Crock-pot Merlot Spiced Apples

This recipe is very simple, yet elegant. Slow cooking the apples with the spices and sauce makes the take on a great flavor and texture without a lot of work. Merlot is a wonderful addition to the cinnamon apple flavors. These apples could be used in a pie or pastry, served with ice cream, thrown into some oatmeal, or just eaten plain! An added bonus is that they make your house smell fantastic! 

Merlot Spiced Apples

Crockpot Beef Stew

Brr…. I’m over this cold weather. Cooking is my favorite hobby but something about the cold just makes me want to lay on the couch with a blanket! Today was one of those days. I wasn’t feeling like making a huge dinner so instead I decided to throw this stew in the crockpot. That way, when I got home tonight, it was cooked, warm and ready to eat! I did throw in some cornbread to go along with it though. This recipe is super simple and yet very tasty. Taking a few frozen veggies makes it even quicker but still healthy. This serves about 6 but can easily be increased to serve more.

4-5 oz round beef steak, diced (whatever cut you like, but don’t get crazy, the cheap cuts are fine!)

1 12oz bag of frozen mixed veggies (or you can cut your own fresh veggies)

1 15oz can of diced tomatoes (juice included – fresh will also work)

2 cups beef broth

1 cup russet or red potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 bay leaves (or 1 tsp bay leaf flakes)

• Okay, here’s the best part: throw all of the ingredients into a crockpot. 
• Give the mix a good stir.
•  Set your crockpot on Low – cook for about 8 hours.
•  Go to work/school/wherever and come home to a homestyle, comforting beef stew!

Crockpot Roasted Chicken

I honestly can’t believe I have never done this before. I really should use my crockpot more than I do but it kind of scares me a little. Anyway, I had heard that roasting a chicken is so easy in the crockpot so I tried it. I’m not sure that I will cook it any other way again. It’s so easy and tastes great! I made my own rub below but you could use whatever spices you wanted. One of the great things about doing this is after you are done roasting the chicken, you can make chicken bone broth that is very versatile and healthy. Bone broth is supposedly very good for its healing properties for your gut – therefore I’m making all that I can! Having extra broth around is nice anyway to give your dishes extra flavor.

 

1 whole chicken (about 3-4 lbs)

1 onion, quartered

1 tsp minced garlic

½ tsp chili powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried sage

½ tsp dried oregano

• In a small bowl, combine spices and mix together until well blended.
•  In a crockpot, put in chicken and stuff cavity with onion. Rub spice mixture all over chicken. I also put a little rub under the skin of the chicken breast. 
• Cook on low for about 6 hours (depending on your pot’s settings). 
• Remove chicken from crockpot and serve. I usually shred mine and then whatever leftovers we have we use during the week.

 

To make the broth: remove the bones from chicken and return to the juice in crockpot. Add about 5 cups of water to chicken juices (enough to fill the crockpot) and cook on low for about 8 hours. You can also add in celery or carrots to the broth mixture before cooking for extra flavor. My crockpot made about 3 quarts of broth.