I crawled out of bed at one in the afternoon and put some frozen porkchops and a can of cream of mushroom soup in the crockpot before I even drank my first Diet Pepsi of the day. When I told Diana about it later, she seemed surprised that it was that easy! Yes! It's easy! That's why I do it!
So just for Diana, I'm going to tell you how to use your crockpot to be lazy.
You can take any frozen meat, and put it in the crockpot with almost anything even slightly liquid-y, and let it cook all day (or all afternoon) and it will be ready to eat at dinnertime. I usually make (brown)rice in the rice cooker to serve with it, and sometimes I roast or microwave a vegetable to go with it. Not always, because I don't care about vegetables, but I make a minimal effort to be healthy.
Some of the things you can put together in the crockpot are:
Porkchops with cream of pretty much anything. Cream of chicken, cream of celery, cream of mushroom - don't add water to the condensed soups. Use the Low setting if you remember to do this in the morning, and let it cook all day, or use the high setting to cook it for 4 to 5 hours if you don't think of it until noon-ish. I started today's porkchops about 1 in the afternoon and we will probably eat them around 6.
You can put in frozen chicken breasts with any cream soup, but another idea is to pour in a jar of salsa or picante sauce. When it is done cooking (again, you set it on Low for all day or on High for all afternoon), you can tear the chicken apart with a fork and stir in a cup of sour cream. You can serve it rolled in a tortilla (with cheese or whatever toppings you want) or serve it over rice. (I never get tired of rice.)
A frozen roast is good with salt and pepper and about a half cup of water. Just like any other frozen meat, cook on Low all day or High all afternoon. A friend from work told me to sprinkle a packet (or two) of Italian salad dressing mix over the meat before you start to cook it. I tried that, and it is really good!
I like to make a pork roast once in a while. I cook it with a 1/2 cup of water, just like a beef roast, and when it's done, I tear it apart with a fork, and pour half a bottle of barbeque sauce over it. Stir it up, adding more if it's too dry, and then you can serve it on a hamburger bun. When I made this last week, I topped the bbq pork with a big spoonful of coleslaw I bought at KFC - it was amazing!
If you want to make a little tiny bit more of an effort, you can put some of those fingerling potatoes (or cut up some big ones), and a handful of baby carrots, a chopped onion and maybe some celery in the bottom of the crockpot and put a turkey breast on top of that. Let that cook all day on Low, and you've got dinner, with vegetables!
You can also just cook the turkey breast by itself with the magic 1/2 cup of water. Mmm, turkey sandwiches sound really good right now.
See how easy it is to make dinner with your crockpot and minimal effort? Look in your freezer! Diana said she has a pound of frozen hamburger, and asked what she could do with that. Put it in the crockpot with a can of cream of mushroom soup, add a chopped onion (or not) let it cook on High all afternoon, and make a pot of noodles to go with it, and you have beef stroganoff. Sounds like dinner to me!
Another idea for the hamburger is to add a chopped onion, some chili powder, a can or two of Rotel's tomatoes, and a couple of cans of beans, and you'll have chili by dinnertime! Use a can of tomato sauce in place of one of the cans of Rotel's if you like it less spicy.
There you go, I just gave you a week's worth of menus. Two weeks, really, because you'll have leftovers. Wasn't that painless?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Quiche - Audrey
When Scott and Carolyn visited in March, I made a bacon quiche for them, and left it on the stove to cool. About an hour later, I went back to the kitchen for something and it was completely gone! I was pretty flattered, and I wrote down the recipe for them. Since then I have made bacon and also spinach quiches for some other guests, and who knew it would be so popular? Everyone loves quiche! Also, it is quick to make - about an hour from start to finish.
How to make a Quiche
You need the following ingredients:
1. a package of two rolled-up pie crusts - you can find them in the refridgerator case by the biscuits
2. about 8 oz of cheese - you can buy it in a block and cut it into tiny pieces or buy it already grated. Use Monteray Jack, or a mix of Monteray Jack and Colby.
3. a box of microwave bacon, or half a package of regular bacon.
4. 3 eggs
5. 1 c. of milk
Start by preheating the oven to 375.
Cook the bacon until it's crispy and let it drain on a paper towel.
