Stuffed Peppers

1 or 2 Large Bell Peppers (each half is 1 serving)
1 lb ground turkey (browned)
1  can black beans
1/4 cup chopped purple or red onion
1/2 chopped tomato
4 to 6 stalks asparagus, chopped
1/2 packet taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese
Sour Cream

Cut and deseed the pepper. Mix all the ingredients except for the cheese and the sour cream in a bowl.

Spoon the mixture into the pepper halves and place into the crockpot. Cook on low for 1 1/2 to 3 hours.

Sprinkle a little of both cheeses over the top just before taking the peppers out. Serve a with spoonful of sour cream.

Be careful not to overcook. The peppers become mushy (as mine did). The flavor was good but I should have taken them out sooner. The texture would have been better with a little crunch left in the peppers.

Alternative Method: In a bowl, mix all ingredients except for the cheese and sour cream. Microwave on high for a minute or two, until asparagus and onion are tender. Spoon mixture into peppers.

Place stuffed peppers into a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until peppers are done to your liking. Sprinkle with cheese as soon as removed from microwave.

I like these spicy so I used some jalepeno slices also. Hot sauce or red pepper flakes work well too.

Low Calorie Apple Butter

Trying to cut down on sugar and calories doesn't always have to be painful. I made some apple butter in my baby crockpot that doesn't pack on a lot of calories but also doesn't compromise flavor.

Here's the recipe:

4 or 5 non-tart apples (sliced and cored)
3/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup Truvia instead of sugar

Cook on low for about 10 hours. It's good to stir frequently or use a potato masher when apple are softened.

This fills a 1 pint jar.

If you prefer to make regular apple butter and would like to view my process, go HERE

Chicken Celery Soup

l large chicken breast
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup sliced or shredded carrots
1 sliced tomato (cut into quarter slices)
2 stalks chopped celery
1/2 cup mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro*
1/2 teaspoon course sea salt
ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice


Put all ingredients into a small (2 qt) crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours.

*The leaves of one stalk of cilantro is sufficient. Too much cilantro overpowers rather than enhances flavor.


**Recipe should be doubled or tripled for larger crockpots over 2 quarts.

Crockpot Squash Casserole & Mashed Potato Casserole

Over the Christmas holiday, I did a little cooking for family get togethers. I found this recipe on About.com. It was pretty good, but rich.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds yellow summer squash or zucchini, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup peeled shredded carrot
• 1 can (10 1/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery or cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 package (6 to 8 ounces) herb seasoned stuffing crumbs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Preparation:

In large bowl, combine squash, onion, carrot and soup. Mix sour cream and flour; stir into vegetables. Toss stuffing crumbs with butter and place half in slow cooker. Add vegetable mixture and top with remaining stuffing crumbs. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
Serves 4 to 6.

Mashed Potato Casserole

I also made this mashed potato casserole I found from McCormick. It was the first bowl to be empty and I got many compliments on it. Definitely a winner.  http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Side-Dish/Loaded-Mashed-Potato-Casserole.aspx

Meatloaf

Okay, I tried another one. I guess I think I'm going to eventually talk myself into liking meatloaf.

For this recipe, I used:

Ingredients:

 1 pound ground beef
 1 pound ground venison
 2 beaten eggs
 1/2 cup milk
 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
 1/4 cup chopped onions
 1 medium chopped tomato
 1 chopped banana pepper (optional)
 1 teaspoon sea salt
 1/2 teaspoon allspice
 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
 2 tablespoon Valentina mexican hot sauce
 1/2 tablespoon ground sage
 a dash of liquid smoke

Sauce

 1/3 Cup Ketchup
 1 tablespoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
 2 tablespoons brown sugar
 1 teaspoon dry mustard
 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together all incredients. Place in crock pot and mash down mixture to mould to the crockery so that it comes out in a loaf. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. If you're in a hurry, you can cook it on high for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over meat in the last 15 minutes, changing the heat setting to high.

My family likes meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans or green peas OR with corn and fried okra.

As you know from my previous posts, I, personally, am not a meatloaf person. But this time, I can finally say, "I really like this meatloaf".

