idiot proof reciepes...

[Sarlon]

So my friend who's moving to St Louis in August is a bit of a culinary idiot...

from what i understand he can burn water.

So I'm asking you guys for idiot proof crock pot recipes I can put together that are at least good for him (don't have to be healthy), to keep him from living on cardboard...I mean ramen.

[dalesys]

They make me fill the glasses from the hose because half the time I get them hot water from the sink.

[Seshat]

Eh, my grandmother once burned water. But she was basically a good cook.


Crock pot soup/stew recipe at its most simple:

Chop up into bite-size portions and put into pot:
1 source of protein. (1 serve per person)
Vegetable 1 (1 serve per person)
Vegetable 2 (1 serve per person)
Vegetable 3 (1 serve per person)
The vegetables should be varied: you can use colours (eg 1 white, 1 green, 1 orange), or parts of the plant (a root, a stem and a seed pod), but any method of using a variety of veg is good for you.
If your protein source is dried beans, lentils or other legumes, soften them overnight by soaking them in water: use the instructions on the packet.

Add:
1 source of grains (1 serve per person)
Salt and/or pepper to taste.
Iodised salt will be good for the thyroid, but isn't necessary with seafood (natural iodine source).


Optional: additional vegetables.
Optional but highly recommended: herbs and spices.
Use ones which smell like they'd go well with the stuff already in the crockpot, and use then sparingly at first. Once you've got a feel for what works, use them generously.
Optional but recommended: highly flavoured foods in small quantities, such as garlic, ginger, or lemongrass.
Again, use ones which smell like they'd go well, and start sparingly.

Add water until it covers the ingredients.

Put on simmer. Check every hour or two to ensure the water is still covering the ingredients.

When it smells ready, the vegetables and grains are softened to your personal tastes, and the meat is browned (red meat), white (poultry), or .. whatever colour fish is supposed to be, it's done.
If your protein is beans or other legumes, use 'softened to your personal tastes'.

Place in bowls and serve; ideally with crusty bread.

[Seshat]

Foolproof pea and ham soup crockpot recipe:

1 package dried split peas.
Approx 500g/half a pound (I think) of ham and/or bacon.
If your local deli is happy to give you the ends of their ham and bacon for you to chop up (or to chop it up for you), this is a good recipe for that.

Soak the peas overnight in water. They'll absorb about half again their volume in water, so give them at least that much.

Rinse the soaked peas. There may be pea skin that comes off, that's okay - let that float off. (You eat it when you eat non-split peas, so its perfectly edible. Don't bother hunting for split pea skin among the rest of them)

Put the soaked peas and the chopped up ham in the crock pot along with enough water to more than cover them - about a quarter again per volume.
You shouldn't need salt: the ham or bacon will supply plenty of salt.
If you want to add herbs you can. I like bay, or sometimes a small amount of clove. (A little clove goes a loooong way: if you're new to using herbs and spices, use only as much clove as you would pepper, maybe less.)

Put on high until it's simmering, then low until the broth is tasty and the peas are at whatever level of softness you want. If you're leaving it alone, use auto.
Left alone, the peas will actually become a kind of porridge; the broth and peas will actually merge. I like to leave it till that point.

As with many crockpot recipes, if you're in the house with the crockpot, check on the water volume every hour or two. Because the peas will be absorbing the water, just check to make sure it has spare water and/or is ready.

If you're not going to be home with this recipe, cover the soup with half again the volume of water; just to be sure. The peas will absorb it even if you have the extra water.

[Barracuda]

Potato casserole--put in peeled and sliced potato (any kind will work, all will be slightly different flavor.) Also put in sliced onion (white or yellow) garlic (crushed or minced or ground all work fine) and your favorite herbs (I like dill and rosemary and thyme.) Add some sliced sausage like kielbasa or ham or other type of like meat (hot dogs work in a pinch,) and then add water until the ingredients are covered by about half an inch or so. Cook on low for 8 hours or 4 on high, then mix up and eat. You can add butter after it's done cooking, and salt and pepper before or after you cook, depending on how you like it. For a more Irish flavored dish, instead of onions use cabbage and add a little corned beef instead of sausage. You can also put capers in this version.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

30 easy ways you can upgrade your ramen.

