Thai-style chicken pumpkin soup

• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (I used gourmet garden)
• 1 tablepoon chili pepper blend (gourmet garden again)
• 1.5lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 15oz can packed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup mango nectar
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 cups good quality chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• green onions, chopped
• roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
• cooked white rice (take out is best)

In a skillet over a medium flame brown onion, garlic and pepper for 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in ginger. In large crock pot combine onion mixture with chicken, carrots, pumpkin, mango nectar, lime juice, peanut butter, chicken stock and vinegar. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Place a mound of cooked rice in center of serving bowl and pour soup around it. Garnish with cilantro, green onions and peanuts.

The dish: I hate our local newspaper, and yet I've been a steady subscriber forever. One of my favorite things to do is to settle back with the Sunday paper and read through all the news and save the colored funnies for a grand finale. Somewhere in there I sort through the mountain of store circulars and coupons. Hiding beneath that yogurt coupon is page after page of useless crap, ranging from Yankee's Christmas ornaments and limited edition trains to elastic waistband comfort pants made from genuine polyester (accept no imitations). One day a few weeks back I saw an ad for a set of three crock pot cookbooks among all the other crap. Feeling a little adventurous I sent in my check and waited 3-4 weeks for my bounty to come in the mail. When they arrived I thumbed through them and was not shocked to see mostly recipes I had seen before. This soup was one of the few new ones that stood out. We decided to be daring and try something new at home. The result was phenomenal; this soup is a winner. It turned out to be not spicy or sweet, but rather very distinctive and comforting. It will most certainly grace the red room again. If you're reading this in the fall of 2009, please be aware that there's a shortage of canned pumpkin and you may have to drive to more than one store before you stumble upon some.

dirty water dogs

• 1 package of good quality hot dogs (Nathan's or Sabrett)

Fill up your crock pot about halfway with water, place dogs in and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

The dish: There aren't many things better than spotting the familiar yellow and blue umbrella resting on the top of a Winnebago or trailer on the side of the road. Like few other things in my life, the sight conjures up a Pavlovian reflex in me where I flick on my turn signal and slow my car down so as not to kick up a cloud of dust in the undoubtedly gravel parking area. No matter where I'm headed to or coming from I ALWAYS stop and try a dog, eager to see each vendor's take on the American classic. So if you're like me, cooking dogs at home can be a bit of a challenge as the bar is set pretty high. People typically use one of three methods to cook dogs at home;

1. they fry them
2. they grill them
3. they boil them

The first two don't involve any H2O, so not replicating a good dirty water dog shouldn't come as a surprise, but the third always left me scratching my chin (what's left of it after all those dogs). I use the same brand, and yet mine come out mealy and with broken skin. Then it hit me (cue clouds parting), what's the first thing your town has you do after a water main break? You boil your water to make sure it's safe to drink. Obviously, if boiling water makes it clean, using it to cook a perfect dirty water dog makes about as much sense as grilling or frying them. The guy (or gal, as in the case of Nick's Hot Dogs, best in New Windsor/ Newburgh area) under that yellow and blue umbrella doesn't have a pot of boiling water, but rather a reservoir of warm water that the dogs sit in awhile. Using the crock pot produces the exact same effect and the taste will transport you to the shoulder of the road or a busy avenue sidewalk or wherever you eat your favorite dirty water dog.

meat sauce

• 1/2 pound of ground beef
• 1/2 pound of ground sausage
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• 2 cans of tomato paste
• fresh (or dried) oregano, chopped fine
• fresh basil

In large skillet brown meats until done, drain. In large sauce pot over a medium flame, saute garlic and onion in a little olive oil for 3-5 minutes, or until just translucent. Add tomato paste and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Add remainder of tomatoes and browned meat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook for 2+ hours. Add oregano 1 hour before serving, add basil right as served.

The dish: The above recipe is the advanced version of this classic meat sauce. For total ease you can just throw all the ingredients in your crock pot and cook for 8 hours on low. I actually did a mix of the two- I cooked the sauce as described above and then transferred the mix to my crock pot to cook for a couple of hours. Unless if you're really pinched for time, I'd recommend always browning the meat and the garlic and onion as they have a distinct flavor when sauteed as opposed to slow cooking.

kale and friends winter soup

• 1 bunch of kale, torn into bite size pieces
• 1 cubed butternut squash
• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cooked chicken, diced
• 4+ cups of high quality chicken broth
• assorted green herbs

combine all ingredients in large slow cooker (or "crock pot" if you just don't give a damn about trademarks), season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper, cover, cook on low for 8 hours. Add more broth if it appears to not have a soup-like consistency. I used leftover rotisserie chicken, but any will work. If using frozen squash, wait until the final 20 minutes of cooking to add.

The Dish: This is a hearty soup, great for those busy and freezing winter nights (of which we've had many this year). I've done it several times using both fresh and frozen squash and I've determined that fresh tastes better, it's just a pain in the ass to cut something the shape of Grimace into cubes. I had leftover rosemary and parsley on hand and they added nicely to it, but just about any green herb would work, although I'd avoid dill. Good chicken broth is key here, I had some frozen homemade stuff and I supplemented it with Rachel Ray's brand, the only stock with cleavage!! I have a 4.5 quart crock pot and this recipe makes plenty for us to have at least two meals. Great when served with hot garlic bread, or my favorite: Hannaford garlic toast, Texas style.