The Information from my Slow Cooker class

Last night I taught a midweek class for the Continental Ranch ward on how to use your slow cooker. Here are 2 of the 9 recipes the women made for people to sample from 101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker and 101 More Things To Do With A Slow Cooker. I had several request from people outside our area to post the tips I shared. