The Camp Cook
Camp eBook's spot for Food, News, Tips, Ideas and Recipes

What You Need:

1 turkey carcass, broken up
8 C water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 (10 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 turnip, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
4 t dried parsley, divided
1 bay leaf
11/2 C flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 t dried rosemary
3 T solid shortening
3/4 C milk

How to Make It:

Place the turkey carcass into the crock pot.
Pour the water into the crock pot over the turkey.
Add the bouillon cubes.
Place the diced tomatoes, celery, carrot, turnip and onion into the crock pot.
Sprinkle in 2 t of the dried parsley.
Place the bay leaf into the mixture.
Cover and cook on the low temperature setting 7 hours.
Remove the cover and take the turkey carcass out of the soup.
Remove the meat from the bones and return the meat to the crock pot.
Place the four, baking powder, salt rosemary and remaining parsley into a bowl.
Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until the mixture becomes coarse.
Add enough of the milk to the flour mixture to moisten it but leaving the mixture thick enough to make mounds on the end of a spoon.
Drop the mixture by spoonfuls into the crock pot.
Cover, place the temperature setting on high and cook for 20 without lifting the lid.

Serving Size: 8

When adding the milk to the flour mixtures just add a little bit at a time. This will help in making sure the dry ingredients are moistened but still remain thick.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Crock Pot, Soups

What You Need:

1 T olive oil
1 Ham steak cut into bite size pieces
2 C frozen southern style hash browns, thawed
8 eggs
1/2 C salsa
1 pkg (6 in size) tortillas
1 C shredded Mexican style cheese
Wax paper
Freezer bags

How to Make It:

Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
When hot add the ham and hash browns.
Cook until they are both beginning to brown.
Place the salsa in a large mixing bowl.
Add the eggs and stir until mixed together.
Pour the salsa mixture in with the ham mixture.
Leave heat on medium high and cook until the eggs have set.
Place a tortilla flat.
Place about 4 T of the ham mixture down the center of the tortilla.
Roll the tortilla up completely.
Continue until all the tortillas are used.
Wrap each rollup in wax paper.
Place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
When ready to eat remove from the freezer and unwrap.
Place each rollup on a microwave safe plate and cover with paper towel.
Microwave 2 minutes on high or until the burrito is as heated as you like.


Enjoy, These are so easy.
Dan

Labels: Breakfast

Many people overlook the fact that beans are a wonderful source of protein. They come in all shapes and sizes. Best of all, they fill you up without adding a lot of fat and calories to a meal. Cooking beans in the slow cooker is a great idea and is very easy to do.

What do you know about beans? Most people avoid eating them in mixed company for obvious reasons, but they are a food that is good for you. Beans provide needed protein to our diet. Compared to animal proteins, which contain more fat, beans are made up of vegetable protein which only includes about two grams of fat per serving.

Another great thing about beans is that they don’t take as much to fill you up. A meal that has a bean component will leave you feeling fuller faster. This leads to less overeating. Many beans grow up a vine and can be a great complement to your vegetable garden. They are cheap and go well with a variety of sauces and spices. In several cultures, beans are a main staple of everyone’s daily diet.

When looking for beans to use in for slow cooker recipes, go for fresh or dried beans. Canned beans are good too but should be used as a last resort. Since salt and other preservatives are present to lengthen the shelf life of the product, you lose some of the good for you ingredients found in fresh or dried beans.

Water is a bean’s best friend for a few reasons. First, soaking beans before cooking removes the substance that causes flatulence in bean eaters. For best results, allow the beans to soak overnight in a bowl of water. When you wake you can add them to the slow cooker.

Popular beans used in recipes are kidney, black, Lima, chickpeas, Northern, navy, and pintos. No matter which type of bean a recipe calls for, bake sure the liquid in the cooker is sufficient enough to cover the beans completely. Be aware, that as the beans cook, the water will evaporate to steam and may need replacing depending on how high of a setting you are using.

It’s best to set your slow cooker on the lowest setting and cook until the beans are tender. Many bean recipes call for diced tomatoes and/or chilies as well. To save time, use a can of diced tomatoes or chilies. By using the lowest temperature they are less likely to overcook and become mushy.

To add flavor to your beans, you can incorporate any onions and seasonings during the last half hour to forty-five minutes. It won’t take long for onions to cook due to the heat and steam that will soften them rather quickly. You may even choose to sauté the onions in a pan with a bit of olive oil prior to adding them to the cooker. Here are just a few ideas for seasonings that go well with beans. Fresh herbs like cilantro, bay leaf, cumin, and parsley provide some zing to your bean dish.

