Cooking with a Crock Pot

I love using my crock pot when I'm working. It is nice to be able to come home to a meal that's waiting to be eaten up. Especially in the winter when I've been out in the cold all day, having a nice warm meal to come home to can make the afternoon more tolerable.

There are tons of recipes out there for using in a crock pot, but sometimes you just want to use a comfort food recipe that's been in your family for ages. But what do you do if this recipe isn't made for crock pot cooking? Well a lot of recipes can be converted for crock pot use, I found a great blog that explains how to do it. How to Convert Recipes to a Slow Cooker.

To summarize the aforementioned blog:

Most recipes will need the amount of liquid they call for to be reduced. Crock pots hold in moisture. However, if the recipe you are using has rice, beans, or pasta in it, you may want to leave the amount of liquid the same.

For raw meats, be sure that your kitchen thermometer reads the correct temperature to be sure that they are cooked through. Or you can brown the meat before putting into the crock pot.

Vegetables typically take longer to cook than meats do. Be sure to cut vegetables to a uniform size so that they cook more evenly. Vegetables will also cook better if they are in the bottom of the crock pot.

When converting recipes to your crock pot, it may take a few tries to get everything just right so do not get discouraged.

Time Chart for Crock Pot Cooking:

Oven/Stovetop Cook Time from orig. recipe	Cooking on Low Time Conversion	Cooking on High Time Conversion
15-30 min.	4-6 hours	1.5 - 2.5 hours
35-45 min.	6-8 hours	3 - 4 hours
50 min. to 3 hours	8-16 hours	4 - 6 hours

My Top 5 Favorite Deep fryer Recipes

Even though I absolutely love fried foods, I really try to not use my Presto Deep fryer too frequently. I know fried foods are not good for me, but it is nice to have them on occasion as a treat. So what fried foods do I fix when I am going all out and having an artery clogging treat? (Links to recipes below)

1. Crispy Fried Pickles - these are my favorite fried food, honestly I could eat them every day.
2. Homestyle Potato Chips - just some thinly sliced potatoes seasoned how you like them, fried to a crispy goodness.
3. Fried Green Tomatoes - the recipe I found online is for a skillet, but I get my tomatoes ready and use the deep fryer to cook them.
4. Deep Fried Oreos - These are just way over the top artery clogging, but so good.
5. Deep Fried Chicken Pieces - these are a great dinner side, or sprinkled on top of a salad.

I've also recently found a link that has 101 deep fryer recipes, I obviously haven't had time to try them all, but thought I'd share the link here in case anyone else is interested in fixing up some stuff in their deep fryers.

http://www.fernleynews.com/092748034432/free-101-recipes-for-the-deep-fryer.pdf

Preparations for Canning

My live-in girlfriend and I have started a small garden this year, in the hopes of having fresh produce in abundance in the fall. We also want to try our hand at canning. I remember my grandmother canning foods from her garden when I was a boy and I want to carry on the tradition.

So I've done a bit of research on various canners. We were going to purchase a waterbath and a pressure canner separately, but from what I understand, you can use a pressure canner to waterbath can as well, just don't turn the lid so it cannot build up pressure.

While reading about all the different canners that are out there on the market, I came across one called an All American Canner. From what I've read, this is the best of the best. However, it is a bit pricey. So, not knowing if we are going to want to continue this year after year, we decided to invest in another canner that I've heard good things about. A Presto brand canner. (to peruse a variety of brands of canner visit Pressure Canners)

I'm hoping we have good results with the Presto. I'm waiting for it to arrive, we ordered it yesterday. I'd love to hear about other's experiences using the Presto canner. I'll keep you updated on our canning adventures.

Below is the canner we are waiting for:

Presto Canner

How to Dehydrate Apples

Well it is that time of year, when there is plenty of food to be had, more than plenty in  my case and some of it needs to be preserved. My family has been canning, freezing, and dehydrating lots of food. Today I'm focusing on dehydrating apples, because I keep getting them by the bushel from the apple trees out back.

I use a food dehydrator to dehydrate my apples, my grandfather still uses the sunlight and screen method. Kinda like this one from Blindguru.com:

I just feel like using the dehydrator is a little quicker and I don't have to rely on sunny weather. So if you are interested in dehydrating your apples, here is the method I use:

I peeled, cored, and sliced my apples (no thicker than 1/4", but I try to do them as thin as I can)
I soaked my apples in a mixture of 1/4 cup pineapple juice and 1 cup water.
I then placed my apples in the dehydrator being sure not to overlap them.  
Dry them 6 to 12 hours until they are pliable.

