Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Pork Lion

It was my mother in love's (MiL) birthday recently. She normally does all the cooking and such for any sort of birthday celebration for the family, so Husband and I insisted that we at least make the entrée. Little brother brought a couple of Gooey Looey Gooey Butter Cakes (AMAZEBALLS, seriously, try them!) and MiL ended up making a salad because she is super good and them and felt bad that I was cooking when I had to work all day. I try to explain to her the beauty of a slow cooker and I think that is the only reason she agreed to it either way.


For family dinner when I am feeding 6 people, I typically go for something that is less protein based so that it will keep cost down. This dish, though, has a perfect amount protein for the price thanks to pork being less that $4/lb and it being on sale at Shop and Save early that week!




Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin
Ingredients

1lb pork loin (I used a 3.75 pound loin)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 apples, one diced and one sliced (I used a 5, 2 sliced the rest cubed)

1 large sweet potato (I used a 4, diced)

1 red onion (I left this out because Little Brother doesn't do onion)

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Season pork loin with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork for 2-3 minutes per side until browned.
2. Place diced sweet potato, one diced apple, and diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Season with remaining salt and pepper.
3. Make slits in the pork loin and stuff with the other sliced apple. Transfer to slow cooker and sprinkle the entire mix with cinnamon and drizzle with honey.
4. Cook on low 7-8 hours. (Mine cooked for 10 hours or so due to the larger amount of meat and my work schedule in general with commute)



Pork!

Potatoes and apples!

Until next time...cook it up!

Corn Chicken Chowder

I use to not like soup. None of it. Chili (or occasionally Calm Chowder in a bread bowl)was as close as I got for a long time and even then, it had to be mainly meat, not vegetables. Then I had the Corn Chicken Chowder at the Story Teller at Disneyland and my world changed. While that one has a bit of spice to it, I have found a regular or more mild approach is still very good and also quite easy to obtain via a slow cooker!

 



Garnish of bacon? It has to be good.

 

 

Slow Cooker Corn Chicken Chowder

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, diced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks

12 ounces red potato, diced

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cups corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted

4 cups chicken broth

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup half and half

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.

Place chicken, potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and corn into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in chicken broth, garlic, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.

In a small bowl, whisk together half and half and cornstarch. Stir in half and half mixture and butter during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Serve immediately, topped with bacon and garnished with chives, if desired.

Notes

*Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream.

 

Crockpot uses, NOT for food

So there are many things that you can do with a Slow Cooker, which have nothing to do with cooking, such as:
Make Soap
Dye Yarn
Make Candles
William Sonoma Style Air Freshener
Keep Heating Pads Warm
Make Play-Doh
Chemical-Free Paint Removal Technique
and
Use as a Foot Bath






Today, I will tell you how awesome using your Slow Cooker for a foot soak can be on this chilly Winter day. It is the kind of day when you really don't want to leave the house, nor should you due to the quality of the roads.


First, I got the slow cooker (and my heated blanket) heating up to warm in front of the TV, because it was going to be that kind of day. I prepped the water with the following concoction:


Honey and Lemon Foot Bath
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 lemon, sliced
Add Marbles for massage effect










After prepping it up, I slip in to the bath room, use my heel file and give both feet (dry at the time) a good scrub with that thing. Then I give then a bit of a massage with this stuff:
DIY Brown Sugar Foot Scrub
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
After scrubbing out the kinks, I rinse my feet, pat them dry, slip on my slippers, and (remembering a towel for when I am done with foot soak) I pad my way to the sofa and begin the great relaxmentafication.


You are welcome internet for this wonderful idea.


Please note, I never put any sort of ingredient or chemical in my slow cooker that I wouldn't use in cooking. I will wait until I get a secondary crock pot to try to make candles, dye yarn, etc. A foot scrub though, is food safe and only needs a thorough cleaning to be ready for cooking again.

BFMH: Another Breakfast Club Recipe: Crocpot Mexican Breakfast Casserole

So another week for me to do Breakfast Club. I looked in my fridge and my pantry and I figured out that I could pretty easily make some sort of Egg Casserole with a Mexican flare. Thus I came up with this concoction.

Slow Cooker Mexican Egg Casserole

Ingredients
2-3 (cooked) Potato and hashed
½ Red Onion
1 Bell Pepper
1 cup Salsa
2 cups Jack Cheese
½ pound cooked Bacon
3 eggs and 1 ½ cup milk
2 tablespoons (garnish) Cilantro
Method
Night Before: Layer potato, onion, pepper, salsa, cheese, and Bacon
Wake up 2 hours before you have to leave for work
Pour Egg and milk mixture over the veggie and bacon.
Turn on slow cooker to high for 2-3 hours.




