Kale bruschetta gives leftover greens a higher purpose.

Why do leftovers have such a bad reputation? Well, it could be the sloppy way they get reheated, for one. Microwaving isn’t a cooking technique that does any food a favor, with the exception of, perhaps, frozen Hot Pockets (which aren’t very good straight out of the package.)

Even when home cooks attempt to whip up leftovers into something else, it’s often a something else that wouldn’t sound too tempting even if it weren’t made with yesterday’s dinner: hashes, casseroles, anything with the word surprise tacked on. (How much of a surprise can it be when you already had it for dinner yesterday?)

It doesn’t help that a lot of  leftovers may have been left over for a reason. If a meatloaf was only mediocre to begin with, meatloaf hash has nowhere to go but down.

That’s why it’s so exciting to launch a new category on Crock Tease just for using up your crock-pot leftovers. The Not-So-Sloppy Seconds recipes are just as good or even better than the recipes that inspire them, and you’ll want to slow cook up some of the original Crock Tease recipes to have leftovers on purpose for making them.

Slow Cooker Flowering Kale is the base recipe for this distinctly un-run-of-the-mill bruschetta. It combines the peppery bite of kale with a bit of aged Manchego. You’ve heard of the Man of La Mancha? Well, this is the cheese of La Mancha, and its rustic taste blends nicely with the slow-cooked kale.

If you don’t have, or can’t find, Manchego cheese, substitute fresh Parmesan, Romano, Pecorino, or Asiago. (If you can’t find any of those, then stop buying your groceries from the gas station or slap your cheesemonger –whichever applies.)

Bruschetta with Slow-Cooked Kale and Manchego Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of slow-cooked kale , warmed (either reheated or straight out of the slow cooker if you just made it)
1-2 oz Manchego cheese, grated
1 loaf of crusty bread, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
Optional: Fresh minced garlic and balsamic vinegar

Directions: Brush each slice of bread with olive oil on both sides. Heat a griddle on top of the stove and grill the bread a few minutes until light brown on bottom, then flip over and top with a few pieces of kale and a sprinkling of Manchego cheese. Grill until cheese is melted, covering with a lid if necessary.

You may wish to add extra garlic and a few drops of balsamic vinegar to taste to your kale before topping, depending on how much seasoning you used in slow-cooking the kale.

See? Leftovers can be even better than the first round. Aren’t you glad it isn’t kale loaf?

Lately it seems like every bar or restaurant has its own upscale version, from steakhouses with rib eye or Kobe beef sliders to San Francisco’s Hotel Monaco with their gougere d’escargot (snail sliders). Mainstream restaurants like P.F. Chain’s and Pepperbee’s have started falling all over themselves to add mini burgers to their menus.

It’s an odd trend considering that the oldest use of the word “slider” in relation to food was less than flattering. As far back as the ’40s and ’50s, sailors in the Navy referred to their greasy mess hall burgers as sliders –in other words, so slippery with grease that they slid right down your throat.

These slow cooker pulled chicken sliders are far from greasy, and you won’t find them in the mess hall, unless it’s in the sailors’ fantasies. Make a crock-pot full of spicy pulled chicken for a party, and keep it warm in the crock all night while folks make their own mini BBQ sandwiches onParker House rolls, mini buns, or tea-sized biscuits.

The combination of white and dark meat results in the best flavor. Some people prefer the light taste of white meat alone, but the addition of the thighs (which have a slightly higher fat content) allows for more moisture and flavor as the chicken slowly cooks.

Tiny, but packed with BBQ flavor.

Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs
2 cups BBQ sauce
1 med onion chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chopped hot pepper or several hits from a bottle of your favorite hot sauce

Directions: Combine all ingredients in the crock of your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove chicken breasts to a bowl and use two forks to shred thoroughly, then return to crock and stir to combine with sauce. Keep on warm to let your guests make their own sandwiches onParker House-style rolls or mini sandwich bread of your choice.

Tips: If you’d like to use a homemade sauce, you can adjust or leave out the other seasonings if they’re present in your own recipe. Most commercial sauces need the extra kick.

If you’re not in the mood for a slider –and let’s face it, sometimes you want a big ol’ sandwich– use regular-sized bread, whip up a side of slaw, and pile your BBQ to the sky. Now that’s redneck sushi.

Red peppers give the dip a rosy hue instead of the usual greenish one.

The timing was perfect for a girls’ get-together. My friend Laurel was still dewy from her recent wedding –a lovely outdoor affair with colorful parasols for guests and big poufs of paper flowers– and anxious to show off her new wedding gifts, which included a slew of artsy tableware.

My friend Jessica was turning 30, and we knew she needed comfort, seeing as how she’s just one calcium-deficient step away from support knee-highs and bingo nights. The rest of us? We just needed a drink. Like I said, the timing was perfect.

