I am pretty sure almost every household in America has a crockpot. Really. Most of us probably received one as a wedding gift or a "first home" gift or a Christmas gift.
They are an American household staple. And they should be used OFTEN. Honestly, they are the simplest appliance you'll ever own or use. They do all the cooking for you when it comes to a meal.
So, here are the oh-so-tough steps to using a crockpot to make your meal:
1 - Pick a meat...chicken, a roast, ground meat, whatever!
2 - Choose a few veggies...we like carrots and potoatoes.
3 - Pick some seasonings...for flavor, we use chopped onion (dried or fresh; or onion powder) and celery, salt and pepper, and usually a little garlic (or garlic salt or garlic powder)
4 - Decide how long you want this to cook. (Going to be at work all day? 8-10 hours, then, would be good. Running out for a few hours? 6 hours might work. Noticing it's after lunch already and you haven't thought about dinner yet? 4 hours is probably best.)
5 - Put your meat in the crockpot (brown the sides on the stovetop first, if using a roast). Then add your veggies and seasonings around the meat and on top.
6 - Add a little water. I have no exact measurement. I think about 1/2 to 1 inch of water in the pot would be good. Just so things don't dry out.
7 - Set your time and press Start.
Ta-da! You've done it. :) Now, dinner will be ready and you don't have to stand there and stir anything or even check on it. Throw it all in a large serving bowl or divide it up onto plates and there's dinner!
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Basic Kitchen: Saute, Simmer, Steam
Three types of stove top cooking, include sauteing, simmering, and steaming.
Sauteing is cooking food at a high heat in a little oil. The foods are usually cut into small pieces, to help with fast cooking. A lot of times, I see this type of cooking for the veggies in a recipe. Onions and green peppers are chopped small and sauteed for a few minutes before adding meats a lot of times. When sauteing, make sure you either stir the foods often or jerk the pan to flip the foods around, to prevent burning. Also, you want to use a large enough pan so that all the foods can lie in the pan in one layer. This helps the foods to cook evenly and quickly. The amount of oil you use is key - only enough to coat the bottom of the pan. You don't want to have it deep enough to FRY the foods. Just enough to keep them foods from sticking to the pan and to give a little flavor.
The next type is simmering. This is when you cook foods in hot liquids kept at or just below boiling. Crockpots simmer foods. The types of foods you would simmer are stews, soups, and chilis. Also, if you're cooking rice, this is also simmering - you bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the temp to keep the foods cooking but not enough to boil them continuously.
Lastly, there is steaming. There are pans made specifically for this type of cooking. The process of steaming includes bringing a pot of water to a boil, placing the steamer on top of that pot and placing the foods in the steamer to cook. The steam from the boiling water cooks the foods. This is recommended for veggies, to retain the most vitamins in them. It is also great to avoid burning foods! :) You can cook practically anything this way.
Now, the next time you have a recipe that calls for a particular way of cooking, you will know exactly what they're talking about!
Sauteing is cooking food at a high heat in a little oil. The foods are usually cut into small pieces, to help with fast cooking. A lot of times, I see this type of cooking for the veggies in a recipe. Onions and green peppers are chopped small and sauteed for a few minutes before adding meats a lot of times. When sauteing, make sure you either stir the foods often or jerk the pan to flip the foods around, to prevent burning. Also, you want to use a large enough pan so that all the foods can lie in the pan in one layer. This helps the foods to cook evenly and quickly. The amount of oil you use is key - only enough to coat the bottom of the pan. You don't want to have it deep enough to FRY the foods. Just enough to keep them foods from sticking to the pan and to give a little flavor.
The next type is simmering. This is when you cook foods in hot liquids kept at or just below boiling. Crockpots simmer foods. The types of foods you would simmer are stews, soups, and chilis. Also, if you're cooking rice, this is also simmering - you bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the temp to keep the foods cooking but not enough to boil them continuously.
Lastly, there is steaming. There are pans made specifically for this type of cooking. The process of steaming includes bringing a pot of water to a boil, placing the steamer on top of that pot and placing the foods in the steamer to cook. The steam from the boiling water cooks the foods. This is recommended for veggies, to retain the most vitamins in them. It is also great to avoid burning foods! :) You can cook practically anything this way.