Unroll one of the pie crusts and spread it out evenly in the pie plate. Press it down gently into the pan.
Cut the cheese into small pieces (or grate it), or just use the bag of grated cheese. Spread the cheese out evenly in the bottom of the pie crust.
Break up your cooked bacon into pieces about an inch square and spread all the pieces evenly over the cheese. I usually sprinkle dried onion flakes over the bacon, but that is optional.
Break the 3 eggs into a small bowl, and stir them up with a fork until they are blended.
Stir the cup of milk into the eggs until it is all blended together.
Pour the milk mixture over the cheese and bacon.
Bake the quiche in the oven for 45 minutes, then take it out of the oven and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. I usually test to be sure it is done by slipping a butter knife into the center - if it comes out clean, the quiche is done. You can serve it hot or cold, or at room temperature. It's good either way.
If you want to make spinach or broccoli quiche, steam a package of pre-cut fresh broccoli or a bag of baby spinach for about 3 minutes in the microwave, and spread that over the cheese instead of bacon. Don't forget to sprinkle on the onion flakes, or a bit of chopped, sauteed fresh onion.
You need the following ingredients:
1. a package of two rolled-up pie crusts - you can find them in the refridgerator case by the biscuits
2. about 8 oz of cheese - you can buy it in a block and cut it into tiny pieces or buy it already grated. Use Monteray Jack, or a mix of Monteray Jack and Colby.
3. a box of microwave bacon, or half a package of regular bacon.
4. 3 eggs
5. 1 c. of milk
Start by preheating the oven to 375.
Cook the bacon until it's crispy and let it drain on a paper towel.
Unroll one of the pie crusts and spread it out evenly in the pie plate. Press it down gently into the pan.
Cut the cheese into small pieces (or grate it), or just use the bag of grated cheese. Spread the cheese out evenly in the bottom of the pie crust.
Break up your cooked bacon into pieces about an inch square and spread all the pieces evenly over the cheese. I usually sprinkle dried onion flakes over the bacon, but that is optional.
Break the 3 eggs into a small bowl, and stir them up with a fork until they are blended.
Stir the cup of milk into the eggs until it is all blended together.
Pour the milk mixture over the cheese and bacon.
Bake the quiche in the oven for 45 minutes, then take it out of the oven and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. I usually test to be sure it is done by slipping a butter knife into the center - if it comes out clean, the quiche is done. You can serve it hot or cold, or at room temperature. It's good either way.
If you want to make spinach or broccoli quiche, steam a package of pre-cut fresh broccoli or a bag of baby spinach for about 3 minutes in the microwave, and spread that over the cheese instead of bacon. Don't forget to sprinkle on the onion flakes, or a bit of chopped, sauteed fresh onion.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Beanie Weenie Soup -Rachel
I have been cooking for as long as I can remember. It started with eggs. I always wanted eggs for breakfast, but I was kind of picky about how they were cooked. They had to be just right. The white part needed to be cooked all the way through, but the yolk still had to be soft and bouncy (we called that a "boing-boing yolk"). I think I made a lot of people miserable with those specifications because it's really hard to keep the yolk from breaking or becoming too firm. Finally, mom had had enough of my criticism. She decided if I made the egg myself, I couldn't complain about how it turned out and I would see how tricky it was. So, she taught little 7-year old me, how to make a fried egg.
That started it. I loved to cook. I thought it was fascinating. Some of my more memorable cooking fiascos include: the time a friend and I decided to make a cooking show. We have a videotape of us making cookies, but at one point we couldn't decide if 2 tsp of salt meant teaspoon or tablespoon. We decided it was tablespoon. The cookies were inedible.
Then there was the Saturday morning when Scott and I were up early watching Saturday morning cartoons and were inspired by Alvin and the Chipmunks to start cooking. Mom and Dad were still asleep, so we made sure to ask if it was ok to cook something. Mom, thinking I was referring to cooking eggs, said ok. I decided to make cupcakes though... without a recipe. If Theodore could do it, so could I. Mom and dad came down later that morning to VERY heavy whole wheat cupcakes (because all we had was whole wheat flour) that were covered in an olive colored green slime/glaze also made with whole wheat flour (because obviously you put flour in icing). I still have to give props to the guy who came by that day trying to sell Mom and Dad a water softening system. He kindly took and ate a cupcake offered to him by a little girl who was feeling pretty pleased with herself.
