Barbecued Slow Cooker Beans

When a friend (or their husband) is cooking up a batch of something delicious, and I have a chance to try it, I am all over it! So, when my foodie friend Mary, from All Things Food ~ Cooking with Mary and Friends, shared that her husband, Curt, was making another batch of his barbecue sauce, I wanted in! In my world of foodie friends, this sauce is darn near famous. Curt and Mary live in South Carolina, and you know what I think about foods from South Carolina... it's all amazing!

Mary is always trying to get as many foods from local farmers as she can. I really admire the effort she puts into sourcing and learning about where her food comes from. So, when they put a recipe together, I have no doubt that the best ingredients are being used.

Truckin' Man and I really fell in love with this barbecue sauce, and that is rare for us to agree on a sauce. Usually, one of us is complaining that it is to sweet (me), or to spicy (him), but this sauce was just right! We enjoyed it so many nights on different pieces of meat, and even on a pizza one night.  I really wanted to create a special recipe to enjoy this amazing sauce, and a baked bean dish seemed like the answer since we have been on a bean kick lately. So glad my taste buds dictated the creation of this dish.

The day I made these, we were going to be gone for quite a few hours. So, in a last minute nervousness, I added a bit more broth, just for good measure. Of course, we were gone longer than I had planned. I had never made dried beans in the slow cooker before, so by the time we walked through the door, I was convinced that this was not going to end well. I walked through the kitchen, made a bee line to taste test, and just stood there holding my spoon in awe. Barbecued Bean goodness. The beans were cooked to perfection. Not to sweet, not to spicy, just good ol' barbecue goodness! 

Barbecued Slow Cooker Beans

8 oz dried lima beans
8 oz dried northern beans
1 lb ground beef
3/4 pound bacon, diced
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
3 1/2 cups beef broth
2 tsp barbecue seasoning
1 tsp salt
2 cups barbecue sauce (Use a sauce that you love!)

Sort through beans, discarding any stones, or shriveled beans. Place in large pot, and cover with water; let soak overnight.

Drain beans. In large skillet cook ground beef until cooked through. Meanwhile, in separate skillet, cook diced bacon; cook until lightly browned. Removed bacon from skillet with slotted spoon, add to slow cooker. In skillet with bacon grease, add onion and jalepenos. Saute until onions are softened. Add to slow cooker along with beans, ground beef, beef broth, barbecue seasoning, salt and barbecue sauce. Stir until combined. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Enjoy!!

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Rustic Italian Chicken and a Giveaway!

The awesome folks over at Red Gold Tomatoes sent some tomato products for me to try, and I have to honestly say I love them all. I am really fussy about tomatoes and have been pleased with everything I have tried. Even better, Truckin' Man has liked everything too!

 We tried out the Rustic Italian Chicken recipe. I had to make one change to the recipe. We can not buy boneless skinless chicken thighs in our little local stores. So, I bought regular chicken thighs, and removed the skins myself. I do NOT debone chicken, so I cooked the thighs with the bone in, and it turned out beautifully!  Delicious recipe, and amazing moist flavorful chicken. Try it, I bet you will love it too!

Right now, Red Gold is working to help us all out in the kitchen and make things easy with Slow Cookers!  They have some delicious recipes for us to try, AND...  they are giving away 44 custom Red Gold branded slow cookers beginning September 17 on their Facebook page!  2 winners will be chosen every day through October 8th, so you need to sign up for this ASAP!

Another great thing that Red Gold is doing is providing an apron for one of you!! To enter for a chance to win this apron, tell me what Red Gold Crock Pot recipe you would most like to try!  

Click here to see the recipes.

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment with your email address the recipe you most liked. If you prefer, you can email me for your recipe choice at  bigrigsnlilcookies@gmail.com   Open to U.S. residents only.

Deadline:  Wednesday, October 8th 11:59 pm CST
Winner: I will randomly choose a winner and announce it at the top of this post. The winner will also be notified via email; if the winner does not respond within 24 hours, another winner will be selected.
Congrats to Stacie G!

