Slow Cooker Chili Dinner

Chili, wild and brown rice mix, steamed broccoli, pear. February 25. This is a commercial rice mix where the brown rice is par-boiled, so the mix only takes 20 mins to cook. You can get a less processed kind that takes the 40 mins you'd expect.

Slow cooker chili. Here's a recipe that really starts with the old Moosewood basics, but everyone spices it differently. Invent your own.

If you leave out the grains, serve with brown/wild rice mix. Not flavored too much - cooked in plain water, just a little salt and butter or olive oil. Don't forget to let it steam for 5-10 mins before serving

Put out toppings like lime, grated cheddar, sour cream, fresh salsa, sriracha, chopped scallion, cilantro, guacamole ...

Some of us made chili like this for decades before discovering how much better and easier it is using a slow cooker. You know how some food tastes better leftover and reheated? Like chili? It comes out of the slow cooker that way the first time.

It's just amazing to come home from work and find a pot of delicious food waiting for you. And it's a treat to have a Saturday meal on a weeknight.

Sopes

Sopes with refried beans, chickpea nuggets and salsa. February 21.

Sopes? Wonderful corn masa quick bread. Here's a recipe. You can top them how you like. I had these leftovers:

Fresh salsa, pico de gallo recipe.

Slow cooker refried beans recipe.

Chickpea nuggets, from flour. Here's the recipe.

Mac and cheese

Easy one pot mac n cheese leaves plenty of time to bake with breadcrumbs. Serve with smothered kale and beans. February 19.

One pot mac n cheese recipe.

Smothered kale and beans, kind of like this recipe.

Veggie enchiladas

Sauteed zukes and carrots, beans and cheddar, in corn tortillas, baked in a quick red sauce. It came out a bit dry, but served with more warm sauce, salsa, guacamole, sour cream. Slow Saturday, February 15.

Enchilada basics recipe. Other ingredients are really easy:

Slow cooker beans recipe. Use whole beans or refry.

Soft corn tortillas recipe.Corn tortillas bake better than wheat. No, you don't need a tortilla press.

Simple tomato sauce recipe base. Chop the onion and leave it in. Add sriracha. Not too much.

Dumplings

Rice dumplings with stuffed chickpea puree, and wheat dumplings with fried rice. Dipping sauce was soy sauce and white balsamic vinegar. February 14.

Rice dumplings are like this recipe.

Wheat dumplings are based on this wonderful recipe.

Vegetarian Reuben

A really awesome sandwich based on the reuben, with cheddar and brie, kimchi and mustard (store-bought), on a roll. Slow Saturday lunch, February 8.

This recipe is a pretty good start, but include what you like. I like to make as many of the ingredients as I can.

Choosing your cheese? America's Test Kitchen helped with these suggestions.

Sauerkraut is a standard. Kimchi really steps it up. Recipe here.

Rye bread is standard. Try a whole wheat roll, but add caraway seeds.

One pot pasta

After finding out how great and easy one pot mac n cheese is, I tried another one pot pasta. Great mid-week meal! February 5.

Walnut allergy

I'm allergic to walnuts. But only sometimes. I love them, so I eat one now and then. The're only available fresh in the shell in the winter, so, I'll have a couple. Not a big deal.

But when I have bits from a bag, terrible!

Then I tried toasting the bits. Much fewer problems! Not like no allergy at all, but much more mellow. I had brownies that baked with walnut bits on top. Same good reaction.

I can't recommend this or I'd be liable for your terrible reaction. So I don't recommend this. It's just the internet.

Grilled kimcheese sandwich and tomato soup

Lunch from Saturday, February 1. Start with Marcella Hazan's revolutionary, magical quick fresh tomato sauce. It lead to a delicious soup, too. The grilled cheese sandwich can be traditional, tricked up, or made awesome with kimchi. We had store-bought bread, so I didn't have to make a quick roll.

Here's the sauce recipe. It's magic because it's so simple, easy and perfectly delicious.

It's also a great base for soup - include a bit of cumin. I love to make this in late summer when there are so many fresh tomatoes.

Kimcheese? Well first make some kimchi, then we can talk. It's really easy. Everyone has their favorite grilled cheese recipe. That's fine. Just don't be afraid to add some real flavor, like this recipe.

Brown rice

Brown rice pilaf from February 4. The rice takes 40 mins to cook, but I'm in no rush.

In our regular dinner rotation, but never the same twice.

Sometimes paired with a bean dish, sometimes mixed beans right in.

Sometimes milky-cheesy and Italian spices, sometimes Greek, Chinese, Thai, or Indian.

In the summer we have fresh veggies to select, in the winter we have the supermarket's greatest hits.

This is a very good recipe, similar to ours.