Favorite Gadget Thing- Smart Pot

I love my smart pot crock pot. My husband bought it for me December 08 for my birthday. I wasn't sure how I'd like it but after using it for a long time, I can truly say I'm thrilled with it. The biggest change is that it cooks so much hotter than the old versions. I think it's because of all the food poisoning scares. This thing cooks in half the time that my oldie does.

There are other features that I love as well....such as, it's got the timed cooking which goes to just the "keep warm" feature after it's done cooking. The lid is glass and not plastic which is great if you are trying to not cook in plastics anymore. It is also quite large and can fit a lot more food into it! This 6 quart one is oblong instead of round which is convenient for beef ribs!

Those are my highlights about it. If you are contemplating getting one, I'd say it's worth the money if you love to use your crock pot.

Honey Baked Lentils and Rice

I know this doesn't look like much but oh. my. goodness. this is SO good. I've tried many lentil and rice recipes and this one is hands down our favorite. My husband and kids don't even like lentils and won't eat them any other way but they love this. I adapted the recipe from Becca's recipe called Honey Baked Lentils. I wanted to make ours a little more substantial since we eat it as a main dish so I added rice and changed up the measurements a bit. It works great as a healthy side dish as well. I prefer it cooked on low for half the day in the crock-pot. You can bake it in the oven but it just didn't come out cooked as even because of the rice added.

Here's my take on it:

1 c lentils
1 c brown rice
4 1/2 c water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dried minced onion (fresh onion floats to the top)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 1 minced clove of garlic)
1 tsp salt (or more if needed)
pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in the crock-pot and cook on low from about noon till dinner. This stuff is addicting. The flavor is SO good!

If baking in the oven: 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Chicken Stock

After you've cooked a whole chicken, let it cool and pick all the meat off of it. Place the carcass into your crock-pot with:
a carrot or two
1-2 celery stalks
a half of an onion
a bay leaf
a few garlic cloves
1 tsp Italian seasoning
a few dashes of pepper
then fill the crock to the top with water

Turn it on low and let it "cook" over night. In the morning, turn it off and let it cool. Once it's cooled (completely) strain it and ladle it into canning jars leaving about 2 inches from the top free, and freeze. I make mine with no salt and add salt to my cooking later. You could also can this so that you could store it on your pantry shelf.

You can use your broth/stock for any recipe that calls for it. It works great for soups, rice, gravy, etc.

Roast Chicken (in a crock-pot)

I like to make roast chicken but in the crock-pot. This way if I'm gone all day I don't have to worry about cooking the meal, it's ready for me when I get home. For the roast chicken in the pictures I actually did two small chickens in the crock-pot. One was for dinner and one was to use the meat for other meals throughout the week.

Put chicken whole (innards removed), skin on, in the crock-pot. Give a good sprinkling of seasonings like:
rosemary
Italian seasoning mix or oregano, basil, etc...whatever Italian seasonings you have on hand
salt and pepper
and a swirl of olive oil
(I'm always asked if you need water. NOPE, it will make it's own juices, no water needed.)


Then throw in a few whole or minced garlic cloves. Cook on low from morning till dinner. If you are having company and want a fancier presentation, you can remove the chicken (carefully) and place under your broiler for just a few minutes to brown the skin on top giving it that oven roasted texture and look.

You can cook veggies either with it in the crock-pot or you can cook them on the stove top till crisp tender.

The basic veggies I do with roast chicken are
carrots
potatoes
celery
onion
but sometimes we throw something extra in too like broccoli.

Don't throw the carcass or leftovers out! You can make quite a few things with what is left over in your pot.

chick broth (instructions coming next post)
chicken noodle soup
chicken rice soup
chicken and dumplings
and more

Easy Apple Sauce/Butter

I got this applesauce recipe from my friend, Katey but made changes. I try to simplify things as much as possible. I also love apple butter so my version is more like apple butter. Yum. When I was making it I felt like Diane Keaton in Baby Boom making Gourmet Baby Apple Sauce.

