My First Crock-Pot and Butter Bell Crock

I have been thinking about buying a Crock-Pot for awhile now, since I felt it would save me some time in preparing meals.  So, last month, when I saw this cute little 2.5 quart Owl Crock-Pot for only $14.99, I could not resist.  The owls had me.

It took me awhile before I would use my new appliance, because I have never used a slow-cooker before.  My mom used hers when I was little, every now and then, but I really never had the desire to use one till recently.  Now, it seems there are many recipes that call for a slow cooker.

My Crock-Pot came with a few recipes, but I really wanted to adapt my own recipes, right away, so I decided to "wing-it" and use the booklet recipes as a guideline.  The first thing I tried was a roast.  I seasoned it and seared it on all sides, put it in the crock pot with a half cup of water, and set it on high.  The recipe I was using as a guideline said, "on High 6-8 hours, or until tender."  It was tender after about 3-4 hours.  I also noticed after an hour of cooking, bits of water were spewing from beneath the lid.  That was quickly remedied, once I realized the lid was not quite on perfectly.  The book did say that the Crock-Pot should be 1/2 - 3/4 full.  I thought it was, but maybe it wasn't quite.  I also did not add vegetables, so I am sure that had something to do with my roast cooking more quickly.  It turned out real tasty!  The meat was so tender, it was falling apart!  Good thing I did not cook it for the full 8 hours, it might have ended up as beef soup!  The juice from the meat made a nice gravy for the next day.  (Helpful tip:  Since I was worried about my counter-tops, I put a pizza stone under my Crock-Pot just in case.  I don't think now I really needed it, but if you are using a slow-cooker for the first time, it could not hurt).

Last night I made Chicken Chili.  I had some frozen chicken breasts I wanted to use from my freezer, so I cooked them in my Crock-Pot first, until they were tender enough to be shredded.  After shredding the chicken and removing the excess liquid (used to help cook the chicken), I added all my other chili ingredients and cooked for about 3 more hours.  My Chicken Chili was also a success!  I made a taco salad with some of the leftovers today.  That too, was delicious.

Another nifty kitchen gadget I acquired recently, was a gift from my mom.  We were shopping in a specialty kitchen store and we came across a butter bell crock.  How it works is you put the butter inside on the top, fill the base with 1/3 cup of cold water, then put the top back on.  The butter is suspended upside-down, surrounded by the cold water.  It keeps the butter spreadable and fresh every day!  It is so nice!  I honestly did not think I would get much use from it when I first got it, but I love it!  The only thing I have to remember, is to change the water every couple of days.  My particular one is called the Original Butter Bell Crock by L. Tremain.  It holds a half cup (one stick) of butter.  After doing some reading, I guess not all hold the same amount.  I really have to say though, it is quite cleverly made..  

Pumpkin Spice Cocoa - Single Serving Size

 

So, after writing my last blog, I started to look at the recipe I was going to make from Pinterest.  Some of the ingredients listed are white chocolate and orange food coloring.  Since I would have had to go to the store for white chocolate, I started to wonder what might happen if I use the Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses instead?  They are, essentially, white chocolate, but they have that extra spice taste in them.  They are already orange, so I would not need to add extra coloring...  So, I decided to grab about seven of them.  I unwrapped each one, then I chopped them up finely, like this:

 

 

Put the chopped kisses in my favorite mug.

 

 

Pictured above:  mug by Sandra Boynton - she is one of my favorite cartoonists, who used to focus on greeting cards and merchandise, but now seems to be doing more children's books, which are also good.  Now back to cocoa!

 

I added a half teaspoon of vanilla (then later changed it to a full teaspoon, because 1 teaspoon is better). I also added a dash of salt, which enhances the flavor of the beverage.

 

 

Heated one cup (8 oz.) of milk in the microwave, using my beverage button, which on my microwave is 2 minutes and 50 seconds (microwaves all vary). Then, I poured half of the milk in my mug, and used a wire wisk to blend all the ingredients together. Then I added the rest of the milk.

 

 

I finished mixing my beverage with a spoon. Then I tasted it! Success! I made Pumpkin Spice White Cocoa! The extra vanilla and salt really made a difference for me.

 

 

After tasting the first version of cocoa I made, I decided I wanted to make the cocoa more like regular hot chocolate (instead of white hot chocolate), so I did all of the above, then added some Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, and that was good, as well. 

 

After tasting each of the cocoas I made, I decided to add a Ghost Peep, as suggested by the other recipe, to see what it would be like.  It was a nice touch.  It just depends if you want a sugary marshmallow in your cocoa or not.  Whipped cream would have been nice as well.

