An Unquenchable Appetite for Slow Cooking

The title for this post came from me looking at my thesaurus for a better way to say, "I'm currently hooked on cooking in my slow-cooker" - passion, ardor, enthusiasm . . . appetite. When you read reviews on slow cookers, there's some people who absolutely do not like this style of cooking. And even in evaluating Slow Cooker cookbooks, which I'm glad for people's comments, there too, is a variety of viewpoints. Now I'll give you my two-cents-worth.

My new slow cooker

I had to get a new crockpot. My old one for years and years was a 4qt - probably Rival brand. I wanted a newer bigger one. I got a CrockPot brand. I love the larger oval sizes. That one's insert cracked - it's a fine line. I could have been using it without noticing . . . but then Monte washed it and noticed. I'm still planning on writing them, hoping for a new FREE insert. It probably cracked from my continual use of placing the insert in a cold spot when warm and then putting it back into the base and heating it too hot right away. Or could a frozen chicken (which I do a lot on high) cause it to crack when turned on to High to start the process quick? I'm going to be more careful about all that from now on.

I really am attracted to the brands that eliminate the sauteing step in another utensil - but it looks like they are all anodized aluminum (for non-stick). I stay away from aluminum. Breville has a new Fast Slow Cooker - both a slow cooker AND pressure cooker, but I don't see anywhere the specs on the insert being stainless steel. I bought a Hamilton Beach Set and Forget slow cooker, but returned it. Nice idea: probe insert hole and handle clasps for taking places and no spill. But no specs on what the lid is made out of for that no-spill feature. I cooked a meal. Ok, it's new, so new smells to cook off. The smell, and too, the taste in the food? Rubber! It should be silicone AND should say something! Anyway, I now have a Cuisinart and am really liking it. It has an extra setting - most have warm, low, and high - this one also has simmer. And too, when I wanted to switch from high to low or whatever, it would be like starting over in adjusting the time. The Cuisinart keeps the time you originally set and switching the temp level doesn't alter the time.

When you read all the Slow Cooker talk, you'll keep hearing: "It cooks hotter". They did change that feature from the old crockpots - worry over bacteria growth if too low temps. And as to that sauteing and/or browning extra step? It often does enhance the finished dish's flavor, but it's not always needed. The extra steps is what I read the complaints on for some cookbooks.

I almost bought a highly praised cookbook, but decided to read the reviews. One person commented on too many ingredients that were pre-packaged and canned. And then there's those people who want the ease of just dumping in already prepared ingredients with no extra steps . . . "An easy meal at the end of the day, isn't that why we're using a slow cooker?" Here's a picture of the cookbooks I settled on. If you were to choose one? Get the America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution. I've mentioned before my love of Cook's Illustrated recipes - I started getting the end of the year bound editions from the start (1993) and occasionally get the newest index for them all. This slow cooker cookbook is just another quality book from them. (A sidenote: I get seasonal emails from Christopher Kimball the Cook's Illustrated founder, editor, and host of America's Test Kitchen. He writes about the idyllic life in Vermont's countryside where he lives. Stories of family doings, farming, hunting . . . I like reading them. Almost the same slow life, warm feeling when reading farmer Wendell Berry's books.)

Slow Cooker cookbooks

Another reason for pulling out the slow cooker more and more is our pastured grass-fed meats. When the majority of our meat was elk I used the slow cooker a lot, or slow cooked in the oven. Grass-fed meats, without the fat marbling that grain feeding produces, need slower lower cooking temps - and the slow cooker is producing great tasting meals! These books even have some great dessert ideas I'm wanting to try too.

So far out of the Revolution book I've done several meals: like chicken thighs with the addition of chard near the end of cooking time for 30 minutes on high, and pork steaks with the addition of collard greens and black-eyed peas. These had you saute onion, celery, and garlic, etc, using some broth and/or wine to rinse out the pan. EVERYTHING has been awesome so far. And often there's suggestions for a side dish addition which we've really liked too. Like Polenta with an Italian-Style Pot Roast. None of the above meats were first browned - only sauteed initial veggies- and usually an umami, a savory taste, like a bit-o bacon or tomato paste.

