Holiday Punch CrockPot Recipe (non-alcoholic)

Day 352.

This is the easiest hot drink I've ever made, and the kids liked it the most. Tristen, who is going through finals right now (good luck, Tristen!), found it in the Taste of Home magazine.

The Ingredients.

4 cups cranberry juice
4 cups pineapple juice
1/3 cup hot tamales or red hots candy (hot tamales are on the GF candy list)
1 cinnamon stick

that's it!

The Directions.

This serves 6. Combine juices in your crockpot, and add hot tamales or red hots. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for 4-5. Stir. The candy will pretty much dissolve, leaving just a hint of cinnamony-flavor.

Ladle into mugs, garnishing with an extra cinnamon stick if desired.

The Verdict.

My kids loved this. They each drank 2 mug-fulls after school, and another after dinner. I really liked it a lot, too, and had 2 mug-fulls while watching Oprah. Adam only got a taste; he should have come home earlier!

more fun beverages:
wassail
peppermint hot chocolate/peppermint mocha
pumpkin spice lattes
mulled wine
chai tea lattes
gingerbread latte

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CrockPot "Peking Duck" Recipe

Day 351.

I have cracked the duck-in-the-crockpot code. You need to use a rack. Too much liquid forms in the pot, and the meat needs to be up above it. I used a little round rack that came with my rice cooker, but you could use anything---an inverted ramekin to lift the bird up out of the collected juice, a collapsible steamer basket (great idea, KW!), foil balls, etc.

This duck tastes great, is seasoned nicely, and held up in the crockpot. Here's how to make traditional Peking Duck, and here's how I made it crockpot-friendly:

The Ingredients.

--4 to 5 pound duck
--5 whole green onions
--4 star anise
--1 inch ginger, peeled
--2 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice (or you can make your own.)
--1 tsp cinnamon
--1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
--1 tablespoon honey
--2 tablespoons soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart crockpot, and insert a cooking rack of somesort in the bottom of your pot. Wash the green onions and lay on top of the rack.

Skin the duck the best you can. Peel ginger and stuff inside cavity, with the star anise. In a small bowl, combine dry spices. Rub all over the bird, inside and out. Place the duck inside your crockpot, breast up. (I did breast down yesterday, and that was a mistake. It got too soggy.) Drizzle on soy sauce and honey.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Serve with plum sauce.

I made a down-and-dirty plum sauce:
--1/3 cup plum jam
--1 tablespoon soy sauce (La Choy is GF)
--1 tablespoon white sugar
--1 teaspoon garlic powder

The Verdict.

I was much happier at how this duck held up in the crockpot, and how most of the grease dripped away. The meat was nicely seasoned, and tasted great. We really liked the plum sauce. The kids ended up eating little smokies in bbq sauce because it was the Girl Scouts Holiday Party and that was our offering (done in a crockpot, of course).

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CrockPot Honey and Apricot Glazed Duck

Day 350.

Duck. It's what's for dinner. I had planned on making a duck (or 2) this year, but sort of forgot about it until Kiy emailed me last week. She wanted to make a duck for Christmas, but the last duck she made created a huge mess in the oven. I hate messes.

This didn't make a mess, but duck has SO much juice in it, that it did fall off the bones, even with a short cooking time and not much added liquid. The meat is delicious, but you just aren't going to get the same presentation when it comes out of a crockpot as you do when it comes out of an oven. Or when a restaurant serves it. That said, the sweetness of the meat was great, and the kid who tasted it thought it was just like chicken.

The Ingredients. --4 to 5 lb duck
--1/2 tsp oregano
--1/4 tsp pepper
--1 tsp garlic salt
--1/2 tsp lemon rind
--2 tsp cornstarch
--1/3 cup apricot preserves
--1 T soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are GF)
--2 T honey
--2 T lemon juice

The Directions.

Skin the duck, and remove the neck and giblets (ick). I'm getting much better at skinning things! I deserve a merit badge. The skin on a duck is quite fatty on the breast, but the back is bony and I had a hard time removing the skin from it. I chose to leave a bit of skin on the wings and drumsticks to see if they would brown.

They didn't. There was a lot of juice in the pot. If you have a little rack that fits inside your crockpot, use it. I don't have one, but today I'm going to dig around and see what I can use---maybe the little steamer rack thing from the rice cooker? Updated 12/16: You DO need a little rack. Read what I did, here.

Mix all dry spices, including cornstarch and lemon rind in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over the duck, inside and out. Place the duck in your crockpot ( breast down--I used a 6 quart). Use the same bowl (might as well) to mix the wet ingredients together. Pour over the top of the duck.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or until a meat thermometer registers 165-180 degrees.

The Verdict.

I haven't eaten much duck. I liked this, but it wouldn't be something that I eat often. The meat is sort of greasy for my taste. The glaze was good, and I think next time I'm going to double the sauce, to have extra for dipping, or to spoon over the top of the finished duck. My kids really liked the sauce a lot. "Peking Duck," coming up tomorrow! I think.

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CrockPot Cherries Jubilee

Day 349.

I am still having photo uploading issues. I'm working on it, and fingers are crossed that in a few hours everything will be good to go.