If you have one of those families that likes meatloaf and like to eat sandwiches from the leftovers, you might want to double the recipe. I've never been a fan of that either but I think I might try that too this time. I'm obviously very pleased with this recipe.

*Taking it out of the Crock Pot is a little tricky. You could use a crock pot liner (which I only recently found out about myself). You can also use strips of foil to line the crockpot with and then lift it out by the strips. I choose not to use anything that might cause chemical reactions and get into the meat. I just slice in the crockpot and lift it out with a spatula.

Also: You might want to make double the sauce and use it to drizzle over the individual helpings after placing it on the plate. This meatloaf comes out to be fairly thick.

Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

8 ounces Cream cheese(cubed)
1/4 cup Whipping cream
5 ounces Frozen chopped spinach
1 (4 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons diced Pimento
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Garlic salt
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
 

Directions:

Combine cream cheese and cream and place in crock pot. Cover and heat for about 45 minutes until cheese has melted. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and heat on low for another 30 to 45 minutes. Goes great with crackers, bread or raw vegetables.

Butternut Squash Soup with Curry

We had a little nip in the air the last couple of evenings with very low humidity. It reminded me of fall and I craved something "autumnish". Butternut squash has been in the grocery store all year round this year, so I got one and made some soup. It really hit the spot!

10 cups butternut squash cubes (1 large squash peeled and seeded)
1 large chopped sweet onion
l large chopped apple
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk

Place into the crockpot the broth, squash, onion, apple, parsley, curry powder, salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours.

Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Then take about 3 cups out and place in a blender. Add the coconut milk and the brown sugar. Cover and blend until smooth. Return to the crockpot. Continue blending the remaining mixture 2 to 3 cups at a time, returning soup to the crockpot once blended.

Set the heat to high and cook another 15 minutes until piping hot. Serve with chopped apple tossed on top.

*The squash is easier to peel if you microwave it on high for 3 or 4 minutes before cutting it in half.

Chicken Cabbage Rolls - 3 Day Chicken (day 2)

Take the chicken mixture out of the refrigerator and divide into 2 halves, placing one back in the refrigerator for day 3.

Chicken Cabbage Rolls

o Cabbage Leaves (appropriate to the number of rolls)
o 1/2 to 1 cup of rice, precooked (again, based on quantity of rolls)
o 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
o 1 14 oz can of tomatoes
o small can of tomato paste
o salt and pepper to taste

Layer the cabbage leaves in a microwaveble dish and cover. Microwave on high for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.  Mix the chicken with all other ingredients. The chicken should be shredded and cold.

Remove cabbage leaves from microwave and lay each one out individually. Add a spoonful of the chicken mixture close to the edge of the cabbage. Roll the cabbage leaf all the way to the opposite end and place back into the microwaveable dish. Once you have made the cabbage rolls and they are stacked in the dish, microwave them high for 3 minutes.

Turn the dish and microwave on high another 2 minutes. This is usually enough time if you have an 1100 watt microwave. If you feel any cold places under the cabbage rolls with your finger, then you should do another 2 minutes or so.

*You can also steam the cabbage leaves or boil them and heat the mixture in the microwave or on the stove by itself and then make the cabbage rolls. They can also go into the crockpot for 2 to 3 hours. I suppose it's a matter of preference.

I made a dozen and used 1/2 cup of rice for 6. The other 6 had no rice and a tablespoon of agave nectar instead of tomatoes (sweet versus tangy). You could also use duck sauce. I just didn't want the extra carbs contained in the rice, especially if I wanted more than one.


Please check back for day 3.

Chicken Vegetable Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small cubes
1 (8 ounce) packages sliced fresh mushrooms
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or sprinkle to taste
2 zucchinis, cubed
2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
2 yellow squash, cubed

2 large red potatoes, cut into cubes
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth

Chopped Onion and Garlic on Top

Cubed Sweet Potato

Directions

Place all ingredients in the crockpot and drizzle olive oil over top. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours (add sour cream, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and stir during the last 30 minutes).

 

I took this to a family reunion, so I cut the vegetables and chicken in advance and put them in the crockpot when I was ready. I also transferred it from the crockpot to a casserole dish for more compact travel.