[boringscreenname]

Barbecue Chicken: Add some frozen or thawed chicken (any type breasts, thighs, etc, wiill work) to the crockpot. Dump a bottle of barbecue sauce over the chicken, cook on low 6-8 hours and serve.

Salsa Chicken: Add some frozen or thawed chicken (any type will work) to the crockpot and dump a jar of salsa over the chicken. Cook on low for 5-6 hours, shred the chicken with 2 forks, cook it for another hour. We like to serve it over rice with corn and sour cream.

Pot Roast: Put any type of roast into the crock pot, add 1 cup of water, 1 packet of dry ranch dressing, 1 packet of dry brown gravy, and 1 packet of dry italian dressing. I also add cut up potatoes, and carrots to mine, then cook 6-8 hours on low.

[Kittish]

BBQ Pulled Pork- put a pork roast (or some pork chops) into the crockpot. Pour root beer (NOT DIET!!!) over the roast. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Pour off the root beer, shred the pork with a pair of forks (and remove any bones present) and add bbq sauce to taste.

[NorthernZel]

Ma' Zel did a mean chicken casserole the other day:

Put some chicken in a big pot, add water and soup veggies (carrots, leek, onions and so forth), set to boil and let simmer at low heat for 8 hours.

Take up the chicken and remove the skin. Meanwhile, stirfry some sliced mushroom and some spring onions in another smaller pot.

Remove the chicken meat from the skin (preferably by shredding it with forks like you'd do with Pulled Chicken) and add it to the mushrooms and leeks.

Add a bit of broth (the water + veggies you boiled the chicken in) and some cream, season, set to boil (at mid heat) and serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

[Javarod]

Ok, let me throw in two from a cookbook i just bought. Obviously i haven't tried them, but they sound easy and tasty.

Mushroom-Beef Stew
1# beef stew meat
1 can (10 3/4oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cans (4oz ea) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 package (1oz) dry onion soup mix

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours. Makes 4 servings. Can serve over hot rice or egg noodles.

New England Clam Chowder
5 cans (10 3/4oz ea) condensed low fat cream of potato soup
2 cans (12oz ea) evaporated skim milk
2 cans (10oz ea) whole clams, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 3/4oz) cream style corn
2 cans (4 oz ea) tiny shrimp, rinsed and drained
3/4 crisp cooked and crumbled bacon (1/2# roughly) or bacon bits
Lemon pepper to taste
Oyster crackers (optional)

Combine all ingredients except crackers in slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours, stir occasionally. Serve with crackers if desired.

I've also got a fairly easy chili recipe ifn you want.

[Chromatix]

Those all look far too complicated for a complete beginner. If you're starting from the "can barely cook instant ramen" level, you need bachelor recipes, not family ones - like this one:

Half a pound (200g) of dry macaroni (or conchiglie) pasta
Small tin of peas
Small tin of sweetcorn
(or, as a substitute for the two above, a normal tin of peas/sweetcorn mixture)

Equipment required: hob, timer, tin opener (if they aren't ring-pull), saucepan, large colander, fork. Plate optional.

Fill the saucepan with cold water, to within an inch or two of the top.
Put it on the hob - full power. Cover with a lid, if you have one (faster).
When it boils, immediately turn it down to half power and remove the lid.
Empty the pasta into the water. Put the lid back on. Set the timer for whatever it says on the pasta packet (probably about 7 minutes).
When the water starts boiling again, turn the heat down to minimum. For future reference, this is called "simmering".
Use the fork to stir the pasta a bit at this point, to stop it jamming together as it expands.
While you wait, use the colander to drain the tin(s) of vegetables, and rinse them thoroughly with cold water.
When the timer goes off, turn off the heat, remove the lid, and empty the saucepan into the colander. If any of the pasta has stuck to the pan, use the fork to detach it.
Now empty the colander - carefully - onto a plate (if you want to be fancy) or back into the saucepan (if you want to minimise washing-up).
Use the fork to eat it.

