Crock Pot Cooking Tips
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Crock Pot cooking
Ever feel like cooking but it's too hot to turn on the oven? Try putting potatoes in the Crock Pot and letting them stew for the day and when you get home you have a great home cooked meal without the stress! This is a great way to have dinner ready when you arrive home from a long days work.
Crock Pot "Baked" Potatoes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 potato
4 medium russet potatoes
aluminum foil
Toppings (extra pts): light sour cream, fresh chives, bacon bits, broccoli, cheese, or anything you wish. Pulled port is always a great addition.
Wash and scrub potatoes until clean. Dry thoroughly. When dry, prick potatoes with a fork and wrap in aluminum foil.
Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.
Turkey Dinner in the Crock Pot
Place one small turkey breast and rub it down with salt and pepper. Set it in your crock pot with two cups of water. Stir in one package of onion soup mix and one package of turkey gravy. Set your crock pot on low and cook for 10 hours. Now you have your turkey and gravy. You just need to make some side dishes.
Crock Pot Chili
Chili tastes better the longer it has to cook. Brown a pound of ground beef and set it in your crock pot. Add one large can of crushed tomatoes, and one small can of tomato paste. Next, add an eight ounce can of kidney beans. Pour in four tablespoons of worcestershire sauce, and four tablespoons of sugar. Sprinkle in some red pepper flakes. Finally, chop up one small onion, and one green pepper. Add them to the crock pot and give the items a stir. Cook on low for eight hours. Serve with some cornbread.
Lemon Chicken
Prepare dinner ahead of time by placing four boneless chicken breasts in your crock pot. Add half a cup of lemon juice, two dashes of pepper, half a stick of butter cut up in to slices, and three chopped cloves of garlic. Cook on low for eight hours and serve hot. Tastes great over a plate of white rice.
Slow Cooker Ribs
Succulent, tender and surprisingly easy, these ribs will be a slow cooker favorite. Cooking the ribs in a slow cooker allows you to achieve a melt-in-the-mouth texture with a spicy or smoky barbecue flavor that will not overpower the meat. Put the ribs on in the morning before you go to work, and you will arrive home to the rich scent of dinner waiting.
You will need about 4 to 5 pounds of beef or pork ribs. While you can use ribs that are still on the bone, boneless ribs work best. Put the ribs in a 6 quart slow cooker. Add about 1/2 bottle (8 to 9 ounces) or one cup of your favorite barbecue sauce. Cook the ribs on low for eight hours. When you open the lid, you will find that the fat has melted off the ribs and the barbecue sauce has provided a tasty bath for the meat. Remove the ribs from the slow cooker. Warm some of the remaining barbecue sauce for those who like a stronger barbecue flavor.
Slow Cooker Boston Baked Beans
An easy, inexpensive meal that every member of the family will love. Tender and rich, these beans are the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Put them on the night before and they will be ready for dinner the following day.
2 pounds (32 ounces) dried small white navy or pea beans
1 tsp baking soda
12-ounce piece of salt port
1 cup dark molasses
1 1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
3 tsps dried mustard
3 tsps salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 onions peeled, left whole, and scored with a criss cross through root end
6 cups boiling water
Rinse the beans in a colander under cold water while picking out stones and damaged beans. Put in a large pot covered with about two inches of cold water. Soak for about two hours. Rinse the beans again.
Put beans back in pot and add an additional 2 to 3 inches of water. Add baking soda. Bring beans to boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer beans for about one hour. A foam will appear at the top of the beans. Skim off foam as needed. This step helps tenderize the beans and minimizes their gassy qualities.
Boil the salt pork for ten minutes to remove excess salt. Rinse the salt pork under cold water and dice into small pieces. Put it and all of the other ingredients in a six quart slow cooker. Put the crock pot on high.
When the beans are ready, rinse beans again. Add the beans to the slow cooker. Change the temperature to low and cook for about fifteen to sixteen hours.
Easy Crock Pot Lasagna Recipe
Love the taste of homemade lasagna, but don't have the time to spend in the kitchen? Consider this easy and delicious crock pot lasagna recipe!
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese + extra
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 whole egg
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
Begin by browning the hamburger meat in a skillet. Add and cook the onion until it becomes translucent. Toss in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and water and mix well.
In a separate bowl, mix the cheeses (mozzarella, Parmesan, ricotta) and egg together well. Stir in the parsley.
Spray the inside of the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray or use a crock pot liner. Pour one cup of the sauce and meat mixture into the crock pot. Place half the noodles over the sauce and top with half of the cheese mixture. Repeat with the remaining sauce, noodles, and cheese mixture.
Cook on low for four to five hours, or until the noodles are done. (For best results, do not cook on high.) Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and allow it to melt. Enjoy!
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| Alicia Bodine |
