Thursday, January 10, 2008

Crockpots, Slow Cookers - those wonderful inventions from Heaven!

To go along with Grace...did you know that you can also keep your stuffing and mashed potatoes in your crockpot???? They will be nice and toasty warm, not dried out, and are the yummiest way to do them especially for large group meals! I discovered this at Thanksgiving time with my Moms' Group at Church! I'd have never thought of it...but it works amazingly well!

I also will make a "casserole" in my crockpot...especially when using already cooked meat for said casserole...just dump all the cooked ingredients (best for noodle or potato dishes like good ol' tuna noodle casserole) into your crockpot, and set it to Low, and let it "cook" the rest of the day until you're ready to eat!

I've also made soups galore in there...simply dump all the ingredients into the crockpot, and turn it to high til it boils, and then turn it to low to simmer the rest of the day/overnight, whatever...fantastic for taking meals to potluck dinners, or when providing meals to folks that have just had surgery or whatever.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Meatloaf

Did you know that you can cook a meatloaf in the crockpot? I'd heard this years ago, but never tried it. Since yesterday was a crazy day, I put the meatloaf in the crockpot, on low, at noon and by seven at dinner, it was perfect! I made mashed potatoes in the morning to warm up. So, all I did was warm up the potatoes and veggies and it was all ready! Easy, breezy!

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Shrimp Scampi

Last night, I was in a bind for something to cook. I had a two-pound bag of frozen, de-veined shrimp in my freezer, but wasn't in the mood for plain ole boiled shrimp. So I pulled out my trusty Joy of Cooking and found just the thing. Scampi!

1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic


Heat the olive oil and garlic over low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is browned. Do it slowly, it should take about 10 minutes.

Raise the heat to medium/medium high and add:

One and an half to Two pounds peeled and de-veined shrimp
1/4 cup chopped parsley*


*I used dried parsley flakes and just sprinkled liberally

Cook through, stirring occasionally. This takes about 5 minutes or so. They're done when they are totally pink.

Toss with fresh lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste.

Server over plain pasta or rice.

Yummy and healthy for the new year!