Some weekends I am really on top of things and get a lot of good food prep done. This was one of those weekends. I will recap for the sake of offering suggestions and encouragement to others and to remind myself of what things work for me.
The first good news is that the gluten free mix I make myself and store worked wonderfully in our standby pancake recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that is a tradition in our family. This good news goes perfectly with the other good news which is that I found and used the griddle attachment to our stove top which has been sitting in the garage since we moved in two years ago. (You know some of those pancakes went to the freezer for after school snacks during the week) To continue with the gluten-free theme, my daughter made a batch of iced cookies that just really hit the spot, and now we are both so excited to continue experimenting with our homemade flour mix in other dessert items.
So I got out my biggest pot, bought a 105oz (or so) can of tomatoes, an almost ridiculous amount of tomato paste, and 4 pounds of ground beef. I stirred a pot of tomato sauce for a few hours on Saturday to achieve 4 portions of meat sauce for the freezer. Some for lasagna and some for spaghetti dinner. I'm really excited about those. That was a lot of meat sauce.
Another exciting adventure was making yogurt with one of my daughters Friday night. It was a success and we are all enjoying the yummy yogurt even though it is not very thick. I hear this is a common issue in homemade yogurt. Still working on that one.
To continue, I boiled and shredded a chicken breast to be dressed up and used for lunches, stocked up on fruits, veggies, and a few obligatory salty snack foods for the kids' lunches this week.
I found a few recipes for the crockpot and made one of them. It was a sesame chicken recipe that turned out kind of plain. No one is going to ask for it again, but in a bind I could use it.
That's a lot of cooking and food handling. Throw in a trip to Costco and Safeway, and we should be good for a while! Tonight, Monday, there will be leftovers from the not-so-great sesame chicken plus some leftovers from the lunch restaurant we ate at.
Showing posts with label crock pot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crock pot. Show all posts
Monday, September 15, 2014
Friday, August 16, 2013
Crock Pot and Arabic Food
I started using a crock pot, aka slow cooker, only a few years ago. I quickly noticed that most of the recipes for this appliance were full of canned foods, packets of seasonings, processed cheeses (lots and lots of it). The meals were very typical "American" foods like shredded ____ (insert type of meat) from which you'd make tacos or sandwiches. Others were for pots full of noodles, cream, cheese, milk, butter, and maybe some meat. It was looking gross.
I've figured out a few things I can make successfully in the crock pot without compromising the quality of the meal. And on top of that, I've figured out how to make a few Arabic dishes in there too! And that's the main idea about today's post is to share with my friends how to use the crock pot to prepare some of the Arabic foods I've adapted for the crock pot.
The first one is easy; it's a boneless leg of lamb. This is especially convenient for days when company is coming because the oven is free for your veggies or other side dishes.
Leg of Lamb:
Rinse and trim fat off of one leg of lamb (3-5lb).
Season with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and no more than 1/2tsp of allspice.
Sear the lamb in a hot skillet.
Transfer to a cold crock pot. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup water to pot.
Turn it on High for an hour or two and then turn it to low for the remainder of the time.
4-5 hours of total cook time is usually perfect. If you have a leg smaller than 3 lbs then cook it 3 hours, but the ones that are 4-5lbs can go 4-5 hours.
On a busy school day last year I decided to try prepping for the eggplant dish called Musa'ka and to put in the crockpot rather than have to bake it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. I wanted to dish to be ready when we got home from being out all day rather than come home and have to preheat the oven and bake the dish. It worked!
I made my ground beef, onion, green pepper and tomato paste mix. I broiled the sliced eggplant under the broiler and lightly salted them. Then I sprayed the crockpot with a nonstick spray and put the eggplant in. After that I poured in the meat/onion/tomato mixture in. You don't need to add extra water because the lid keeps the steam in. And that is it. I put it on low and it was plenty warm when we returned home 4 hours later. If you like to top your Musa'ka with a béchamel sauce then this might not give a great result, however, I have read recipes where they say to take the lid off for 30 minutes at the end to allow cheese to cook up and not be gooey.
And finally, I made a great pot of Fasulieh bizZeit (green beans in olive oil) last night.
Green beans in oil:
Wash and trim 1.5 lbs green beans (I'm totally estimating on the amount. I had a Ziploc bag full of beans from my neighbor's garden, so I just used all that up)
Snap the beans into smaller pieces and set aside.
Pour 2-3 Tbsp olive oil in the crock pot.
Slice a medium onion and put over the oil. Chop a large tomato or 2-3 smaller ones and put over the onions.
Now put all the beans over the onions and tomatoes. Sprinkle with a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt.
