Great Northern beans with ham, slow cooked!

My fast, yet slow method of cooking up a batch of Great Northern beans with ham required the following eight basic steps;

1) Measure out a cup of beans (about 233 grams).
2) Sort through beans and remove any foreign matter.
3) Rinse the beans, then place in cold water over high heat. Bring to a boil.
4) Boil for about a minute. Remove them from heat.
5) Place beans into a strainer and rinse.
6) Add beans to a 2 quart slow cooker and cover with about an inch of cold fresh water.
7) Add 1 cup chopped cured ham.
8) Set the cooker on Hi and cook for about 4 hours*. Test the beans for doneness after three hours.

After the beans have been cooked, add a little salt for taste and then serve! I often like to combine the beans over white rice, along with the chopped ham.

 This is a very nice little high carbohydrate meal-a-deal that can work for dieters, just as long as you keep the proportions within reason. For those not on a diet, it's filling and very cheap to make for anyone on a fixed income. Serves 6-8.

Notes on Great Northern beans: Great northern beans are a low-calorie, low-fat, cholesterol-free source of iron, dietary fiber, protein, and potassium. Eating beans like great northern beans regularly can reduce the risk of many potentially serious medical conditions (According to the Harvard School of Public Health).

* Slow cookers vary in the amount of heat they generate and that along with the age of the beans can affect total cooking times.

Wham, bam! Thank you ma'am, vegetable beef soup!

Getting the urge to make soup sweeps over me at random intervals and times. But making vegetable beef soup can be time consuming. So, here's a quick soup that comes together quicker than a cheap hooker's legs when she discovers I'm broke! What did he just say?

To set the stage, I often like to use a small crock pot that holds about 8 cups of soup (2 quarts). That's enough soup to last one person for about four meals or half that for two people. I then like to grab a few fresh veggies while also using three cans of assorted veggies. Note that left over amounts go into storage containers to be used as side for other meals. Note: the slow cook pictured at tight is a Crock-Pot brand 2 quart model that sell for about $15 and which has received rave reviews! And, while I have a couple of other larger deals I could use, I like this one the best!

Ingredients:

200 g stew meat cut into small pieces (~1 cup)

16 oz can petite diced tomatoes (1 cup)

½ small Russet potato, peeled and cubed (½ cup)

2 stalks of celery, sliced (½ cup)

1 beef bouillon cube

½ cup red cabbage

¼ cup white onion, rough cut

¼ cup peas

¼ cup whole corn

¼ cup green beans

Dash of Cayenne pepper (optional)

Hey! Listen up! None of the amounts stated above are set in concrete. I generally just eyeball everything as it gets thrown into the pot. If I'm missing something, I smile and then move on. The beef gets a quick sear in a hot frying pan before it is unceremoniously dumped in with everything else! If there is some space left at the top, I add in some water. There! You're done! If you are practiced, like I am, this whole deal goes together in under ten minutes. Cover the slow cooker, set it on high and just walk away for four hours. Then, before too long, you've got yourself one awesome soup!

Salsa chicken tenders in the slow cooker!

After tossing out the idea of doing a recipe known as Autumn Chicken in my slow cooker (missing some ingredients), I decided to throw in some chunky salsa and chicken tenders and then cook them on high for about four hours. At lunchtime, I them prepared a small amount of egg noodles in a manner that would insure I stayed within dietary limits! My chosen side was about 40 grams of canned green beans that had been soaked in water to brine out the extra salt. The result was interesting, tasty and allowed me the pleasure of eating pasta without the guilt. Now some notes on the two principal ingredients with an aside on sodium.

Note that the noodle weight was 'dry wgt' not actual wet!

Chicken tenders

According to Organic Facts, 'eating chicken provides a good supply of protein, a generous supply of essential vitamins and minerals, results in losing weight (when eaten in moderation), aids in cholesterol control, blood pressure control, and a reduced risk of cancer.' That's a few reasons why I eat it on a regular basis.

Egg noodles

The benefits of eating egg noodles are numerous, including; being a complete protein, which means that it contains all nine amino acids that the body needs. It also contains high levels of B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron, riboflavin, and calcium. Plus, it's gluten-free. Finally, chicken is naturally very low in sodium, although if you season it with salt, you’ll consume way more sodium than you may realize. Personally, I brine the meat to removes excess salt and then use a salt substitute, like potassium chloride, as a healthy alternative.