To complete your meal, serve your beans over piping hot rice. The combination of beans and grains create a filing dish that is chock full of good nutrients and flavor.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Crock Pot, Vegetables

Pork has been nicknamed “The Other White Meat.” It is a healthy alternative to fattier cuts of beef and chicken. It is flavorful and versatile as a substitute in dishes that once called for only chicken and/or beef. Pull out your slow cooker and take that pork for a spin.

Pork provides many different cuts of meat: bacon, ground sausage, ham, pork butt steaks, ribs, loin, and chops. Each has its own characteristics and provides different options for how it can be cooked. In the slow cooker you can use just about all of those cuts if you like. The leaner cuts will give you the least fat if you are watching your diet.

Boneless pork chops and pork tenderloin will not take as long to cook. Your slow cooker should be set on four hours instead of eight. Pork can be bought seasoned from the store. If yours is not, try a trick I like to use for pork and poultry. Add a packet of onion soup mix to the meat. It can be regular onion or golden onion, whichever you prefer.

Once you have added your pork cut and onion soup mix, pour about one cup of water and any other flavorful sauces, such as soy or teriyaki sauce into your slow cooker. Veggies can be tossed in now if you want to add them. You can use fresh or frozen veggies either one.

Sausage balls can be made by rolling out ground pork sausage. If you don’t have fresh pork, frozen sausage balls will do. Again, be sure to add your favorite sauce and a bit of water to the cooker. Depending on how many sausage balls you are preparing and whether they are fresh or frozen, cooking time is approximately two to four hours, with frozen pork sausage and higher quantities requiring the higher amount of time. Remember, with pork you can never be too careful when it comes to making sure it’s cooked through. After two hours of cooking, check for doneness.

Another favorite cut of pork for the slow cooker is pork ribs. They can be country style (little to no bone and more meat) or spareribs. You may choose to season and marinate the ribs with your favorite store bought or homemade marinade. For best results, marinade overnight before cooking them in the slow cooker. They will be in there for six to eight hours so there is no need to parboil on the stove for tenderness.

Yep, you guessed it; don’t forget to add water before cooking. An hour or two before cooking is complete, add your favorite barbeque sauce. The spicy sauce will find its way through the meat and add flavoring. By the time they finish cooking, the ribs will be so tender it will fall away from the bone. Now those are some good ribs!

You can even slow cook a ham for a special Sunday dinner. Glaze it with honey or brown sugar and pineapples an hour or so before it is cooked. The meat will be juicy, flavorful, and tender when sliced.

Pork is a great meat to use in the slow cooker. Just be aware of your cooking times for boneless meat as opposed to bone-in varieties. The last thing you want is a dried out piece of meat that no one enjoys. How do I know that you might be asking? Take my word for it it’s not delicious by any stretch of the imagination.


For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Crock Pot, Pork

For a quick dinner, what can be more perfect than chicken? It is economical and there are tons of recipes for every part and piece of it. Here are some ideas for cooking chicken in a crock pot.

Chicken is a favorite staple of the American diet. People raise chickens and other poultry on farms. They are plentiful and can be prepared more readily than a cow or a pig. If you visit any relatives in the Deep South, you are sure to have a chicken dinner at least once or twice a week.

In a slow cooker, all parts of the chicken work well, but you must be careful with your temperature settings. White and dark meat portions of the chicken will cook at different rates. You notice this when you fry chicken as well. Thighs and legs finish cooking sooner mostly due to the high fat content of these portions. Wings are usually next followed by the thicker chicken breasts.

Another difference in chicken pieces is the bone. Pieces of chicken with the bone in cook better in the slow cooker because they are less likely to dry out. On the other hand, boneless chicken breasts can dry out if they are cooked too long.

One way to avoid drying out is to cook chicken from frozen. The great thing about a slow cooker is that it works well whether the meat is frozen or thawed. Thawed meat will of course need less cooking time because the heat works directly to cook the meat. If the chicken is frozen, the heat defrosts the chicken before actually cooking it.

Prepare your chicken pieces as you would if you were cooking them in the oven. Clean the chicken thoroughly and season it. This will help to remove Salmonella bacteria commonly found in raw chicken, not to mention you don’t want a lot of bloody juice in the bottom of their crock pot.

A liquid is needed at the start of cooking. Instead of water, add some seasoned chicken broth to infuse the meat with flavor. Another hint is to lightly flour and sauté the chicken for a couple of minutes before slow cooking. The bits from the pan will flavor the broth in the slow cooker even more. Frozen chicken needs very little liquid as liquid will be created as the chicken defrosts.

Vegetables can be added with the meat if you choose. Tougher veggies like carrots and potatoes can be added at the beginning because they take longer to cook. A dish that calls for a tomato base such as a cacciatore will have the tomatoes added near the end of cooking. Tomatoes are one vegetable that doesn’t stand up well to long periods of cooking. Instead of whole tomatoes, you will have mush after six hours.