I cooked on high for 4 hours. Results were fantastic.
I don't have any picture to post right now, but if I snap one I'll come back and add it.
Try some of your dishes in the crock pot and see if it can work for you!
I've figured out a few things I can make successfully in the crock pot without compromising the quality of the meal. And on top of that, I've figured out how to make a few Arabic dishes in there too! And that's the main idea about today's post is to share with my friends how to use the crock pot to prepare some of the Arabic foods I've adapted for the crock pot.
The first one is easy; it's a boneless leg of lamb. This is especially convenient for days when company is coming because the oven is free for your veggies or other side dishes.
Leg of Lamb:
Rinse and trim fat off of one leg of lamb (3-5lb).
Season with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and no more than 1/2tsp of allspice.
Sear the lamb in a hot skillet.
Transfer to a cold crock pot. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup water to pot.
Turn it on High for an hour or two and then turn it to low for the remainder of the time.
4-5 hours of total cook time is usually perfect. If you have a leg smaller than 3 lbs then cook it 3 hours, but the ones that are 4-5lbs can go 4-5 hours.
On a busy school day last year I decided to try prepping for the eggplant dish called Musa'ka and to put in the crockpot rather than have to bake it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. I wanted to dish to be ready when we got home from being out all day rather than come home and have to preheat the oven and bake the dish. It worked!
I made my ground beef, onion, green pepper and tomato paste mix. I broiled the sliced eggplant under the broiler and lightly salted them. Then I sprayed the crockpot with a nonstick spray and put the eggplant in. After that I poured in the meat/onion/tomato mixture in. You don't need to add extra water because the lid keeps the steam in. And that is it. I put it on low and it was plenty warm when we returned home 4 hours later. If you like to top your Musa'ka with a béchamel sauce then this might not give a great result, however, I have read recipes where they say to take the lid off for 30 minutes at the end to allow cheese to cook up and not be gooey.
And finally, I made a great pot of Fasulieh bizZeit (green beans in olive oil) last night.
Green beans in oil:
Wash and trim 1.5 lbs green beans (I'm totally estimating on the amount. I had a Ziploc bag full of beans from my neighbor's garden, so I just used all that up)
Snap the beans into smaller pieces and set aside.
Pour 2-3 Tbsp olive oil in the crock pot.
Slice a medium onion and put over the oil. Chop a large tomato or 2-3 smaller ones and put over the onions.
Now put all the beans over the onions and tomatoes. Sprinkle with a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt.
I cooked on high for 4 hours. Results were fantastic.
I don't have any picture to post right now, but if I snap one I'll come back and add it.
Try some of your dishes in the crock pot and see if it can work for you!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Taco Soup
This is a pretty standard taco soup recipe, but I'm posting it for those following some of my other posts.
1lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
(brown those two in a skillet)
Add a packet of taco seasoning or make your own
(at this point you can put this and the following ingredients into a crock pot, or you can cook stove top)
Add:
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can hominy
1 can Ro-Tel (diced tomatoes with chiles)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 cup water
Let this simmer on the stove or in a crockpot for a while. It will taste great for a few days. Serve with many garnishes such as cheddar cheese, sour cream, chips, hot sauce, cilantro, or cornbread.
1lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
(brown those two in a skillet)
Add a packet of taco seasoning or make your own
(at this point you can put this and the following ingredients into a crock pot, or you can cook stove top)
Add:
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can hominy
1 can Ro-Tel (diced tomatoes with chiles)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 cup water
Let this simmer on the stove or in a crockpot for a while. It will taste great for a few days. Serve with many garnishes such as cheddar cheese, sour cream, chips, hot sauce, cilantro, or cornbread.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
February Meal Plan
Side note: I always make sides, so just because they're not listed doesn't mean we don't eat greens.
February Meal Plan
1.
Hamburgers
Friday
2.
Koshari
3.
Grilled Salmon, veggies, rice
4.
Shepherd’s Pie
5.
Broccoli Soup w/ Cornbread Tue
6.
Broiled Chicken, Veggies
7.
Crockpot: BBQ Zesty Chicken Thurs
8.
Lentil Curry
Friday
9.
Kafta Waraq
10.
Roast Leg of Lamb Sunday
11.
Whole roasted chicken in crockpot, salad, rice
12.
Molokhieh (when Abed is travelling) Tuesday
13.
Mujaddara
14.
Chicken Paprika
Thursday
15.
Kafta Balls with veggies Friday
16.
Chicken Nuggets in skillet Saturday
17.
Malfoof
Sunday
18.
Musaka
19.
Fasulia, Rice
Tuesday
20.