I totally failed to take a picture of this, but it was a HUGE hit with the office. Almost all of it was gone and many people came by to tell me it was super yummy. Mission Accomplished.

Crockpot Chicken and Chicken Stock!

SO I did that thing where I made something SUPER delish and then completely forget to take a photo of it because I was excited about it... This time it was a Whole Chicken in a Crockpot!


I can't believe how easy this one was. I highly suggest trying this recipe out as it definitely makes for a nice presentation for having guests over for dinner. The excellent part is that the chicken is so moist and tender that it literally falls off the bone.


Which was good as I then promptly took said meat off of said bones and made me some Chicken Stock in a Crockpot from the remains of my Whole Chicken in a Crockpot.



Bones in cheese cloth makes pulling the bones out later really easy!

I try my darndest to not buy salty, oily chicken stock from the store and this little ditty has officially made my life easier. Give it a try some time!



Second Birthday of My Blog: Chicken and Dumplings time!

Wow... That was really fast! I am really impressed with how quickly this blog turned 2 years old.
It has gone through a lot of changes over the years, just like me. I want to thank all of you who read occasionally, regularly, and the ones who email and text me to ask why I have posted lately....


This year I decided that the second anniversary I should try to make a classic I have never made before: Chicken and Dumplings! To add to this historic event, I will let you know in advance, that this was a success and a failure both. Read on for the grim details.


Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Total Cost: $5.87 ($4.93 is what my meal came out to be, price per serving is $.49)
Ingredients
Soup ($3.57)
2 cloves garlic $0.16 ($.10)
1 medium yellow onion $0.57 ($.29)
3 ribs celery $0.80 ($.40)
½ lb (3-4) carrots $0.55 ($.50)
1 large (3/4 lb.) chicken breast $1.49* ($2) *I also threw in a cheese cloth with a bunch of chicken bones as I had made a whole chicken to get the chicken breast for the soup*
1 whole bay leaf $0.15 ($.08)
1 tsp dried basil $0.10 ($.05)
1 tsp dried thyme $0.10 ($.05)
freshly cracked pepper $0.05
4 cups water $0.00
1 tsp salt (plus more to taste) $0.05
Dumplings ($1.36)
1½ cups all-purpose flour $0.21 ($.15) <I use Whole Wheat Flour, DON'T DO THAT>
1½ tsp baking powder $0.15 ($.08)
½ tsp salt $0.02
½ Tbsp dried parsley $0.15 ($.10)
6 Tbsp cold butter $0.90 ($.50)
¾ tsp sugar $0.01
⅔ cup milk $0.41  ($.50)
Instructions
Mince the garlic, dice the onion, and slice the carrots and celery into small pieces. Add the garlic, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, basil, thyme, chicken breast (my chicken was already cooked so I didn't add the chicken, just the bones in the cheese cloth), water, and some freshly cracked pepper to a slow cooker. Stir to combine and then cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours.
After cooking for four hours on high or eight hours on low, remove the chicken from the broth and place it on a cutting board (if you cooked on low heat, turn it to high now). Use two forks to shred the chicken. Return the chicken to the pot and stir in 1 tsp of salt to the soup. Keep the slow cooker covered as much as possible during this process to retain heat and maintain the temperature.
Allow the soup to continue to cook on high while you mix the dumpling batter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, parsley, and sugar. Mix well. Add butter in small chunks and cut it in or work it in with your hands until the mixture resembles damp sand. Add the milk and stir until a very soft paste-like mixture forms.
Remove the lid from the slow cooker and drop the dumpling batter into the soup by the heaping spoonful. Return the lid to the slow cooker and allow the dumplings to steam for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes they should have fluffed and expanded from the heat. Although they may look moist on the outside, they will be light and fluffy on the inside. Serve hot.

Besides the dumpling, it was very nice!

Looks like a strange meatball...not a dumpling. That should have been my first clue!

There something in the water....

The dumplings turned into a strange gloop that was a major fail. The soup on the other hand, was spectacular! Pigeon and I decided that the soup wasn't hot enough to cook the dumplings properly (it had been on low all day verse high for a shorter amount of time). Add a less than bubbling soup and the incorrect flour (here I was thinking I was making the right and healthy choice...), the dumplings were the strangest consistency and while not inedible, not attractive to look at.


I have decided I need to try this dish again, but stove top next time.