What's cooking now? Chicken In A Pot. I sauted up chopped onion and garlic. Added 1 tsp of tomato paste and 1 Tb flour and used about 1/3-1/2 cup of wine (you could use some of that as broth) to clean the skillet into the slow cooker. Then set the whole chicken on top of that mixture, salt and pepper the chicken (from past whole chicken cooks, I also like to sprinkle on some garlic and onion powders). Oh . . . I guess I'm supposed to add some thyme and bay leaves, so I better go add those. This will cook on low for 4-6 hours. They always suggest cooking with the breast down for best moist flavor.

My old crock pot with a sage, bread-stuffed rolled flank steak

Shared with: Simple Lives Thursday, Chicken Chick, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, A Better Mom, Hearth and Soul Hop, The Gathering Spot, Homestead Barn Hop, Nourishing Treasures, Traditional Tuesday

Chile Rellenos Casserole

Chile Rellenos Casserole with Grass-Fed Beef

For starters, I had to google chili vs chile, cuz I've always written 'chili', as does my Mom. I think of 'Chile' as the country. And then there's the Red Hot Chili Peppers band. So what's the verdict? The Spanish word is 'chile'. 'Chili' is the American version, having gotten started from Chili con Carne.

Back to my Mom . . . she's made Chile Rellenos Casserole for years. It's thee best! I put it in my cookbook. Tho I have all her ingredients right, my instructions are too vague. But I'm going to mess you up some more in this post cuz I still didn't follow her instructions, which I recently asked for again.

We have company. I made the rellenos for supper, along with what our company always request and call, "Killer guacamole". But I wanted to add our great grass-fed ground beef. I googled chile rellenos and after 6 google pages . . . they were all made with milk and flour! I knew my mom used chicken broth and masa harina for the thickening. So I returned to her recipe and added the beef. I'll tell you her recipe, and too, tell you what I did, changing it.

My Mom's Chile Rellenos Casserole Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 27oz can whole green chilies
1lb grated cheese - like a mix, but moreso jack - I used pepper jack
7 large eggs
1 cup chicken broth
5 Tb Masa Harina
4 Tb parmesan
1/2 Tb baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

The chilies are opened out and make up 3 layers in a 9x13 baking dish with grated cheese between. Then the rest of the ingredients are mixed together and poured over the top. Bake until set, about 30-45 minutes.

Marinara Sauce
Simmered and put on top last 10-15 minutes of baking-
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion and garlic clove sauted in some olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp oregano

Browning grd beef and onion

NOW, what did I do? I started browning 1 lb of ground beef and added 1 onion chopped, eventually adding several minced garlic (I always add more than any recipe calls for!!!).

Now I don't use canned chilies. That would sure be darned easy!!!! But oh the taste . . . and the fragrance of the vehicle every late summer . . . when I get a bushel of chilies and have them roasted. Once home, I freeze about 3 chilies per little baggy - that's about the equivalent of 4oz of chilies. And don't remove the blackened skins. I remove those as I use them. So for this recipe? I had to slip the blackened skins and too the seeds of seven baggies of chilies!

Roasted Anaheim Chilies I freeze every Fall - removing skins and seeds

And then I start the layering of chilies and cheese. I added half of the browned meat in the middle layer. Then added a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the 1/2 of beef left in the pan to start cooking down to add at the end. I added 2 Tb of the masa to this mixture as well as my mom's suggested spices . . . Except I don't usually have marjoram, so added extra oregano (I find them rather similar).

Bottom layer of green chilies

Added 1/4-1/3 of the grated pepper jack cheese

Another chile and cheese layer with browned grd beef and onion

Added can of diced tomatoes to 1/2 of left beef mixture to cook down

Third layer of chilies and cheese. Added last of grd beef with tomato mixture to the top and more cheese

Whisked together eggs, 3 Tb Masa, 1 Cup chicken broth, salt and baking powder and poured over the rellenos layers

I added my Mom's parmesan cheese suggestion to the very top.