I wasn't planning on making Cherries Jubilee yesterday, but the kids and I were watching a Paula Deen episode and she made some. Adam was already at the grocery store (buying duck! ack!) so we called him and had him bring home some canned cherries. It's a good thing, too, because the ducks were so frozen they bounced on the kitchen counter.

The Ingredients.

2 T butter, melted
1 T cornstarch
2 (15-ounce) cans pitted black cherries in heavy syrup, but NOT pie filling
2 T white sugar
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup brandy (optional)
vanilla ice cream

The Directions.

I used a 1 quart crockpot. Melt butter in the microwave, and whisk in cornstarch until it's completely dissolved. Drain cans of cherries, and add to crockpot. Pour in cornstarch mixture. Add sugar and lemon zest. No need to stir. If you're going to add the brandy, do so now.

Cook on high for 2 hours, and serve hot over vanilla ice cream. Paula lit her cherries jubilee on fire to burn off the alcohol. I tried to do that, but it didn't work, and I ended up getting cherry juice all over my long wand-lighter thingy and now it doesn't ignite. I wouldn't put the brandy in if you are going to serve to small children.

The Verdict.

This was a fun dessert. I made two batches, one with and one without the brandy. The brandy one tastes like it has brandy in it, and I liked the plain one better. I wish the fire part would have worked, that would have been cool.

I'm off to skin a duck.

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CrockPot Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

Day 348.

I've mentioned my love of Indian food before, but I'm going to all over again. I LOVE INDIAN FOOD.
I really, really, really do. The flavors are just so deep and rich and velvety and wonderful. Kindra emailed me to share her Chicken Makhani recipe, and I was so excited to make it. It calls for cardamom pods, which is great, since I have a ton in the house after making Chai Lattes.

The Ingredients.

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (mine were frozen solid)
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 T butter
15 cardamom pods (sewn together!)
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can coconut milk (I used light)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt (to add at the end, I used fat free)

The Directions.

Use a 5 quart or larger crockpot. Carefully sew together the cardamom pods using a needle and thread. You can put them in a little cheese cloth bundle, instead, if you have that in the house. Put chicken in crockpot, and add onion, garlic, and all of the dry spices. Plop in the butter and tomato paste. Add lemon juice and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked.

Stir in plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving. Discard cardamom pods. Salt to taste, serve with white or brown basmati rice.

The Verdict.

This is so good! I could have gone with a bit more cayenne, because I'm a nut, but the depth of flavor is wonderful. You can tweak the amount of garam masala and curry to your own taste---it's fine to add more at the end of cooking.

This is a winner recipe. Thank you so much, Kindra!

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Broccoli With Toasted Garlic and Hazelnuts CrockPot Recipe

Day 347.

This is a lemony broccoli that is such a nice change from heavy winterish vegetables. The garlic adds a great depth of flavor, and hazelnuts provide a nutty burst. These are some yummy veggies.

The Ingredients.

2 pounds broccoli florets
1 cup large raw hazelnuts
1 head garlic, peeled (12 cloves)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart crockpot for best results. Wash and trim broccoli, and add to crockpot. Peel garlic, and add with salt and pepper. Add hazelnuts. Squeeze lemon juice evenly over the top. Toss with wooden spoons.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for about 4. This is finished when broccoli has reached desired tenderness. I like my vegetables al dente.

The Verdict.

This was a great side dish to our leftover hickory smoked brisket. The lemon is the predominant flavor, and complements the hazelnuts, broccoli, and garlic wonderfully. The kids picked out just the broccoli pieces.

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CrockPot Hickory Smoked Brisket

Day 346.

This makes your house smell like you're in the middle of a National Forest----one that allows campfires.

I finally got a bottle of liquid smoke. Way back in August, I used some mesquite chips to turn the crockpot into a smoker, and while that worked, this was much easier. I was a little freaked out that liquid smoke contained a bunch of cancer-causing chemicals, and the bottle did not list the ingredients. But it did say "All Natural" on it, and we all know that means that it must be good for you, right?

After some research, I found that Jared wrote a fantastic post on how liquid smoke is made, and it really calmed my nerves enough to go for it. Liquid smoke is gluten-free.

The Ingredients.

3-4 pounds beef brisket, or chuck roast
1/2 cup hickory liquid smoke (or not this much. Maybe 1T or 2T? read comments...)
1/4 cup A-1 steak sauce
1 T celery salt (see note below, I'd stick with a 1/2T)
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 t pepper

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart crockpot. I used a 6---if you only have a big guy, put a layer of foil down on top of the meat to create a smaller steaming space so your meat doesn't dry out.

Put the meat in your crockpot, add spices to all sides of it. Add A-1 and liquid smoke.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6. Slow and low is better, the meat will shred nicely when cooked for a long period of time. I cooked ours on low for 10 hours, then it was on warm for another 3. I got up WAY too early yesterday...

Seve over mashed potatoes or polenta.

The Verdict.

This tastes like wet beef jerky. It's very smoky, and next time I'll cut the celery salt in half. The smell was amazing in the house after only about 30 minutes, and I found it actually kind of hard to get my work done. The kids ate a ton, and Adam liked it a lot. This is very good, and I am happy that I did finally use liquid smoke. Thanks, Jared!

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