Then, the best possible thing happened. I got a cookbook! It was a soft cover Disney's Mickey Mouse cookbook.
It was so cool. The book was made for kids. It had recipes like Peter Pan's Pasta, which was not a recipe for pasta salad or spaghetti. It was a recipe for how to cook noodles. The ingredients were noodles and water. It also had things like Cinderella's Grilled Cheese Sandwhich (2 slices of bread and a slice of cheese) and Sher Khan's Orange Float (orange soda and vanilla ice cream). It was great! That cookbook taught me so much! The biggest thing it taught me though was that you could add to something that was already good. Canned soup for example. You didn't just have to eat canned soup. You could add simple ingredients to it and make it better! What a concept! The Beanie Weanie Soup recipe became my favorite.
1 can condensed bean with bacon soup
1 hot dog, sliced
Open can of soup and put it into a sauce pan. Add one can of water and mix. Add hot dog. Cook till hot.
Variations:
Since the first revelation that you can embellish canned soup, this recipe has evolved over the years because I LOVE bean with bacon soup and I am forever adding to it to create new and wonderful concoctions. Instead of adding hot dogs, you can also add cheese (or add cheese along with the hot dog if you like). I also like to add salt, pepper, ginger, and nutmeg which just gives the soup a great flavor. Finally, I actually only use about half a can of water when I make condensed soup because it makes a thicker soup.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Mom's Potato Salad - Rachel
Most of the time when I think of potato salad, I think of Memorial Day. Memorial Day is not only a celebration of our veterans, but I think it's also a celebration of the first day of summer. School is usually out by now, or just about to end, the pools open, and most people have the day off of work. Celebration, therefore, takes the form of a picnic/barbeque and potato salad is a crucial part of the spread.
We never really had picnics growing up though. Mom hates eating outdoors because it's messy and there are bugs everywhere and there's always the risk of touching something green - like grass or shrubbery. Ick. She liked making potato salad though, so potato salad, growing up, was not so much a side at a picnic, as it was the main course for dinner every other week or so. As a kid, I dreaded those nights. There just seemed something inherently wrong with potato salad. I think it had something to do with the mayonnaise and the egg yolk. I liked the egg whites and the potatoes, but I always ate my way around the celery and tried to scrap off as much of the dressing as I could on the bits I wanted to eat.
Years later though, I find myself thinking about her potato salad with fondness. I've tried a lot of different potato salads since then and none of them have been as good as Mom's. Mom's potato salad is wonderfully simple with big chunks of potatoes and eggs, a simple dressing, and nice light seasonings. It's great for a hot summer day when you want something cool or for a winter evening when you want something hearty and yet still reminiscent of warmer times. I love it!
2 large potatoes
4 eggs
1 large stick celery, chopped
1 dill pickle, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
Salt, pepper, curry powder, and dill weed
Peel and cut potatos into chunks. Place potatoes in a pan with eggs and cover with water. Bring water to a boil and let boil for about 20 min. By this time, the potatoes should be cooked, but not too mushy, and the eggs should be hard-boiled. Take pan off the heat. Drain and rinse with cold water. Let potatoes and eggs cool.
Put potatoes in a bowl. Peel eggs and cut whole egg into chunks and add these to the bowl along with celery and dill pickle.
Mix in mayonnaise and mustard, then season with spices to taste.
*Note: This recipe makes a small batch of potato salad, probably enough for 2-3 people.
Variations:
I don't care what Mom says, mayonnaise is NOT better than Miracle Whip. I totally prefer using Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise when I make this recipe. I like the flavor it adds so much better. Maybe that was why I didn't like potato salad as a kid. Anyway, you can substitute Miracle Whip for mayonnaise if you like and I will think no less of you. Also, some people like adding chopped red onions and/or bacon to their potato salad. These are also a nice touch. Finally, when I was asking mom for the specifics on this recipe, she also suggested celery salt as a spice that could be added.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Thai Noodle Salad - Rachel
This is one of my favorite recipes. I don't know where I found it anymore, but I fell in love after the first time I made it. Plus, it's so easy to make that even if I only have noodles and the ingredients for the sauce, I will still make. I have made it so much in fact, I have the basic recipe memorized. So, when mom had shingles and I was visiting one day, I offered to make it for her because, as we all know, noodles are a comfort food. It may have been the drugs, but mom loved it too and we've tweaked to recipe several times to make it just the way we like it, so here's the recipe first and then take a look at the variations because that's where the real fun begins.