BFMH: Breakfast Club: Hashbrown Casserole

So I finally had a chance to get to bring in food for the Breakfast Club at work and I decided on this one:






Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole


Ingredients
1 - 26-32 ounce bag frozen hash browns
1 - 8 oz container sour cream
1 - 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
¼ - cup onion, chopped fine
1½ - cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ - cup butter, melted
salt and pepper, to taste (about ¼ teaspoon each)
Instructions
In a large bowl add the hash browns thawed or frozen, sour cream, soup, onion, shredded cheese and melted butter.
Mix to combine.
Spoon hash brown mixture in a 4 quart slow cooker that has been sprayed with non stick spray (I had put in a liner and sprayed the liner too).
Sprinkle salt and pepper on top cover, and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until done.
The casserole should be crispy on the sides and bubbly throughout.
Serve and enjoy!




and here is how it turned out:

Not low calorie, but it was a crowd pleaser. Any don't worry, Husband got some and he liked it as well.


Until next time....Cook it up

Crockpot Bison and Barley Stew

As I mentioned earlier in the week, we gamed a LOT on President's day. We had a really nice lunch of Tomato Bisque and Roasted Chicken, and for dinner we utilized the magic of a Crockpot and came up with this magically dish. The bison, while it had a bit of connective tissue, was spectacular after a nice trimming and slow, long cooking. If you can get your hands on it, do it with that. If not, a cut of beef would do just fine.

Crockpot Bison and Barley Stew 
Ingredients
1 onion, sliced
3 large carrots, sliced
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons dried thyme
8 oz mushrooms, caps only
1 pound of fingerlings, cubed
1 can tomato paste
32 oz oz beef stock
2 pounds of bison
1/3 cup of Irish Whiskey
16 oz stock of choice
8 oz barley

Method

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook the onions and carrots in oil and butter, on medium-high heat until they are translucent/soft.  Add the dried thyme and garlic and stir until garlic is fragrant. Put into Crockpot on low heat. Also, add the mushroom caps and cubed potatoes.

Mix 8 oz of tomato paste with 16 oz of beef broth, breaking up the paste and add to Crockpot.

Brown the bison (which you should salt and pepper liberally)  on a high heat to seal in juices in the sauce pan. Deglaze the pan with 1/3 of a cup of Jameson. Allow to bubble for 1 minute and add all of it to the Crockpot. 

Cover with enough beef stock until mostly covered. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

about 30 minutes before serving, heat stock of choice and cook barley with in it. Add cooked barley to crock pot and put to Hot until ready to serve. Serve with Irish soda bread and salted butter.

Why is this picture so awesome? Because I didn't take it. Kris did!

It was agreed, this was stupid good. We all promptly fell into silence as we ate this and, also, into food comas after dinner. I am very excited that I feel confident in the ways of "Crockpotery" before hitting pregnancy as I hear I will use it a heck of a LOT then.

Here is to carrots cooked all day in meat juices!

Post Thanksgiving Idea: Right on Time (Turkey Pot Pie Soup)

If you are like me, you have some leftovers from Thanksgiving still. This doesn't upset me one bit. I find that it is rare that I get tired of left overs, but perhaps that is because of the fact I doll them up in more that just repeat mini Thanksgivings and sandwiches. Today's Post Thanksgiving Idea is a simple one, especially if you make turkey broth with your turkey carcass as it is Turkey Pot Pie Soup!
I made this recipe up on the fly and figured that using the magic that is my Crockpot would increase the yumminess. Other Post Thanksgiving Ideas that I have done are: Mashed Potato Waffles with Turkey, Brie, and Cranberry and Turkey Cranchiladas.

Turkey Pot Pie Soup Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups homemade turkey broth

2 cups water

1 cup peas, frozen 

1 cup corn, frozen 

1/2 cup carrots , diced (I used the carrots that I cooked in the broth)

1 cup white or yellow onion, diced (I used the onion that I cooked in the broth)

1/2 cup celery, diced (I used the celery that I cooked in the broth)

3 cups potatoes, diced
1 tbsp sage

1 bayleaf 

1 tsp thyme

2 tsp parsley
1 tbs salt
2 tsp black pepper

3 cups turkey, shredded
4 tbsp of butter

2 1/2 cups milk

6 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 cup half and half

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Method

Put homemade turkey broth, water, peas, corn, carrots, onion, celery, potatoes, sage, bayleaf, thyme, parsley, salt, black pepper, and turkey. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, in a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt 4 Tbsp butter. Stir in flour and cook mixture, stirring constantly for 1 1/2 minutes (you need to do this to cook the flour, it makes quite a difference in flavor). While whisking slowly pour in milk and whisk vigorously to smooth lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat (to thicken it) while stirring constantly, then remove from heat and stir in cream. Pour and stir milk mixture into mixture in pot. Stir in lemon juice. Remove bay leaf and serve warm with a biscuit or roll.