Salt

As you may have guessed, I try to limit my sodium intake as most processed foods, these days, seem to be soaked in the stuff! When you have a lot of sodium in your diet, your body automatically retains extra fluid (bad). Because of this, your heart works harder to push blood out to your extremities that are suddenly heavier. While you may experience no immediate effects, over time, your blood pressure goes up, raising your chances of suffering from heart disease.

Ingredients:

1/2 pkg of chicken tenders (about 4)

½ 8 oz jar of chunky salsa

1 cup of egg noodles

Fake salt and real pepper to taste

Directions: Place the chicken and the salsa into a small slow cooker. I used a 2 quart model. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours. At the end of that time, cook a cup of egg noodles according to package directions. Serves 2 and cost less than a buck per serving. The power used was also a deal; .4 kWh's or about 6 cents of electricity!

A Penne and pasta sauce blast!

The pasta came in at 350 calories - add another 150 for the garlic bread!

Who knew, but some Polynesian lady's casual remark would set me on the direction for creating a vastly improved pasta sauce!

I like making all my sauces from scratch and that's especially true when it comes to pasta sauces! After trying most of the bottled and canned commercial offerings, I've always thought they were lacking to one extent or another. So, as it happened one day, I was chatting with a lady named Brandy NGO when she remarked that the only form of meat sauce she preferred was one made with sweet Italian sausage. At first, I was against the idea, but in the interest of civility I decided to give it a go.

Here's the ingredient list I compiled:

½ lb sweet Italian sausage by Johnsonville

½ lb ground beef

½ bell pepper, minced

½ onion, minced

15 oz can diced tomatoes

15 oz can tomato sauce

8 oz can mushrooms, drained

1 tsp oregano, dried

1 tsp Basil, dried

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 dash cayenne pepper

1 pkg Penne or shell pasta

Directions:

Brown the Italian sausage and dump it into a slow cooker set to low. Next, dump in the tomatoes and tomato sauce right along with the herbs, garlic, salt and peppers.

While that deal is warming up, minced the onion and the bell pepper and then add them along with the beef to a frying pan and brown the meat. Drain and add it to the slow cooker.

After three hours, pour the sauce into a standard pot and simmer sans lid for another hour. This will reduce the sauce to just the right consistency. Voila! World class pasta sauce!

I like to use quick cooking pasta's like shell or Penne as you can prepare them in just a few minutes. When ready to serve, just mix in the sauce into the hot pasta and off you go!

Pot roast, potatoes, carrots and lots of horseradish!

One afternoon, while sitting at a local watering hole, I was talking with a friend named Nita about the popular condiment called horseradish and how we both liked this spicy white stuff served on a slab of pot roast. That conversation got my salivary glands working and I made it a note to myself to stop at a local meat counter the next day to pick up a 2 pound roast! Allez cuisine baby!

OK. So fast forward a number of hours and I found myself armed with the following ingredients:

2 1/2 lb roast tr-tipped roast

2 carrots, peeled and quartered

1 onion, quartered

4 Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 pkg of McCormick pot roast seasoning with cooking bag

I prepped the veggies, seared the meat on each side for about four minutes, placed the bag into the cooker and threw everything on in. After sealing the bag with the supplied plastic tie, I elected to set the Rival cooker on a high setting (230ºF) for about two hours and then reduced it to low for another four.

'As an aside, another good friend of mine (named Brandy) gave me some cooking tips that I found interesting. Apparently her culinary philosophy is to do as little as possible when preparing this dish. For instance, she doesn't bother searing the meat prior to placing it into the cooker. She also avoids the peeling exercise by rough cutting up some potatoes (skin on) and by using baby carrots. (I had no idea if she bothered with peeling an onion). Everything is simply dumped in along with a little water and a tiny prayer book. The cooker is then cranked to the max early in that morning and everyone goes out to frolic. Later that day, I think she counts on someone taking notice of 'that smoking thing' in the kitchen and voila the meal is ready! Just kidding as Brandy is a very smart woman.'