Disclaimer: Red Gold provided me with tomatoes and an apron for participating in the 

"2-a-Day Crock-Pot Giveaway", but all opinions are my own.

Rustic Italian Chicken
12 chicken thighs, skinless
2 large carrots, cut into large chunks
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
1 - 14.5 ounce can Red Gold Diced Tomatoes
2 - 15 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
3 cups pasta
Parmesan Cheese, grated (optional)

Spray Slow cooker with cooking spray. Place chicken in slow cooker, and top with remaining ingredients, except pasta.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Serve over your favorite pasta. Garnish with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Enjoy :)

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Fall Harvest Roast with Whiskey Peach Sauce

Crops are coming off the fields now. That means that Truckin' Man is busier than ever, and he is also around the farmstead more than ever. That in turn means lots more cookin' for me! When he is on the road truckin' I typically just have leftovers. Maybe some stir fried noodles, sometimes even just a bowl of cereal... Not meals in Truckin' Mans eyes! So, for now I have to keep the "Real" meals flowing on a regular basis.

This Fall Harvest Roast is absolutely the most warming and filling fall meal. Served with some mashed potatoes, you can't go wrong. This meal leaves everyone satisfied, warmed up and ready for whatever needs tending to next!

Fall Harvest Roast with Whiskey Peach Sauce 

3 lb pork roast
Salt and Pepper
1 TBSP Olive Oil
4 apples, peeled and sliced
3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1"-2" chunks
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup Whiskey Peach Sauce (Can substitute peach butter or apple butter)


Trim any excess fat from roast. Season roast with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Sear roast on all sides, until browned.

In bottom of crock pot add apples, carrots, garlic, and apple cider.  Place roast in crock pot, on top of apples. 

In small bowl, combine brown sugar, thyme dry mustard, cinnamon, and Peach Whiskey Sauce. Mix until combined. Spread mixture over roast.  Cook, covered, on low for 7-8 hours.

Enjoy!

Adapted From: Our Little Coop

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Lemon Thyme Chicken Stew

Finally! It's time to start enjoying foods that are better for warming you up. Who needs more warming up in the summer??  I hope this is a long and mild fall! It is truly my season. Winter is too cold, and summer is too hot. Spring... well, it's good, but we didn't get one this year. So... I hope fall is here for a long time!

This recipe is perfect for a cool fall day. Throw it in the crockpot and you are good to go about your day.  All you need to go along side of this is some crusty bread, and you will be lovin' what just happened in your crockpot!  I absolutely love all the flavor combinations in this dish. The combination of the thyme and lemon make for some of the best potatoes and chicken and I have ever made in the crockpot. 

Lemon Thyme Chicken Stew (Source: Taste of Home)

1 lb small red potatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size of potato)
1 large onion, diced
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp lemon peel, grated
2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, skin removed
2 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves

Place potatoes, onion and carrots in 3 qt slow cooker.  Sprinkle with flour, garlic, lemon peel, thyme, salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Place chicken over top.  Add broth and bay leaves.

Cook, covered, on low for 7 to 9 hours, or until chicken and potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaves.

Enjoy!!

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Coffee Spiked Venison Sloppy Joe's

This is my first time participating in Surprise Recipe Swap.  Thanks to Jutta at Hungry Little Girl for organizing this fun event! I thought it sounded like a great idea to meet some new bloggers and a fabulous way to try some new recipes!

The blog I got to check out was Curious Cuisiniere. It was great getting to read through Sarah's blog and recipes. She is another Wisconsin girl, so that made her blog even more fun for me to read. It was so hard to pick a recipe, as they all sounded so good. Once I clicked around into her recipe index, I was so excited to see in her Main Dishes category, she broke the recipes down by protein type, including a Venison category! I am frequently cooking with venison, so I am always looking for new idea's and it was just so fun for me to see someone else that cooks with it as much as I do!