Creamy, comfort food!

Before the Roux and Half and Half were added, it looked like this.

Gotta top it with some bread.

Husband was very happy with the outcome as was I. It was a very good use of the stewed veggies from the broth I had made the few days before as well as the Turkey meat that had come off the carcass while "brothing". This recipe really worked out well as I had everything to make it already in my kitchen. I usually have frozen corn and peas in my freezer

I attempted to make pie crust "lids" for the soup bowls, but they burnt. there was smoke everywhere. So even though we didn't have a nice warm fire to curl up next to, we did have that warm smokey scent.

Hurray for Leftovers Reinvisioned!

Our Last Friendsgiving...for now.

Thanksgiving Breakfast

I did a 5K with Sarah and Janet <Go Shorties of the Galaxy!> and part of my bribe to get them to do it with me was having breakfast for them at my house.

Janet wanted to have Pumpkin Parfait which is a recipe that she found. I wanted to serve something for those people who weren't participating in the race so I found a Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Pumpkin Parfait

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, well rinsed

1 3/4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup gingersnap crumbs

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt

Directions

Bring the quinoa, water and cinnamon to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes and set aside.

Mix the gingersnap crumbs, sugar, pecans and butter until it forms crumbs, spread in a single layer over a baking pan and bake in a preheated 350 F oven until lightly golden brown, about 7-10 minutes and set aside.

Mix the pumpkin puree with the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and set aside

Place 1/4 cup of yogurt into 4 large glasses and top with 1/4 cup quinoa and 1/4 cup of pumpkin, repeat with a another set of layers an top off with a tablespoon of the pecan streusel.

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

6 Eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 of a bag of Hash Browns
1 Green Pepper diced
1 small bag of Sharp Cheddar cheese grated
1 medium onion diced
Directions
Whisk the eggs and milk together and set aside. Grease your crock pot and place the hash browns on the bottom.  Then put your onion on top of that.  Next top with cheese, then peppers, and then start all over and layer again.  Reserve about 1/4 cup of cheese.  When you're done layering, dump the eggs over the entire thing.  Place your crock pot on low heat and let cook for 5-8 hours.
This recipe will feed about 2-4 people.  For a 4-6 family, double the recipe.

Forgot to take a photo of this one. I needed a bit of hot sauce or salt and pepper. Nevertheless, this is dish was, of course, delish. It has cheese and potato in it.

After this wonderful prelude came dinner.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Dinner consisted of a group effort, as per the tradition.

Husband made the Better Homes and Gardens Roasted Turkey, the Better Homes and Gardens Old Fashioned Bread Stuffing (and dressing), and the Mulled Wine.

I made Chocolate Whiskey Pecan Pie; Brie, Apple, and Onion Canapes; Cranberry Sauce; and Punch Mixers.

Here is the Punch I made to order during Cocktail hour:

Apple Cider Sangria (varied a bit)

ingredients:

Champagne or sparkling wine
2 1/2 cups fresh apple cider
1/2 cup brandy
3 honey crisp apples, chopped
directions:

Combine all ingredients together and stir, stir, stir. Refrigerate for an hour or so (or longer!) before serving.

Cranberry Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients
1 ounce cranberry juice (sweetened)
1 tablespoon of lime juice
Champagne or sparkling wine
Cranberries (frozen)
Directions
In a chilled Champagne flute add cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime. Top off the glass with Champagne. Garnish with 3 or 4 Sugared Cranberries.

We had 12 people at table with 3 more popping by for dessert.

Sarah made mashed potatoes.
Kim made her sweet potatoes and candied bourbon pecans.
Jesse made her green bean casserole.
Janet brought 2 different salads.
Kevin brought pumpkin pie.
Felicia made apple pie.
Kris and Logan made Brussels Sprouts.
Daddy and Carolyn and all the rest of us ate the food with happy hearts and great thanksgiving.

Excuse me, I am going to play some celebratory Rockband now (which is also one of our traditions).

Until the next Thanksgiving....

When my pantry attacks...and by attacks I mean that I want to get rid of some canned soup...

So this little gal was from my own brain thoughts and the Crockpot's power.