Turning 30 means seeking solace in a whole crock of artichoke dip. It works! Solace achieved.

The choice to keep the dudes at home was a stroke of genius. Parties are always a little bit wilder without the men putting a damper on things. We were free to talk (discussion topics included selling panties on the Internet and how –or if– one’s Barbies had sex) and generally carouse.

Laurel served up a drink concoction that was suited to the hot Southern summer: lemon vodka, seltzer, fresh mint from the garden, and a scoop of sorbet (choice of coconut, pomegranate, or lime). She also made a crazily addictivetapenade with figs, kalamata olives and a third ingredient I’ve forgotten (pine nuts?). I’m a sucker for the combo of salty and sweet.

She chopped up a cool dish of fresh cucumbers, lime juice, and salt (an easy-peasy side I need to remember), and someone brought a gorgeous cake that looked like Neapolitan ice cream.

Leave it to me, in the midst of all the perfectly light, summery food, to be the one to drop the fat bomb.

"Ho-hum," says Susan. "I'll try some dip, but it doesn't look worth letting go of my flask."

With a lot of imbibing (and the aforementioned carousing) going on, it’s good to have something to soak up the liquor. I made a double batch, almost half a whole crockpot, thinking it might be too much, and all but a dab was gone by party’s end.

"God? Is that you?"

The red peppers and sharp cheese give this crockpot dip a kick that’s missing from some artichoke dips, and most taste-testers appreciated the departure from the ubiquitous spinach/artichoke combination. It’s always better hot, and the slow cooker kept it nice and warm all night.

Slow Cooker Artichoke Dip with Roasted Red Peppers Recipe

2 9 oz packages of frozen artichoke hearts
1 12 oz jar marinated artichokes, drained and some liquid reserved
2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1 whole lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
Splash of reserved marinade
Dashes of hot sauce, to taste

Directions: Combine in crock of slow cooker and mix to combine. Cook on low for 2 hours or high for 1 hour. Switch to warm setting and serve directly from crockpot with tortilla chips or a sliced baguette. Serves a whole bunch of regular people, or a handful of extremely ravenous women.

Tips: Cut the recipe in half for small slow cookers or a smaller crowd.
Forgot to bring the cream cheese to room temp? Just drop it in, then give it a quick stir halfway through cooking time to make sure your ingredients cook together.

Apologies to Laurel for not getting any good pictures of her tableware or food. Vodka can do that to a person’s camera-steadying hand.

That’s an undeserved fate for the zesty Arabic dip, which is just as tasty as hummus, and, thanks to the fact that it’s made mostly of eggplant, much lower in calories. I suspect the reason a baba gaboush recipe isn’t in the repertoire of as many people is simply because it takes longer to prepare.

Roasting an eggplant is a lot to ask of a busy girl compared to, say, throwing chickpeas in a blender and bzzzt-ing it for 45 seconds. Now, thanks to the slow cooker, prepping an eggplant for a baba ganoush dip is a walk in the park with marshmallow shoes on.

I had never tried cooking a whole eggplant in the slow cooker before, so I’m pleased to report that I got it right on the first try. It cooked more thoroughly than I’ve ever experienced with oven-roasting –the eggplant always seemed smooshy in parts and uncooked in others. The crock’s steam allowed for completely even smooshiness.

The result: the best baba ganoush I’ve ever made. No lie.

Baba Ganoush With Slow Cooked Eggplant Recipe

1 whole eggplant
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup sesame tahini
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 whole lemon (about 2 tbsp)
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika, parsley, and Greek olives to garnish (optional)

Directions: Slice eggplant in half lengthwise, prick skin with a fork, and place in crock of your slow cooker, skin-side down. Replace lid and cook on high for 2 hours. Let cool. When eggplant is cooled, remove pulp and place into a bowl. Set aside. Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend well (you can also mix it thoroughly by hand, but mince the garlic first). Stir the mixture into the eggplant until well combined. Garnish and chill until serving.

Tips:

You’ll often see baba ganoush or eggplant served with additional olive oil on top. I learned from a Lebanese cook that the olive oil is a traditional addition that hearkens back to the days before refrigeration, when the dips would be stored in crockery. The olive oil prevented the food from drying out in the hot Middle Eastern sun. You’ve got a refrigerator, right? Skip the extra oil!

Serve with sliced pita bread, or if you’re in a time crunch, pita chips from a big ol’ bag.

A lot of recipes call for the eggplant to be food processed as well. Resist the temptation. Stirring it by hand ensures a thick, well-textured dip that the pureed version doesn’t hold a candle to.

Baba ganoush is back. Take her out to your next party. She’ll be the one everyone raves about.