Archive for the ‘Sides – Slow Cooker’ Category
Slow Cooker Whole Cauliflower
This recipe is from a social media friend who specializes in slow cooker dishes. I made this on 12 Apr 2023, excellent flavor, and very well liked by the family.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (4+ quart)
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Trim the stem of the cauliflower so the head will sit flat, remove any leaves, and give it a quick rinse and shake off the excess water. Place in the slow cooker. No need to remove the stem, it is just as good as the rest of the cauliflower.
- In a small bowl, mix together the oil, mustard, cheese, and garlic to make the sauce.
- Spoon the sauce on top of the cauliflower, right in the center. Let gravity pull the sauce down on the sides, and just even it out with the back of the spoon, until the head is covered evenly with the sauce.
- Cover and set to Low, let cook for 6 to 8 hours, checking for doneness at 6 hours. If a fork can be easily inserted from the top to the bottom of the stem, it is done. I took the photo after I had cut the cauliflower into 6 wedges and started to serve.
- Serve as a side dish, and enjoy.
Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Mushrooms
This recipe is from a social media friend who specializes in slow cooker dishes. I made these on 4 Sep 2022, and these are excellent mushrooms, juicy and full of flavor, I and the family really enjoyed these! This will be a regular now.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 750 grams button mushrooms, (1½ lb)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- ¼ cup olive oil, or a tablespoon less
- 3 cloves garlic, mince, or 1½ teaspoons powdered garlic
- 1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix
- ¾ tablespoon fresh dill, chopped, plus more for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Trim the stems off the mushrooms and quickly rinse, shake off any water, and place in your slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients to to the slow cooker. I was out of fresh garlic so I used garlic powder.
- Mix together. Cover, and set to Low for 3-4 hours.
- The mushrooms will be tender and juicy, you can also spoon the sauce over the mushrooms when served.
- Serve as a side dish with any meal.
Honey Butter Peas & Carrots (Slow Cooker)
Peas and carrots just go well together for a side dish, they always have. This recipe will dress them up a bit and let the flavors blend in a slow cooker.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 500 grams fresh carrots, peeled, sliced, (1 lb)
- 1 large onion, diced
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper powder
- ¼ cup butter, cubed
- 500 grams frozen peas, cooked for 5-10 minutes on the stove top then drained, (1 lb)
Instructions
- Carrots and onion prepped. (I went the fancy route and cut each slice into shapes with a cutter.)
- To your slow cooker, add the onion, water, honey, garlic, salt, marjoram, and white pepper. Stir together.
- Add the carrots and cubed butter. Stir to combine. Cover and set to Low setting and allow to cook for 3 hours. (I cubed the butter first, by the time I added it, it was very soft, no problem however.)
- Check the carrots for tenderness at 3 hours and if tender or very near tender, stir in the drained peas.
- Cover and cook for 30 minutes more. If the carrots are not tender, allow to cook for another hour, then add the peas.
- Serve as a side dish with any meal.
Cream Cheese Corn (Slow Cooker)
This is an easy side dish to prepare with minimal hands on time so you can prepare other dishes at the same time. And it is good! I made this on 31 Jan 2022 and the family loved it! Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 570 grams frozen corn, or drained canned, or fresh cooked, (20 oz), Shortcut
- 250 grams Cream cheese, diced, (8 oz)
- ½ cup buter, diced, (½ block / 1 stick)
- ½ cup evaporated milk, or whipping cream, or milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- salt and black pepper, as desired, to taste
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish, if desired
- Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Grease the inside of your slow cooker with some of the butter, then add the corn, rest of the butter, cream cheese, milk or cream, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Stir to mix.
- Cover and set to Low setting for 4 to 6 hours (depending on how hot your slow cooker runs). At the 2 hour mark, give the corn a quick stir. At the 4 hour mark, stir again and taste, season with salt and pepper as desired, and if the corn is nice and tender, it is ready to serve, or set the cooker to Warm setting until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, stir the corn well, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. If the corn is took thick, just stir in a little milk. Pour into a serving dish and garnish with parsley and or Parmesan cheese as desired.
- Serve as a side with any main dish, and enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Fresh Corn I (Pressure Cooker).
Hoppin John (Slow Cooker)
This is a classic southern US dish of black eyed peas and ham served over rice or even as a side dish. I made this on 17 Jan 2019 and used some variants as well, excellent dish! There is several shortcuts to lower costs as well. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups cooked ham, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cans black-eyed peas, drained, rinsed (15 oz / 425 g each), or 6 cups cooked, Shortcut
- 2¾ cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, Shortcut
- 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- salt and pepper, as desired
- hot cooked rice, for serving, if desired
Instructions
- Drain the beans and add to your slow cooker. I used cooked dry beans.
- Add remaining ingredients to your slow cooker. I added red and green bell peppers, celery, smoked ham, and bacon as variants as well as homemade chicken broth.
- Give the pot a stir then cover and set to Low setting for 4 to 6 hours but anything past 8 hours and the beans will be really soft.
- Stir the pot once an hour. Here it is at 4 hours, and it is perfect.
- Serve over rice for a main dish or serve as is without rice as a side dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving, especially if using leftover ham or beef, and using the shortcuts.
Shortcuts: Black Eyed Peas (Pressure Cooker), Chicken Broth.
Variants: 1. Use cooked and sliced sausage, any type you wish. 2. Use leftover cooked beef, cut into bit size piece. 3. Use chopped bacon. 4. Add a bell pepper or two and or celery.