Mushroom Chicken Stew

3 Frozen chicken breasts
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or fresh equivalent)
1/2 teaspoon course sea salt
1 14 oz can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (I used the cream of chicken and mushroom)
1 14.5 oz can of vegetables or 1 pkg frozen vegetables
1 small can or jar of mushrooms (or fresh mushrooms)
1/2 bottle Rock Light beer (optional)
1 large heaping tablespoon Frank's Red Hot sauce (optional)

Cook chicken breasts, chopped onion and chicken broth in crockpot on low for about 6 or 7 hours. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms and vegetables. Cook an additional 30 minutes on high until hot. If choosing the options, add the 1/2 bottle of beer and hot sauce and cook for 15 minutes on high.


*If using frozen vegetables, you can put them in at the beginning.

German Chocolate Nut Crunch Candy

This is not a recipe to be left in the crockpot while you are at work. You should be around to check on it periodically.

Ingredients:

4 oz German Chocolate
3 lbs white almond bark, broken into small pieces
12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
32 oz roasted peanuts

*You can also use two 16 oz bags and you can substitute the nut of your choice.

Instructions:

o Place all ingredients into crockpot and set to high setting. Allow to cook for 45 minutes undisturbed.

o Change heat setting to low, stir and continue cooking for 1 1/2 hours stirring at 30 minute intervals.

o Drop teaspoons of the mixture onto waxed paper. Let cool 30 - 45 minutes -OR- spread mixture onto waxed paper and let cool and then break into pieces.

This candy has a great flavor!

Barbeque Sandwiches

I was in a hurry for supper the other day and I had forgotten to thaw anything, so I raided leftovers in the refrigerator. I had part of a roast left over from a couple of days ago that I had cooked in the crockpot. I pulled the meat apart and put it back it the crockpot (on high) with a 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce. 30 minutes later, we had barbeque sandwiches and a salad.

A little bit of leftover roast really goes a long way when it's pulled and shredded and has a sauce added to it. I also added some chopped onion that I put into the microwave for 1 minute before adding it to the crockpot with the meat and sauce.

3 Bean Casserole

This is a hearty meal without meat! Imagine that.

What You Use:


1 cup dried lima beans
1 cup dried great Northern beans
1 cup dried garbanzo beans
4-1/2 cups water
16 oz baby carrots or sliced carrots
1 chopped onion
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbsp tomato paste


What You Do:


Place beans in large saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat, cover and let stand for half an hour. Drain beans. Add the beans, carrots, Onion, garlic and 4-1/2 cups water, carrots, onion, garlic and seasonings to a 4 quart crockpot. Mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until beans and vegetables are done. Mix in tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt. Cover, and cook a half hour longer on low. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Honeysuckle Tilapia

1 cup of honeysuckle blossoms
3 or 4 tilapia filets
3 heaping tablespoons of honey
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
water


Gently rinse honeysuckle blossoms, being careful not to pull blossoms apart so as not to rise away the nectar. Place honesuckle blossoms into a small glass bowl. Pour in just enough water to cover the blossoms. Cover with glass lid or small glass plate. Put into microwave for about 3 minutes. When microwave cycle is finished. Don't remove them from the microwave. Leave blossoms to soak for about 5 minutes.


Chop the garlic or run through a garlic press. Place half in a coffee cup and add half the marjorine or butter. Add a tablespoon of honey. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the honeysuckle tea.

Drizzle this mixture over both sides of fish and set aside to marinate.


In the meantime, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and the rest of the garlic to honeysuckle in the microwave.


At this point, you will pour over the fish to cook it.

You can grill the fish, which is what we did. You can cook it in a George Foreman Grill, microwave it, broil or bake it or even "just put it in a crockpot". You can also wrap it in foil and put it in any of the above.

*If you choose, you can use more of the juice to grill and pour the rest of blossom mixture over the fish after cooking.


Author's Note: I am not one to cook with flowers. I know that honeysuckle is an edible flower and it is so plentiful this year and smells so good that I decided to try it.


I believe this would have been better for chicken than for fish. The fish actually was a little blander than I expected. Chicken would have better matched the flavor.


