I'm in a food rut, tell me what ya got.

[Ravenshire]

I'll second the idea of getting a slow cooker, though I don't think they're particularly tasty. What comes out of them can be though.

Here are a few of the recipes I use mine for:

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Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings
2 pounds flank steak, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil2
1-1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 bunch green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 med. Jalapeno pepper, finely diced/minced
Directions:
Place flank steak and cornstarch into a resealable plastic bag. Shake the bag to evenly coat the flank steak with the cornstarch. Allow to steak rest for 10 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir steak until evenly browned, 2 to 4 minutes. Place onion, Jalapeno pepper, garlic, flank steak, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ginger, and hoisin sauce in a slow cooker. Cook on Low setting for about 4 hours.
Stir in green onions before serving/portioning.

Optional:
Increase soy sauce, water, brown sugar and hoisin sauce to 1 cup each and add 1 can each of water chestnuts and bamboo shoots for last 30 minutes.



Lamb Stew
Ingredients
Makes 6-8 servings
2 lbs. Lamb stew meat cut into 1” pieces
1 ¾ lbs. potatos cut into 1” pieces
3 large shallots
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 c. fresh green beans
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. Salt
1tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. rosemary
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker; stir to combine. Put the lid on and cook on low until the lamb is fork-tender, about 8 hours.



Honey-Garlic Crock Pot Chicken
Ingredients

1-1/2 – 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 sweet onion or two shallots
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/3 c. water
Directions
1. Dice chicken thighs into ½ inc pieces and place in the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker.
2. Thinly slice onion/shallots and place on top of chicken
3. Whisk together soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, tomato soup and water; pour over the chicken.
4. Cook on Low for 6 hours.

Makes 4-6 servings



Ham and White Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 bag dried navy beans (1 lb)
Half pound carrots (about 4 large) sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried rosemary
½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. smoked paprika
Fresh cracked pepper (10-15 cranks)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
7 cups liquid (half water, half chicken or vegetable broth)
2 cups cooked ham, chopped
1 tsp. salt (adjust as you taste)
Directions:
Rinse beans and set aside.
Chop veggies and add to a 6 quart slow cooker.
Add spices (except salt), oil and liquid to veggies and cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or until beans are soft but not mushy.
Halfway through cooking, add the chopped ham. When soup is done add the salt and serve.

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Slow cookers really are the easiest way to go.

Allrecipes.com is a great source for new ideas or new twists on old ideas.