I took 2 cans of French Onion soup (Campbell's, that I got on sale like 2-3 years ago), a box of mushrooms (chopped and only a few of the stems), 1/3 cup of Worcestershire sauce, and a package of stewing beef and put them in my Crockpot on low for 8 hours. I then thickened the sauce with a bit of sour cream, milk, and flour, a quarter cup of each. I then let it cook for another 30 minutes while I cooked up some pasta (I know it should be egg noodles, this is what we had). I garnish it with Horseradish, because delicious. No other reason needed.

Not ready for the show "Chopped", but I am getting better!

BOOM! Created.

Until the next challenge...

A party without cake is really just a meeting. - My Mother's would be 70th Birthday

**This post is late because it is in real time**

Today would have been my mother's 70th birthday were she still with us. Though she is not with me physically, I know that those who knew her and loved her, will gladly join my joy in celebrating her memory. A woman of abounding love, energy, and joy. One thing she loved more than most was the French language, cuisine, and culture. So today I decided to make 2 of the best French dishes I know.
Boeuf Bourguignon and Reine De Saba (or Queen of Sheba) aka Chocolate and Almond Cake

< Also, humans landed a man made piece of technology on a comet and my friends released their new invention, so it is a pretty big day all around! >

Boeuf Bourguignon

Ingredients
4 oz bacon, shopped

3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2 inch cubes

1 sliced onion

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups (good quality) Pinot Noir

3 cups low-sodium beef stock

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp thyme

1 lb white or Cremini mushrooms

2 tbsp flour (SUB Cornstartch for GF friend)

Directions

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. While the oil is warming up, dry the beef in paper towels. (If the beef is damp, it won't brown!) Gently saute the beef until browned on all sides.

Add the browned beef and bacon to your slow cooker. Add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper, Pinot Noir, Beef Stock, tomato paste, and thyme. Make sure the beef is completely covered (add water if necessary)

Cover and cook on low for 8 -9 hours. With 1.5 hours, remaining, add the mushrooms. I don't add the mushrooms till later in the cooking process, because I like them to be slightly firm.

When the beef is nice and tender, remove the meat and vegetables from your slow cooker and keep warm. To the remaining sauce in your slow cooker, whisk in the 2 Tbsp of flour to thicken.

Pour sauce over meat and vegetables and enjoy!

The easy description is just calling it French Pot Roast.

I didn't follow the traditional recipe for the Boeuf Bourguignon, simply because this cat has to work to bring home the bacon. I figured as this is a slow cooked dish either way, that making it in the slow cooker only hurt the dish a tiny bit. So I went for it and it was well worth it. I browned the meat the night before while watching Parks and Rec and having a glass of "Chef Juice". Then this morning I awoke, cut up the veg, and put all the stuff needed for the first wave into the Crockpot (BEST Wedding present ever THANK YOU, DANA). Poor Husband was in pain the whole day with delicious scents wafting from our kitchen area, but nothing for him to eat yet. Muhahahaha! The Wife's Revenge! I ended up serving it with a small side salad and over potatoes as that is what was available in my kitchen.

After a long day of cooking, the meat was stupid tender and moist, the red wine sauce perfectly flavored and the mushroom, still firm and not that weird, squishy texture. It wasn't too much work, though to thicken the sauce, since I used cornstarch, I put it in a small saucepan and whisked over more direct heat to thicken. This was a great choice and Husband was more than happy to put it in his body. A friend of ours ended up coming for dinner, I left out the Bacon and Flour as she is allergic to pork and gluten. She loved it as well so I thinking this is a win win meal!

Juicy and meaty.

Reine De Saba (or Queen of Sheba) aka Chocolate and Almond Cake

Ingredients

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate melted with 2 tablespoon of rum or coffee

1/4 lb. or 1 stick softened butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs (separated)

pinch of salt

1tbsp caster sugar

1/3 cup pulverized almonds (I used almond meal)

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup cake flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 175 degree celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit), butter and flour a 8 inch springform cake tin. Set the chocolate and rum or coffee in a small pan over simmering watering; let melt.

cream the butter and sugar together until pale yellow and fluffy.

Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until well blended.

Beat the egg whites and salt in separate bowl until soft peaks, sprinkle on a tablespoon of sugar and Beat until stiff peaks are formed.

Use a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in the almonds and almond extract. Immediately stir in one fourth of the egg white to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg white and more flour until all are incorporated.

Turn the batter into the cake pan, spread the batter all over and well level with a spatula. Put in the oven and bake in middle level for about 25 minutes.

Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2½ to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a skewer plunged into that area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and the skewer comes out oily.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.

(Optional) Try and sprinkle with some sea salt on top before serving. <which I did>

The cake stand belonged to my Mother's mother. Generations!

