Welcome back.  Last week I shared recipes from my family vaults.  This week I'm sharing some crock pot comfort recipes.  These will come in really handy during this cold snap.

Cabbage/beef and vegetable soup - this is really good, and even better the second or third day

1 onion/chopped

2 cloves garlic/minced

1 bag coleslaw mix/your choice

1 lb ground beef

2 cups frozen corn

1 can green beans/drained

4 cups bloody Mary mix

2 tbls Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried basil, crushed

1/4 tsp pepper

Cook the ground beef, onion and garlic in a skillet until the beef is browned.  Drain off the fat and place the meat mixture into a crock pot.  Add the remaining ingredients, stir, cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or, on high for 4 to 5 hours. 

Why do I say that you should crush the basil before adding it to the recipe?  What I want you to do is rub the basil between your fingers while adding it to the crockpot.  This releases the oils in the dried herbs.

The above recipe doesn't need any thickening, but sometimes you want to add something to the liquids for that purpose.  Most crock pot recipes use about 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca to the crock pot to use as a natural thickener.

Texican Chicken Sjoup

1 or 2 limes, juiced

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 boneless chicken breast halves, cut into strips

1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (14 oz) can beef broth

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers, undrained

3/4 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers,

8 corn tortillas, torn inot 1 to 2 inch pieces

2 cups water

3 tsps chili powder, divided

2 tsp ground cumin, divided

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

In a large plastic bag, place t tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, the juice of the limes, and the chicken strips.  Shake the bag well, covering the chicken as best you can.  Heat some oil in a skillet and saute the chicken until lightly brown.  Combine all the other ingredients (not the cheese nor the tortillas peiced) in a crock pot.  Mix well, cover, and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.  Stir in the tortillas, serve immediately.  Garnish with cheese.

Spicy Sloppy Joes

1 large onion/chopped

2 cloves garlic/minced

3 stalks celery/diced

1 jalapeno pepper/seeded and diced

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup catsup

1/2 cup water

1 tbls prepared mustard

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

8 gluten-free sandwich rolls, split and toasted

In a large skillet cook the beef, onion, celery, and garlic until the meat is browned and the onion/celery is tender.  Drain the fat and add the meat mixture to the crockpot.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot, stir, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. 

Spoon the mixture onto the toasted rolls.

This chili is really delicious

Chili with refried beans

1 large onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, diced

1 lime, juiced

2 pounds ground beef

2 (15 1/2 oz) chili beans with gravy

1 (16 oz) can refried beans

1 (12 oz) beer

1 (16 oz) jar thick and chunky salsa

2 tbls chili powder

1 tbls ground cumin

Sour cream, shredded cheese for garnish

Cook the beef, onion and celery in a skillet until the meat is brown and the veggies are tender.  Drain the fat and place the meat mixture in a slow cooker.  Add the rest of the ingredients (not the lime juire nor the garnishes).  Stir well, cover and cook for 6 to 8 hours on low, or 3 to 4 hours on high.  Stir in the lime juice just before serving.  Garnish as desired.