We had this heated up for lunch today and it was even better!

I have made my own fresh Masa. If requested, I could post the recipe. It's a soaking of corn kernels in pickling lime water all day or night, and then ground fine. It's usually left fresh for corn tortillas and tamales. I've not tried drying it. I just freeze it in small useful portions. If you've ever had fresh corn tortillas from fresh masa . . . to die for!!!!!!

Shared with: Frugally Sustainable, Food Renegade, Make Your Own Monday, Holistic Squid, Works for Me Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Traditional Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, The Homestead Barnhop, Clever Chick Barn Hop

Comfort Food in Foil Packets

I made this dish the other night for supper and it's a keeper. Monte loved it and has eaten the leftover foil meal packets. It's easy. It could be a good camping meal, like in a campfire, or Monte thinks in a dutch oven.

Comfort Meal baked in foil packet

I don't know what to call it. It's not really hamburgers. It is a comfort food.

First I ripped off four squares of heavy duty foil.
Second, mix together the hamburger patty mixture and form into 4 patties -








1 lb of ground beef
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
1 egg
2-3 Tb lemon juice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped pepper (green, red ...)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each pepper, onion and garlic powders

Divide ingredients in midst of 4 heavy foil pieces

Then slice thin -
1 large onion
2 medium to large potatoes

2 carrots, cut in sticks
2-3 pieces bacon, cut up

Sealed foil packet meals

Divide these amongst the four foil pieces and seal well. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake at least 1 hour.

Beef and Bean Wedges ... or Pizza?

I just did a post on how to cook grass-fed beef. It is a different animal! The ground beef is AWESOME. Though a drier meat without the fat developed from feed lot grains (all genetically modified unless organic beef), the ground beef can be used in all recipes. For hamburgers I hate to adulterate too much since the beef flavor is exceptional, but they are drier, so I've started adding a few tablespoons of melted butter (organic or pastured) to a pound of meat.

Beef and Bean ... Pizza?

Last night I made up a recipe we liked. It's a keeper and a very easy quick meal.

BEEF AND BEAN WEDGES
1# of ground beef
1 15oz can of spiced beans (I used Annie's refried beans with green chilies)
1/2 cup Masa Harina
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
Juice from 1 lime

Mix this together well, spread and press flat and even on a pizza pan 12-14". Bake at 375 degrees 15-20 minutes till beef no longer is pink. Sprinkle on 1/4#, about 1 cup, of pepper jack cheese and bake another few minutes. I wanted it to brown a bit, so broiled it. Then add some chopped green onion and tomatoes and serve. We ate it with a salad.


A recipe I found that gave me the idea probably used regular beans. When it suggested 'spiced', I thought of the refried beans I keep stocked for quick bean tostadas. The recipe also used a cup of a cornbread mix. I don't keep mixes in my pantry since I cook from scratch. So what to use . . . Sticking with the Mexican theme of the beans I decided on the Masa Harina. I suppose you could use cornmeal. Most mixes also include some flour and baking powder, and of coarse shortening. I bet fresh or frozen corn could be good too (tho it'll give off some liquid, maybe requiring a bit longer cooking. A dollop of homemade yogurt could be good on top when serving.

Shared at: Dandelion House, Six Sisters Stuff, Frugally Sustainable, Food Renegade, Simple Lives Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Real Food Wednesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Monday Mania

Cooking Grass-Fed Beef/ Meats

Elk jumping our fence - what we've eaten for over 20 years

We bought part of a cow. Because of last years heat and drought many farmers, including our raw milk dairy, have had/ are having to butcher more animals due to lack of feed or excessive feed costs. Like our dairy, in over 100 years of farming, this is the first year they've had to buy feed, bringing it in from Canada. As a result, they've invested in hydroponic growing of grains like barley. Not many out there doing it, so few to talk with and learn from.

