Crock

Am I alone in hating crock-pot recipes that require pre-cooking? This defeats the entire purpose of a crock-pot to me. If I have to brown chicken beforehand (yes, getting that nice crispy texture and browned flavor isn't going to come any other way I know), I'm probably not making it.

It's a rare day when I have the foresight to get the crock cooking early enough for the evening meal, let alone getting the meat browned as well. What I should do is buy a rotisserie, shred it and freeze it for those recipes. Should do. Will do is another matter.

Week 32 - Au Jus!

Mon – Au Jus French Dip (Hy-Vee Cookbook)
Tues – Chicken stir-fry
Weds – Wild rice soup (Hy-Vee Cookbook)
Thurs – Lasagna
Fri – Alfredo w/chicken and broccoli
Alt – chicken and sweet potatoes
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Anyone who has been a teenager in non-rural Iowa (ha ha, yes, that's more than 10 of us thanks much) has probably worked at Hy-Vee grocery stores. That's where a couple recipes are from this week. Made the Au Jus tonight and it's a keeper. I'll include the recipe below since it was so easy and good. Happy cooking!

Au Jus French Dip - from HyVee Cookbook
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1 can cream of onion soup
1 can or equivalent beef broth
1 can beer
3-4 lb beef roast

Put all in a crock pot on low for 8 hours. Shred meat and serve on hoagies.

Week 28 - Soup, Souffle, Spaghetti

Mon – Roast tomato soup over couscous w/cheese melts (Crock-pot cookbook)
Tues – Spinach souffle (Mom Barb's recipe)
Weds – Barb's spaghetti (makes extra to freeze)
Thurs – Greek meatloaf (Opaah!)
Fri – Chicken, snow peas, mashed potatoes
Alt – falafels; frozen left-over chili
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My sister-in-law had tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner with her family last week. Then I was out with friends and the subject of tomato soup came up (canned? from scratch?). I think it's been almost 10 years since I've enjoyed that meal, so thought I'd try a new tomato soup recipe this week and see how it goes over.

I ended up making an ultra-simple dish for the potluck last week, courtesy of my Mom's kitchen. My mom is the ultimate short-hand cook. The less time in the kitchen, the better! She suggested buying some chicken wings and legs (thank you Sam's Club for the 800 pounds of leg and wings now filling my freezer), and pouring a bottle of barbeque sauce over them. Normally you can just cook them in your crock pot that way, but we put them in the oven until they were done to make sure they cooked through in time. It was so easy and good! Did I actually "cook" anything? I don't think I did. Wouldn't have done that 5 years ago, but I didn't mind at all last week. There were 3 dishes of chicken enchiladas there, so I guess it's good I didn't opt for that recipe. So many other good things I tasted for which I wish I had recipes. Happy cooking.

Week 11--Crocked

Mon – Stir-fry with beef, snow peas, and carrots
Tues – Cream-cheese chicken with broccoli (Crock pot cookbook)
Weds – Philly cheese-steaks (Crock pot cookbook)
Thurs – Pasta con aceto balsamico (Italian cookbook)
Fri – Creamed spinach and tortellini (Italian cookbook, for crock pot)
Alts – Steak and potatoes; blts w/avocado
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Grabbed the crock-pot cookbook this week, so have a few recipes I'm trying from that. Otherwise, there's a strong slant toward red meat and the grill. Must be summer. I've been debating serving ALL our meals outside, from breakfast to dinner. Clean-up is so much easier with little kids when it's left to the ants. Happy cooking.

Week 10 -- Hot Weather Eats

Mon – Mojito chicken with corn salad (Not instant recipes, but flavorful and easy. Salad will feed 8-10, or cut recipe as desired.)
Tues – Grilled pizza (per Mark Bittman's recipe, cooked on the grill. 3 burners on high, approx 8 min).
Weds – Chilaquiles (Surprisingly good recipe from the back of a chip bag. Here it is: 1 c cooked shredded chicken -- left overs from Monday -- 1 c chicken broth, 1+ cups salsa verde. Put all in frying pan, bring to near boil. Layer tortilla chips on top, stir gently until softened. Serve w/sour cream and cilantro.)
Thurs – Fish Tacos (Recipe in yesterday's post)
Fri – BBQ Pulled Pork with coleslaw (This is the best thing I know how to make in a crock pot. Pork recipe follows, from "Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes.")
1 boneless pork shoulder or butt roast (3-4 lbs)
1 t salt
1 t ground cumin
1 t paprika
1 t black pepper
1/2 t ground red pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, cut in strips
18 oz bbq sauce
1/2 c light brown sugar
Serve on hot cooked rice or sandwich rolls
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Trim excess fat from pork. Combine salt, cumin, paprika, and peppers in small bowl. Rub over roast.
Place onion and bell pepper in crock pot. Add pork. Combine bbq sauce and brown sugar, pour on top.
Cook on low 8-10 hours. Trim off remaining fat, shred pork with 2 forks. Looks dry going in, but will be incredibly juicy when done. This will make left-overs that freeze well, or snack from the fridge well, and you'll look forward to!)
Alt – BLTs
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Lots of recipes included this week as they're either really easy, or typically turn out well for me. Happy cooking.