 

Here is my recipe below (Makes 1 serving):

 

7 Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses, chopped

1 teaspoon Vanilla

a dash of salt

1 cup of milk

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup (to taste - optional)

 

Place chopped kisses in a mug. 

Add vanilla and salt.

Heat milk to desired warmth.

Pour half of the milk in mug, and mix with a wire wisk, using two hands in a spinning back and forth motion.  Add rest of milk, then stir.

If you want a more traditional chocolate flavor, add Hershey's Chocolate Syrup to desired taste.  Stir again.

Garnish with marshmallows, marshmallow Ghost Peeps, whipped cream, or whatever else you desire.

Enjoy!

 

Frog Eye Salad

I went to my book club today and decided to take Frog Eye Salad.  While I was at the store, I called my mom to inquire on some of the ingredients, and she could not find her recipe!  So, after buying a few items that I knew were in the salad, I went home and looked for the recipe she had given me from before.  It looked like I had quickly written it down, and some things were not as clear as they should have been, and I know she had added other ingredients normally.  So I found another recipe online, and did a combination of the two.  This is the two recipes combined.  It turned out great!

Recipe for: Frog Eye Salad

*Note: Best if you let salad sit overnight before adding final ingredients, so plan ahead.

What you need:

1 cup of Acini Di Pepe (Pasta) – it looks like this:

1 Tbs. vegetable oil, plus a dash of salt (for boiling water)

1 large can crushed pineapple (I used a 20 oz. can)

1 large can mandarin oranges (I used a 15 oz. can)

1 cup of sugar

2 Tbs. of flour

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp of salt

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup shredded coconut (optional)

8 oz. Cool Whip

Maraschino cherries (optional) I spooned out about 17, with just a touch of juice.

Directions:

• Add 1 cup of Acini Di Pepe to some boiling water with a little salt and 1 Tbs. of vegetable oil. Cook 8-10 minutes.

• Drain and rinse well under cold water.

• Drain juices from pineapple and mandarin oranges into a medium size saucepan.

• In a large bowl, mix drained pasta, pineapple, and mandarin oranges. Set in fridge.

• Mix 1 cup of sugar and 2 Tbs. of flour in a separate bowl. Add to juices in saucepan.

• Stir in 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon extract, and 1 tsp of salt. Cook until thick. Cool to room temperature.

• Stir into bowl with fruit and Acini Di Pepe.

• Set back in fridge, overnight.

• Add 8 ounces of Cool Whip and 1 cup of mini marshmallows.

• May add maraschino cherries.

Enjoy!

Sandwich

The other day I wanted to make a sandwich similar to Panera Bread's "Asiago Roast Beef." It is listed on their menu as: "Oven-roasted beef, smoked cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions & creamy horseradish sauce, on our Asiago Cheese Demi."  Mine is slightly different, but it really hit the spot.  Here is how to make my version, minus the Asiago, and with an addition of mustard:

Start with a french roll.

Add some slices of medium cheddar cheese.

Layer on some quality roast beef slices (I bought mine in the deli section of Fred Meyer).

Next, a couple of slices of tomato,

sliced red onion,

and green leaf lettuce.

Squirt some hot horseradish and some yellow mustard on the top side.

Blend them both together.

You're sandwich is done!

Yummy!

Leftover Turkey Tostada Pizza

So did everybody have a good Thanksgiving? I did. I actually did all the cooking myself this year, with the exception of my dad's excellent cranberry relish that he found on the cooking channel last year. All the food turned out really yummy too, so I was pleased!

After Thanksgiving, I had to house/cat sit at my aunt's, so I was combining leftover ingredients from my fridge and hers, and created something of my own that turned out quite tasty and easy to make.

At first, I experiemented with turkey on a typical tostada that I usually make, but that was not as good as I had hoped, so I ended up making this instead, which seems more like a cross between a tostada and a pizza (hence, the name). So now, I am sharing my recipe with you! If you try it, I hope you like it too! Here is the recipe:

What you need:

• flour tortilla(s)
• refried beans
• chopped onion (or you could just tear it into bite-size pieces, like I do
• leftover turkey (in bite-size shredded pieces)
• shredded cheese
• chopped tomatoes
• roasted red pepper vinaigrette

Basically you put it together like you would a pizza.

First, spread your beans over an uncooked flour tortilla:

Then, lay or sprinkle onions on top of the beans:

Next, shred your cold, leftover turkey and place over the onions (sorry, I forgot to take a photo!).

Sprinkle shredded cheese over the whole thing:

Place in microwave, and heat it on HIGH for about two minutes, or until cheese is melted.

After you take your tostada pizza out of the microwave, sprinkle chopped tomatoes over it.

Finally, drizzle some roasted red pepper vinaigrette to finish it off.

Eat and enjoy!