1. I core my apples and cut them in half.
2. I fill my crock-pot with them till it's full to the top.
3. I turn on the crock-pot on low for about 8 hours.
(I often do this before bed and let them cook all night.)
4. Then I sprinkle a heavy amount of cinnamon. (you can add as much as you like to your own taste.)

5. Once cooked, I puree the apples and then ladle it into jars.

That's it. I leave the skin on for extra fiber. I use gala apples which are a dessert apple and so sweet I don't need sugar. I don't add water because I want it to be thick like apple butter. I don't add lemon because I'm happy with my apple butter color (and the skins make it a dark apple sauce.

You can by all means peel the apples first.

Here is Katey's original recipe. Thank you for sharing it Katey!

4 lbs tart apples, cored and sliced thin

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1.       Mix apples (about 12 cups) with cinnamon and sugar and put into crock pot.

2.       Pour water and lemon juice over apples. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.(I cook them overnight and we have it for breakfast, yum!)

3.       Dump apples and juices into food processor and puree well.

Healthy Refried Beans/Bean Dip

pre-soaked pinto beans
1 diced onion
2 minced garlic cloves
olive oil
salt to taste

Pre-soak beans over night. Drain water. Cook beans covered in water (I cook them in my crock-pot for about 8 hours on low). Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil. Drain beans (reserving the liquid) and add to skillet with onion. Begin mashing the beans adding in the reserved liquid as needed to make the beans creamy. Saute while doing this process until beans are bubbly and the consistency you like. Add salt to taste.

Serve hot or freeze for later use. Makes a wonderful bean dip as well.

Note: You can also do the reverse process by draining the liquid from the crock-pot and adding the sautéed onions and garlic to the beans in the crock-pot. Mash the beans in the crock-pot and add some of the liquid back in. Cook on low for one hour or on high for about 30 min.

Crock- pot Lasagna

I've seen this idea online and wanted to give it a try. I've never actually even made lasagna in the oven before. I love using my crock-pot to keep me out of the kitchen when I'm busy and tired in the late afternoon.


1 lb beef
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 diced onion or 1/8 minced dried onion
1 tsp anise seed
1/2 tsp salt
1 jar pasta sauce
1 container ricotta cheese (about 30 oz)
2 cups grated parmesan cheese (or italian cheese mix)
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese plus some for on top
1/8 c dried parsley
2 c chopped fresh baby spinach
1/2 box of regular lasagna noodles
1/2 c of water

Brown beef in skillet with next five ingredients. Once browned, add pasta sauce. In separate bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, and parsley together. In bottom of crock-pot using half of everything, layer sauce, then noodles (break to fit), spread cheese mixture over noodles, layer chopped spinach next and then repeat layers using the rest of the ingredients. Top with a few handfuls of grated cheese (mozzarella) and pour water over all.

Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. In my new crock-pot that cooks hotter than my old one, this was done at about 7 hours on low. But in my old one I'm thinking it might have taken about 9-10 hours. You can prep the night before and then pour water over in the morning and cook.

Wow, this was easy and yummy!

Shredded Beef Tacos

1 beef roast (I use chuck)
2 packets of taco seasoning

Place beef roast in crock-pot on low long enough to shred (approx. 8-10 hours). Sprinkle with taco seasoning. When done cooking, shred.

Serve in corn tortillas with cheese, chopped cilantro, chopped onion, chopped tomato.

Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage

With St. Patrick's Day this week, we'll be making this.....so I thought I'd move it back up to the top of our blog.

Growing up this was one of my favorite meals. You have to like salty foods to like this. I find people either love it or don't like it. It goes well with my Irish heritage and my mom always made this on St. Patrick's Day (which happens to be my dad's birthday). Imagine that, an Irish man born on St. Patrick's Day...good timing.