Grass-fed beef is another animal! I tried grilling a rib-eye steak as I'd occasionally do with typical beef . . . Boy was that tough! and I'd not even cooked it well-done. For twenty years our main meat source was elk along with some venison. Now THAT is grass-fed meat. Grass-fed meats are higher in omega-3 fatty acids.

In grass-fed meat animals there's no marbling of fat. The "inter-muscular fat", acts as an insulator during the cooking process helping to keep natural meat juices from cooking away. There's no fat to absorb the heat. It will therefore cook faster, like 30% less time, than regularly processed meat, and is easily overcooked, especially when using the dry heat method of cooking. Moist heat cooking is the easy way to cook meat - pretty forgiving. Searing the meat for dry heat cooking is a must, to help hold in juices. Cooking at lower temps is best too.

Another technique we've found for quality cuts of meat that I'd want to quick cook is marinating it overnight, or aging it in the fridge a few days. Choose marinating ingredients that won't mask the wonderful beef flavor! Like your favorite Italian salad dressing is a good marinade. Lemon juice, wine, beer and vinegar work.

Slow cooking is the best. Once it's defrosted (not in the microwave which further dries it out) put 1/2" of liquid (water, wine, broth ...) in a crock pot or covered oven roast pan, put in the meat and season. Cook on low for 7 hours or 325 degree oven (or slow-cooker high for 3 hours or 375 degree oven), then add veggies and cook another hour to roast them.

The front of the animal is the tastiest meat, but definitely needs the slow moist heat method. Hamburgers from grinding the chuck are the best! The back of the animal is leaner and in grass-fed animals really needs extra care in cooking.

Brined Brisket -From Scratch- for St Pat's Day

I've had corned beef and cabbage for St Patrick's Day and always say, "I want to make my own corned beef". But you have to plan ahead since the brisket needs to brine for about a week.

I'll look for about a 4 pound beef brisket. From my research so far I'll be bringing to boil -
1C water
1/4C salt (salt is salt when dizzolved, so I'll use regular sea salt instead of 1/2C of Kosher salt.
1/4C apple cider vinegar (I never eat white vinegar)
2 Tb sugar (I'll use sucanat)
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
a couple cloves
(I'll partially crush the whole spices to better release their flavor)
Let this cool once it's come to a boil and add 2, cut in thirds, garlic cloves. Then add the meat. Make sure the meat is covered by the brine - maybe cutting meat in pieces if need be. This could be stored in a ziplock bag. Refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 6-7 days.

You could cook this by itself for a meal. But I want to cook it with the traditional cabbage, potatoes and carrots.

The meat will cook first for several hours in large pot along with an onion. Then add a cabbage head cut in wedges, 6 potatoes quartered, and 4 carrots sliced - cook till tender. Then add 1/4 C fresh parsley and a few Tb of butter. The meat should be shreddy.

Enjoy, and tell St Pat's story.

Chili Con Carne

What did I cook on the cookstove Saturday when it slightly snowed but moreso heavily froze and frosted everything in a very picturesque way? Chili. I've got my 3x5 card sitting here with me. It has a paperclip on it, meaning I've accumulated several chili recipes. Paperclips in my recipe box are on Lasanga, and Tiramisu (not remembering what else). But Monte says this is the BEST Chili, so I need to make that note on the card (maybe throw away or put away the other cards).