Chicken pieces need to cook for three hours of more in a crock pot. With a slow cooker, two hours on a low setting would be equal to about one hour on the highest setting. Frozen chicken will need the maximum time to cook.

Any spices you add to chicken dishes can be left for last. Fresh herbs will infuse quickly throughout the meal so an hour in the cooker is good. Dried spices can take a bit longer to flavor so add about two hours before the meal is done. Stir up the dish so the herbs and spices are evenly distributed.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken, Crock Pot

What You Need:

3 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 jar (16 oz size) salsa
1 (14.5 oz) can refried beans
1 (8 oz) pkg shredded taco cheese
1 (8 count) pkg burrito size tortillas
Wax paper
Freezer bags

How to Make It:

Place the chicken breasts in a large sauce pan.
Cover with the salsa.
Add just enough water to cover the chicken.
Place over medium high heat.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.
Chicken should be white all the way through when done.
Remove the chicken from the pot and cool until easily touched.
Shred the chicken.
Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
Bring back to a boil to reduce the liquid of the mixture looks to watery.
When mixture becomes as thick as you like, remove it from the heat.
Lay to tortilla flat.
Place 3 T of refried beans down the middle of the tortilla.
Place 4 T of the chicken mixture on top of the beans.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Fold in the sides of the tortilla and roll until completely closed.
Continue until you used all the tortillas.
Wrap each burrito in the wax paper.
Place the burritos in a freezer bag.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
To cook unwrap the burritos.
Place in the microwave for about 3 minutes or just until the burrito is beginning to thaw.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray a cookie sheet with a non stick cooking spray.
Lay the burritos on the cookie sheet.
Bake 12 minutes or until the burrito just begins to brown.

For More Recipes from "The South of the Border", Click Here.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Mexican

What You Need:

6 cucumbers, sliced thin
1 lg red onion, sliced thin
2 T salt
1 C white vinegar
3/4 C sugar
Freezer containers

How to Make It:

Place the cucumbers and onions together in a large mixing bowl,
Add the salt.
Fold all together.
Let stand 2 hours at room temperature.
After the 2 hours, rinse the cucumbers and onion in cool water.
Drain them well.
Place them in the freezer containers.
Mix the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour the mixture over the cucumbers and onions.
Freeze for at least 3 weeks before eating.
When ready to eat thaw in the refrigerator overnight or run under cold water if you want to thaw faster.

Enjoy, These are so easy.
Dan

Labels: Vegetables

What You Need:

1/2 tub Raspberry Ice Drink Mix
1 C cranberry juice, cold
1 C water, cold
2 C sparkling water
Frozen raspberries

How to Make It:

Place the drink mix powder into a small pitcher.
Pour the cranberry juice and water into the pitcher and whisk until the powder is completely dissolved and the ingredients are combined well.
Place the pitcher in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.
Just before serving stir in the sparkling water.
Place frozen raspberries in the bottom of 2 champagne glasses.
Pour the raspberry rendezvous over the top of the raspberries.

Serving Size: 2

Use this drink to start out your special night with that someone you love. Make a toast to each other, wrap arms and sip to the soft music and glowing candlelight and watch your night evolve.

Please Remember to Drink Responsibly.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Dan

Labels: Beverages

What You Need:

1 whole chicken
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T parsley
1 bay leaf
2 t salt
8 C water
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen baby carrots, partially thawed
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen peas, partially thawed
1 (6 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1 C light cream
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t celery salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C all purpose flour
1 pkg (2 included) refrigerated pie crust
4 foil pans (5X1 in)

How to Make It:

Place the water in a large pot over high heat.
Add the chicken, celery, onion, parsley, bay leaf and salt.
Bring to a rapid boil.
Reduce heat to low.
Cover the pot and simmer 2 hours.
Allow the chicken to cool in the broth.
Once chicken has cooled remove from the broth.
Cut the meat off the chicken bones.
Strain the broth and reserve 5 C.
Place the chicken, carrots, peas and mushrooms together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir to combine.
Place 4 C of reserved broth into a sauce pan.
Stir in the cream, nutmeg, celery salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
In another small mixing bowl combine the last C of reserved broth and the flour.
Stir until smooth.
Pour into the boiling mixture.
Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes.
Pour over the chicken mixture.
Allow to cool completely.
Flour a flat surface.
Roll out pie crust.
Divide each crust in to two parts.
Place 1/2 of the crust into the bottom a foil pan.
Fill with chicken mixture.
Cover with the remaining crust.
Pinch to seal all the way around.
Wrap in freezer paper.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
To bake preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Unwrap each bowl and place on a cookie sheet.
Cut a slit in the top of each to vent the steam.
Bake 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


For More Chicken Recipes, Click Here.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken

One thing that makes every culture unique is their food. Whenever you visit a new country, try their native fare at least once. You may even find that it appeals to you so much that you want to create them at home for a change of pace. Sometimes that can seem like a lot of work, but don’t be so sure. Slow cooking can be used to create many of those ethnic dishes. Let’s talk about Asian and American foods that can be cooked in a crock pot.

