31 Savory Slow-Cooker Dishes: October 2012

Photo: Oxmoor House

With the fall season now in full swing, use this month's recipe-a-day calendar to slow down, save time, and dig in.

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Red Beans and Rice

Photography: Randy Mayor; Styling: Jan Gautro

This is the ultimate in thriftiness and convenience - beans in a slow-cooker. The long, slow cooking time coaxes all the flavor from the sausage into the beans for a mild yet full-flavored dish. You can also cook in on low heat for 8 hours.

Red Beans and Rice Recipe

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Beef Daube Provençal

Photo: Raymond Hom; Styling: Pamela Duncan Silver

This classic French braised beef, red wine, and vegetable stew is simple and delicious. This recipe ran in a Thanksgiving weekend package. The stew was perfect for that Wednesday night before Thanksgiving when you have guests arriving, but still need to focus on prepping food for the next day. This perfectly balanced dish found its way into our regular rotation.

Beef Daube Provençal Recipe

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Slow-Cooker Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

Make your favorite creamy coleslaw to serve with or on this slow-cooker barbecue sandwich. Freeze any leftover meat for up to 1 month.
Slow-Cooker Barbecue Beef Sandwiches Recipe

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Easy Burritos

If your guests runs late, the meat for the burritos will hold for quite a while. Keep warm on low in the slow cooker, if necessary.
Easy Burritos Recipe

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Tiny French Beans with Smoked Sausage

Photography: Jim Bathie; Styling: Jan Gautro

Find flageolets, tiny French kidney beans, in specialty food stores or online at www.indianharvest.com. For a nice presentation, garnish with thyme sprigs.

Tiny French Beans with Smoked Sausage Recipe

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Overnight Apple Butter

Becky Luigart-Stayner; Cindy Barr

Slow-cookers make more than meaty dinner dishes. Make a sweet, rich apple butter spread that goes perfectly on a toasted English muffin or served over pork chops. One taste and you'll never believe it's fat free.
Overnight Apple Butter Recipe

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Spicy-Sweet Ribs and Beans

Slow cookers don't brown food, so here we broil the ribs for extra flavor before adding them to the pot. Serve with cornbread and a simple green salad with creamy Italian or ranch dressing.
Spicy-Sweet Ribs and Beans Recipe

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Slow-Cooker Meal: Asian Short Ribs

Photo: Marcus Nilsson

These Asian short ribs get their great flavor by slow-cooking in a mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper.
Slow-Cooker Meal: Asian Short Ribs Recipe

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Beer-and-Cheddar Fondue

Stir occasionally when serving to keep blended.

Beer-and-Cheddar Fondue Recipe

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Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Cindy Barr

Reducing the wine before placing it in the slow cooker gives the dish a more rounded flavor.

Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb Recipe

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Rocky Road Chocolate Cake

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Rose Nguyen

Slow-cook your way to rich, chocolatey, marshmallowey goodness.
Rocky Road Chocolate Cake Recipe

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Lemony Chicken Breasts with Rice

Chicken and rice are perfect dinner partners, so simplify your dinnertime prep by cooking them together in the slow cooker. All you need to add is a simple side dish, such as microwave-steamed veggies, and you've got a meal.
Lemony Chicken Breasts with Rice Recipe

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Hearty Potato Soup

Photo: J. Savage Gibson

Bread bowls are a sandwich shop favorite for a reason. Instead of venturing out into the cold night air, fill homemade Italian Bread Bowls with chunky potato soup featuring potatoes, onions, carrot, celery, and savory seasonings.
Hearty Potato Soup Recipe

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Old-Fashioned Chili

Thise easy slow-cooker chili recipe costs just under $2 per serving, making it a budget-friendly option for busy weeknights.
Old-Fashioned Chili Recipe

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Mediterranean Roast Turkey

Becky Luigart-Stayner

Serve this slow cooker roast with mashed potatoes and garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.
Mediterranean Roast Turkey Recipe

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Butternut Squash-Parsnip Soup

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Scott Martin

To serve 12, make two batches of soup instead of doubling the recipe.
Butternut Squash-Parsnip Soup Recipe

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Slow-Cooker Beef Pot Roast

Photo: Oxmoor House

Pair this home-style favorite with mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce. Leftover meat makes great hot roast beef sandwiches the next day.
Slow-Cooker Beef Pot Roast Recipe

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Char Siu Pork Roast

Becky Luigart-Stayner

In this recipe for Char Siu, the Chinese version of barbecue, the pork is cooked in the slow-cooker for an extra tender, juicy, and stress-free meal. Serve with sticky or long-grain white rice and a steamed or stir-fried medley of bell peppers, carrots, snow peas, sliced baby corn, and water chestnuts.
Char Siu Pork Roast Recipe

