:lol3::lol3::lol3: We did stay home last night and I made Littlenecks, We are going out tonight though. :bigthumb:
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What's for dinner?
- Thread starter Winchester
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- #802
It's just me tonight. Thinking about a bit of macaroni and cheese.
(Although I do have a box of Cheez-its Duoz in the pantry! Part sharp cheddar, part Parmesan. Lauren, are you listening???)
(Although I do have a box of Cheez-its Duoz in the pantry! Part sharp cheddar, part Parmesan. Lauren, are you listening???)
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- #803
Pork chop with sauteed apples and onions.
I have a lot of veggies in the fridge - green beans, spinach, asparagus, etc. I need to see if I have any meat in the freezer that can be quickly thawed to go along with it. If not it will be off to the store for some meat.
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- #805
A frittata would be a great way to use your veggies (and no trip to the store....unless you need eggs!).
I changed my mind. Found a container of vegetable soup in the freezer (it pays to clean it out) from back at the end of January. With the snow coming, that fits my mood. So veggie soup it is....with a toasted English muffin. Maybe I'll get the chop out tomorrow.
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Oh that would have been a good idea! I did have some of the perfect portions chicken in the freezer, so I thawed some and we had that with the veggies. Leftovers tonight.
A steak casserole that's been in the slow cooker since 7.30 this morning, and l can't wait!!
GUESS WHAT!!!!!!! Larry is out-of-town again this week! Yesterday at the store I bought some of these........
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- #809
Oh.....my......gosh. Just shoot me now. I love Cheddar Jack Cheez-its! You are one bad, bad girl! It only took me two days to go through my Duoz! And now I want more.
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I am doing an experiment. I don't know much about cooking in the crock pot. I want to learn. So I am trying some beef stew. I browned about two pounds of the stew meat. In my crock pot I layered, carrots, celery, potatoes, onions and some chopped clove garlic. I added a bay leaf, some crushed basil and thyme, black pepper. Then I put in a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes. Then I measured 1/3 cup dry red wine into the empty can and finished filling it with beef stock. It has all been cooking on low since 9:30 this morning. Any ideas when this will be done. I don't want mushy beef soup.
Savory Beef Stew served over rice, with salad to go with it. It was a crock pot, kind of day! 
I just noticed your post; great minds think alike!
I cooked mine on low for eight hours in the crock pot. (It would really be ready to eat at six hours if you're starving though!). If you want to cook it on high, it will be done in four hours. Hope that helps!
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We're having steak and rice.
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Mine was actually done in five hours. My daughter told me I better no let it cook too long so I checked it about two PM. Actually, mine was kind of spicy hot. I don't know why. I was going by a recipe that called for bay leaf, basil and thyme. Would any of that make it hot. I wondered if it was one of those or I put too much pepper.I just noticed your post; great minds think alike!
I cooked mine on low for eight hours in the crock pot. (It would really be ready to eat at six hours if you're starving though!). If you want to cook it on high, it will be done in four hours. Hope that helps!
You can definitely serve it around the 5-6 hour mark. I like mine really tender, so I love cooking it on low for 8! I'm not sure why yours was hot. I put bay leaf and basil in mine as well; both are savory herbs. I cook with thyme a lot too; it's a savory herb, not a spice. My guess is that you maybe put in too much pepper? I noticed that you used canned tomatoes; did you get spicy ones by accident? I've done that before!Mine was actually done in five hours. My daughter told me I better no let it cook too long so I checked it about two PM. Actually, mine was kind of spicy hot. I don't know why. I was going by a recipe that called for bay leaf, basil and thyme. Would any of that make it hot. I wondered if it was one of those or I put too much pepper.I just noticed your post; great minds think alike!
I cooked mine on low for eight hours in the crock pot. (It would really be ready to eat at six hours if you're starving though!). If you want to cook it on high, it will be done in four hours. Hope that helps!
This is what I put into mine: Stew meat (Since I put mine in frozen, I let it cook longer so it would be tender), Progresso Starters Fire Roasted Tomato, 1 can of beef broth, splash of Lousiana hot sauce, Tony Chachere Original Creole Seasoning, baby yukon gold potatoes, herbs de province, freeze-dried Italian seasoning, carrots chopped, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, chili powder, garlic minced, tiny pinch of sugar, white onion, fresh basil leaves on top, splash of Worcestershire sauce, fresh dill all throughout, celery chopped, (I also save the celery leaves and put them on top when it's cooking to add more flavor, one bay leaf (I take all of the basil, celery, and basil leaves out once it's ready to serve).
I'm guessing too much pepper also. :nod: Did you like using the crockpot other than that?
We ended up having mussels and little necks last night, so we'll have the leftover chicken and vegetables tonight.
We ended up having mussels and little necks last night, so we'll have the leftover chicken and vegetables tonight.
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- #817
Those herbs wouldn't make your stew too hot.....like the others, I'm thinking it was too much pepper. Or the tomatoes...like StarryEyedTiGer mentioned. I've gotten tomatoes with chilis before and didn't realize it. (But I just love fire-roasted tomatoes....Muir Glen has the best, I think). Or too much onion and garlic; that will give you a bit of a spicy taste, too, sometimes. Other than that, though, what did you think? And how did you like using your crock pot? I'd be lost without my crock pot.
Here's a way to check the temperature of your crock pot, just in case anybody is interested: Put about 4 quarts of water in the crock pot. Put it on Low or High for about 4 hours. Then check the temp of the water; it should be between 195 - 205 degrees. You can check it on Low and on High, if you want. If it's not within that range, it's either cooking too slowly (and you'll have to add more time) or it's cooking too quickly (and you'll have to decrease the cooking time). You'll need an instant-read thermometer to do this....I keep mine right on my knife block where it's always handy to grab.
Also, did you know that most crock pots have a hotter side.....usually at the back. America's Test Kitchen recommends that you put foil on the inside at the back side to protect the food there from burning. (This is from America's Test Kitchen....a slow cooker show was just on tv recently and that's where I got this information.)
ETA: I forgot to tell you what I'm doing for dinner tonight. I'm finally doing that pork chop. I kept wanting to do it and never got around to it. Grilling on the indoor grill with apple butter BBQ sauce. And grilled grape tomato halves sprinkled with a wee bit of balsamic vinegar and basil. Yesterday, I got out of the freezer what I originally thought was two chicken legs that I had done a few weeks ago. Well, when I opened the container, turns out it was two slices of a pot roast (I save everything!). Threw it in the microwave for a couple minutes, added some steamed snow peas with a wee bit of butter and some thyme. It was good, but that will teach me to label the containers. I do label things when I put them in the basement freezers, but for the freezer in the kitchen, I tend not to label. *sigh*
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Fish with baked potatoe, peas and sweetcorn
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Thanks for both replies to my problem with the stew. I will look at the tomato can, although I don't think so. But I think the pepper might be it. I put the stew in a colander and let the gravy drip through. We are going to eat the remainder like that and see if it is still hot. I think the hot might have been in the gravy since that is where the pepper would mostly be. As for the hot side of the crock pot, that makes sense. Hubby washed out the pot and I dried it. On one side, it looks like something is burned on, but I soaked it overnight and washed it with a scrubber. It still looks like that. I can't feel anything, but I can scrape stuff with my fingerna:lol3:ht try the foil thing next time. I liked cooking it in once I got everything in the pot because then I could leave it and do something else. I don't give up yet
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- #820
Check out some of the crock pot recipes in the Recipe Exchange....they're pretty good.
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