Since I've never cooked with honeysuckle before, I decided to taste the juice or "tea" right after microwaving it (before the honey and garlic). Yuk! With a capital K. I might as well have been eating grass. I almost ditched this project. But, I had to know how it all ended.


I don't know that I would do this again just because of the trouble of picking the blossoms and the carefulness of cleaning them, but on the otherhand... it would be a great home economics project or something fun just to do with the kids when they are a bit older. Next time, I will use chicken.


*Also, if you don't like to taste or feel of alfalfa sprouts, you won't like eating the actual blossoms. Instead of using the blossoms, you can mash them up with a hand-held potato masher just to make sure you get all the nectar and the strain the blossoms out, using only the left over juice.

Armadillo Meatballs

Doesn't this creature look absolutely scrumptuous?


A new study finds that armadillos carry the bacterium that causes leprosy, and have somehow passed the disease to several dozen humans in the southern United States.

"It's important to realize that the risk of contracting leprosy (also known as Hansen's disease) from armadillos "is still infinitesimally small."

Results of the study are published in the April 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"This is a warning for people in the south and southwest who might have environmental exposure to stay away from armadillos".

The study authors recommend that frequent direct contact with armadillos should be discouraged, as should consumption of armadillo meat.

    .....BUT if you just really want some anyway....


Armadillo Meat Balls

~ 1 lb cooked armadillo meat, ground
~ 1 egg
~ 2 tbsp minced celery
~ 2 tbsp minced onion
~ 1 tbsp minced parsley
~ 1 tsp salt
~ 1/2 tsp pepper
~ flour
~ 2 tablespoons olive oil

In a bowl, mix together the meat, egg, celery, onion, parsley, salt and pepper.

Form into 1 inch balls and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Turn crockpot on high with the olive oil and let preheat about 10-15 minutes, depending on how quickly your crockery heats.

Roll the meat balls in the flour.

Place in crockpot. After about 3 minutes, gently rearrange meatballs in the crockpot with a spoon, as you would in the frying pan.

After about 3 more minutes, gently rearrange once again and turn crockpot on low. Continue cooking on low for 4 or 5 hours.

photo obtained from Wikimedia Commons

Don't know exactly what to do with the Armadillo after you catch it? Me either, but I found killing, gutting, cleaning and cooking instructions on Yahoo.


Armadillos need to be handled carefully due to a form of leprosy. I have, on several occasions, had armadillo while in South Texas and Mexico. They take the animal and feed it corn for several days to clear its dietary track. The armadillo is killed by a knife strike to severe the head, then the shell is split along the sides. Remove the organs and wash. The shell, skin, and meat are then cooked in a oven until done. Remove the meat and peel the skin. Flavor with chili's and add beans and onions, and put back into the top shell for serving. Serve with cornbread, jalapenos, and cold beer.

It's an aquired taste.

Source of information: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090402071929AAFvbnU

Hard Boiled Eggs in the Crockpot

I just wanted to know.... I did a search and the best I could find was on crockpot365. I wouldn't even think of ever cooking eggs in a crockpot for hours. It's eggs!


So what I did was put enough water in the crockpot to cover the eggs.  I set the crockpot on high for around 30 minutes. Then I placed the eggs in for about 30 minutes. I then immediately placed them in ice water. After coloring them, I even cracked one open so you could see how it turned out.

The perfect hard boiled egg and yes, we did eat them. For some reason, the die adhered immediately; much better than the regular boiled eggs we colored. As you can see, there is no discoloration of the inner egg and they didn't smell bad while cooking.

Stuffed Peppers In The Crockpot

I recently did a post for stuffed peppers in the microwave. I found this video for stuffed peppers in the crockpot. It looks really easy. I wonder if the trade off of corn versus meat equals out in calories. This is obviously a vegetarian dish but it really looks good.

Vegetable Soup

A while back I wrote about the Bear Creek Tortilla Soup. It was so good I decided to try the vegetable soup to see if I liked it too ..... not so much. My husband liked it, though. I added some onion and a can of tomatoes and served it with biscotte and a salad.

