Crockpot Ranch Vegetables
This is a very easy recipe for making a side of seasoned vegetables in the slow cooker. I like setting them up to cook when we grill outside the main course.
Originally posted July 13, 2008 during my one year cooking challenge.
Day 195!
One hundred and ninety-five. Holy cow.
I made the easiest vegetables yesterday in my four quart crockpot. We had a busy day planned, and I wasn't able to get to the grocery store. We also have SO many leftovers from last week, that we needed to desperately clean out the refrigerator.
The Ingredients.
--5 cups of fresh vegetables. I had broccoli, two different bell peppers, and tomatoes in the house, so that's what I used. I think carrots would have been a nice addition, and squash, if I had any.
--1 packet dry ranch dressing mix (please read label carefully if you have allergies. I used Hidden Valley Original mix.
--2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup water
The Directions.
--wash and trim all the veggies
--dump them into the crock. 5-6 cups of fresh vegetables will fit in a 3.5 qt or larger crockpot.
--sprinkle in the ranch dressing mix, toss gingerly with a large spoon to coat vegetables a bit
--add 1/4 cup of water
Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours. The vegetables are done when they reach desired tenderness for your family. I like vegetables to have a crisp to them, and took ours out of the crock at 2.5 hours.
The Verdict.
This is a simple way to have steamed, flavorful vegetables as an accompaniment to your main meal. My kids both really like broccoli, and they like ranch dressing.
The flavor is mild, it isn't dripping in flavor; which is okay with me---we like vegetables to taste like vegetables. If you are trying to mask the vegetables completely, you might want 2 packets of seasoning.
I was surprised at how much liquid formed in the crockpot. There wasn't tons, but I think you could get away with 2-3 tablespoons of water instead of a whole 1/4 cup.