The United States has been called a “melting pot.” The country is a hodgepodge of people from all walks of life, races, nations, and religions. No where else can you go and find people who can prepare an authentic dish from several countries around the world.

There are some foods that can be termed “American” dishes. We were once a nation of meat and potatoes. Working hard all day tilling the land needed a filling meal to keep hunger away and energy levels up. Farms raised pigs, cows, and chickens for eggs, milk, and dinner. Meat was traditionally slaughtered and salted and stored right at home. So, what American meals can be cooked in a crock pot?

Pork, chicken, and beef dishes cook very well in a slow cooker. Pulled pork and chicken are favorite dishes in the South. Meat can be slow cooked in a bit of water and chicken broth makes a great water substitute for poultry. When the meat is tender and most of the liquid is gone, the meat can be “pulled.” This is done with two forks or two knives. The meat is teased apart or chopped with the knives. Barbeque sauce or a sauce with a vinegar base is then added to flavor the meat.

Slow cookers are great and probably best known for preparing a pot roast dinner. Searing the meat prior to cooking locks in the flavor and creates an essence that can be added to the water or broth that’s necessary to crock pot cooking. Potatoes, carrots, and onions go into the cooker with the meat and are then cooked for eight hours. Fresh ground pepper, a pinch of salt, oregano, and garlic can be used to season the meal.

Asian foods can also be adapted to the slow cooker. The rice or noodles can be cooked on the stove and the noodles added when the food is done cooking and ready to eat. Asian cooking makes use of fresh ginger, fish sauce, mushrooms, corn, Asian cabbage (bok choy), miso, tofu, noodles, and several spices. The taste can be mild and flavorful or hot and spicy depending on the preference of those consuming the meal. Peanuts are also employed in Chinese cooking.

All meats, including seafood, are common to Asian dishes. When adding seafood to a slow cooker, it is best to wait until the sauce and vegetables are close to being done before adding it. Seafood and fish cook quickly and can turn rubbery if overcooked.

To achieve a smoother consistency, sauces are thickened with cornstarch for these dishes. Adding fresh ginger gives Asian meals a lemony taste. Ground ginger can be used, but the taste will not be as distinctive. Soy sauce and sesame oil flavor soups and noodle dishes. Japanese Miso soup or hot and spicy chicken with peanuts can also be fashioned for the slow cooker.

Ethnic foods can be adapted for the crock pot once you know the basic ways that each food should be prepared. As always, test your slow cooker with some ethnic dishes the first time when you are able to be around and monitor the entire cooking process. You just might be surprised at the ethnic dishes you can create in your crock pot.


For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Crock Pot

What You Need:

Manicotti pasta shells
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves - minced
1/4 C olive oil
3 C cooked ham, chopped
1 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided
6 T butter
6 T all purpose flour
3 C milk
2 C shredded Swiss cheese
Freezer wrap

How to Make It:

Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic.
Cook until tender about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat.
Add the ham and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
Stir in 1/2 C of the Parmesan cheese.
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.
Drain and allow to cool.
Place the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
Cook until butter becomes foamy looking.
Carefully stir in the flour.
Cook 3 minutes until it begins to bubble.
Be sure to stir continuously so the flour doesn't burn.
Carefully pour in the milk.
Stir continuously until the sauce begins to thicken.
Stir in the Swiss cheese until smooth.
Place 1/4 of the cheese sauce into the ham mixture and stir.
Fill each shell with the ham mixture.
Place enough cheese sauce to cover the bottom of a large glass baking dish.
Place the shells in the cheese sauce.
Pour the rest of the cheese sauce over the top of the pasta shells.
Place in the refrigerator to cool.
Once cool wrap with the freezer wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
When ready to cook thaw the dish overnight in the refrigerator.
Uncover and cover with the 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake casserole for 1 hour or until heated completely through.

Be sure to Check Out our growing list of Cookbooks . . List of Cookbooks

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Pasta

Kids love to cook. They especially love to cook sweet treats that they can gobble down later. Here are some ideas for Valentine’s Day desserts kids will enjoy making and eating.

Everybody loves chocolate or at least they should. Recent research shows that eating a little chocolate is good for you. Don’t tell your kids though, or they’ll never let you forget it.

Valentine’s Day was made for chocolate. Let the kids make some chocolate cupcakes. For most cake and cupcake recipes, it is easy to throw in a bit of melted chocolate for an extra sweet tasting dessert. Top them with icing fit for the occasion—red or pink.