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Slow-Cooker Meat Loaf with Shiitake Mushrooms

Photography: Karry Hosford

Because no evaporation takes place, the crockpot makes an especially moist and tender meat loaf. The mushrooms add moisture as well.
Slow-Cooker Meat Loaf with Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe

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Chicken and Dressing

Jim Bathie

Plan a home-style dinner like grandma used to make with only 30 minutes of prep work for this chicken and dressing recipe. You'll come home to a house with smells reminiscent of Sunday suppers with the family.
Chicken and Dressing Recipe

21 of 31

Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

Randy Mayor; Melanie J. Clarke

Aromatic Indian spices mingle with chickpeas, green beans, and potatoes. Coconut milk is stirred into the cooked curry for a creamy finish. Serve over quick-cooking couscous.
Vegetable and Chickpea Curry Recipe

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Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

This classic Creole rice dish is perfect for the slow-cooker as all the flavors blend together over time in a marvelous way.

Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya Recipe

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Slow-Cooker Macaroni and Beef

Make this tangy meat sauce in the slow-cooker to top macaroni or other pasta. A quick and easy meal when you're craving some classic Italian flavors.
Slow-Cooker Macaroni and Beef Recipe

24 of 31

Easy Brunswick Stew

Photo: Caleb Zorn; Styling: Nicole McLaughlin

Okra, barbecued pork, lima beans, and chopped chicken make this stew a hearty, filling option for the slow-cooker.

Easy Brunswick Stew Recipe

25 of 31

Mexican Crock-Pot Chicken

Get maximum Tex-Mex flavor when you cook chicken breast halves, onion and salsa in the slow cooker. Top the chicken with shredded cheese, and serve with beans, lettuce, tortillas, and additional salsa for an easy meal that involves less than 10 minutes of prep.
Mexican Crock-Pot Chicken Recipe

26 of 31

Slow-Cooker Orange Chicken

Photo: Anson Smart

The addition of butternut squash and a fresh orange makes this braised chicken company worthy. Round out the chicken-and-vegetables meal with rice steamed in the microwave, and your dinner prep is complete.
Slow-Cooker Orange Chicken Recipe

27 of 31

Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili

Jennifer Davick; Buffy Hargett; Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Add a dash of hot sauce to your bowl for extra heat. Use a variety of your favorite beans, if you wish, in this Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili recipe.
Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili Recipe

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Pesto Lasagna with Spinach and Mushrooms

Photo: Oxmoor House

No-boil lasagna noodles are perfect for this recipe, as they absorb all the juices that accumulate in the crockpot. Use 2 (10-ounce) packages of frozen chopped spinach in place of fresh, if you prefer. Also, any mushroom will work.
Pesto Lasagna with Spinach and Mushrooms Recipe

29 of 31

Cheesy Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Photo: Oxmoor House

This slow-cooker spinach-artichoke dip is so rich and satisfying, you won't even know that it's low in fat and calories, too!
Cheesy Spinach-Artichoke Dip Recipe

30 of 31

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

This slow-cooker pulled pork recipe makes budget-friendly homemade barbecue a breeze! 7 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time are all you need to get this dish cooking for dinnertime. For delicious barbecue sandwiches, add honey, barbecue sauce, mustard, and soy sauce to the slow cooker when the meat is done and cook for an additional hour on low. Serve on hamburger buns with a side of baked beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and cornbread for the ultimate Southern plate.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe

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Company Pot Roast

Photo: Oxmoor House

You may substitute dried shiitake mushrooms for the morels in this pot roast dish. Leftover meat and gravy make great hot roast beef sandwiches the next day.
Company Pot Roast Recipe

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31 Savory Slow-Cooker Dishes

1 of 31

Red Beans and Rice

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Beef Daube Provençal

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Slow-Cooker Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

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Easy Burritos

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Tiny French Beans with Smoked Sausage

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Overnight Apple Butter

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Spicy-Sweet Ribs and Beans

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Slow-Cooker Meal: Asian Short Ribs

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Beer-and-Cheddar Fondue

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Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb

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Rocky Road Chocolate Cake

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Lemony Chicken Breasts with Rice

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Hearty Potato Soup

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Old-Fashioned Chili

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Mediterranean Roast Turkey

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Butternut Squash-Parsnip Soup

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Slow-Cooker Beef Pot Roast

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Char Siu Pork Roast

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Slow-Cooker Meat Loaf with Shiitake Mushrooms

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Chicken and Dressing

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Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

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Easy Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

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Slow-Cooker Macaroni and Beef

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Easy Brunswick Stew

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Mexican Crock-Pot Chicken

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Slow-Cooker Orange Chicken

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