Take a crack at these different crock-pot recipes

Crock-Pot Cinnamon Applesauce

Why buy applesauce from the store when you could make it yourself with this super easy crock-pot recipe? You’ll notice a wonderful autumn-like scent invading your kitchen as the apples cook down. This applesauce can be served warm, topped with cinnamon or it can be refrigerated and eaten cold.

Ingredients:

Eight medium-size apples; Red Delicious are a good choice

Two tablespoon cinnamon

One-half cup white sugar or light brown sugar

Three-fourth cup water

Instructions:

• First, peel and core the apples. Slice the pieces up even smaller if you wish, so that they will be a bit easier to mash later on when they are fully cooked.

• Add these apple pieces to the crock-pot and pour water on top.

• Next, add the cinnamon and sugar.

• Stir the ingredients together and cook on low for a few hours until the apples are soft.

• Lastly, when the apples are soft, blend them in a food processor or with a hand mixer.

This recipe was adapted on Food Allergies Eats.

Easy Classic Crock-Pot Chili

There is never a bad time for a cup or bowl of chili. Letting the chili cook longer in a crock-pot will help bring out all the flavors and you’ll get a more noticeably tasty meal than by just combining ingredients on the stove top.

Ingredients:

One pound ground chuck

Half to one whole onion, chopped

Two cloves of garlic, chopped

Two cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

Fifteen ounce can of tomato sauce

One tablespoon of chili powder

One tablespoon of ground cumin

Half tablespoon of dried oregano

Half tablespoon salt

One-eighth of a tablespoon pepper

One-fourth tablespoon of cayenne pepper

Two cans  of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Two tablespoon cornstarch

One-fourth cup of water

Instructions:

Sauté ground chuck in a heavy skillet with onions until the meat is brown. Break up the meat into small bits. Drain this well of grease. Mix all the ingredients together in the slow crock-pot.

Cover and cook on low heat for around six hours or until vegetables are tender. Mix cornstarch and water until smooth and turn heat to high. Add this mixture to the crock-pot and stir well. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes or until the chili is slightly thickened.

Top with cheese and sour cream if desired.

This recipe was adapted from About.com.

Crock-Pot Gumbo

Create for yourself the traditional and famous southern dish gumbo. For this recipe, it is really up to you how spicy you’d like your dish. Just adjust the seasonings and spices to your taste and preference. Please read all the directions before you begin to cook, as there are many time-consuming steps involved!

Ingredients:

One-third cup flour

One-third cup cooking oil

Two to two and a half cups of chicken broth

Two chicken tenderloins or one chicken breast

Two Chorizo or Andouille sausages

A half bag of large Shrimp

One and a half cup sliced Okra

One-fourth cup of tomato paste

One green pepper, chopped

One-half anaheim pepper, chopped

One jalepeno, chopped with or without seeds

Two celery stalks, chopped

One-half onion, chopped

Two tablespoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

One to two tablespoon cumin

Chili powder to taste

One-half to one tablespoon oregano

Paprika to taste

One-half tablespoon hot sauce, optional

Red pepper flakes to taste

Brown or white rice

Instructions:

Make the “roux” by combining flour and oil. At medium-high heat, stir continuously until smooth and cook for about four minutes. Reduce to medium and continue to stir until it’s a dark reddish brown color. This may take up to 15 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn! Set aside and let cool.

Cook sausage and chicken separately and then once fully cooked, set aside to cool down.

Chop celery, onion, and peppers and put into the crock-pot. Add in the spices. Pour in the roux. Next shred or chop the chicken and slice the sausage then add to the crock-pot. Add in the tomato paste. Stir together. Add chicken broth and make sure the chicken is completely covered. Stir once more.

Set to cook at low for eight hours or at high for four to five hours, whichever is more convenient. Stir occasionally.

At about half way through, slice the Okra and add the pieces into the crock-pot. Cook the shrimp. Within the last half hour, add to the pot. Stir occasionally.

Once done, ladle and serve over cooked rice. Enjoy with bread and butter.

This recipe was taken from senior Chelsea DeLong.

Crock-Pot Brown Rice Mexican Bowl

Here is a recipe that screams fun with its vibrant colors and intense flavors. It also just turns out to be vegan in all the right ways! Avocado makes the world go round.

Ingredients:

For the crock-pot:

One cup long-grain brown rice

Two cups vegetable stock

One cup finely chopped onion

One red bell pepper, chopped small

One green bell pepper, chopped small

One can (four ounces) diced green chiles plus juice (Anaheim chiles are preferred)

Two cans (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed well and drained

Salt to taste

For the salsa:

One-half cup diced tomato

One large Poblano pepper, finely diced

One-half cup thinly sliced green onion

One-half cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

One large avocado cut into cubes about one inch in size

One tablespoon plus two tablespoons fresh lime juice

Two tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

One-half tablespoon ground cumin

Salt to taste

Instructions:

Combine rice, vegetable stock and onion in the crock-pot and cook on high until the rice is tender for an hour and a half. While the rice cooks, chop the red and green bell peppers and open the diced green chiles. Drain the black beans into a colander and rinse with cold water until there is no more foam.

After the hour and a half, add the chopped bell peppers, diced green chiles with their juice, and the drained black beans into the crock-pot. Combine with the rice and add salt to taste. Cook on high for about 30 more minutes.

While the crock-pot goes on cooking, chop the tomato, cilantro and Poblano pepper. Next thinly slice the green onion and cut the avocado into cubes and toss in a bowl with one tablespoon. of the lime juice. Make sure you use a bowl big enough to hold all the ingredients! Add in the tomato, cilantro, Poblano pepper, green onion and the other two tablespoons of lime juice, two tablespoons olive oil and ground cumin. Again, salt to taste.

This recipe will be ready to eat when the rice is cooked through but the pepper still has a bit of crunch to it. It is best served warm and with this salsa, but other toppings can be added if desired such as sour cream and a Mexican cheese blend.

This recipe was adapted from  Kalyn’s Kitchen.

Stuffing in a Crock-pot

Instead of actually stuffing a turkey this year for Thanksgiving, try making the stuffing in a crock-pot! This recipe can also be further adapted for vegetarians or vegans who want to enjoy some classic stuffing without a turkey dinner.

Ingredients:

Ten slices oatmeal bread, dried overnight and cubed

Two apples of your choice, peeled and chopped

One-half to one onion, chopped

One cup raisins

Two eggs, beaten or an egg substitute

One-half tablespoon salt

One-fourth tablespoon pepper

One-fourth cup butter, melted

One-third cup cold water

Three-fourth cup chicken broth, as needed

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients except butter and water in the crock-pot and toss with your hands to mix it thoroughly. Next sprinkle the melted butter and water over it and toss with a fork to combine.

Drizzle with one-fourth cup chicken broth and place the remaining broth in the refrigerator. Cook the combination on low for seven to eight hours, drizzling a few tablespoons of the chicken broth on top every two hours.

This recipe was adapted from About.com.