Jell-O has been a kid favorite since it was introduced to the world. Turn the popular treat into a Valentine’s Day treat with some cookie cutters. Cookie cutters shaped like hearts, kissing lips, cupid, or letters create holiday cut-outs for the kids. Let the kids cut the shapes after the gelatin has set.

Kids love to decorate with icing and sprinkles and candy. If you make cupcakes, brownies, or cake for them this Valentine’s Day, let them decide how the finished confections will look. Put the icing in a bag designed for that purpose so the kids can pipe the icing through to create words or pictures on the dessert. A plastic storage bag with a small hole cut into the corner works just as well as a cake decorating bag.

Cookies go well with any holiday. For Valentine’s Day, use sugar cookies. With sugar cookies, they can be topped with icing, sugar, and sprinkles. Try to get sprinkles shaped like hearts. Our tried and true cookie cutters can be used again to cut the chilled dough into the same shapes as the gelatin treats.

How about a dessert pizza? Using cookie dough, roll it out to the shape and diameter of a large pizza. Follow package instructions for baking the cookie. Once it’s done and cooled, top with icing. White or vanilla icing can be tinted pink or darker with some red food coloring. Then, let the kids top the dessert pizza with their favorite candies. Plain M&M’s, candy sprinkles, and other chewy sweets can top the pizza.

Try a new twist on some dessert favorites. Add large candy hearts to the top of cupcakes. Create a cake shaped like cupid. Use heart-shaped foil cups to bake brownies. All of these ideas are easy enough for your kids to help you create them.

Feed that sweet tooth with some great treat ideas this year. Your kids might have a few ideas of their own to add to the pot for more Valentine’s Day fun.


"Celebrate Valentine's Day with these Special Recipes!" Click Here!

Happy Valentine's Day.
Dan

Labels: Holidays

It used to be that you had to go to a special store to find ethnic spices and foods. They were more expensive, but of great quality. Today, ethnic cooking is acknowledged more and just about every grocery store has an ethnic section. Still, to find the best variety for your slow cooker meals, it is a good idea to visit an ethnic market.

If you’ve never had an ethnic dish, you are in for a treat. Ethnic dishes combine the best of many cultures. Food is a direct representation of the influences that have affected a culture. For instance, we all consider spaghetti and pizza to be Italian dishes right? Actually they were brought back from the Far East by Marco Polo.

Foods that are most common to the climates in those countries dictate the types of dishes that are produced. It is no wonder that Asian dishes include so much rice. Rice paddies produced this cheap main staple of the diet. In poorer countries where meat was scarce heavy vegetables like potatoes, beets or turnips became the staple of choice for filling meals.

When it comes to ethnic foods, often times each dish tells a story. Indian dishes are filled with aromatic spices that are earthy and hot. Indian dishes are many times vegetarian, but you will find they may also include chicken or seafood. In India, the cow is sacred so you won’t be seeing any beef in recipes from India.

Carrots, potatoes, lentils, and onions, along with chicken, will be the base for many Indian slow cooker dishes. Slow cooking these items can take between six and eight hours. Meals are seasoned with curry, ginger, saffron, cumin, and turmeric. Fruit juices like lime and lemon are also used to flavor Indian dishes.

Mexican is another ethnic food that can be cooked in a slow cooker. As most of us know, Mexican foods are spicy. Spices are used to enhance the flavor of the food and in Mexico, the hotter the better. Hot chile pepper varieties that most wouldn’t even dare to taste are welcomed in a Mexican dish.

With Mexican food, sausage, chicken and beef will be the main meats, but don’t rule out a bit of pork. Beans such as black beans, navy beans, and garbanzo beans are present in these dishes too. Believe it or not, you can make chili or taco filling in a slow cooker as a great family meal. Brown the ground beef before adding it to a slow cooker. Chicken or selected cuts of beef can be sliced into strips before putting cooking in a crock pot.

Tomatoes and peppers are diced or sliced for many Mexican recipes. Onions and garlic are also good for flavor. When it comes to spices, choices like cumin, cayenne pepper, cilantro, black pepper, and chili powder are all great for these types of meals. Fresh vegetables and herbs make the flavors more noticeable as well. If you have to use canned beans for instance, try to select fresh herbs and veggies to balance out the taste.

All ethnic food may not be to your liking, but everyone should at least give it a try once. You may find that the taste agrees with you and then you’ll have even more meals to add to your slow cooker recipe arsenal.


For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Crock Pot

It seems like the slow cooker was practically made for soups and stews. On a cold fall or winter day, you can combine the ingredients for your favorite soup in the pot and fill the house with a delicious aroma while it cooks. Everyone needs to make at least one soup or stew in their slow cooker. It’s an unwritten rule of the kitchen.