Slow Simmered Kidney Beans (Slow Cooker)
This sounds really good as I love kidney beans, and I will be preparing them using my pressure cooker. As written, this makes a lot, so feel free to adjust this to half by changing the number of servings. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (6+ quart)
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon, diced
- 250 grams Kielbasa sausage, sliced into coins, (8 oz)
- 4 cans kidney beans, drained, (15 oz / 425 g each), or 8 cups cooked, Shortcut
- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained, (28 oz / 794 g)
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 cup tomato ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcerstershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 medium red apples, unpeeled, cored, cubed
Instructions
- Prep the beans first. If using canned, open, rinse, and drain, set aside. Better option is to cook from dry beans, and pressure cooked would be your best option, and they are so much more flavorful! For cooked beans from dry, you need 8 cups drained.
- Heat a non stick pan on medium heat, when hot, add the bacon and fry until crispy and remove with a slotted spoon, then add the sausage to the bacon fat and cook to brown, stirring often, for about 6-7 minutes. Drain the sausage and add to your slow cooker.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker, stir to mix everything. Cover on and set to Low setting for 4 hours.
- Add the the apples and give a quick stir, cover and cook another 2 hours.
- Serve as a side dish.
Notes
Shortcut: Red Kidney Beans (Pressure Cooker).
Slow Cooker Cabbage & Mushrooms
This recipe comes from a good friend and it is delicious. I made this on 13 Dec 2018, absolutely tasty and an excellent way to prepare cabbage.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 head green cabbage, medium, cored, shredded
- 1½ cups carrot, shredded
- 500 grams fresh mushrooms, sliced in half, (1 lb)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, Shortcut
- ¼ cup spicy mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste, as desired
Instructions
- Grease the inside of your slow cooker crock with the butter and just leave the excess in the bottom of the crock. Pour in the broth and add the mustard, whisk to combine.
- Add the cabbage, mushrooms, and carrot to the slow cooker.
- Mix everything together, season with a pinch of black pepper. Cover the slow cooker and set to Low setting and let cook for at least 6 hours, and up to 10 hours. Using the High setting is not recommended or the cabbage will be crunchy.
- After I mixed and had the cooker on Low, I realized I had some White Crab mushrooms, so I chopped those and added them.
- Mix those in, and now I have this cooking, can never have enough mushrooms.
- When ready to serve, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove from the slow cooker, serve as a side dish any meal.
Notes
Shortcut: Quick Chicken Broth (Pressure Cooker).
Variant: 1. Use pork broth or stock in place of chicken broth.
Basic Pinto Beans (Slow Cooker)
I like beans and make a lot of items using dry beans to start with, and I have a lot of time on my hands so I go with slow cooked beans in my slow cooker as the standard. This recipe can be tailored at will with what you have on hand or what you want to use. This recipe is what I make but it also changes each time.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry Pinto beans, (1 lb)
- 250 grams sausage, or ham, or bacon, etc., (8 oz)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ground cumin, to taste
- dried oregano, to taste
Instructions
- Sort the beans and remove any bad ones or debris, soak overnight.
- Next day, drain and rinse the beans, add to your slow cooker. Add cut up sausage, ham, or bacon, add water to the slow cooker about 1 inch above the contents.
- Cook on Low setting for 8-10 hours (I routinely start my beans about noon, cook until about 7 or 8 pm, leave in the pot and just start cooking the next day).
- Season with some salt, black pepper, oregano, and cumin to your liking. Keeping mind, slow cookers will reduce the seasoning level the longer you cook.
Notes
Variants: Use any of the following, chopped onion, tomato paste, chopped chilies, ham, bacon, or even chicken, use chicken stock instead of water, you get the idea, tailor this at will.
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
I made this on 16-17 Oct 2018. Everything went into the slow cooker at 6 pm on the 16th, set to Low and cooked overnight. At 4 am on the 17th, 10 hours later, I have to say these are good! I forgot to add the ketchup, not even noticed, excellent beans, better than anything out of a can. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry Great Northern beans, soaked 6-8 hours, (1 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 250 grams bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces, (8 oz)
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Bring beans to a boil for about 5-10 minutes in large pot with plenty of water. Then simmer on low until nearly soft, about 40 to 50 minutes. Drain and place beans in your slow cooker. OR as I did, I cooked the beans in my slow cooker.
- Add all other ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Give it a mix to get everything distributed in the beans.
- Cover and cook on Low setting for 10 hours or High setting for 5 hours. Stir occasionally. One hour before finished, if there is too much liquid in the pot, leave the lid off until the liquid is to your liking. Serve or use in other recipes as needed.
Notes
Shortcut: Great Northern Beans (Pressure Cooker).
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Anastasia's Best-ever Baked Beans.
- Cowboy Stew, made it, GO-TO recipe.
Creamed Corn (Slow Cooker)
When I think of creamed corn from a can, I think mush, I liked it but it is mush. Every recipe I have seen on the internet is corn in a cream sauce, and this recipe was highly recommended by the reviews alone, so I am going to list it here.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen corn, or canned corn, drained
- 250 grams Cream cheese, softened, cut into 1 inch cubes, (8 oz)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup butter, cut into cubes
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in your slow cooker and stir, cover and set to Low setting for 4 hours. Stir occasionally to ensure the Cream cheese is fully melted and combined into the sauce. This will keep well on the Low setting or warm setting for about an hour. Serve as a side.
