Slow Cooker Christmas?
December 21, 2015 12:27 PM Subscribe
what should I make for Christmas dinner (crock pot preferred)?
Due to family work schedules, my partner and I will be spending Christmas afternoon/evening together, just the two of us. I'd like to make something special for dinner.
We'll be driving up to see family in the morning, so ideally this meal can be thrown into the crock pot or left to simmer in a big batch on the stove. Some guidelines:
+ Low effort / high impact
+ Ideally crock pot, but slow cooked in the oven could work
+ Hard to mess up / guaranteed tasty
No dietary restrictions. Leaving this pretty open-ended to accommodate lots of ideas. Also, I know "special" is kind of nebulous...I'm just hoping to avoid say, bean stew (which is good! but not at all festive).
So what should I make?
Due to family work schedules, my partner and I will be spending Christmas afternoon/evening together, just the two of us. I'd like to make something special for dinner.
We'll be driving up to see family in the morning, so ideally this meal can be thrown into the crock pot or left to simmer in a big batch on the stove. Some guidelines:
+ Low effort / high impact
+ Ideally crock pot, but slow cooked in the oven could work
+ Hard to mess up / guaranteed tasty
No dietary restrictions. Leaving this pretty open-ended to accommodate lots of ideas. Also, I know "special" is kind of nebulous...I'm just hoping to avoid say, bean stew (which is good! but not at all festive).
So what should I make?
Nom nom paleos Kalua pig is the best use ever of a crock pot (pork shoulder, Hawaiian red salt, garlic and bacon go in the cooker without liquid, awesomeness ensues) but I'm not sure it's super special.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:33 PM on December 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 12:33 PM on December 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
This slow cooker pork tenderloin is delicious and very low effort.
I also quarter 5 or 6 small red potatoes and add them with an extra onion. When you get home, throw in some asparagus spears for 20 minutes more. Yum.
If you leave it for more than 6 hours (I'm usually gone for 8-9 hours) it turns out more like pulled pork, which is ok with me. Still very tasty.
posted by Kriesa at 12:36 PM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I also quarter 5 or 6 small red potatoes and add them with an extra onion. When you get home, throw in some asparagus spears for 20 minutes more. Yum.
If you leave it for more than 6 hours (I'm usually gone for 8-9 hours) it turns out more like pulled pork, which is ok with me. Still very tasty.
posted by Kriesa at 12:36 PM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
No brainer. Lamb shanks with garlic and rosemary. Add extra wine as necessary ;)
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:39 PM on December 21, 2015
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:39 PM on December 21, 2015
Beef Shank Osso Buco. I like it with plain old roasted (or microwaved, I always do them there) white-fleshed sweet potatoes with butter and garlic (and/or extra gremolata from the recipe), and you could have a salad or quick-sauteed spinach for a green.
It's not really fancy, but I can't stop telling people about this slow cooker chicken tortilla soup.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:46 PM on December 21, 2015
It's not really fancy, but I can't stop telling people about this slow cooker chicken tortilla soup.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:46 PM on December 21, 2015
I'd do a fattier cut of pork and then do a Noche Buena dinner around it.
You can do a pork butt in the oven at 250 for 10 hours (I did this overnight, AMAZEBALLS!) Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a squeeze of lime and let 'er go.
I'd do black beans in the crock pot, if you're inclined. I also open a can of black beans, and sauté peppers, onion and garlic, season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf.
Then make some rice. I use brown, white is traditional. Do this in a rice cooker if you like.
Go to the Goya section of the freezer and get Maduros and Yuca (yuca is traditionally served with garlic sauce).
And for Puerto Rican flair, serve Coquitos.
Dulce de Leche flan for dessert. Or whatever you like really. Dried fruits and Turrón (nougats) are what I'm used to. You can get this at any Latin grocer.
Feliz Navidad!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:51 PM on December 21, 2015
You can do a pork butt in the oven at 250 for 10 hours (I did this overnight, AMAZEBALLS!) Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a squeeze of lime and let 'er go.
I'd do black beans in the crock pot, if you're inclined. I also open a can of black beans, and sauté peppers, onion and garlic, season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf.
Then make some rice. I use brown, white is traditional. Do this in a rice cooker if you like.
Go to the Goya section of the freezer and get Maduros and Yuca (yuca is traditionally served with garlic sauce).
And for Puerto Rican flair, serve Coquitos.
Dulce de Leche flan for dessert. Or whatever you like really. Dried fruits and Turrón (nougats) are what I'm used to. You can get this at any Latin grocer.
Feliz Navidad!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:51 PM on December 21, 2015
Coq au Vin in a slow cooker is a thing.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:06 PM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 1:06 PM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Beef Bourguignonne always feels super-fancy whenever I have it, and it's perfect for the slow cooker.
posted by xingcat at 1:24 PM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 1:24 PM on December 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Turkey is pretty amazing in a slow cooker. For easy and complete, consider turkey legs with vegetables. Or for something a little more exotic, slow cooker moroccan turkey. And here's a slow cooker turkey leg recipe with lots of options.
posted by bearwife at 1:30 PM on December 21, 2015
posted by bearwife at 1:30 PM on December 21, 2015
I make this tangy spiced brisket every year for Passover. Super easy, hearty, and delicious.
posted by galvanized unicorn at 2:16 PM on December 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by galvanized unicorn at 2:16 PM on December 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Dead easy, delicious, 3 to 4 hours in the oven: Oven-Braised Beef with Tomatoes and Garlic, via smittenkitchen. Makes terrific leftovers, too.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2015
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2015
Easy, festive, delicious: Moroccan Chicken, Chickpea and Apricot Tagine
posted by judith at 5:58 PM on December 21, 2015
posted by judith at 5:58 PM on December 21, 2015
My family's Christmas Eve tradition is pulled pork bbq. There are tons of slow cooker recipes for it out there.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:33 PM on December 21, 2015
posted by Thorzdad at 6:33 PM on December 21, 2015
Response by poster: Consensus looks like slow cooked meat--leaning towards pulled pork at the moment. Thanks for all the suggestions!
posted by too bad you're not me at 9:35 PM on December 21, 2015
posted by too bad you're not me at 9:35 PM on December 21, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
It sounds like a joke, but the sweetness of the prunes combines with the salty olives to make a really amazing flavor, and the texture of the prunes breaks down to a velvety sauce. I serve it over sauteed spinach.
posted by OrangeDisk at 12:32 PM on December 21, 2015 [3 favorites]