Slow Cooker Archives | The Good Hearted Woman

The BEST Slow Cooker Enchilada Sauce

This smoky Slow Cooker Enchilada Sauce is so full of flavor (and such a snap to make!!) that you may never buy canned sauce again.

My recipe for Slow Cooker Enchilada Sauce – a subtly complex blend of savory, spicy, sweet, and smoky – all comes together in just 15 minutes of hands-on prep time.

I don’t know about you, but I am not a fan of canned enchilada sauce. Sure, it’s convenient, and… yeah, I can’t think of anything else I like about it. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I made some amazing Pan-Fried Blackened Rockfish with this killer dry rub recipe. When it was all said and done, I had a fist full of various ground chili peppers leftover, which got me thinking about how I could use all those savory sweet spices in other dishes. Needless to say, homemade enchilada sauce was the first thing that came to mind.

It took a little experimenting, but I finally came up with a combination that wallops the pants off every enchilada sauce I’ve ever tasted. Now I’m not claiming it’s better than your abuela‘s sauce (a girl could get herself in a lot of trouble doing that!), but it’ll beat anything you can buy off the shelf by a mile.

Really, I cannot believe how good this stuff turned out, and it will only take you about 15 minutes to throw together. After that, the slow cooker does all the work.

Where to find ground chili pepper: You can find ground pasilla pepper and ground New Mexico chili pepper in the Mexican/Hispanic foods aisle of most grocery stores (in my area, Winco, Freddy’s, and Safeway all stock them) or in your local Hispanic Mercado (i.e., Su Casa Imports, El Mercado, etc). I found the ground chipotle pepper in the bulk section at Winco. All of the dried ground peppers are very inexpensive, and a little goes a long way. You can also find all everything you need at your local spice shop.

Slow Cooker Enchilada Sauce

A mild enchilada sauce with a smoky, slightly sweet finish. You will never use canned sauce again.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time2 hrs

Total Time2 hrs 15 mins

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Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Mexican

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups vegetable stock or 1 14-ounce can
1 14- ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 12- ounce can tomato paste
1 8- ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoons ground pasilla pepper**
2 teaspoons ground New Mexico chili pepper**
1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper**
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Heat butter or coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until it turns golden brown. Add minced garlic and saute 30 seconds more.
Put sauteed onion and garlic mixture along with all the remaining ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4-6 hours. Sauce is ready to use immediately.
OPTIONAL STEP: If you prefer your enchilada sauce smooth, simply use an immersion blender to puree it right in the slow cooker. (You can also just pour everything into a stand blender.)

Notes

**Substitution: Omit all 3 dried ground peppers, and add 2 tablespoons of regular chili powder. The flavor will be slightly less complex, but delicious just the same.

*This recipe freezes well, but it can also be canned in a pressure canner. Use 10 lbs. for 50 minutes for pints and 60 minutes for quarts.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Tip: For easier clean-up, spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray before adding any of the ingredients.

If you’re wondering about my personalized wooden spoon – my BFF Cheryl gave a set of them to me for Christmas last year. Cheryl is THE BEST gift giver!!

Now that you have the sauce, why not throw together a batch of Homemade Flour Tortillas and make a meal!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to PIN and Print this recipe!

Skinny Cincinnati Chili with Spaghetti Squash

March 19 By Renée ♥ 4 Comments

Cincinnati Chili is basically a sweet, mild chili con carne traditionally served over spaghetti noodles – a combination that is both surprisingly and delicious. My lightened-up version, served over spaghetti squash, is (loosely) based on the recipe for the most famous variation – Skyline Chili.

The closest I’ve ever gotten to Cincinnati is watching WKRP as a kid, but it was love at first bite as far as their chili is concerned.

Cincinnati Chili (in my admittedly limited experience) is basically a mild chili con carne made with seasonings from the sweet side of the spice shelf: cinnamon, cloves, allspice and (sometimes) chocolate. It usually a little “saucier” than most chili, and traditionally served over spaghetti noodles. There are many well-known variations, most often associated with Cincinnati restaurants, including Empress Chili, Gold Star Chili, Dixie Chili, and the one I am most familiar with – Skyline Chili.

Usually made with ground beef, I’ve lightened my version up with ground chicken. I love to serve it over spaghetti squash, which lends an additional sweetness to the dish and offers a lovely presentation as well.

Skinny Cincinnati Chili with Spaghetti Squash

A milder, lighter version of Cincinnati's famous savory-sweet Skyline chili, traditionally served over spaghetti noodles. For an even lighter meal (and a cool presentation) serve over spaghetti squash.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Boats:

2 small spaghetti squashes Or just use spaghetti noodles - it's your call!

Chili Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken or turkey I use Isernio Ground Chicken
3 cloves garlic minced
1 large onion chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes Italian style (I use petite cut tomatoes with garlic & basil)
1 14- ounce can small red beans canned (I use seasoned piquintos)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Prepare Chili:

Brown ground chicken or turkey with onion and garlic. Add all the other ingredients. Simmer at least 1/2 an hour. (I usually make this in a slow cooker, on low for 4-6 hours.)
Vegetarian-friendly Chili option:: Simply replace the ground chicken with additional small red beans.