Now, the next time you have a recipe that calls for a particular way of cooking, you will know exactly what they're talking about!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Rejoicing in Recipes: Veggie Lasagna
Today is Meatless Monday! We're having a Veggie Lasagna tonight for dinner. It smells very good right now, so I'm hoping it tastes just as good! This is kind of my own recipe. I found a bunch that used spinach and mushrooms. We don't have any spinach in the house, and we don't like mushrooms. So, I tweaked it to use what we have on hand - zucchini and yellow squash.
Veggie Lasagna
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 beaten eggs
2 cups cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
12 oz Mozzarella Cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 TBSP olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic (I used dried minced onion)
1 medium zucchini squash, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
1 cup shredded carrot
2 TBSP flour
2 cups milk
3/4 tsp pepper
Combine eggs, cottage cheese, 4 oz Mozzarella Cheese, and Italian seasoning in bowl. Set aside. In pan, heat oil and add onion, green pepper and garlic. Cook on medium heat until veggies are tender. Stir in flour, milk and pepper all at once. Heat and stir constantly until mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and add in carrot squash, and 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese.
Pour 1/2 cup veggie mixture in bottom of 3 quart baking dish. Place 1/3 of noodles over mixture. Layer 1/3 of cottage cheese mix over noodles then 1/3 of veggie/milk mixture and then 1/3 of remaining Mozzarella. Repeat 2 more times, ending with Mozzarella on top. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly and noodles are cooked through.
We're having this with homemade garlic bread (buttered slices of bread, sprinkled with garlic powder and broiled for just a few minutes until browned). Super yummy! I'm very excited to eat tonight! (of course, that's nothing new - I am always excited to eat!) :)
Veggie Lasagna
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 beaten eggs
2 cups cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
12 oz Mozzarella Cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 TBSP olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic (I used dried minced onion)
1 medium zucchini squash, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
1 cup shredded carrot
2 TBSP flour
2 cups milk
3/4 tsp pepper
Combine eggs, cottage cheese, 4 oz Mozzarella Cheese, and Italian seasoning in bowl. Set aside. In pan, heat oil and add onion, green pepper and garlic. Cook on medium heat until veggies are tender. Stir in flour, milk and pepper all at once. Heat and stir constantly until mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and add in carrot squash, and 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese.
Pour 1/2 cup veggie mixture in bottom of 3 quart baking dish. Place 1/3 of noodles over mixture. Layer 1/3 of cottage cheese mix over noodles then 1/3 of veggie/milk mixture and then 1/3 of remaining Mozzarella. Repeat 2 more times, ending with Mozzarella on top. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly and noodles are cooked through.
We're having this with homemade garlic bread (buttered slices of bread, sprinkled with garlic powder and broiled for just a few minutes until browned). Super yummy! I'm very excited to eat tonight! (of course, that's nothing new - I am always excited to eat!) :)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Basic Kitchen: Slice, Dice, Julienne
Continuing with week #2 of our Basic Kitchen series...
Last Monday I explained about Boiling Water and the proper way to do it, as well as tips for boiling water effectively if you have an electric stove. We also went over the how-to for boiling pasta and rice.
This week, I thought we'd take a look at the preparation of foods before cooking them. For instance, cutting techniques. Recipes often state "chopped" or "diced" or even "julienne", but how many of us actually know exactly what each cut looks like? How do we know if we're performing it right? And....do we even care??
I know a lot of us are trying to move around quickly in the kitchen, to beat the clock and get the meal on the table before Husband gets home or before the kids are screaming they're hungry. Some of us plan our meals but do not prep ahead of time (or don't have the TIME to prep ahead). Some plan and prep every detail of the meal ahead of time. And still some are rummaging through the pantry and fridge at 5:30, to have dinner ready by 6:00! Whichever type of cook you are, I think it's important to know HOW to read the recipe's instructions for the planned out meals as well as the planned-in-5-minute meals.
Chefs take pride in the PRESENTATION of their dishes, not just in the taste. They also know that different cuts are appealing in different ways for different dishes, as well as UNIFORM cuts allowing uniform cooking.
