tomatillo black bean and barley

1/2 lb tomatillos (cut in half, probably about 10 medium tomatillos)
1/4 onion (large dice)
1 clove garlic (whole)
large handful of cilantro (maybe 1/2 of a bunch)
1/3 of a Serrano pepper (can omit or add more, next time I'd add 1/2)

1 cup barley
2.25 cups water
1 can black beans (drained)

~1 tsp salt

Make tomatillo salsa by pureeing tomatillos, onion, garlic and cilantro in a food processor.  Add to slow cooker.  Add barley, water and black beans to slow cooker.  Mix and cook on high for 2 hrs.

adapted from http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/2013/09/recipe-for-slow-cooker-tomatillo-quinoa.html

dirty rice

1/2 lb of chicken livers
1/2 of a large onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 cups uncooked rice
salt/pepper/cayenne to taste

Saute onion and garlic in a little olive oil.  Puree livers in a food processor, add to onion and garlic and cook until it all turns brown.  Add rice, sauté a minute and addd 4 cups water (or broth of your choice). Cover and cook ~20 mins

recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

easy bread recipe

1 package yeast (2 tsp)
1.25 cups water (heated 100-110)
1 tbsp honey
2 cups flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 tsp salt


Add yeast to the water to dissolve and stir in honey.  Let sit ~10 mins to activate.  Meanwhile butter a 8 cup bread pan liberally.  Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the water/yeast mixture.  Mix and pour into the pan.  Cover and let rise 30 mins.  Preheat oven to 350 and cook for 35 mins

recipe from http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/easy-little-bread-recipe.html

crockpot steel cut oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats
4.5 cups of whatever liquid you prefer (water, milk, some combo of both)

Cook in crockpot overnight on 'warm' (for me this is usually 8-10 hrs), when you get up turn the crockpot on 'high' for up to 1 hr if it needs to thicken up a bit (which I prefer to do rather than worry about it getting to thick)

crockpot lentils and sausage stew

2 Italian sausage links (mine were fresh from the butcher), pick whatever flavor you want in the stew

1.5 cups dried lentils

1/2 of a large onion (diced)

1 can diced tomato

Heat olive oil in a pan and saute onions ~5 mins.  Add sausage links (whole) and brown on all sides.  Place in the crockpot with lentils.  Add 2 cups water and heat on low ~4 hrs until lentils are soft.  Add diced tomatoes and stir.  Cook another 2-4 hrs to meld the flavors (the Italian spiced in the sausage were all the flavoring needed).  Serve as a stew, or over rice, or with crackers.

crockpot mushroom barley risotto

1/4 cup dried mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
1/3 of a large onion (diced small)
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1 1/4 cups barley
2 cups cremini mushrooms (can probably increase to 2.5 or 3 cups) diced
2 3/4 cups water (or sub some sort of broth)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Reconstitute dried mushrooms in boiling water while prepping everything else.  Saute onion in olive oil a few mins to soften, add garlic and saute until fragrant.  Add barley to pan and stir to coat barley with the oil and toast a couple minutes while chopping mushrooms.  Add everything except parmesan to the crockpot (including add the reconstituting water for mushrooms) and set to 'high' for 2 hrs.  (It was actually done in 1.5 hrs and I turned it to 'low' for 30 mins and then 'warm' until ready to eat).  Stir in parmesan before serving.

Adapted from http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/03/20/wild-mushroom-risotto/