1 corned beef roast
1 cabbage cut into wedges
4-5 yukon gold potatoes quartered
2 cups chopped carrots

Put the roast into the crock-pot fat side down. Sprinkle the seasoning packet that it comes with on top. Put potatoes, and carrots on top. Cook on low all day (about 8-9 hours). Add the cabbage in wedges at about noon and continue cooking on low. Remove roast and veggies from the crock and strain the broth. Use the broth to make a gravy. The pictures don't show the potatoes and carrots because I was out of them the other day when I decided to throw this in the crock pot but I usually do the potatoes and carrots too.

Robin's Pasta Sauce

I've been wanting to make my own pasta sauce for quite some time and so the experimenting began. But one day I was at a friend's house and she had this sauce cooking in her crock-pot and gave me a taste. Oh my was it good! I begged, pleaded, got on my knees, wept tears of envy as I petitioned her to please share her recipe with me. She was very kind and said that yes, I could have it AND I asked her permission to share it with all of you. Now, Robin doesn't have a blog otherwise I'd be pointing you to her blog but she IS a blog reader so feel free to comment on this post and thank her for this recipe if you like it. She made this up herself and well, as her sauce implies, she's a great cook. Not only is SHE a great cook (and I know this because I've enjoyed tasting her cooking several times) but her husband is also a great cook! (Sorry if I'm embarrassing you guys, but truly Bill, you and Robin make quite the culinary couple!) I used the same begging tactics to get a copy of Bill's chocolate bread pudding recipe that was incredible....so I'll have to ask them if I can share that on here too. It's time for Bill and Robin to open a restaurant or at least start a cooking blog! =0) hint hint.

Robin uses all fresh ingredients from her summer garden to make this recipe and then she freezes it in her deep freeze in canning jars. I have a very large deep freeze as well and seeing that I hate the time and energy it takes to can, I loved the idea of freezing it. BUT you can surely can it as well if that is your preference. If you are freezing it, be sure to leave room at the top of the jar for expansion like in my picture above. Do not fill them all the way.

I didn't have fresh garden produce to make this with so I converted most of the recipe for you to canned tomatoes and dried herbs. I have to admit that Robin's fresh version was better but that the canned and dried version still taste good and works well. This IS our new pasta sauce. I used the organic diced tomatoes from Costco and the organic tomato paste from Costco as well.

4 onions
4 garlic cloves (1 tsp garlic powder)
2 diced bell peppers
1/2 c olive oil
16 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (or 8 cans diced tomatoes -14.5 oz)
1/4 c fresh oregano (or 1/8 c of dried crushed)
1/4 c fresh basil (or 1/8 c of dried crushed)
1/4 c fresh parsley (or 1/8 c of dried crushed)
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp salt
2 6 oz cans tomato paste

Saute onion, garlic, peppers in olive oil. Combine everything in crock-pot. Cook 2-3 hours on low. Stir often. Then let cool. Put in canning jars and freeze.

Other Info-
-My kids aren't crazy about the chunky tomatoes (which I personally love!) so when I'm going to use a jar of sauce I pour it first into our blender to puree it and then the kids love it.

-This recipe makes about 5 large canning jar sizes. It also fits in my 6 qt crock-pot and I don't know how well it would fit in a 5 qt. but you could try it. There was a little room in my 6 qt still. My picture shows 4 jars because we used about 1 jars worth for dinner that night.


Differences-
-Robin doesn't add the tomato paste until she is ready to use a jar of the sauce. When she is heating it to use, then she adds 1-2 cans of the paste for one jar of sauce. I put 2 cans of paste into the original ingredients when it was cooking in the crock-pot and don't add anymore paste when I use a jar.

-I also rounded Robin's original recipe of 3/4 tsp of pepper up to 1 tsp.

-One of the times I made it, I added more sugar because the canned tomatoes just aren't as sweet as garden fresh ones. So I made it with 1/2 c organic sugar instead of 1/4 c.

-Robin uses green bell peppers, I use red bell peppers. (I use red because they are easier to digest and they are packed with nutrients and it's a sneaky way to get them into my kids who don't want to eat them otherwise.) You can use any color bell pepper that you prefer.

Potato Leek Soup

I wanted to make yet another healthy soup and since leeks are super good for you and my kids love potatoes I thought I'd make up my own version of potato leek soup in hopes that they would like it with leeks.