To Serve in Spaghetti Squash Boats:

Choose small spaghetti squashes. Each squash will make 2 boats.
Preheat the oven to 375°. Sprinkle squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 25-35 minutes, or until tender.
Allow cooked squash to cool for about 10 minutes, and then use a fork to scrape out the insides and separate strands.
Replace threads in squash shells, and top with chili and Parmesan cheese.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

How to Caramelize Onions in a Slow Cooker

November 19 By Renée ♥ Leave a Comment

Caramelized onions are a staple in my kitchen, but it takes so flipping long to do them right! Recently, I spent some time looking up other methods for caramelizing onions and found many people have had good success doing them in a slow cooker, so I decided to try out the process myself. What I found was that, like most instructions for caramelizing onions, time estimates vary dramatically from kitchen to kitchen. (Note: If you ever read a recipe that say you can “caramelize” the onions in 15 minutes, don’t believe it for a second! You can “brown” onions in that time, but it isn’t the same thing. True caramelizing takes time – usually at least an hour on the stove-top.) The majority of slow-cooker caramelizing directions that I found suggested that my crock-pot full of onions would be ready in 10-14 hours – mine took 24 hours, beginning to end. I’m sure that this depends on the size, make and model of your slow cooker, and the type of onions you use.

I used sweet onions because that is what I had on hand, but next time I will use plain yellow field onions, which is what I usually use when I am caramelizing onions on the stove-top. Yellow onions ultimately caramelize better for a couple of reasons: they are lower in water content, which will significantly speed up the process. This excess water is probably what accounts for the additional time it took for my onions to caramelize in the slow cooker this time. Second, while we perceive sweet onions to be sweeter, this has more to do with the fact that yellow onions have more of those pungent lachymators (i.e., stuff that makes you cry) than sweet onions, giving us the impression that they are significantly less sweet. The truth is that yellow onions actually have a far more complex flavor profile, and yield more flavorful caramelized onions.

All that being said, the sweet onions did turn out just great – they just took a heap more time. The process couldn’t be easier though:

First, cut up your onions, from root to stem. America’s Test Kitchen did exhaustive tests on caramelizing onions, and found that they turn out better if you cut them this way.

Fill your slow cooker about 2/3 full of cut onions. Drizzle on a little olive oil and toss them a bit.

Cover and put on low. Stir once every couple hours.

When they are the color and consistency you want, you can remove the lid and let them dry out a bit. This may take 2-5 hours, depending on how much water they have left in them.

Vegan Tomato-Basil Soup

September 18 By Renée ♥ Leave a Comment

Here in Portland, we are just on the edge of Autumn. The days flip from scorching hot to wet and chill, as if Mother Nature cannot quite make up her mind. We can have beautiful, sunny days clear into November, or one rainy day after another after another for weeks on end. Evenings are more predictable though – darker and chillier as the east wind runs up the Columbia and reminds us, no matter how warm the days might seem, things are about to change. And as naturally as the seasons change, my cooking turns from cool and light to rich and hearty as my table begins to fill with food that warms from the inside out. It is Soup Season.

Right now, it seems like everyone on Pinterest has some version of “Mouth-Watering Homemade Slow Cooker Creamy Parmesan Tomato-Basil Soup with Fresh Herbs in a Crock Pot.” Well, I love soup, and I don’t certainly don’t want to be left out, so here’s my veganized version – “Tomato-Basil Soup” – short and sweet, because people simply do not need more than a couple of adjectives with their dinner. We had this the other night with fresh sourdough bread and it was wonderful!

Tomato-Basil Soup

Thick, rich and delicious - serve this soup with a loaf of fresh sourdough and you've got a hearty cold-weather meal!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time5 hrs

Total Time5 hrs 30 mins

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Course: Soup [Vegan]

Author: Renée

Ingredients

2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 tbsp fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon dried basil or 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
1/4 cup flour
1 cup Plain Almond Milk
1/2 cup vegan Parmesan cheese or 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, vegetable broth, oregano and basil to a large slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 4-8 hours. (Lots of flexibility here!) About half an hour before you are ready to eat, take an immersion blender and blend the soup a bit to break up the veggies even more. (Don't puree it though, unless you like that kind of soup.)
Make a roux: Melt Earth Balance in a medium sauté pan over low heat. Add flour and whisk constantly until the flour changes to a very light brown color and begins to bubble, about 4 or 5 minutes. Turn the heat to very low (I often just turn it off for this step.) Slowly add 1 cup of hot soup, and then add another, along with the almond milk.) Stir until thick and smooth. Add the roux back into the soup in the slow cooker. Stir in vegan Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast. Season to taste and add fresh basil. Cover and cook on low until ready to serve.