Once I found the venison category, it did not take me long to decide on Coffee Spiked Venison Sloppy Joe.  We loved the flavor that Sarah packed into these. As usual, this was a large batch for the two of us, so I just freeze the leftovers in a cupcake pan. Super easy to take out a portion for dinner, or to even send along with Truckin' Man in the truck. The only thing I changed to Sarah's recipe was to add some green bell pepper, and that was just because I love bell pepper in as many things as possible!

Coffee Spiked Venison Sloppy Joe's  (Source: Curious Cuisiniere)
2 lb ground venison
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

Sauce
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp coffee grounds, finely ground or instant  (I used instant)
 2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup water

In a small bowl, mix sauce ingredients. In crock pot or slow cooker, mix venison, onions and sauce.  Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until meat is cooked and sauce has thickened.

Serve on your choice of buns.

Enjoy :)

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Crockpot Tavern Sandwich

Have you ever had a Tavern before?? I have had this recipe for years, but never really new why it was named a "Tavern". It's very much like a "Sloppy Joe" or whatever name they may have in your region. Thanks again to Wikipedia for giving me the answer... Tavern Sandwich is a regional term originating from Iowa for a "Sloppy Joe". I lived in Iowa for years, and still live very close to Iowa, but I am sure I didn't get the recipe from any one I know in the area. Oh well. That's what I get for not keeping track of where my recipes come from!

This is a great crockpot recipe for your busy days. I brown the meat the night before, throw it all in the crockpot in the morning, and the guys could feed themselves! Have the slotted spoon close at hand, since these are super juicy. They go perfect on a crusty bun, and would be great with a side of mac and cheese!

Crockpot Tavern Sandwich

2 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion - chopped
1 c. ketchup
1 t. chili powder
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1 t. Worcestershire Sauce
2 c. beef broth or water

In skillet, brown ground beef; drain well.  Place browned beef and remaining ingredients in crockpot.  Stir well to mix all ingredients.  Cover and cook on low setting for 8 - 10 hours.

Enjoy :) 


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Mexican Beef - Asado a la Mexicana

Way back before the cooking blogs were so popular, I was reading and trying recipes from Yahoo cooking groups. There were groups for different cooking topics... Maybe they are still there even, I am not sure! I belonged to a crock pot group, ten years ago and got lots of great recipes. Namely this one! It never disappoints, and you can always dress it up more if you want, or keep it simple.

This is perfect for the hot weather we are having. Through everything in the crock pot and keep from heating up the kitchen! My favorite side dish with this is Cilantro Lime Rice, from Macaroni & Cheesecake. 

Asado a la Mexicana

4 lb. Beef Roast

4 Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 t. cumin
2 t. chili powder

1 c. fresh salsa

1 green pepper, cut into strips

1 onion, cut into strips

Place roast in slow cooker.  Cover with remaining ingredients.  Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours; until roast pulls apart easily.  Remove the roast from the slow cooker.  Shred beef.  With slotted spoon, remove veggies from crock and mix with beef.

Serve with tortillas, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc.

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Slow Cooker Pork Roast

Over the winter, I had purchased a variety pack of meat from a local CSA. One of the items was a Pork Roast. Since it was my first time buying anything from a CSA, I wanted to do something a little different with it, to give the meat a chance to shine through and not be to covered in a sauce. That seemed the  best way for me to judge the quality of this meat and see if I wanted to purchase more.

I finally found a recipe that seemed to be what I was looking for. It had nice flavor, but wasn't to heavy. It was delicious! The meat definitely shined through! Served with Maple Glazed Carrots and some Garlic Smashed potatoes, the meal was complete.

Slow Cooker Pork Roast (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 large onion, sliced

2 1/2 pound pork roast

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

1 c. hot water

1/4 c. sugar

3 T. cider vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

1T. ketchup

1/2 t. garlic powder

Season roast with salt and pepper.  In large pan, brown roast all both sides.  Arrange onion slices evenly over the bottom of the slow cooker.  Place roast on top of the onions.  In bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. Pour over roast.

Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.

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