6 yukon gold potatoes peeled and cubed
2 leeks washed and sliced (white part and light green only)
2-3 minced garlic cloves
1 box chicken broth
2 c water
1/2 c milk
2 handfuls of grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste (at least 2 tsp of salt)

I made this in the crock-pot by first cooking the potatoes and leeks in the water till tender. You can also use the same method just in a pot on the stove. Once the potatoes and leeks are very tender, scoop them and the water into your blender or food processor and puree them. Pour them back into your pot or crock-pot and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well when adding the cheese so that it doesn't stick in clumps. You can also toss the grated cheese in a few tbsp of flour to coat it and it won't clump when you add it to the soup. Simmer on the stove for about 45 min. or cook on low in crock-pot for a few hours.

Top with croutons or chopped herbs.

My kids absolutely loved this despite my worries.

White Bean Chili

1/2 pound of dry white beans (great northern or navy work well)
1 pound ground turkey cooked (or ground beef or omit it for vegetarian)
2 medium onions diced
1 bell pepper diced (red, yellow, or orange)
1 clove of minced garlic
1 packet of chili seasoning (or your own chili spices)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1-2 cans diced tomatoes (depending on how much you like tomatoes)
1-2 cans water
salt and pepper

Soak beans overnight in water. Drain water and put beans in slow cooker with remaining ingredients. Cook on low all day till beans are tender.

Serve with grated cheese, sliced avocados, minced fresh onion.

Variations-
-add other types of beans as well
-serve over baked potatoes

Tip-
soaking dry beans overnight does two things- 1. it softens the beans to speed up cooking time, 2. it helps release the content of the beans that causes, well, you know, the music you get the next day from that magical fruit.

Beef Stew

1 chuck roast
1 onion soup mix packet
6 cups water

Cook in crock pot half the day on low (in the morning). Take out and chop into chunks. Return to the crock pot and add:
5-6 chopped carrots
4-5 cubed yukon gold potatoes (at least 2 cups worth)
1 diced onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Cook on low till about 1 hour before serving. Then add:
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn

Then to thicken the stew, melt 2-4 tbsp butter in a skillet and add 1/4 -1/2 cup of flour till melted into a paste and add to the stew and stir till thickened.

Onion Roast

A timeless favorite, but I hadn't made it in years. I've learned that slow cooked meat is easiest to digest and so I've been doing a lot more in my crock-pot since I'm all for good digestion. This is the first roast my mom taught me to make and I had forgotten just how good it is.

1 chuck roast (or other tough cut)
1 envelope onion soup mix

Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast in crock-pot. Cook on low till tender with a fork. Crock-pots vary so anywhere from 6-10 hours. Don't forget to throw some Idaho bakers wrapped in foil on top of your roast.

This meat makes a nice BBQ shredded beef sandwich for leftovers.

Crock-pot Brown Rice Breakfast

4 cups water
1 cup brown rice

Cook on low over night.
Serve with your choice of butter, brown sugar, raisins, maple syrup, milk, etc.

Comfort Chicken Casserole

This family favorite is a creamy chicken Mexican style casserole that I believe my mom invented. I've been tweaking it lately to make it healthier and a smaller amount.





3 cooked chicken breast cubed (for the crock-pot version I cook them alone from morning till afternoon and then remove them and chop them up and re-assemble everything in the crock to cook for a few more hours till dinner time)

1 package soft taco size flour tortillas
2 cups mexican style cheese
1 jar salsa (green or red)
1 small can green ortega chilis
1 16oz light sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 of a minced onion (or dried minced onion)

Cut tortillas into 2 inch strips. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl till well combined and tortillas are well coated. If mixture is too dry and difficult to mix, add about 1/2 c milk to mixture. Pour mixture into a sprayed glass 9x13 pan or into a sprayed crock-pot. Sprinkle with extra cheese on top. Bake @ 350 for about 45 min. or until cooked through
or cook in crock-pot on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4 hours or until heated through and onion is cooked.