Big chunks of vegetables cooking with tiny pieces of vegetables are not going to all cook at the same rate. The smaller pieces will either be overcooked (or burned!) before the big ones cook, OR the big chunks will be undercooked when the small ones are ready. If we take the time to learn to uniformly cut our pieces, we will actually help ourselves cook better-tasting meals!
So, before I get to rambling about putting thought and effort into our dishes, here's a list of some of the cuts I have come across in recipes:
(NOTE: Some of these I've only seen once or twice, while others I see in practically every recipe I use. So, don't think I use crazy difficult French recipes every day, when you see some of the more obscure types of cut!)
Dice (large, medium, and small)
Julienne (and Fine Julienne)
Batonnet
Allumette
Brunoise (and Fine Brunoise)
Now, I will go over what I know of each type of cut and the measurements I have found that make each one different.
DICE
The exact measurements are as follows:
Large Dice - 3/4 inch x3/4 inch x 3/4 inch
Medium Dice - 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch
Small Dice - 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch
I know we aren't all going to get a ruler to measure our cuts every time we are dicing, but it might be a good idea to do it the next time you're dicing something, just to get an idea of each size...so you can do it the next time. After a few times of practice, we can probably just eyeball the measurement and become pretty good with making each one uniform.
JULIENNE
I have only attempted this cut twice. It was mostly because I had just seen that movie Julie and Julia, and I felt inspired to master cooking. :) I didn't do very well, and I really haven't taken the time to practice. I do hope to try again, though, and get it down.
The measurements for a proper julienne cut are 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 2 1/2 inches. HERE is a photo of a julienne cut.
I love the look of this cut for carrots. I don't know why, it's just cute. :)
Fine Julienne measures 1/16 inch x 1/16 inch x 2 inches. That seems very difficult to do, and I have not yet come across that cut in a recipe yet. I would be nervous of chopping my fingers off to get 1/16 inch cut.
BATONNET
I have not yet tried this one or read it in any of my recipes, but I would love to be able to point out "I did a batonnet cut on those potatoes" some day. :) Yes, that's dorky. It just seems pretty cool to a)KNOW that type of cut and b)MAKE that type of cut....properly. :)
The batonnet cut measures 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 2 1/2-3 inches. And it is pronounced bah-tow-NAY.
ALLUMETTE
This cut is also know as the "matchstick cut." It measures 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x 2 1/2 inches and is pronounced al-yoo-MET.
I tried this cut once, as far as I can remember. It turned out alright. Again, another cut I think it'd be cool to say I know and can do. :)
BRUNOISE
Pronounced BROON-wahz, this cut measures 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch. Yes, it's tiny! I haven't attempted this yet, nor have I read it in my recipes.
I was googling "brunoise" to see what types of food you might perform this cut on, and I found it's used for fine salsas. I read it is best used on onion, tomato, celery, carrot and turnip. To perform this cut, it's recommended that you julienne the item first, then make the cuts for the brunoise. There is also a Fine Brunoise that measures 1/16 inch x 1/16 inch x 1/16 inch. Yikes! I would definitely lose fingertips making that one!
Interesting, but I don't know when specifically I'd use it. Just something to practice...you know, in the spare time we all have to sit and make different cuts of foods. :)
So, no matter what type of cut your recipe calls for, we can know exactly what it's referring to and how to make it. And be sure to use safety when cutting anything! Have proper control of your knife and hold your food item with your fingertips turned in, to avoid any unnecessary ER visits!
Oh, and before I go, I found this step-by-step for how to chop an onion that I found pretty interesting. It's different than what I've seen on the cooking shows. Enjoy!
Last Monday I explained about Boiling Water and the proper way to do it, as well as tips for boiling water effectively if you have an electric stove. We also went over the how-to for boiling pasta and rice.
This week, I thought we'd take a look at the preparation of foods before cooking them. For instance, cutting techniques. Recipes often state "chopped" or "diced" or even "julienne", but how many of us actually know exactly what each cut looks like? How do we know if we're performing it right? And....do we even care??