Why do we like soups? They are fun and easy to make. Many cultures rely on soup as their main dish for lunch or dinner. A soup can be thin like chicken noodle or some Thai soups. A soup can also be thick like vichyssoise or borscht which represents ethnic soup dishes. Thicker soups keep you full longer between meals. Add a bit of bread and you have a complete meal.

Soups require more liquid than a regular meal in a slow cooker. Don’t be afraid to add two or three cups of broth or water to your cooker when creating soup dishes. If you have a larger slow cooker, you may need to add a bit more liquid depending on how many other ingredients you also add.

If your main ingredient is meat, add it first. For soups it is a good idea to cut raw chicken into small cubes. For beef, buy already cubed beef for stew to avoid having to cube it yourself. Meat should be thawed for soups and stews before adding to the crock pot. Sear meats in a pan before adding them to the cooker. A bit of water will remove those pieces of essence from the bottom of the skillet so they can be added to the soup for flavor.

Go ahead and add your vegetables to the soup once the meat has been put in. Chop potatoes, carrots, squash, zucchini, and onions into soup-sized pieces. Frozen veggies can also be added to the soup. Let your soup concoction cook for six to eight hours. Celery is a common veggie in soups. For a firmer celery texture, wait to add the celery until a couple of hours before the end of cooking.

Creamier soups are also a good choice for slow cooker meals. Heavy cream can stand up to the longer cooking time without scorching. If milk is called for in your dish, use evaporated milk in its place. Evaporated milk has had the water component removed and provides a creamier texture without the curdling effect that can be common when using straight milk.

Now you are ready to add the finishing touches. When making soups like potato soup or chowders that call for cheese, wait until close to done before adding the cheese. Herbs like rosemary, dill, basil, oregano, and parsley can be added now too. Chives, leeks, shallots, and garlic also add flavor to soups and stews. Chives, parsley, and leeks can be used as a garnish.

Can you taste that soup now? The best thing about soup is that it can be frozen in bowls and thawed whenever you feel like some warm-in-your-tummy goodness. A slow cooker makes a batch large enough to feed an army or a large family of hungry eaters.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Crock Pot, Soups

What You Need:

2 1/2 lbs fryer chicken, cut up
3/4 C sour cream
1 T lemon juice
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t celery salt
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 t paprika
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 C dry bread crumbs
Aluminum foil

How to Make It:

Combine sour cream and lemon juice in a small bowl.
Stir in Worcestershire sauce until completely blended.
Add the celery salt, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic and mix well.
Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a large baking pan with a non stick cooking spray.
Dip chicken pieces into the sour cream mixture.
Roll in the bread crumbs.
Place in a single layer in the baking pan.
Bake 50 minutes or until chicken is tender and brown.
Let chicken cool before removing from pan.
Once the chicken has cooled wrap each piece in aluminum foil.
Freeze for up to 2 months.
Reheat by preheating oven to 450 degrees.
Place each piece of chicken still in the aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.
Bake 35 minutes.
Unwrap from aluminum foil and place back in the oven.
Continue baking 10 minutes or until crisp.

For More Chicken Recipes, Click Here.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken

When Valentine’s Day rolls around, you want to make it a special day for your sweetheart. It is a time to celebrate your love for them. Whether you go out or stay at home, accompany dinner with a refreshing wine.

There is an art to wine and food. People spend lots of time learning about wines and tasting them. You don’t have to swish and spit to find out how a wine tastes. Just keep reading for some helpful tips on choosing the right wine for your delicious meal.

Champagnes

Let’s begin with the bubbly. Champagne and other sparkling wines are served for people to drink when they celebrate. And, when love is in the air, it is a cause for celebration. Champagnes are a lot sweeter than most wines and all those bubbles tickle the nose and the tongue.

If you are a person who wants to wow their sweetheart this hear, serve a little champagne and strawberries to get the evening started. There are a few choices for you:
• Brut
• Extra Dry
• Demi-Sec

There is a difference that can excite or dull the palate. Brut contains no sweetness at all. Drinking it with sweet strawberries can help.

Extra dry champagne has a hint of sweetness but not much. The strawberries may add a bit of sweetness to the flavor of the champagne. If you want more sweetness from that for your fruity mood maker, try a Demi-Sec. it also goes well with any dessert you serve.

White Wine

This wine goes well with several dishes. Your sweetie will be impressed that you know how to put wine together with food for the perfect complement to the Valentine’s Day meal.

If you like the taste of Chardonnay, they you have a tendency towards fruity flavors. There are many California chardonnays on the market if you prefer a U.S. wine. Choose from medium or full-bodied varieties.

White wine goes well with:
• Pasta dishes
• Chicken
• Fish
For a lighter bodied white wine that includes a nuttier flavor, opt for a Sauvignon blanc or a white Zinfandel.