Serve with sour cream, salsa, diced tomatoes, avocado, sliced olives, chopped cilantro....

Variations:
~use chopped turkey instead of chicken
~use shredded pork instead of chicken
~use lowfat or nonfat ingredients

Tamales in the Crock-pot

Tamales in the crock-pot. Doesn't get easier than that. =0)

Place already cooked tamales (frozen or defrosted) into crock and cook till heated through on high or low. Only takes a few hours on high.

You can also put a small rack in the bottom and a little water to steam uncooked tamales in the crock-pot on high for a few hours.

Mashpotato Soup

I came up with this easy and healthier potato soup out of leftovers we had on hand. Instead of a creamy potato soup that is high in fat, this one uses no milk or cream at all (other than what is already in the mashed potatoes). And, you can make it in the crock-pot if you want to.

It's a broth based soup with lots of veggies and mashed potatoes to thicken it. My kids loved it and it's a keeper!

2 cups mashed potatoes
3 large carrots sliced
4 celery stalks sliced
1/2 - 1 diced onion
3-4 minced garlic cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
1 box chicken broth
1 diced potato
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
2 cups water

Saute veggies in olive oil with garlic and onion until all are tender. Add broth, water, and all seasonings. Simmer for about 20 min. Add mashed potatoes and stir till blended and heated through.

Welcome to What's Cooking 2009

Well, I'm back and what a great break it was! I'm still working on updating this site and making little changes so you may see more changes over the next few weeks as I find a few minutes here and there to fix it up. Meantime, I have a lot of posts that I'm getting ready for you.

I'll be trying to post 3 times a week. M-W-F. I'm still looking for and trying new and healthy recipes.

So, can you guess what my husband got me for my birthday? (my birthday was 12/24) .....
Yep, a crock-pot! You know you're a happy housewife when you get a crock-pot for your birthday from your husband and you're thrilled about it! I have to mention that he didn't want to get it for me because it was "work" related but I convinced him that it would bring me much joy! So, I'm officially the proud owner of 5 crock-pots! Okay, pick your chin up off the floor....I have a little dipper that came with my new one, a divided dipper that I got from my sister and brother last year, a 4 quart that I love to use for breakfast items, my trusty old 5 quart that I got for our wedding and now the new super duper programmable 6 qt! I'm finding that the new 6 qt cooks MUCH hotter even on low than my oldie-but-goodie so I'm having to adjust my cooking times. If I caused you to burn food in the past in your crock-pots because of my cooking times, well, I'm sorry, I didn't know that these new ones cook so hot compared to the old dinosaurs. I mean, I had a hunch but I guess I was surprised when I burned, petrified, turned-into-beef-jerky, our roast last week in my new 6 qt.

Be watching this year for What's Cooking Cookbooks to purchase! (I'm excited about that!)

AND, I've got a new pole on the left as well as updated info in most of my sidebar.

I've decided to keep What's Cooking ad free! So, if you'd like to support What's Cooking you can do so by purchasing the cook books in the sidebar through Amazon. I'll also put up a link soon that you can make ALL your Amazon purchases through that will also help support What's Cooking.

Well, happy new year! Hope you all come back often to check what new recipes we are making and that your own cooking endeavors are always tasty!

Chicken Taco Soup and Corn Chips

I made this chicken version of taco soup the other day with leftover taco chicken... It was really good! I also cut up corn tortillas into triangles with a pizza cutter and then put them in the oven on about 475-500 degrees on a cookie sheet. Turned them over once and kept checking them. Don't leave them in too long or the edges will burn like mine in the picture. =0) But they were SO good with this! I like making my own chips that are so much healthier! No, I didn't put anything on the chips...just laid them on the cookie sheet and into the oven they went.

This taco soup had in it:
shredded taco chicken
can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
beans
frozen corn
2 taco seasoning packets
water
garlic
salt to taste

topped with fresh diced tomatoes, shredded mexi-cheese, chopped avocado, chopped cilantro