Seasonal Sundays (Week 43) Slow Cooking

There is a season ... the slow cooking season, that is. I've collected some of my favorite slow-cook recipes, some using an actual slow cooker, others using the oven for slow-cooking.
Seasonal Sundays ♥ KitchenParade.com, a seasonal collection of recipes and life ideas in and out of the kitchen.

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late


~ From the Book of Ecclesiastes, arranged & adapted by folk singer and social activist Pete Seeger, first recorded more than sixty years ago and one of the soundtracks of my childhood on permanent replay inside my head.




PICK ONE

Pick One is for those of us overwhelmed by life's unending choices. If that resonates, then check out this one recipe and then call it a day. It's one that I think could make the most difference, the one I hope will become a regular in your kitchen, as it is in mine.

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast ♥ KitchenParade.com. Easy Enough for Every Day, Special Enough for Occasions. Great for Meal Prep. Recipe, insider tips, nutrition and Weight Watchers points included.

Rethinking the Holidays

This week my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. We do remember our first anniversary. But the second and the third? Probably some nice restaurant but really, we have NO IDEA.

But this our fourth? There will be no forgetting it. We packed up kabobs and vegetables in foil and a salad and a nice bottle of wine and headed for the country. We built a small fire, went to open the wine and ... it was nowhere to be found! We still haven't figured out what happened to it.

But it was such a lovely – dare I say? memorable – evening, the Big Meadow lit with late sun, the trees silent on a windless afternoon.

And that's what we're thinking for the coming holidays too, Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years. There's no celebrating as usual, not in the Year That Is 2020.

We could, of course. Some are, some will, whether from pandemic fatigue or outright denial.

Earlier in the week, our doctor worried out loud about the country's ability to withstand January and February. His worry, no, let's call it fear, is based on a perfect storm: the onset of flu season; college kids coming home all at one time; but most of all "small family gatherings" that collectively will become holiday super-spreader events.

Worst of all, further losing control of the spread increases the chance that even vaccines won't eradicate the disease, that it will continue to kill unfathomable numbers of people ... forever changing the way we live our lives.

I know. It's hard, contemplating Thanksgiving without kids and grandkids. It's unfathomable, contemplating Christmas without the traditional parties and open houses and cookie decorating and midnight mass ... and ... and ... and ... and ...

So we've decided to break completely from tradition, to mark the occasions in our own low-key but special ways that will make 2020 memorable for what it is, not for what it isn't.


And you? How are you dealing with the holidays? Have you worked out what to do?

Seasonal Showcase: Slow Cooking

The slow cooker goes dusty during the summer months. So it must be fall, now, because last week I pulled it out twice, once to meal prep some sweet potatoes, then to make No-Big-Deal Homemade Chicken Stock when the oven was otherwise occupied. (FYI 24 hours on medium heat since the technique isn't updated yet).

So this week, Seasonal Sundays is focused on slow cooking, using not only slow cookers (people do love their Crockpots!) but also slow cooking in the oven. As regular readers know, I do find that ovens yield much more consistent and tasty results.


Slow Cooker & Oven Slow-Cooking Recipes ♥ KitchenParade.com, supper savers, sides and more.

Soup for Supper

Healthy Carrot Soup ♥ KitchenParade.com, my cousin's famous carrot soup recipe, creamy even though it's made with skim milk, not cream. Weight Watchers Friendly. Budget Friendly. Low Carb. Rave Reviews!

Meatless Monday

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes, more easy meal prep ♥ A Veggie Venture, just sloppy joes made with lentils instead of hamburger, full of spices and flavor. Weight Watchers Friendly. Vegan.

Even meat eaters approve of this lentil dish, just love the spices!


Cooking Down Your Bean Stash

Red Beans & Rice, another slow-cooked healthy dinner ♥ KitchenParade.com. Meaty or Vegan. Weight Watchers Friendly. High Protein. Great for Meal Prep.

Ham & Beans ♥ KitchenParade.com, an easy, budget-friendly one-pot supper that makes best use of a leftover ham bone. High Protein. Weight Watchers Friendly.

How to Cook Dried Beans from Scratch Mexican-Style in a Slow Cooker ♥ KitchenParade.com, easy, healthy and delicious.

Southern Specialties

Slow-Cooked Greens & Smoked Turkey ♥ KitchenParade.com, healthy leafy greens cooked until tender and luscious with a smoked turkey leg or ham hocks. Low Carb. Low Cal. High Protein. Gluten Free. Great for Meal Prep and Weight Watchers.

Back-Pocket Recipe

We all keep certain recipes in our virtual back pockets, right? We might not need them right this minute but recognize their usefulness in our recipe repertoires.

Slow Cooker Braised Lamb Shanks or Venison Shanks ♥ KitchenParade.com with a silky-smooth vegetable sauce. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Low Carb. High Protein. Weight Watchers Friendly.

Simplest of Suppers

Crockpot Chicken Goulash ♥ KitchenParade.com. Budget-Friendly, Just Eight Ingredients. Weeknight Easy. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. High Protein.

Trending

My Top 10 Recipes are predictable, hello Should Cooked Pork Be Pink? and (Sloooow) Baked Potatoes (How Long to Bake a Baked Potato). But every week, seasonal recipes catch the internet's attention and start to trend.


Estonian Apple Cake ♥ KitchenParade.com, an easy low-calorie apple cake recipe, moist and bright with cinnamon.


World's Best Green Bean Casserole ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, yesterday's comfort food made with fresh green beans and fresh mushrooms, no canned beans, no cream of mushroom soup. Rave reviews since 2006.

What's New?!

Chicken with Apple & Creamy Cider Gravy ♥ KitchenParade.com, a one-skillet chicken dish, perfect for fall. Full-flavored chicken thighs cradled in creamy gravy made with apple cider.

Pumpkin Bars ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, quick & easy, filled with fall spices.
  • THE RECIPE Pumpkin Bars Quick and easy, filled with fall spices.
  • ANOTHER TAKE Snickerdoodle Bars Snickerdoodle flavors with the firm, chewy texture of blondies.

Just Updated!

Baked Apples, another time-tested recipe ♥ KitchenParade.com, a fall tradition, simple and cinnamony with a luscious sauce.
  • THE RECIPE Baked Apples Fall's best apples baked in a warm apple-flavored browns-sugar sauce.
  • ANOTHER TAKE Cinnamon Apples Festive color for the holiday table.

Text Me Back!

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, whatever.


Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2020

Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

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