Red Wine

Red wine is an acquired taste. Choose from Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Port. Red wines have a variety of flavors that range from light to full-bodied. There is a hint of fruit combined with bolder flavors like licorice, spice, and woodsy flavors.

If you plan on serving red meat or a stew, consider serving a red wine with the meal. Pinot Noir is also an excellent choice for chicken dishes, salmon, and pork.

What are you serving for dinner this Valentine’s Day? If you are going for the romantic touch and an eventful evening, serve some wine with your meal.

"Celebrate Valentine's Day with these Special Recipes!" Click Here!

Happy Valentine's Day.
Dan

Labels: Beverages, Holidays

Everyone used to look forward to Valentine’s Day. They got to eat sweets from their sweetie. We are trying to be a bit more health conscious these days so that holidays won’t show in our bodies. If you want to indulge in a sweet treat on Valentine’s Day, make room for it with a healthier meal.

It is not too hard to sneak in a few healthy additions to the meal that your loved ones won’t mind at all. Whether it is a romantic dinner for two, family dinner, or a couples’ dinner party, employ some savvy to come up with a leaner meal.

Start off with a healthy snack that everyone can eat while dinner is baking. Instead of cookies and candies, put out a tray of veggies and fruit. The vegetables can be jazzed up with a vegetable cream cheese or Ranch dressing. For the fruit, use flavored fruit dip. Yogurt flavors like strawberry, peach, or blueberry work well also as a dip.

Get rid of the hot wings for appetizers and opt instead for chicken chunks breaded with Shake-n-Bake or regular breadcrumbs. Cubing boneless, skinless chicken breasts and rolling them in batter saves a lot of calories. Serve them with hot pepper sauce or regular hot sauce and your metabolism will rev up from the heat.

Toss a salad to go with dinner. Instead of store bought croutons on the top, use cubed pieces of wheat bread. Wash them with a little butter or reduced fat margarine and pop them into the oven to bake. They still add crunch to the salad with less fat than regular croutons. Even better would be to sprinkle the salad with shelled sunflower seeds to add crunch.

Soups are a great way to hide lots of vegetables for those who don’t take a shine to them. for Valentine’s Day, serve a simple soup like potato, vegetable, chicken noodle, or tomato. What soup you serve will depend on the meal. The point is that soup helps to fill you up without eating a lot of it.

Now for the meal. It is hard to eat healthy sometimes, especially if there is a holiday celebration going on. Well, Valentine’s Day is no different. Stick with recipes that use lean cuts of beef, pork, or chicken. Seafood can also be used.

Opt for lower fat ingredients in your recipes. If the main course recipe calls for heavy cream, substitute with half and half or light cream. Substitute margarine with butter. Avoid using too much salt. Use saltless seasonings to add flavor to the meal.

Let your healthy meals extend to Valentine’s Day. After all, we are supposed to show love to those who mean the world to us. Keep their heart healthy.

"Celebrate Valentine's Day with these Special Recipes!" Click Here!

Happy Valentine's Day.
Dan

Labels: Holidays

A slow cooker is a great addition to your arsenal of cooking equipment. It is definitely a help when you have no idea what to cook for dinner. Throw in a bit of this and toss in a little of that and you’ve got a meal of your own creation for a hungry family.

If you have an adventurous cooking spirit and a cabinet or pantry full of goodies, it’s easy to create a slow cooker meal from scratch. I know you are shaking your head, but it is doable and your family will love it. In fact, why not let everyone get in on the meal to make it more interesting?

When putting together a potluck slow cooker meal, you need a base or main ingredient. Meat or beans make the perfect base. Although grains also make a good base for meals, they cook too quickly to be of any use to you in a slow cooker. Rice quickly becomes mushy when it is overcooked and pastas work best when boiled. Therefore, slow cooking these types of foods would potentially ruin them.

Your base is something that can stand up to the length of time required for crock pot cooking and the temperature. Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and lamb are all good choices for a meat base. Most beans can stand up to the heating process of a slow cooker. Once you have made a choice for your meal base, wash it thoroughly and put it in the cooker. Don’t forget to add a bit of liquid to the bottom before of the crock pot first.

The next step is to decide what will go well with the base chosen. Most meat types share the fact that they are compatible with many of the same vegetables. First, check the fridge. A bag of baby carrots, an onion, and some celery are staring you in the face. These we can use. Go ahead and toss the carrots right in on top of your meat or bean base.

Go ahead and start the cooker while you search for more ingredients. See that bag of red-skinned potatoes in the corner? The best thing about them is that they don’t have to be peeled. Simply, wash the outer skin thoroughly and pop them into the cooker as well. No need to slice or dice them beforehand.