[KhirasHY]

I used this one to start learning how to cook, and it's served me well over the years:

Crock Pot Roast - This recipe is for 12 servings, though you may get more/less depending on who's eating. I like to make this for my roommates (6 total people in our house), which leaves 2-3 days worth of leftovers.

Ingredients:
2 12 oz cans of Cream of Mushroom
1 1oz packet of dry Onion Soup (any storebought brand works fine)
1 1/4 cups Beef Broth (water works too if you're trying to save, but broth is always better)
5 1/2 pound beef pot roast
Optional: 3-5 stalks of celery, and 3-5 carrots (skinned)
White flour

Some notes on the beef, I have had the best luck with Tri Tip roast, but generally any good cut of meat works. I often will buy two separate slices of meat, since my local store tends to sell them in smaller weight increments.

Directions:

1) If using carrots and celery, chop them and place them on the bottom of the crock pot as a lining.

2 (optional)) Remove the meat from its packaging, and cut off the fat layer - do not throw it away, but place it in the crock pot on the bottom! Removing it will make for a leaner meal, which is healthier, but cooking it with the meat will make it taste much better in the end. You can leave the fat attached as well, but I hate gristle, so I always cut it off beforehand as much as I can.

3) Spread the white flower on a prep surface or place, and use it to coat the outside of the meat. Once this is done, rub the onion soup packet contents on the outside of the meat as well (try to get as much of the soup either on the meat or in the crock pot as well, it will enhance the flavoring). Once coated, put the meat into the crock pot.

4) Add the Cream of Mushroom and broth (don't add extra water or broth), making sure the top of the meat is covered, but that the mushroom is spread throughout the pot as well.

5) Cover, and cook on low heat for 7-9 hours.

Optional step at the end:

6) While cooking like this will leave you some yummy liquid as gravy, I prefer my gravy a little thicker. To get that done, carefully remove the meat from the pot, and place it on a plate/bowl (you can slice it up now if you wish as well). Using a strainer, remove the vegetables, and as much of the gristle from the liquid as well. At this point, you can also discard the fat, if you removed it before. Once the majority of the veggies/gristle has been strained out, transfer the liquid from the crock pot into a metal pan - you can return the veggies and meat to the crock pot and set it to Warm now.

Spoon a small amount of flour (my preference) or corn starch into the liquid in the pan while you bring it to a boil, whisking vigorously to break up any clumps. Use small amounts until you reach the desired thickness - boiling will also thicken the gravy, so don't add too much flour too quickly. Once it's done, serve and enjoy!

Works great with, naturally, mashed potatoes...even instant mashed potatoes will taste great with the gravy, which will have the flavors of the beef, onion soup, cream of mushroom, carrots, and celery combined. Typed out, it may seem like a lot of work, but this is probably one of the single easiest recipes I know how to make.

[Seshat]

Extremely easy mac-and-cheese.

1 packet macaroni.
1 container cheese sauce, or easy-melt cheese, or cheese spread: whatever you can find that you like that's kind of cheesey and will melt if supplied with heat.

Cook 1/2 cup or so of the macaroni as stated on the back of the packet.
Drain the water, put the macaroni in a bowl.
Put about two heaped spoonsful (dessert spoons, the sort you eat ice cream or cereal with) of your cheese sauce or cheese spread onto the macaroni. Stir as it melts.
If you want more cheese, put more on and stir.
Repeat until you have as much cheese as you want.

Eat.

Note: this will NOT produce any sort of mac and cheese that would win prizes as gourmet food. But it's edible and yummy and not unlike the Kraft Mac'n'Cheese.

[Akasa]

For crockpot recipes I use the 364 day of crockpot recipes site. I would link, but I'm on my phone. No copy/paste ability.

[Yfandes]

My favorite easy peasy recipe when its hot is a cheap rotisserie chicken (most grocery stores have a day or time when they are on special) and a bag of salad greens.

Slice the breast meat off the chicken into small pieces, tumble the greens with dressing of choice, add chicken. Serve with crusty bread.

Use up the rest of the chicken later as it is or use in soup, casserole, burritos etc.