Riene De Saba is a nearly flourless cake that is pretty much amazeballs. I have never made it before today, but have had several times in the past, at restaurants and made by my mother when she was living. I have seen it iced with a butter cream frosting from time to time, but I personally think that doing so is overkill. It is like trying to make oatmeal cry, why would you do it? This cake is spectacularly moist and dense without feeling like you are getting smacked in the mouth with Cacao.

So I made this cake in a 9 inch spring foam, as that is what I have in my cabinet, and I baked it for 20 minutes instead of 25 with a solid 15 cool time in the pan. oh man...words can't explain how good this cake is in my mouth. I am happy I didn't opt for frosting the cake as the cracked sea salt over the top was bomb.com. Even our friend who shouldn't do the gluten, did a little bit of gluten.

Make this. Make your life better.

You might notice the small cordial glass. That is filled with a dessert wine I got when I went to Callaway Winery in Temecula years ago and opened tonight in honor of 70 years. The wine is a late harvest Chenin Blanc and is called Sweet Nancy. Suiting, isn't it? While I think a late harvest Cabernet Sauvignon would have paired better, but it it would not have been called Sweet Nancy.

I think this is a valid tribute to my mother. No, it isn't a theatre named after her or a festival that she headed up to create, but it is reminds me of my mom. I figure it works.

Man cannot live on bread alone. He needs booze too.

Here we have something I haven't made much of before: BREAD. I wanted the simplest bread I could find. I didn't want to have to knead it, worry about it burning, etc. I mean I will bake more bread properly, I promise. Just let me do this my way this time. I mean my molasses soda bread was pretty yummy.

As my M.O. has been as of late, I pulled out my Crockpot to make this happen. Here is what I found on Instructables with photos and step by step by step instructions. It made me feel like I could really really do it.

No Knead Crockpot Bread 

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

1&1/2 teaspoons of Salt

1&1/2 cups warm water

3+ cups flour (all-purpose, unbleached natural white)

Method

Combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Start with the warm water, and add the yeast to it. Stir.

Add flour a cup at a time and mix. Add in the salt as you are doing this. Once you get in 3 cups of flour, keeping adding more flour in small amounts and mixing until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the mixing bowl. This might be an entire cup or more of flour.

Sprinkle a little flour over the top of the dough, then cover it with plastic wrap, and set out-of-the-way for 8 to 12 hours. I usually prepare the dough the night before I need it, and bake it the next day.

Dust your kitchen table with flour.

Dump the dough out onto it and roll around a bit. Shape the dough into a ball.

Line a bowl with parchment paper, and put the dough in it. Leave the dough for 2 hours to rise.

Plug in your Crock-Pot and set it to HIGH.

Allow it to preheat. The stoneware should get quite warm.

Once it's preheated, lift the dough by the parchment paper and transfer the dough and paper into the Crock-Pot.

Put the lid on.

Bake for 1 hour.

Check the loaf. The whole Crock-Pot should be somewhat steamy. Feel free to shake the hot water off the lid into your sink when you remove the lid to look inside. The loaf is baked as much by steaming as by direct heat, but you don't want the steam condensing, and getting the bread damp.

You will see that the top should be almost rubbery. It will NOT be crisp and brown.

Crock-Pots heat AT THE SIDES. You may notice nice color at the SIDES of the loaf if you pull it out, and that the bottom is par-baked but NOT browned or toasty.

Slow-cookers come in different power ratings. Yours may bake faster or slower than mine. Check your slow cooker every half-hour or so the first time you make this recipe, to get a sense of your slow-cooker.

Bake for another thirty minutes to an hour.

Bake time can be two to four hours total, depending on your Crock-Pot, its power, insulating the pot, etc. In this Instructable, think of times as only a general guide.

Now, flip the bread over.

WHAT!?!? Yep, you heard me right, flip it over. Because a Crock-Pot does NOT heat in the same way a typical oven does, the bread gets physically flipped upside down to bake evenly.

Only flip the bread after it's about three-quarters of the way baked. You've flipped pancakes, right? The trick with those is not to flip too soon. The same with Crock-Pot-Bread. Flip it after the top is set.

Bake another 30 or more minutes until baked.

Bread is finished when it sounds hollow when thumped and smells like bread.

Remove the bread from the pot and let cool.

Slice the bread with a serrated knife, electric carving knife, or old-school electric meat slicer.

You can store this bread in a plastic bag for no more than about three days. Without commercial preservatives, home-baked bread will either dry out or go moldy in just a few days. Fortunately, it always gets completely eaten right away, usually within minutes.