Now, for those of you who are new at dehydrating, here are a few tips on storing your dehydrated foods:

Wait for your dried food to be completely cool to the touch before you store it.
With apples, they will need to be conditioned before you can store them, as with other fruits. To do this you will need to put your apples into a jar, being sure they are very loosely packed. Shake once a day for 7 to 10 days to be sure that remaining moisture is evenly distributed. If you see any condensation on the jar then your fruit needs to be returned to the dehydrator.
Once the conditioning period is up and your apples are ready to go, then you can store them air tight containers or freezer bags.
I prefer to store them in small pint size canning jars, storing in small batches also helps to maximize freshness and keep down cross contamination.

Hope all this info helps you out in your dehydrating endeavors!

On a search for new and untried (by me) recipes

Since I don’t get paid until Monday and money is low and there is a weekend in between, I think I am going to stay in this evening and cook something for me and my girl. (Cooking is almost always cheaper than dining out as my mother constantly reminds me.)

I am tired of the same old dishes so I’ve been perusing Food Network to see if I can find something fun and unique to make for dinner.

I still haven’t found anything that seems to sit just right. I’m in the mood for something, but I can’t quite put my finger on what…



I need something to fill that blank space on my plate…

Anyone know of any good websites for unusual food fare recipes? Help a man out if you do!

How to Make Comfort Food with a Pressure Cooker

My allergies have been bothering me (all this pollen I guess). :/ and that always makes me feel run down and in dire need of some of mom’s home cooked comfort food. But alas, mom is on vacation (and I was not invited! the horror!). So I dropped by her house, rummaged through her recipes and cabinets, borrowed her pressure cooker and headed home.

Honestly, I think I might have made the soup almost as good as she does and on the first try too. Or else my head is so stopped up my taste-buds aren’t operating correctly. Which the 2nd possibility is most likely in this particular situation.

Now for those of you who are suffering from colds, allergies, etc. and need some good comfort food, grab a pressure cooker and try out my mom’s Potato and Cheese Soup:

Mom’s Potato and Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
4 large peeled potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
4 small onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups of water
4 cups of milk
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp. chopped parsley

Directions:
Put potatoes, onions, salt and water into pressure cooker. Close the cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Reduce your heat and cook for 3 minutes Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool naturally, till there is no pressure inside cooker Open cooker. Mix the mixture smooth (I use a cake mixer). Return soup to pressure cooker. Add milk and pepper. Place cooker on medium heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add cheese and stir until it melts. Serve immediately and garnish with parsley.



If you try this comfort food recipe I guarantee that you will love it! It’s easy and with all that cheese it’s gotta be bad for you! Yumm!

Pizza Dough Recipe

I think since I have two days off of work that are stretched before me in all their beauty and splendid amounts of free time, that I am going to take the time to make a pizza by scratch. And instead of using the Presto Pizza Pizzazz today, even though I really love that thing! I am going to use my Lodge Pro Logic Pizza Pan. It is a cast iron pizza pan, and it gives pizza a little something extra. I couldn’t quite tell you what that extra is, but I know my pizzas always taste amazing when baked on this thing. Maybe the secret is my recipe I use for the dough, if it is then I cannot be selfish and keep it to myself now can I? (well I guess I could, but I like to help people out). So here is my favorite pizza dough recipe:

Quick Pizza Dough

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour divided
1 packet (1 1/4 ounce) active dry rapid-rise yeast
1tsp salt
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

In large mixing bowl, mix half cup of the flour with the yeast and salt. Dissolve honey in lukewarm water and add to mixture. Add olive oil and in the bowl of a mixer or using a wooden spoon mix for 3 minutes. Mix in the remaining flour (dough should be slightly sticky) knead dough on a floured surface until smooth around 5 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap Let rise for 10 minutes in a warm place. Punch down and divide in half. Allow to rise for 10 additional minutes and punch down and spread one of the halves by hand or roller onto your Lodge pizza pan. Add topping of your choice and place in a preheated 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool and serve.


Now I have added a little garlic powder to this in the past. Not a lot just enough to add a tiny tiny hint of flavor. Now I am off to the grocery store to get all my toppings, then I’m getting out my cast iron pizza pan and going to town with the baking. Have fun if ya’ll try to make your own pizza. Trust me it is always better when you do it yourself!