it looks like a big pile of fluffy snow.

The Ingredients.

--8 oz cream cheese
--2/3 cup shredded swiss cheese
--2 T apple juice
--1/2 tsp orange zest
--1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

The Directions.

Plug in your Little Dipper to get it started warming up. Shove the block of cream cheese down into it. You may need to squish it in with a spoon. I promise it will fit. Shred the swiss, and add it. Grate the orange and add the zest. Add the apple juice. Cover and let it cook for 45 minutes to an hour. When the cream and swiss cheese have fully melted, stir in the dried cranberries.

Serve with your favorite crackers or apple slices. We're really liking the new nut and rice crackers Blue Diamond puts out.

The Verdict.

Delicious. The original recipe called for 1 tsp of orange zest, but we're not big fans of orange zest, so I only added 1/2 tsp. It was still plenty zesty for us, and I probably could have omitted it all together for us. But then I would have needed to change the name.

The swiss and cream cheese melted together beautifully and were a delicious combination.

Thank you, Jen!

Little Dipper Pizza Fondue Recipe

Day 365, take two.

I was annoyed with the white bean soup with fennel and spinach I made for dinner, but had all the stuff in the house to make a pizza fondue.

So I did.

I used the Little Dipper because I puffy heart LOVE it, but you could use an oven-safe dish inside a regular crockpot to create a smaller cooking vessel. Or you could increase the quantities.

The Ingredients.

--1 cup pasta sauce (my sauce had chunked mushrooms, it was perfect)
--1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
--10 pieces pepperoni, diced
--1 cup shredded cheese (I used a combo of mozzarella, cheddar, and swiss)

The Directions.

Count out 10 pieces of pepperoni. Then eat the rest of the package.
Put the pasta sauce into your Little Dipper, and plug it in. Add the Italian seasoning and diced pepperoni. Shove in the cup of shredded cheese. I promise it will fit. Cover and leave plugged in (there are no heat settings on a Little Dipper) for 45 min or so.

Stir well and serve with tortilla chips, bread sticks, or crustini.

I made some crustini with the Food for Life brown rice bread. I cut the pieces in slices, then brushed olive oil on each side. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 min, flipping once half-way through.

The Verdict.

This was great. We spread out a blanket in front of the TV and had a carpet picnic with the pizza fondue and watched Redbox dvds. How come I didn't know about redbox earlier?

good stuff.

Having a fondue party?
you really should.

fancy cheese fondue
chocolate fondue
peanut butter fondue
marshmallow fluff fondue
pumpkin pie dip
cream cheese, sausage, and Rotel dip (AKA mommy crack)