As I've said before, I packed away most all my cookbooks (tho, as I posted a picture on my photoblog, Monte just made a shelf in the garage over the freezers that my books are now on and I'm utilizing them, having missed them!). A cookbook set I did leave out is all the Cooks Illustrated bound magazines. I never buy the magazines, waiting till the end of the year's bound edition, and have them all from their beginning. I consult them all the time. So this chili recipe is the best because of consulting them, yet not following their exact recipe. That's what I like about them - so much exploration and process of elimination with the whys, that I can choose my own way -

Chili con Carne
about 4# beef chuck roast, cut into 1" cubes (the last couple times I've used pork shoulder since it's what I had in the freezer. And the cubed meat is what's a key to the goodness of this recipe.)
7-8 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-1/2" pieces
Fry bacon and brown meat in batches (I used some wine after batches to remove browned bits stuck on pan's bottom - Monte thinks that's another key to the goodness - my addition to the recipe, having read many recipes that do that.)
Saute -
1 onion, chopped, 5-6 minutes, and add -
5 garlic cloves, minced &
3 anahiem chilies or 1 jalepeno, chopped
(I grilled these anahiems earlier, as we got them in our farm share. And they're a bit spicy hot. Once grilled, let cool- and then I plop them in the freezer in a ziplock bag with other chilies I've grilled. This would be another of my additions to the original recipe.)
2 tsp salt
3 Tb chili powder
(The recipe original messes with a variety of chilies, grinding and making a paste ... I skipped. I let the juices dry out, maybe not adding all the tomato in at once, so that the spices saute, toasting a bit too.)
2 TB cumin (whole, I didn't grind this time)
2 tsp oregano1 cup (or small can stewed) tomatoes, chopped
2 TB lime juice
Add back in the meat and bacon and 7 cups of water and let this simmer at least 2 hours.
At the end, Add -
5 TB Masa Harina, mixed with
2/3 cups water
and occasionally stir letting it heat and thicken some.
(The original recipe doesn't add beans, but I always add a can of either black beans or black soy beans.)

We love to eat this with added grated cheese and avacado chunks. I'll eat with tortilla chips, while my boys will crush the chips into the chili. Add a side salad and you've got a great meal. (I froze what was left of it last night for one more meal.)

Dawson and Splarah went skiing today for this year's first time. Wow, early October. There was a year that Travis made the goal of skiing every month of the year - not sure where he'd have done that in August. But one of our ski hills is open the earliest and latest of all others - it's A-Basin, most of it above timberline. We have the typical evergreen pines, conifers, spruce, and then above them there's the Bristle Cone Pines that are as old as Jesus! A-Basin's summit is above 13,000ft.

That's chili!!!!!!!

Potato Sausage

Though we could buy potato sausage at a meat market, we've been making it since we got married. So we've been making it for 32 years (but since we're past our anniversary does that mean our making it Sunday afternoon would be the 33rd time?).

I have a meat grinder attachment for my Bosch Kitchen Machine and a sausage stuffer attachment. Before that I had a KitchenAid and a meat grinder for it too. Before that, how funny ... I still laugh! we scrunched up the casings on an angel-food cake pan center, and tried stuffing the meat mixture thru that tube. It was not easy and a mess!

Usually we grind the meat ourselves too, because then we have control over the fat amount and the kind of fat. For years we did it with elk, but now we don't have any elk or venison. I grind the onion first and then the potatoes, because the onion mixed with potatoes helps keep them from turning brown.

The meat casings we use are hog, and we get them at the meat market. Some stores have them in the freezer compartment. The casings are in salt and need to be soaked in warm water first. Then we like to put an end under the faucet and run water thru them to rinse the salt out. After grinding and mixing everything together the sausage stuffer attachment is put on and the casings are pulled over it - they end up sort of bunched up. Then run the meat mixture thru to start stuffing the casings. We have a cookie sheet with sides under the machine to catch the sausage. We always bag up extra sausage in Ziplock bags and freeze.

4 lbs meat
4 lbs potatoes
1 onion
1 1/2 tsp pepper
7 tsp salt
(1/2 tsp allspice - we usually don't put this in)

So grind all this and mix together well and stuff the casings. Boil and then simmer whatever you're wanting to eat in salted water, to cover, for about an hour. We cut up sections and have on a serving platter. I eat the casing's, and others don't, but yes, they are edible. Monte likes to eat his sausage in his doppa i grytan.

Leftover, we like to saute it in a skillet for breakfast, or sliced and heated (or cold) for sandwiches.