As  the clock on the kitchen wall ticked the minutes away, I successfully resisted the temptation to open the cooker lid to take a peek. And, let me tell you. That's hard to do! At any rate, by the afternoon around 4PM, the deed was done. I removed the roast and veggies to a small platter and took the picture you see above.

Slow cooked stuff potatoes!

Scenario: There was a post on Face Book about slow cooked stuffed potatoes. I clicked on the link and viewed the recipe with some interest. After reading it, I was intrigued, but wondered about exactly which type of potato would do the best after hours in a slow cooker? Russet, red or one of those larger bakers? I had no idea and so went to the purveyor of all knowledge these days – the Internet and Googled it. One link informed me that Red potatoes did the best in holding together in a slow cooker environment. True? But, aren't they sort of smallish? I decided to find out which was which and what was what!

Here's the way this story was originally laid out. 'Your wanting to enjoy a great stuffed potato, but lack the resources or time to bake one the old fashioned way' – [The real truth is you're like me – you are very, very lazy]. And so, the fabled slow cooker comes to the rescue! You get up, you wrap a tuber in foil, drop it into your crock pot, set to low, and then head off to work. Eight hours later, you arrive exhausted but can quickly sit down to a great stuffed potato meal! Sounds good, in theory. Let's see how it really worked out in practice!

------------------

8:00 AM – The coffee pot was doing its thing (it was set on automatic), I emerged from my shower and grabbed a cup of hot Joe.... It was just about that time that I realized that I was retired and didn't even have a job, so I finished my coffee and headed back to bed. Zzzzzzzzzz

12:00 Noon – I arose, got dressed and decided to FORGET ABOUT IT! – Instead, I nuked a Russet potato in the microwave for 5 minutes on high. Loaded it up with sour cream, broccoli and bacon bits, a little grated cheese and enjoyed it while watching the Chiefs on the tube! Hey, it is the 21^st Century after all! (The taste, by the way, was all it could be)!

Note: If anyone does try this out in a slow cooker, please comment. Also, everyone should go easy on how often they consume this tuber. It has one of the highest glycemic indexes of all the foods we like to eat!

Not another pot roast!

The problem: I wanted to cook a rump roast in my slow cooker, yet most recipes refer to cuts of meat in the 3 to four pound range. My little roast came in at only just over 2 ½ pounds and which cost me eight bucks and change.

In general, cooking a roast is pretty much a no brainer. You sear it over medium high heat in a frying pan to brown it and then you dump it into a Dutch oven along with some carrots and potatoes with just a little bit of water and wine and then throw it into an over set to 350 for about two hours. No big deal….

After doing some searching I came across this recipe and instructions:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb beef roast of your choice
• olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut into pieces
• 2 Russet potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 onion, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 can beef stock
• 2 cans hot water
  

Directions:

• Brown roast in a pan with a little bit of oil over medium-high heat.
• Layer half of the carrots, garlic and all of the onion on the bottom of crock pot
• Top with browned roast
• Arrange the rest of the carrots, garlic and potatoes on top of roast
• Mix beef base in the hot water, pour over roast and veggies
• Cover crock pot tightly, set on high
• Cook for six to eight hours, meat will be very tender, falling apart and veggies cooked through
  

After 2 hours of cooking on high, I decided to check the contents of the slow cooker to see how things were going….. (I figured if either the meat or the veggies were not done, I’d dump them into a Le Creuset and finish them off on the stove top). Instead, I reduced the heat to the low setting and went 2 more hours at which time everything looked good to go. Note that some cookers work much faster than others. It pays to check the contents from time to time.

The end result was pure ambrosia! The roast came apart using just my fork!  And, with a little bit of Horseradish I was in pot roast heaven!

Slow cooker meatloaf is easy to throw together!

Of all the recipes that I like to make in a slow cooker, meatloaf has to be right up there close to the top! Seriously! To me, a good meatloaf is one of the most quintessential comfort foods ever invented! It can be served as a part of a regular meal with gravy or as a cold sandwich – (my personal fav)! Note for a more formal recipe go here!

