Okay… I did not actually buy a Crock-Pot because they are Crock-Pot® – a specific brand of slow-cooker and the first one on the market back in the 1970s. I bought a slow-cooker – a generic term for a Crock-Pot®-type appliance. I’m old. They’re all crock-pots in my mind.
My specific slow-cooker is a Cuisinart® MSC-600 3-In-1 Cook Central 6-Quart Multi-Cooker.
I have never owned a slow-cooker before and have never really cooked in one. I used them when I worked Demo at Trader Joe’s a million years ago, but we didn’t really cook in them – they were more for keeping things hot when we were serving samples.
Now that I actually have the time to be in the kitchen all day slowly simmering this or braising that, I’ve gotten lazy. And, since it’s it’s coming into soup and stew season, it seemed the right time to give it a go.
First up was Chicken Soup.
Most soups are throw-togethers. They’re based upon what’s in the house at the time. This was a perfect example.
- chicken broth
- chicken breast
- cooked turkey breast
- carrots
- celery
- leeks
- onion
- green beans
- cannellini beans
- red rice
- misto corto pasta – a type of short and small shaped mixed pasta
- buena mulata pepper – an heirloom cayenne pepper
- thyme
- oregano
- garlic
- frozen mixed vegetables
I was a bit leery at first, but it came out pretty good. I figured out pretty quickly that it was just a pot that got plugged into the wall instead of atop a burner on the stove and I didn’t need a heat diffuser for a low, slow simmer. Pretty much a win-win.
Since soups and stews are pretty much my favorite food groups – ice cream doesn’t count – this should be a fun fall and winter!