All ingredients went into the crockpot and cooked for 1 hour on high and 1 hour on low. My husband is a picky eater. Since he liked it, the soup was probably good. It just didn't appeal to me that day.

Eggplant Casserole

Even if you don't like eggplant, chances are you'll like this casserole.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, or 2 medium eggplants
• 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup skim milk, scalded
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup reduced fat Cheddar cheese, grated
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Process
1. Cut eggplant in cubes and steam for about 5 minutes or cook in boiling water for 15 minutes until tender.
2. Afterwards, drain and salt eggplant, and place in crockpot ( or in baking dish).
3. Add breadcrumbs, milk, onion, and cheese, salt and pepper. Mix together.
4. Cook on low for about 4 hours or in the oven at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Eggplant Health Benefits:

Brain Food

Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. In animal studies, nasunin has been found to protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes. Cell membranes are almost entirely composed of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell from free radicals, letting nutrients in and wastes out, and receiving instructions from messenger molecules that tell the cell which activities it should perform.

Rich in Phenolic Antioxidant Compounds

Researchers at the US Agricultural Service in Beltsville, Maryland, have found that eggplants are rich sources of phenolic compounds that function as antioxidants. Plants form such compounds to protect themselves against oxidative stress from exposure to the elements, as well as from infection by bacteria and fungi.

The good news concerning eggplant is that the predominant phenolic compound found in all varieties tested is chlorogenic acid, which is one of the most potent free radical scavengers found in plant tissues. Benefits attributed to chlorogenic acid include antimutagenic (anti-cancer), antimicrobial, anti-LDL (bad cholesterol) and antiviral activities


ARS researchers studied seven eggplant cultivars grown commercially in the U.S. and a diverse collection of exotic and wild eggplants from other counties. In addition to chlorogenic acid, they found 13 other phenolic acids present at significantly varying levels in the commercial cultivars, although chlorogenic acid was the predominant phenolic compound in all of them. Black Magic-a commercial eggplant cultivar representative of U.S. market types-was found to have nearly three times the amount of antioxidant phenolics as the other eggplant cultivars that were studied. In addition to their nutritive potential, the phenolic acids in eggplant are responsible for some eggplants' bitter taste and the browing that results when their flesh is cut. An enzyme called polyphenol oxidase triggers a phenolic reaction that produces brown pigments. Scientists have begun work on developing eggplant cultivars with an optimal balance of phenolics to ensure both optimal nutritional value and pleasing taste.

Cardiovascular Health and Free Radical Protection

When laboratory animals with high cholesterol were given eggplant juice, their blood cholesterol, the cholesterol in their artery walls and the cholesterol in their aortas (the aorta is the artery that returns blood from the heart back into circulation into the body) was significantly reduced, while the walls of their blood vessels relaxed, improving blood flow. These positive effects were likely due not only to nasunin but also to several other terpene phytonutrients in eggplant.
Nasunin is not only a potent free-radical scavenger, but is also an iron chelator. Although iron is an essential nutrient and is necessary for oxygen transport, normal immune function and collagen synthesis, too much iron is not a good thing. Excess iron increases free radical production and is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and cancer. Menstruating women, who lose iron every month in their menstrual flow, are unlikely to be at risk, but in postmenopausal women and men, iron, which is not easily excreted, can accumulate. By chelating iron, nasunin lessens free radical formation with numerous beneficial results, including protecting blood cholesterol (which is also a type of lipid or fat) from peroxidation; preventing cellular damage that can promote cancer; and lessening free radical damage in joints, which is a primary factor in rheumatoid arthritis.

Information from WH foods

Crock Pot Honey Dijon-Apple Pork

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 apples, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (2 to 2 1/2 pound) rolled boneless pork roast
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

In 4- to 6-quart crock pot, combine onion and apples.

In small bowl, combine honey, mustard, coriander and salt; mix well. Spread on all sides of pork roast; place roast over onions and apples. Cover; cook on LOW for 7-8 hours.

Remove roast from crock pot; place on serving platter. Cover with foil.

In small saucepan, combine cornstarch and water, blending well. Add apple mixture and juices from crock pot; mix well. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils, stirring occasionally. Cut roast into slices. Serve with sauce.