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A Life in Food by real-life Chef Cheryl Bennett

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Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Bacon Jam Recipe

November 12, 2019

Slow cooker bacon jam is the perfect mix of salty and sweet. It makes a great topping for a bagel and is absolutely delectable when paired with an egg. Make a batch of this slow cooker bacon jam for gift-giving this holiday season for all of your bacon-loving friends! If you really want to gild the lily, consider swapping out the sausage for bacon jam in this breakfast casserole.

bacon jam in jar with plate of crostini

I am an unapologetic lover of all things bacon. I’ve made this jam a handful of times and it each time it disappears before I know what happened. Everyone who tastes it, loves it. 

This bacon jam makes a great homemade gift in pretty glass jars tied up with ribbon. It also makes a delicious crostini topping for holiday parties.  

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Filed Under: Slow Cooker Tagged With: bacon, cooking, easy recipe, gluten free, handmade gift ideas, homemade gift, homemade jam, how to, make ahead meals, onion, recipes

Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

November 6, 2016

Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker ChickenA little bit sweet, with garlic and ginger, and as spicy you’d like it, this fragrant, saucy chicken dish is made in a slow cooker. It’s super simple and requires very little hands-on time. Serve over rice with a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice.

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Filed Under: Beef/Pork/Poultry, Dinner, Make Ahead Meals, Slow Cooker Tagged With: chicken, cooking, dinner, make ahead meals, Slow Cooker, spicy, sweet

Swamp Monster Slow Cooker Jackfruit Gumbo

October 15, 2016

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jackfrui-swamp-gumbo

Halloween is fast approaching and if you are a fan of this fun holiday, you’re in for a treat (not a trick).    My friend Kathy has written a new cookbook full of fun, vegan Halloween food.   Her blog Healthy Slow Cooking is full of healthy options and is my “go to” source for vegan recipes. Whether you follow a vegan diet or not, there is something that everyone can enjoy.

I wanted to share this recipe with you because jackfruit is probably a fairly unfamiliar ingredient to most people.   I find it at my local Asian market.  Sometimes they sell the whole fruit, but more often it’s cut into pieces.  

jackfruit
A whole fruit can weigh as much as a small child, so getting a piece at the market is a much better option!  The best option when you don’t need 40 pounds of jackfruit: canned for convenience.

I love Kathy’s unique spin on this classic recipe.  If you are trying to eat less animal protein or you are curious about a vegan diet or you just want to try something new,  I would wholeheartedly recommend this and any other recipe by Kathy.   

Yield: 4

Swamp Monster Slow Cooker Jackfruit Gumbo

Swamp Monster Slow Cooker Jackfruit Gumbo

Ingredients

For the main gumbo

  • 4 cups water
  • 4 cups sliced okra, fresh or frozen
  • 3 cups diced tomatoes or 2, 14.5 ounce cans
  • 1 cup minced bell pepper, any color
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can, 20 ounce young green jackfruit in brine, rinsed with seeds removed *
  • 2 large vegan sausages, Italian, Chik’n Apple, or Andouille, cut into quarters lengthwise and sliced
  • 2 bouillon cubes, vegetable or vegan chicken flavor
  • 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning blend, see recipe at bottom
  • 3 bay leaves

For finishing

  • 1 cup chopped spinach, kale or other mild green
  • just enough water to puree, about 1/4 cup
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • more Cajun seasoning blend, to taste – optional

For serving

  • steamed rice, white, brown or forbidden
  • hot sauce

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning Blend

  • If you’re looking for a salt-free version or just can’t find it in your area, this little recipe will keep you in spicy goodness for awhile. The best part is you can make it as spicy or mild as you like!
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoon thyme
  • 2 teaspoons oregano or marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • Combine all the ingredients well and store in a lidded container. You can also use a spice grinder to make it look more like store-bought.

Instructions

  1. In the morning: Add all the main gumbo ingredients to your 4 quart slow cooker. Cook on low 7 to 9 hours.
  2. 15 minutes before serving: Add the greens to a blender with a little water and purée until smooth. Then add salt, pepper and more Cajun seasoning if needed.
  3. Remove bay leaves and serve gumbo topped with the green “swamp” purée and a scoop of rice.
  4. * shred the jackfruit with your hands – it will happen easily as you remove the large seeds.

Notes

This chunky stew is full of okra, tomatoes, vegan sausage and stringy jackfruit. One of my testers, Robin Fetter of The Real Vegan Housewife, says the soup had “an awesome foamy green effect on top” when she served it immediately, but that the green became less bright after twenty minutes. She highly recommends puréeing the greens into the soup.

© Recipe by Kathy Hester from The Ghoulish Gourmet: A Bewitching Collection of Vegan Halloween Recipes copyright 2016 printed with permission

Below is a link to the Kindle edition of Kathy’s book!

Filed Under: Slow Cooker, vegan Tagged With: Crockpot, Gumbo, Halloween, Jackfruit, Slow Cooker, vegan

Pulled Pork

October 6, 2012

This is the kind of food I want to have bubbling away in the oven making my kitchen smell of divine porkiness while I am preparing to entertain a group of friends waiting for my beloved Buckeyes to take the field.
(whew…  how’s THAT for a run-on sentence?!)

For most people, this is summer food… For me however,  I equate having my oven going for over 4 hours with cooler temperatures and for me, cooler temps automatically mean football.

I’m sure this seems absurd to most of you.  Everyone else in the blogosphere is making pumpkin this and cinnamon that and here I am making pulled pork.  Well, I’m sure someone somewhere understands my particular brand of crazy…  it’s called football people and it’s not just football, it’s my Ohio State Buckeyes. 

If you are from the Midwest or the South where meetings are rescheduled and Saturday afternoons are off limits “on account of there’s football”, then I needn’t explain any further. 
To the rest of you who can’t quite conceive of this, it’s irrational.  Those of us that love football with the fervor of a sale-seeking Jersey Housewife with a platinum card understand what it’s all about.

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Filed Under: Beef/Pork/Poultry, Cooking Tips, Dinner, Fall, Make Ahead Meals, Slow Cooker, Spring, Summer, Winter Tagged With: BBQ, meat, pork, sandwich

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