This turned out kinda blah. The texture was perfect as was the density. Maybe I forgot to add the salt completely because it was certainly lacking the zing and pizaz I was hoping to taste. If I make it again, I would add either more salt and or molasses.

Whelp...Until the next loaf...

**Today's title comes from Theodore P Stein...no, I don't know why he is important. I will Wikipedia it for you though...yup, still nothing. Meh, I still like the quote, so I will leave it.** 

For Melanie: Crockpot Vegetarian Chili

Today's recipe is for my friend Melanie. She requested that I try to make some vegetarian meals that are Crockpot or Freezer meal. 

Thus it was made: Crockpot Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

2 cans Black Beans, drained ($.89X2 = )

2-3 Zucchini, diced ($.99)

1 16 oz bag of frozen corn ($1.99)

1 bag of lentils, precooked ($.89)

2 cans of diced petite tomato, with juice ($.79X2 = )

1 onion, red or white, diced ($.67)

32 oz of Vegetable Stock ($2.99 or make homemade for cheaper version)

1 Serrano or green pepper ($.59)

2-3 cloves Garlic

2-3 tablespoon Chili Powder

1 or 2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon (Garlic Salt OK)

1 tablespoon Pepper 

1 tablespoon Basil 

1 tablespoon Cumin

1 tablespoon Thyme 

1 tablespoon Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Oregano (For all the spices, let's just say it costs $3 as I already had all of them in my pantry)

Method

Put it all in the Crockpot and cook on high for 4 or on low for 8. 

Stir occasion over cook time to ensure blending of flavors.

Serve with diced onion, sour cream, cheese, hot sauce, and Fritos.

If freezing, allow to cool completely before placing in freezer.

Now we are cooking!

This dish turned out very nicely. The heartiness of the beans and lentils makes it stick to your tummy and is a great source of fiber and protien. WOOT LEGUMES!

Fritos make everything better.

This make a HUGE amount of Chili, so after we finished it cooking, I made sure to separate the leftovers: Half to be frozen the other half for lunch the rest of the week.

Next on the list of what to try to make for Melanie: Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

Was the Buffalo Chicken wing invented...

Last week, I made easy yet totally decadent Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Boats...

Look at this recipe, it is SO easy.

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Boat

Recipe:

2 good sized Chicken Boobs (Frozen or thawed)

1 tablespoon of Coconut oil (I used frozen thanks to me smoothies)

1 bottle of Buffalo Sauce

1/2- 3/4 cup of Non Fat Greek Yogurt (varies on if chicken was frozen or )

Hot Pepper Sauce i.e. Frank's Red Hot (optional)

1 Heart of Romaine Lettuce

Blue Cheese for Garnish

Method:

Put Oil and Chicken into Slow Cooker for 4-5 hours on low. Top with about a 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce

With 2 forks, shred chicken when tender.

Add Greek yogurt bit by bit, stirring in portions of yogurt, until the chicken saturated and coming together. 

Add more Buffalo Sauce to taste as well as additional Hot Sauce if desired.

Tear leaves from the heart of Romaine, wash thoroughly, and pat dry.

Scoop chicken into Lettuce Boats and garnish with blue cheese.

Those boobs have a long day ahead of them...

Crockpot Action: Engage!

Boom!

Like I said, these were extra easy and very little work, especially if you used store brought Buffalo Sauce, or you can use my recipe. A perfect low carb and rather healthy way to get a Buffalo Sauce finger food fix.
Try it out sometime!

Until the next meal...


**Today's title comes from Calvin Trillin, Third Helpings:Was the Buffalo Chicken wing invented when Teressa Bellissimo thought of splitting it in half and deep frying it and serving it with celery and blue-cheese dressing? Was it invented when John Young started using mambo sauce and thought of elevating wings into a specialty?”**

Crockpot Ribs

After an excellent weekend away, I was sent home with some pork ribs...

How, oh, how to prepare such ribs....?

TO THE PINTEREST! 

And thus I found this pin and the original post.

Crock Pot Coca-Cola Baby Back Ribs Recipe!

INGREDIENTS:
1 rack Pork Baby Back Ribs
1 can Coca-Cola
Salt and Pepper
1/2 bottle Barbecue Sauce

METHOD:
Salt and pepper ribs on both sides.
Wrap ribs around outside of crock pot.
Pour Coke over ribs and cook for 8-10 hours on low.
Cover a oven safe pan with aluminum foil.
The meat will be falling off the bones, so carefully transfer the ribs to the foil lined pan (meaty side up).
Cover ribs with barbecue sauce and place under broiler until sauce starts to sizzle and caramelize.
Remove from oven and serve.

Chili represents your three stages of matter...

