Red Bean in Coconut Milk

½ c adzuki beans
2 cups of coconut milk
½ c water
a handful or sprinkle of dried seaweed to eliminate "gas" from the beans (available at Asian grocers)

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker on HIGH. Leave it until the beans are tender and some have "popped."
Let is cool down for a while and serve. Sweeten to taste.

Deanna's Slow Cook Minestrone Soup

It is the beginning of the New Year and I want to be healthy and eat more vegetables. Here is a start.

1 cup Cannelini Beans, cooked and drained
Spinach, cleaned, with a little bit of the steams removed
Carrots, cubed
Celery, Cubed
Potatoes, cubed
Red onions, finely chopped
Garlic, finely chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes
Olive oil
Rosemary

Saute the onions and garlic in the slow cooker on olive oil until semi-transparent.
Place the diced tomatoes and layer the vegetables.
Once they are all in the slow cooker, gently mix them.
Cook on High for 3 hours, then Low for another 2 hours.

To serve:
1. Add a little bit of rosemary and parmesan on top.
2. Serve with crackers.

If you want your soup to be more soupy, add a little bit of water. I want mine Manly! (Or Chunky, with Heft!)

Pasta with Chicken and Celery in Creamy Sauce

This is a no-brainer. Sometimes, you just want to have dinner done and still be able to serve it without having to spend an enormous amount of time in the kitchen.

1 can low-fat cream of chicken soup
chicken breasts
celery, finely chopped
red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil

Rub salt and pepper on the chicken. Set aside. Not too far away.
Saute the onions in olive oil. When they turn transparent, sauté the celery as well. Set aside.
On the same frying pan, add a little bit more olive oil to brown the chicken.

In the the slow cooker, bring all the ingredients together.
Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.

Serve over a bed of pasta. Mangia!

The Year of the Dragon

Brown Rice-Wild Rice Pilaf in Rice Cooker

1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
3 cups water
1 vegetable or chicken bullion

Add 2 or more of these ingredients:
Celery, finely chopped
Carrots, finely chopped
Onion, finely chopped
Red Pepper, finely chopped
Raisins
Walnuts

Spices:
Dash of thyme and oregano

Heirloom 10-Bean Soup

Heirloom 10-Bean Soup

1 cup mixed dried beans
1 onion, chopped
4 cups of water
1 vegetable bouillon
1 tsp thyme
2 carrots chopped
olive oil
8 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained or a fresh tomato

Combine all ingredients and stir well to combine. Cover crockpot and cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours or until beans are tender.

2011 Thanksgiving

Ref: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/19/opinion/sunday/20111120_Op-Art.html