Talk about easy! When I make a meatloaf, I no longer look at a recipe – instead, I assemble it from memory. In general, I start with a package of hamburger meat (whatever is on sale), two eggs, 2 slices of bread, ½ a med bell pepper, a quarter of an onion, a splash of milk and an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce. I basically dump in everything except the milk, tomato sauce and bread. Knead the mixture a bit with my hands and then shred the bread into small pieces while adding half the tomato sauce and just a splash of milk. This pretty 'goopy' mix is kneaded again and formed into a loaf. See easy greasy!

When the loaf assembly was finished. I prepare a base for it to sit on by placing three medium

potatoes that have been peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch slices. These are placed on the bottom of the slow cooker and a splash of water is then added around the base of the potatoes. I then take two one foot lengths of foil which are folded into two inch strips and placed over the potatoes in a 'cross' pattern. Finally, in goes the meat mix which is formed into a loaf. Over this is poured the rest of the contents of the tomato sauce, the pot is covered and set to cook on low for about 7 to 8 hours. Serves 4.

The end result offers up a number of meals for not a lot of money. I spent about $5 on the ingredients and estimate I'll get about 5-7 sandwiches out of it. The potatoes also go great with other meals I have planned for the week!

Making sure your slow cooker is running properly!

A few days ago I dug out my trusty (and very old) Rival Crock-Pot to run a test on how long it would take to cook three common vegetables; notable a carrot, potato and an onion, all of which were cut up into bit sized chunks!

As a part of the test, I wanted to use the ‘low’ setting with just enough water to cover the items being tested. I allowed the Crock-Pot to come up to temperature and then added the aforementioned pieces to it. Well, after more than eight hours, the potato was barely done while both the onion and carrot pieces still needed more time. What? Obviously something was wrong and a little bit of testing told me what it was. The water was only getting to around 135°F and the power consumed was a measly 75 watts! WTF! That’s like trying to cook a meal using a single light bulb – it just doesn’t work!

So, I then got out a newer (and larger) slow cooker also made by Rival and performed the same operation with the same chunks of onion, potato and carrot. This time the ‘low’ setting read 200 watts and after the unit was on for about an hour, I noticed the liquid inside the pot was at a slow simmer. The internal temperature was also at about 178°F! Now that’s what I’m talking about!

At this new and higher operating temperature, I was able to get all three vegetables done to ‘fork tenderness’ in only about 2 1/2 hours! The moral of the story! Make sure your slow cooker is operating at the correct range of temperatures (170F-200F for low and 275F-300f for high) for whatever setting you plan to use. An easy way to get a clue as to what temperature your slow cooker reached is to watch the liquid after it has been on for at least two hours. A slow simmer would be correct for the low setting while more of a slow boil would be about right for the high setting. (Note that opening the cover can set things back by as much as 15 minutes of added cooking time, so try and avoid the temptation).

Making a rump roast in a slow cooker!

The problem: I wanted to cook a rump roast in my slow cooker, yet most recipes refer to cuts of meat in the 3 to four pound range. My little roast came in at only just over 2 ½ pounds.

In general, cooking a roast is pretty much a no brainer. You sear it over medium high heat in a frying pan to brown it and then you dump it into a Dutch oven along with some carrots and potatoes with just a little bit of water and wine and then throw it into an oven set to 350 for about two hours. No big deal….

However, after doing some research, I came across this slow cooker recipe and instructions:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb beef roast of your choice
• olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut into pieces
• 2 Russet potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 onion, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 can beef stock
• 2 cans hot water

Directions:

• Brown roast in a pan with a little bit of oil over medium-high heat.
• Layer half of the carrots, garlic and all of the onion on the bottom of crock pot
• Top with browned roast
• Arrange the rest of the carrots, garlic and potatoes on top of roast
• Mix beef base in the hot water, pour over roast and veggies
• Cover crock pot tightly, set on high
• Cook for six to eight hours, meat will be very tender, falling apart and veggies cooked through

OK, I thought to myself, I’ve got most everything listed here, so let’s give er a go! Note: I did modify the original recipe for some items (won’t say which ones) to accommodate what I had on hand and to suit my personal tastes). The slow cooker used in this preparation was an old three quart model made by Rival.

