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?

Savory slow cooker white bean soup.

“What should I make in the slow cooker?” I asked the fiance.

“Soup.”

He didn’t even look up or hesitate. And he was right. I’ve teased soup out of the old Rival crockpot dozens and dozens of times, from chunky seafood chowders to creamy pumpkin purees, but I haven’t done it in a good, long time.

I realized that I’ve become so enamored of all the unusual and surprising things that can be done with a slow cooker, that I lost my grip on the things it does best. There are two: soup and dried beans. It was high time I did both for Crock Tease, and all in one recipe, to show off the crockpot at its best.

Following on the heels of the previous night’s party , soup sounded like a wonderful hangover cure as well. Steamy broth beats hair of the dog hands down, no matter what anyone tells you. It even slightly beats Water Joe, the brilliant caffeinated water product I once proclaimed the world’s greatest hangover drink. (You know how you can’t decide which you need more, water or coffee, so you alternately guzzle both? Water Joe is both. It has sadly disappeared from the store where I once bought it.)

There are a lot of slow cooker bean recipes that involve opening cans, and that’s okay. Sometimes convenience rules. Do yourself a favor and cook the real deal once in a while, though. The slow cooker does the tough work, it’s cheaper, lower in sodium, and –most importantly– slow cooked beans taste ten times better. Making the soup right in the pot in which the dried beans cook takes advantage of the flavorsome juice that lingers in the crock (known as “bean liquor”).

Top each bowl with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, shaved Parmesan and cracked pepper and the soup will look fine Italian restaurant-quality. Eat as a meal, or serve as a sophisticated starter to an Italian dinner.

Slow Cooker Italian Herb White Bean Soup Recipe

1 lb. dried white beans (Great Northern or Cannellini)
6 cups vegetable broth (about 3 cans)
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
3/4 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
1 Tbsp fresh thyme (1 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary (1 tsp dried)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)
Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

For topping: Coarse ground black pepper, olive oil, shaved Parmesan

Directions: Combine ingredients in crock of your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3½-4 hours. To serve, drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over each bowl, then top with shaved Parmesan and black pepper to taste.

Tips: Depending on how hot your slow cooker gets (or how many times you sneak a peak and lose moisture), you might need extra liquid to make your soup soupy. Just add extra broth or water as needed –and stop peeking!

Best hangover cure ever. Have you heard? Bean soup is the new Water Joe.