I know a lot of us are trying to move around quickly in the kitchen, to beat the clock and get the meal on the table before Husband gets home or before the kids are screaming they're hungry. Some of us plan our meals but do not prep ahead of time (or don't have the TIME to prep ahead). Some plan and prep every detail of the meal ahead of time. And still some are rummaging through the pantry and fridge at 5:30, to have dinner ready by 6:00! Whichever type of cook you are, I think it's important to know HOW to read the recipe's instructions for the planned out meals as well as the planned-in-5-minute meals.
Chefs take pride in the PRESENTATION of their dishes, not just in the taste. They also know that different cuts are appealing in different ways for different dishes, as well as UNIFORM cuts allowing uniform cooking.
Big chunks of vegetables cooking with tiny pieces of vegetables are not going to all cook at the same rate. The smaller pieces will either be overcooked (or burned!) before the big ones cook, OR the big chunks will be undercooked when the small ones are ready. If we take the time to learn to uniformly cut our pieces, we will actually help ourselves cook better-tasting meals!
So, before I get to rambling about putting thought and effort into our dishes, here's a list of some of the cuts I have come across in recipes:
(NOTE: Some of these I've only seen once or twice, while others I see in practically every recipe I use. So, don't think I use crazy difficult French recipes every day, when you see some of the more obscure types of cut!)
Dice (large, medium, and small)
Julienne (and Fine Julienne)
Batonnet
Allumette
Brunoise (and Fine Brunoise)
Now, I will go over what I know of each type of cut and the measurements I have found that make each one different.
DICE
The exact measurements are as follows:
Large Dice - 3/4 inch x3/4 inch x 3/4 inch
Medium Dice - 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch
Small Dice - 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch
I know we aren't all going to get a ruler to measure our cuts every time we are dicing, but it might be a good idea to do it the next time you're dicing something, just to get an idea of each size...so you can do it the next time. After a few times of practice, we can probably just eyeball the measurement and become pretty good with making each one uniform.
JULIENNE
I have only attempted this cut twice. It was mostly because I had just seen that movie Julie and Julia, and I felt inspired to master cooking. :) I didn't do very well, and I really haven't taken the time to practice. I do hope to try again, though, and get it down.
The measurements for a proper julienne cut are 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 2 1/2 inches. HERE is a photo of a julienne cut.
I love the look of this cut for carrots. I don't know why, it's just cute. :)
Fine Julienne measures 1/16 inch x 1/16 inch x 2 inches. That seems very difficult to do, and I have not yet come across that cut in a recipe yet. I would be nervous of chopping my fingers off to get 1/16 inch cut.
BATONNET
I have not yet tried this one or read it in any of my recipes, but I would love to be able to point out "I did a batonnet cut on those potatoes" some day. :) Yes, that's dorky. It just seems pretty cool to a)KNOW that type of cut and b)MAKE that type of cut....properly. :)
The batonnet cut measures 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch x 2 1/2-3 inches. And it is pronounced bah-tow-NAY.
ALLUMETTE
This cut is also know as the "matchstick cut." It measures 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x 2 1/2 inches and is pronounced al-yoo-MET.
I tried this cut once, as far as I can remember. It turned out alright. Again, another cut I think it'd be cool to say I know and can do. :)
BRUNOISE
Pronounced BROON-wahz, this cut measures 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch. Yes, it's tiny! I haven't attempted this yet, nor have I read it in my recipes.
I was googling "brunoise" to see what types of food you might perform this cut on, and I found it's used for fine salsas. I read it is best used on onion, tomato, celery, carrot and turnip. To perform this cut, it's recommended that you julienne the item first, then make the cuts for the brunoise. There is also a Fine Brunoise that measures 1/16 inch x 1/16 inch x 1/16 inch. Yikes! I would definitely lose fingertips making that one!
Interesting, but I don't know when specifically I'd use it. Just something to practice...you know, in the spare time we all have to sit and make different cuts of foods. :)
So, no matter what type of cut your recipe calls for, we can know exactly what it's referring to and how to make it. And be sure to use safety when cutting anything! Have proper control of your knife and hold your food item with your fingertips turned in, to avoid any unnecessary ER visits!
Oh, and before I go, I found this step-by-step for how to chop an onion that I found pretty interesting. It's different than what I've seen on the cooking shows. Enjoy!
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