Mikes's German Sauerbraten

German Sauerbraten

In an ideal world you would mix up the ingredients below and marinate the beef in the refrigerator for two days before cooking. However, if you are like me, the objective of your crock pot cooking is to "throw the stuff together", let it cook, come home from work and eat. This recipe is a variation of sauerbraten that I have tried and enjoyed.

The ideal thing to serve sauerbraten over is a plate of spaetzle (a homemade noodle that is basically a miniature dumpling). I am from a German family so I have a spaetzle press that looks something like a ricer but with holes at the bottom only. When I make spaetzle it takes me about one full hour total to make them and clean up the stuff I used to make them. The problem is that the preparation time along with cleanup time for all the stuff with dough stuck in it is out of sync with the crockpot convenience thing. My 3 recommended alternatives to spaetzle in order of preference are:
Dumplings made from store bought dumpling mix
Potatoes (plain boiled or mashed)
Egg Noodles

Any basic vegetable goes along with sauerbraten, however, sweet and sour red cabbage or Brussels sprouts keeps the German feel going with this.

IMPORTANT NOTE: depending on your personal taste for sourness from vinegar, you may want to increase or decrease the amount below by 1/4 cup.

2 to 2 1/2 pounds beef (rump or sirloin recommended)
10 whole cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups water mixed with 2 beef bouillon cubes
4 bay leaves
1 cup cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
6 whole peppercorns
1 large onion, sliced
2 tablespoons sugar

Mix the water, bullion cubes, vinegar and sugar together and zap them in the microwave so you can dissolve the bullion cubes. Mix it up and pour into the bottom of the crock pot.

I like keeping the beef in one piece for making this recipe.

Massage the ground ginger into the top side of the beef. Insert the ten cloves evenly throughout the top side of the beef 9similar to how you would do for a ham).

Place the beef into the crackpot with seasoned side up.

Put the bay leaves and peppercorns into the liquid.

Sprinkle the onion slices over the top of the beef.

Let it cook on slow for at least 8 to 10 hours. If possible, turn the beef over a few times during the cooking process.

Put on your German Feather hat, put on your lederhosen, pour a beer and enjoy!

Aloha Kaluha Pork

ALOHA! This one is SUPER easy, again! Steve & I usually do our large Kaluha pig in the oven for our annual luau, but a friend told us that they had done smaller roasts in their crockpot...that was the best tip we ever got, as it is just as good! I did do a search online, and found someone who posted an official recipe - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kalua-Pig-in-a-Slow-Cooker/Detail.aspx

Ingredients:

1 (6 pound) pork butt roast
2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt
4 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring (I use more than the person who posted the online recipe, use enough to make a nice base on the bottom of your crockpot)

Directions:

Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt over meat. Place roast in a slow cooker. Pour liquid smoke in crockpot, turning pork in the liquid. (NOTE: I use gloves when handling the pork & smoke because the liquid smoke smell will linger for a long time on your hands!)

Cover, and cook on high for 8-10 hours.

Shred pork in crockpot.

Serve over white rice! YUM! YUM!

Jen's Chicken Verde

Ok... get a pen and paper... this one has a LOT of instructions!!!

Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken breasts
1 jar chicken verde salsa

Directions:
Place chicken in crockpot. Pour entire jar of salsa on top. As long as the salsa covers the chicken, you're fine... do not add any water! Cook 6-8 hours on low. Shred chicken and serve.

I either serve it over lettuce with avocado and black beans or over rice. Enjoy!

Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue

My sister-in-law made this recipe for a party over the summer. She found it online @ http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zesty-Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Barbecue/Detail.aspx

I made it at home several months ago & loved it. Steve thought pork would be better… and he was right! As an option, you can substitute chicken with pork shoulder… YUM! It’s more fatty, so you might want to follow the cooking option
noted below the directions if using pork.

INGREDIENTS
6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS
Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbeque sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

Option: If you want the chicken a little let runny... you can season chicken with garlic powder, a little salt and pepper add a can of 99% chicken broth and throw in crockpot and cook on low for about 6 to eight hours. When you get home, drain grease, shred chicken and pour rest of ingredients over chicken for about an hour to blend flavors.

Nutritional Information
Servings Per Recipe: 6

Calories: 291
Total Fat: 12.9g
Cholesterol: 61mg
Sodium: 719mg
Total Carbs: 19g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7g
Protein: 24.1g

Kerry's Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 chicken breast halves
2 15-oz cans black beans, undrained
2 15-oz cans Mexican stewed tomatoes, or Rotel tomatoes
1 cup salsa (mild, medium, or hot, whichever you prefer)
4-oz can chopped green chilies
14 1/2-oz can tomato sauce
1 can corn
tortilla chips
2 cups grated cheese

1. Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in large slow cooker.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours.
3 Just before serving, remove chicken breasts and shred meat with 2 forks, or slice into bite-sized pieces, whichever you prefer. Stir into soup.
4. To serve, ladle soup into bowl. Top with cheese. Put a handful of crushed tortilla chips on top.