Chicken Burgers
21.
Broccoli Rice Casserole Thursday
22.
Baked potatoes
Friday
23.
Roast chicken pieces, potatoes, carrots, any
other veggie Saturday
24.
Spaghetti and Sauce, Salad
25.
Roasted veggies over pasta
26.
Italian chicken with rice (crockpot)
27.
Sloppy Joes
28.
Curried chickpeas, rice
this is a picture of my rice cooker with an attempt at making makloobeh in it. i cooked the meat separately, oven-fried the eggplant separately, then combined everything in the rice cooker to cook. it turned out great! (makloobeh wasn't even on my january meal plan)
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Day 3 Meal Plan
So here we are on day 3. I learned my lesson from the frozen chicken fiasco yesterday and pulled out the beef for stew yesterday for today (at the same time I took out the chicken). It was ready to go this morning, and since I knew I'd be out of the house from 10am-6pm I got to work while still sipping my first cup of coffee (this is not something I like to do, but it was an unusual circumstance).
I cooked up the beef stew in the pressure cooker and had it cooling around 9am. Before I left the house I set up the rice in my new rice cooker (my new BFF), and I pulled out the beloved crock pot.
In it I put a bag of frozen french style green beans, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, and all the broth from the meat I just cooked. I shook in a little garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, closed the lid, and set it to low. I put the meat in a bowl in the fridge since it didn't need to be sitting in the crock pot all day. I popped in the house for about 1 minute around 4:10pm at which time the meat got dumped into the crockpot to warm it up in time for dinner.
Side note: my husband went home around lunchtime while I was not there, so I asked him to set the crock pot to "warm" instead of "low" because I know it cooks too hot. I will probably do that again when I will be gone that many hours with the crock pot since it really doesn't need to be on 'low'.
One glitch in today's dinner.... turns out my rice cooker is on a 24 hour clock and not a 12 hour one. So when I set the timer to be ready at 6:00, it was thinking AM and I was thinking PM. Silly rice cooker..... I got a phone call from my husband who was home (while I was not) asking me what's up with the rice. It was 6:08 (pm, haha) and it sure didn't look like it was ready. I was bummed, but we both laughed when we realized the mess-up. He was able to successfully press the "Cooking" button which activated the rice making magic, and we ate a hot meal eventually, just not at 6:00, or should I say, not at 18:00.
Look at the picture. Again, notice how un-messy the kitchen is? Nice. Alhamdullah, the food tasted great, and leftovers will be going to work with my husband tomorrow. I was able to get a few ingredients prepped for tomorrow night's dinner which I will assemble after breakfast tomorrow and bake once I get home at 4:00 insha'Allah. Nope, I'm not telling what the dish is (ok, you could scroll down and read my other blog entry), but I will say it won't be in the crock pot. Are you relieved?
I cooked up the beef stew in the pressure cooker and had it cooling around 9am. Before I left the house I set up the rice in my new rice cooker (my new BFF), and I pulled out the beloved crock pot.
In it I put a bag of frozen french style green beans, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, and all the broth from the meat I just cooked. I shook in a little garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, closed the lid, and set it to low. I put the meat in a bowl in the fridge since it didn't need to be sitting in the crock pot all day. I popped in the house for about 1 minute around 4:10pm at which time the meat got dumped into the crockpot to warm it up in time for dinner.
Side note: my husband went home around lunchtime while I was not there, so I asked him to set the crock pot to "warm" instead of "low" because I know it cooks too hot. I will probably do that again when I will be gone that many hours with the crock pot since it really doesn't need to be on 'low'.
One glitch in today's dinner.... turns out my rice cooker is on a 24 hour clock and not a 12 hour one. So when I set the timer to be ready at 6:00, it was thinking AM and I was thinking PM. Silly rice cooker..... I got a phone call from my husband who was home (while I was not) asking me what's up with the rice. It was 6:08 (pm, haha) and it sure didn't look like it was ready. I was bummed, but we both laughed when we realized the mess-up. He was able to successfully press the "Cooking" button which activated the rice making magic, and we ate a hot meal eventually, just not at 6:00, or should I say, not at 18:00.
Look at the picture. Again, notice how un-messy the kitchen is? Nice. Alhamdullah, the food tasted great, and leftovers will be going to work with my husband tomorrow. I was able to get a few ingredients prepped for tomorrow night's dinner which I will assemble after breakfast tomorrow and bake once I get home at 4:00 insha'Allah. Nope, I'm not telling what the dish is (ok, you could scroll down and read my other blog entry), but I will say it won't be in the crock pot. Are you relieved?
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