6 oz dried vermicelli
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 green onions, cut diagonally in 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
lime wedges for garnish
Cook vermicelli according to package instructions, drain and set aside.
In medium saucepan, combine soy sauce, broth, peanut butter, lime juice, ginger, and crushed red pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until peanut butter is melted.
Add cooked pasta and toss to coat evenly.
Stir in cooked chicken, sweet red pepper, green onions, and cilantro.
Serve with lime wedges.
Variations:
So, I'll be honest. I have never made this recipe with vermicelli. I usually use spaghetti noodles because that's what I have in the house. I prefer the thin variety. Angel hair is too thin and regular spaghetti is really too thick. I usually add broccoli because I really need to eat more vegetables. The broccoli can be fresh or frozen and I throw it in to cook with the noodles. Hooray for multi-tasking. I also never cook the sauce in a pan. It microwaves well in 1 minute and you dirty far less dishes. Finally, the meat in this recipe can be whatever you like, or none if you prefer. As I said before, when I just want something quick, I have made this meatless and it's just as good. In the picture, I made mine with shrimp and it was fabulous. I've also used beef. Depending on what kind of meat I use, I will usually change what kind of broth is added to the sauce. I've used vegetable before and it was OK, I normally use chicken broth, and I use beef broth when I cut slices of steak for this. One final variation, I normally saute the red pepper strips with the meat. That's just a personal preference because I like my red peppers a little caramelized. This recipe is fabulous because it's so flexible, so get creative and enjoy!!
6 oz dried vermicelli
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 green onions, cut diagonally in 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
lime wedges for garnish
Cook vermicelli according to package instructions, drain and set aside.
In medium saucepan, combine soy sauce, broth, peanut butter, lime juice, ginger, and crushed red pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until peanut butter is melted.
Add cooked pasta and toss to coat evenly.
Stir in cooked chicken, sweet red pepper, green onions, and cilantro.
Serve with lime wedges.
Variations:
So, I'll be honest. I have never made this recipe with vermicelli. I usually use spaghetti noodles because that's what I have in the house. I prefer the thin variety. Angel hair is too thin and regular spaghetti is really too thick. I usually add broccoli because I really need to eat more vegetables. The broccoli can be fresh or frozen and I throw it in to cook with the noodles. Hooray for multi-tasking. I also never cook the sauce in a pan. It microwaves well in 1 minute and you dirty far less dishes. Finally, the meat in this recipe can be whatever you like, or none if you prefer. As I said before, when I just want something quick, I have made this meatless and it's just as good. In the picture, I made mine with shrimp and it was fabulous. I've also used beef. Depending on what kind of meat I use, I will usually change what kind of broth is added to the sauce. I've used vegetable before and it was OK, I normally use chicken broth, and I use beef broth when I cut slices of steak for this. One final variation, I normally saute the red pepper strips with the meat. That's just a personal preference because I like my red peppers a little caramelized. This recipe is fabulous because it's so flexible, so get creative and enjoy!!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Our recipes and how we roll. - Audrey
Last week I got an email from Jeanette, asking me for a recipe that had been mentioned in a comment on Facebook, and after she asked for that one, she went on to say she would really like a copy of a lot of good recipes she remembers from when she lived with us. She suggested making a cookbook, and the more I thought about it, and talked about it, the more it sounded like fun.
Rachel and I started listing favorite recipes, and a lot of them are already typed up and stored in my computer, because I've sent them to my kids. As they've moved out, gone to college or missions or gotten married, they always ask for recipes for their favorite foods so they can make them at their new home, so I've got them stored in a Recipes folder in my computer.
Kim was very organized about it (as Kim always is), and before she went to college, she looked for specific recipes to take with her in a notebook, and she has added to it over time, so my first thought was to use her personal cookbook as a starting point, but then the idea got bigger!