After 3 hours of cooking on high, I decided to check the contents of the slow cooker to see how things were going….. (I figured if either the meat or the veggies were not done, I’d dump them into a Le Creuset and finish them off on the stove top). Instead, I reduced the heat to the low setting and went 2 more hours at which time everything looked good to go.

The end result was pure ambrosia! The roast came apart using just my fork!  And, with a little bit of Horseradish I thought I was in pot roast heaven! Serves 4 (see note).

Note: If a mistake was made here it's that next time I might need to add maybe two more potatoes along with two or three more carrots! Then, I might have enough to serve 5 or 6! 

Update: It's about time to make this again! It's November 2015 and I've just moved into a condo. I'll publish a link here as to what happens!

Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers

A semi-original effort on my part that produced a nice result! I was looking for a meaty entrée that was low in calories, relatively low in cholesterol and sodium when I stumbled across this winning combination!

Ingredients:

Add half the can of tomato sauce.

2 bell peppers, seeded & tops removed

½ lb ground beef, browned & drained

¼ medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp dried basil

8 oz can of tomato sauce

1 cup of instant rice, micro waved

2 slices of brick cheddar cheese

Paprika

Salt and pepper (optional)

Directions:

Make sure to overfill the pepper a bit more than shown!

Make up the rice (about 1 cup) according to package directions. Set aside. Blanch peppers in hot boiling water for about 3-5 minutes. Combine the hamburger (about half a pound) and onion, brown in a pan over medium heat and drain off any excess fat. Add the rice, basil and garlic. Mix a little then add about half the can of tomato sauce and mix well. Add this mixture to the bell peppers. Overfill the cavity slightly. Place these in a crock pot that has been set to low. Drizzle the rest of the tomato sauce over the top of each tomato.

Place the peppers into the crock-pot, stuffed side up. Cover and cook on low for about 3 to 4 hours. Just before the end of this time, cut the cheese into four narrow strips and make X’s over each bell pepper. Re-cover and cook for another 15 minutes (or nuke briefly in the microwave to melt the cheese). Remove and sprinkle with some paprika! Note: I did not use and slat in this dish. If I feel the need to do so, I use the so-called fake salt or potassium chloride for that purpose). Serves 2.

Nutritional Information:

Not too shabby nutritionally speaking!

Here’s the nutritional panel I came up with for this recipe. It represents two large stuffed bell peppers with lots of ground beef and rice. This is a meal you have to be careful with if you're on a diet like me. In my case, I only eat half of a pepper (see line of figures in blue) that’s been cut lengthwise. To this, I like to add one of more vegetable sides like streamed green beans, corn or whatever you might have in the pantry. In most cases, you should be able to stay under 400 calories for a filling and great tasting repast!You'll also stretch the budget a bit as I paid a dollar apiece for the peppers on this date!

Notes:

The peppers turned out pretty good with the exception of the way the filling had a tendency to fall apart. Next time, I may elect to add one or two egg whites to the mix to see if that helps. I also plan to add about two to three tablespoons of ketchup to the tomato sauce to kick it up a bit. 

This recipe was redone slightly the next day using grated cheddar cheese (about 20 grams) that was mixed in with the meat and rice just prior to cooking.  The peppers were also placed in small Pyrex glass container to allow them to stand up better in the slow cooker. I also added about two tablespoons of plain ketchup to the mix which helped the over all flavor a lot!

If you prefer, place your peppers into a small baking dish and cook them in a pre-heated oven at 350F for about 20-30 minutes!

EZ Slow Cooker Porkchops!

Even though pork chop are now getting expensive (so, what isn’t). I made up this recipe to see if it would live up to the good reviews it had received. The only change I made from the original was to braise the chops on a hot grill outside. I like seeing the marks left on the meat rather than a slab of gray at meal time. Other than that, this meal takes just a few moments to prepare.

Ingredients:

4 pork chops (1/2" thick)
Salt & pepper
1 onions, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
3 banana peppers, cut in strips
1/8 c. water
1/4 c. catchup
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp. brown sugar

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours. I served this with a couple of cutup potatoes that spent a few moments in the microwave.  Good for a busy day. Serves 4.