Remember that celery and onion from your refrigerator? Throw them in a skillet with salt, pepper, and cooking wine if you have it. Let the wine reduce and cook the veggies.

Now it’s time to think about spices and seasonings. What will go well with your base? For kick, add some turmeric, cumin, and cilantro. Curry goes well with chicken or pork for a more Indian flavor. On the Italian side, choose rosemary, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and coriander. Remember, fresh herbs have a more distinctive taste than powdered spices, so if you have some on hand, use those instead.

About an hour before time zero, add your sautéed veggies and spices. Stir and smell the wonderful flavor. If there is still too much liquid left for your liking, turn the cooker up on high and remove the lid. The liquid will evaporate and you can return to low after the desired level of broth is achieved.

When someone in the house is getting hungry, who says you can’t make a great meal from whatever you happen to have lying around? Put that slow cooker to work tonight instead of having fast food or slaving in the kitchen all day long over a hot oven.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Crock Pot

What You Need:

1 lb chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 (16 oz) pkg. baby carrots cut in half
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 (8 oz) can bamboo shoots, sliced and drained
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, sliced and drained
1 (3 oz) pkg. oriental flavored noodle soup mix
1 (32 oz) can chicken broth
1 C frozen sugar snap peas, thawed
2 green onions, chopped

How to Make It:

Place the chicken thighs into the bottom of a crock pot.
Layer the carrots, celery, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in that order.
Sprinkle the oriental seasoning packet from the noodle soup.
Pour in the broth but do not stir.
Cover and cook on low temperature for 7 to 8 hours.
Remove the chicken from the crock pot and carefully shred it with two forks.
Return the chicken to the crock pot and stir to combine.
Break the noodles from the soup mix into the mixture.
Add the snap peas, cover and continue cooking an additional 15 minutes or until the noodles are tender.
Sprinkle in the green onion just before serving.

Serving Size: 6

3/4 C of regular sweet peas can be used in place the sugar snap peas. Using chicken thighs is important when it comes to crock pot cooking. They keep their shape better and remain moist during the long cooking time. They also enhance the flavor of the soup better than chicken breasts.

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan

Labels: Chicken, Soups

A slow cooker in the kitchen will pay for itself in no time. The time it saves when preparing meals makes it priceless. But, if you plan on using your slow cooker quite often, there are a few staples you may want to keep on hand to enhance your dishes.

1. Beans – Beans are a cheap source of protein that cooks well. Each bean has its own flavor which is enhanced by the spices you use to cook them. Beans can be used as a meal base when meat is present or if you are a vegetarian looking to create an easy dish without much fuss. Whether navy, lentil, Northern, or black, beans create some amazing slow cooker meals.

2. Fibrous Vegetables – The average household has at least a few potatoes lurking around. They are a versatile food. Mash them, fry them, stew them, or throw them in the crock pot. Potatoes add density to soups, stews, and meals with meat. Because they, and other fibrous veggies like turnips and carrots, take longer to cook, they can be thrown in the cooker with the meat and allowed to cook all day.

3. Fresh Herbs – Herbs can dramatically change the flavor of almost any meal. Herbs come dried, but release a better flavor if they are fresh. You can grow your own herbs in the house in small pots. All you need is a sunny spot, good soil, and water. Home grown herbs can be dried to extend their life, making them easy to keep around without worrying about wasting them. Herbs are added near the end of the crock pot cooking cycle so their flavor infiltrates the cooked meal.

4. Broth – Anything cooked in the slow cooker needs a liquid to start the process. Instead of always adding water, try broth. Chicken, beef, and vegetable broth are available in most grocery stores for very little money. Many varieties come already seasoned and it’s a quick and easy way to add flavor to meat dishes.

5. Flour or Cornstarch – Flour and cornstarch are used for thickening and sautéing. Applying a light coating of flour to meats and sautéing them in a little olive oil will create flavorful bits of essence that can be added to the slow cooker. At the end of a meal, adding cornstarch to the remaining liquid can create creamy gravy for dishes like rice or potatoes. Flour can also be used as a thickener, however cornstarch makes smoother gravies.

6. Meat – This article is about pantry staples, but since meat is the centerpiece of most crock pot meals, be sure to have some of your favorites on hand (in the freezer of course). It can be any meat you choose. A tougher cut of meat will cook better and almost melt in your mouth when the dish is ready. Slow cooking will add moisture and tenderize meat that would otherwise dry out and be tough when cooked in the oven.

With these ingredients on hand, you can create any number of basic meals in the slow cooker. By keeping them on hand, you’ll have a variety of dinner ideas without the hassle of running to the store or searching for an answer when asked “What’s for dinner?”

For More Crock Pot Recipes, See Our Crock Pot Cookbook - Check It Out.

Enjoy!
Dan