Slow cooker recipes for a non-cook

I don’t have a printed recipe for this, but it is one of the easiest and tastiest assembly meals I riffed from some real (Rick Bayless) recipes – one was for arroz verde, another for chicken with roasted poblanos and tomatillos :joy:

SHORTCUT CHICKEN VERDE (pictured here):

  • Chicken thighs
  • 1-2 jars of salsa verde (I use TJs) – depending on how much chicken
  • Optional – potatoes peeled & cut into big chunks
  • Optional – additional aromatics & herbs to boost the base flavor: diced or sliced onion and garlic, cilantro

Basic “recipe”: Heat some oil, add chicken, add salsa, add water, cover and cook till done.

I like to puree the salsa for a smooth sauce, but you can leave it chunky.

If using the optional aromatics, you can chop and saute them before adding the chicken, or you can add them to the salsa while pureeing. If I have some zhoug sitting around, I add a couple of spoons of that instead (for a garlic, cilantro, and chilli boost).

Eat with any carb of choice – rice, tortillas, bread, naan, quinoa, whatever.

Makes great Arroz con Pollo Verde too – wash, drain, and add rice to the pot, add salsa and water or chicken broth (2:1). Place the chicken on top, cover, and cook.

Or mix cooked rice into the stew after the chicken is cooked, cover, and let it absorb the sauce.

Or make the rice with salsa, and add shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken for eg) at the end.

Re cooking times & temps: when I was experimenting with a slow cooker, I bought a simple plug-in timer based on advice from Chowhounds back then – the timer switched off for half an hour at intervals, to counter the higher temps of modern slow cookers. Nothing stopped simmering / bubbling, but it stopped it from boiling continuously. (I was home when I tried this, as I didn’t want food safety issues from temp falling below safe levels).

In the end, I decided that my pressure cooker / instant pot provided a similar / same product in much less time and with more control (for me).

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I was going to suggest “pizza beans” or “baked” ziti or other all-in-one pasta in the slow cooker until I saw your tomato note.

I recommended milk-braised beans earlier on the NYT thread, and that might work well in the slow cooker too (especially for dried beans — soak overnight). I like it with cannelini or gigantes.

And of course the origin recipe for that is milk-braised chicken / pork, which would also work very nicely (I’d thin the milk with a bit of water).

https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-slow-cooker-chicken-in-milk-223653

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