Friday, June 22, 2012

Slow Cooker Tips, Tricks and Recipes

First off here are the websites that I found the best tips and tricks.
  1. Mr. Food
  2. CrockPot Website
  3. Food Network
And here are the recipes!!  I've tried every one and loved them all.

Pot Roast
by Marie's Cooking Adventures

2-5 pound pot roast (any kind)
1 envelope ranch dressing (dried)
1 envelope Italian dressing
1 envelope brown gravy mix
Potatoes and Carrots
1 to 1-1/2 cup water

If you wanted carrots and potatoes in your CrockPot, cut them to your liking and put in the bottom of your CrockPot. Put Roast on top of vegatables. Sprinkle all 3 spice envelopes on top. Add the water. Cook on LOW for 6-10 hours until tender and veggies cooked through.

Salsa Chicken
by Chef Mommy

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
1 package or 1 TBSP taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
cilantro, for serving (optional) (She also added a little shredded cheddar-jack, black beans and scallion on top)

Put chicken, soup, and salsa in slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over everything. Cook on low for 6 hours. If shredding the chicken, pull the breasts out and shred; return back to slow cooker. Stir in sour cream and heat just until everything is combined.

Chicken & Stuffing
by Taste of Home

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package (6 ounces) corn bread stuffing mix (I used stovetop)

Place chicken in a greased 3-qt. slow cooker. Top with soup. In a bowl, combine the water, butter and stuffing mix; spoon over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.

Crockpot Baked Potatoes
by Real Mom Kitchen

Using whole potatoes, wash them (with skins on and let them dry. Then wrap each potato in a piece of foil (no need for pricking them). Place the foil wrapped potatoes in your crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours

Hot Fudge Cake
by Taste of Home

1-3/4 cups packed brown sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons baking cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1-3/4 cups boiling water
Vanilla ice cream

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup brown sugar, flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk, butter and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Spread evenly into a 3-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. In another small bowl, combine the remaining brown sugar and cocoa; stir in boiling water. Pour over batter (do not stir). Cover and cook on high for 4 to 4-1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream. 

Apple Butter
by My Baking Addiction

6 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples and mix well. Cook in slow cooker on low for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown. Uncover, stir in vanilla and continue cooking uncovered on low for about 2 hours. Use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until smooth. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks or freeze. Serve on breads, muffins, pork chops or just eat it with a spoon.

Dulce De Leche
by Mel's Kitchen Cafe

2 (14-ounces each) cans sweetened condensed milk
1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste, optional
3 (1/2 pint each) canning jars with lids and rings
Water

Open the cans of sweetened condensed milk and portion them equally into the three canning jars. Wipe the tops and sides of the canning jars, if needed, in case any of the sweetened condensed milk spilled down the sides. Place a lid and ring on the canning jar and screw tightly to seal. Put the three canning jars in a slow cooker and cover with water by one inch. It doesn’t matter whether the jars are laying on their side or standing up straight – do what works best for the size of slow cooker you have. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set to low for 8-9 hours, until the dulce de leche is deep golden brown. Carefully remove the jars from the hot water and let them cool. If desired, open the jars and stir in 1/2 – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into each jar. Replace the lids and rings and store in the refrigerator.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Pizza on the Grill!

This is something I haven't tried yet, but sure want to!  Pizza on the grill sounds like a lot of fun.  Here are a couple websites that I thought were the most helpful.  There is also an entire cookbook dedicated to the subject called "Pizza on the Grill"

King Arthur Flour - Step by Step Tutorial with Pictures

Skip to My Lou - Blog Post & Recipes

Bobby Flay - Video & Recipes

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Summer Salads!

What better way to keep the heat out of the kitchen than by having salad for dinner?  Here are some fun recipes to try in addition here are 20 Hearty Dinner Salads by Babble

Pantry Pasta Salad
by Tonya

A pasta version of Champagne Salad, made almost entirely of items that can be stored in your pantry.

14.5oz. box of pasta (rotini, ziti, wheels, bowties, etc.)
12oz. Girard’s Champagne salad dressing
2oz. pine nuts
4-8oz. pimentos (canned red peppers)
14oz. hearts of palm 6 stalks sliced
14oz. artichokes coarsely chopped
½-1 c. feta cheese
14 oz. black pitted olives
Cook pasta according to directions on box, strain off water. In a large bowl combine cooked pasta and all other ingredients. Refrigerate 24 hours before serving.

Summer Chicken Salad
by Claudia

6 cooked chicken thighs or 4 cooked chicken breasts ( you can use rotisserie chicken from your local groceries store)
2-3 tsp olive oil
McCormick roasted garlic and herbs spice.
1 bag of frozen corn
2 ripe avocados
4 roma tomatoes or grape tomatoes
Thin red onion slices
Yellow or orange sliced bell peppers
Greens ( I usually buy the 10 oz Marketside organic greens at Walmart)
Your favorite poppy seed dressing.
Optional: mozzarella cubes.

Add a couple of tsp of olive oil to a frying pan, place the chicken and spice it with the garlic and herbs spice. If you wish, you can bake it or grill it instead. You can skip the cooking step if you have rotisserie chicken. Once the chicken is cooked transfer it to a cutting board; cut the cooked chicken length wise as fajitas or in cubes. In the same pan, add the frozen corn and cook it until it gets all the brown bits from the chicken and until roasted. Add the corn to the greens to wilt them. Then add the avocados, the tomatoes, sliced onions, and chicken. Mix well to combine all the flavors. You can also add mozzarella cubes. Add your favorite poppy seed dressing.

Chicken Pasta Salad
By Claudia

Cooked chicken breast cubes
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 (16-oz.) package farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems, and separate florets into small pieces using tip of a paring knife. Peel away tough outer layer of stems, and finely chop stems. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes, and stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir bacon and pecans into salad just before serving.

Doritos Taco Salad
by Food.com

1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped lettuce
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
1 (15 ounce) can ranch style beans
1 (16 ounce) bottle Catalina dressing
1 (12 1/2 ounce) bag Doritos

Fry ground beef and add taco seasoning. Mix ground beef and ALL ingredients, except Doritos (unless you don't mind soggy), in a large bowl. Refrigerate. Mix in Doritos and enjoy!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Apricots from Bro. Jessup

Bro. Jessup from our ward (Castle Ridge) just called me and said that he has a tree overflowing with apricots that are free for anyone who wants to come and pick them :)