Chili Con Carne is Texas through and through. There are no (horrid) beans to contend with, just lost of great tomatoy taste and a lot of well seasoned meat.

While I claim this as a Texas delight (which in the modern day, I believe it is) I found an interesting excerpt pertaining to the 17th century:

According to an old Southwestern American Indian legend and tale (several modern writer have documented - or maybe just "passed along") it is said that the first recipe for chili con carne was put on paper in the 17th century by a beautiful nun, Sister Mary of Agreda of Spain. She was mysteriously known to the Indians of the Southwest United States as "La Dama de Azul," the lady in blue. Sister Mary would go into trances with her body lifeless for days. When she awoke from these trances, she said her spirit had been to a faraway land where she preached Christianity to savages and counseled them to seek out Spanish missionaries.

It is certain that Sister Mary never physically left Spain, yet Spanish missionaries and King Philip IV of Spain believed that she was the ghostly "La Dama de Azul" or "lady in blue" of Indian Legend. It is said that sister Mary wrote down the recipe for chili which called for venison or antelope meat, onions, tomatoes, and chile peppers. No accounts of this were ever recorded, so who knows? 

- From History of Chili, Chili Con Carne

Work had a bit taco cookout on Friday. Me being me, took as much of the delicious meat that was left over home to refashion into other dishes. This is the only one I had in mind when I called dibs on a try of meat.

Chili Con Carne

Ingredients
Left over Carne Asada from Work...about 4 cups

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 head of garlic (about 10 cloves), peeled, chopped

1 can Anaheim chiles

1 tablespoons ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 12-ounce bottle dark beer

28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice

1 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1 tablespoons tomato paste

Method

Put leftover beef into large bowl.

Heat pan to medium. Add 1/2 tablespoon oil and onion.

Sauté until soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add garlic; stir 2 minutes.

Add chilies, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Put into Crockpot and put on high

Add beer into saute pan; stir 1 minute, scraping up browned bits, pour into crockpot. 

Add tomatoes with juice, oregano, and 2 teaspoons coarse salt.

Allow chili to cook on High for 3 hours.

Reduce heat to low, Stir in tomato paste. 

Allow to cook on low for another 45 minutes 

Serve in bowls and garnish with any of the following:

Coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese

Chopped green and/or red onion

Diced fresh tomatoes

Sour cream

Husband loved this dish.

Until the next meal...


**Today's title is super sciencey/pop culturey! From the mouth of Dan Conner (John Goodman) in 'Roseanne' TV series: Chili represents your three stages of matter: solid, liquid and eventually gas.**

Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre...

I made soap...Kinda. I made a bar of soap a bunch of liquid soap. and I am very happy about it. I have pinned about 4 different recipes for this so I ended up looking over all of them and making it work. some of them called for glycerin, bu they didn't have liquid glycerin at Trader Joe's or at Michael's so I went with a version that didn't call for it. Here is how it went:

Crockpot Liquid Soap!

Materials
1 4 oz. bar of soap

6-10 cups hot water (I used 10, I next time I will try only 6. The soap quality seems a bit diluted with 10)
Whisk

Essential Oils (I used lavendar)

Honey (like a tablespoon or so...? I just squeezed.)

A Crockpot (As this is just soap and not dangerous stuff, it can be one you use for cooking)
Funnel
Liquid Soap Pump
Soap overflow holding container

Directions:
Grate soap and put into Crockpot

Add water.
Stir it well, so that the soap is fully dissolved. {It will be really runny at this point, but don't worry!}

On low for 2-3hours to help thicken it. Stir in Honey and one squirt of Essential oil.

Turn off heat and let sit over night.
In morning, it should have thickened nicely so you might even have to break it up a bit with your hands {I had to do this and it reminded me of snot, ick!}

Drop in another dose of oil, stir well, and funnel into pump and holding container.
Another option: If it's not thick, you can try mixing 3 tablespoons of salt into 8 oz of water, and then stirring this into your runny soap - a little bit at a time! - until it thickens to the consistency you like. I haven't tried this myself, since my batch worked just fine without it, but apparently it works really quickly so you can see if it's working right away.

Water, soap, honey and oil!

This is the essential oils and soap base I used.

Fun funneling the snot feeling stuff!

The Rabbit is happy to have a cuddle buddy.

Ultimately, I would like to try this with less water and with glycerin. I am VERY happy with the scent of the soap, but the consistency is a bit lacking. Most of all, I am happy to put the soap pump Husband and I received from Cousins Lefler into use!

Until the next craft...!


**Today's title comes from Mark Twain: Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run.**