Rachel thought it would be a great plan to make a family cooking blog, and include pictures of the food, and I thought we should put in pictures of the family, too, especially of the kids from the years when Jeanette lived with us. So eventually - I hope by the end of the summer - we will have a recipe collection that we can have printed into a cookbook.
Our plan is to present the recipes, with pictures and comments, and also probably with notes on our substitutions, because I am famous for making substitutions when I don't have exactly the ingredients a recipe calls for, and my children learned the art of substituting from me.
True story: Diana gave me a recipe for an easy and delicious (according to her) chicken and rice casserole. I didn't have rice in the house at that moment, which is surprising, because we always have rice; we eat a ton of rice! So I used bulgar, which is cracked wheat, in which the grains are about the same size as rice kernals, and I used something else in place of,I don't know, cream of mushroom soup, I think, and then there was a third thing that I didn't have so I used another thing.
When I told Diana about it later, I said I had made the recipe and it wasn't really as good as she said. She was surprised, and I told her that I had made a couple of changes, and by the time I got done telling her what I had used for this or that, she said, "So you really made an entirely different recipe, didn't you?" And yes, she was right, and I don't think I ever did make that casserole the right way.
These are our favorite recipes, so they will be good, or at least we think they are, and they are the recipes that I make for my kids when they come home from a hard semester, or a hard day, or just to hang out. They are the recipes that they call me for when they are away, so they can make the comforting home food that makes them feel better. Where I can, I will give sources, but some of them are things I've been making for so long that the original sources are long gone.
You can look forward to Harold's Good Meatloaf, Mom's Good Yellow Cornbread, Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls, and Killer Brownies, and if there are any good stories that go with them, we'll tell you about them. Through the magic of the Internets, Rich and I even found the source of the Pigs in a Blanket recipe that Kim started making for us when she was about 8!
Rachel and I are really excited about this!
Rachel and I started listing favorite recipes, and a lot of them are already typed up and stored in my computer, because I've sent them to my kids. As they've moved out, gone to college or missions or gotten married, they always ask for recipes for their favorite foods so they can make them at their new home, so I've got them stored in a Recipes folder in my computer.
Kim was very organized about it (as Kim always is), and before she went to college, she looked for specific recipes to take with her in a notebook, and she has added to it over time, so my first thought was to use her personal cookbook as a starting point, but then the idea got bigger!
Rachel thought it would be a great plan to make a family cooking blog, and include pictures of the food, and I thought we should put in pictures of the family, too, especially of the kids from the years when Jeanette lived with us. So eventually - I hope by the end of the summer - we will have a recipe collection that we can have printed into a cookbook.
Our plan is to present the recipes, with pictures and comments, and also probably with notes on our substitutions, because I am famous for making substitutions when I don't have exactly the ingredients a recipe calls for, and my children learned the art of substituting from me.
True story: Diana gave me a recipe for an easy and delicious (according to her) chicken and rice casserole. I didn't have rice in the house at that moment, which is surprising, because we always have rice; we eat a ton of rice! So I used bulgar, which is cracked wheat, in which the grains are about the same size as rice kernals, and I used something else in place of,I don't know, cream of mushroom soup, I think, and then there was a third thing that I didn't have so I used another thing.
When I told Diana about it later, I said I had made the recipe and it wasn't really as good as she said. She was surprised, and I told her that I had made a couple of changes, and by the time I got done telling her what I had used for this or that, she said, "So you really made an entirely different recipe, didn't you?" And yes, she was right, and I don't think I ever did make that casserole the right way.
These are our favorite recipes, so they will be good, or at least we think they are, and they are the recipes that I make for my kids when they come home from a hard semester, or a hard day, or just to hang out. They are the recipes that they call me for when they are away, so they can make the comforting home food that makes them feel better. Where I can, I will give sources, but some of them are things I've been making for so long that the original sources are long gone.
You can look forward to Harold's Good Meatloaf, Mom's Good Yellow Cornbread, Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls, and Killer Brownies, and if there are any good stories that go with them, we'll tell you about them. Through the magic of the Internets, Rich and I even found the source of the Pigs in a Blanket recipe that Kim started making for us when she was about 8!
Rachel and I are really excited about this!
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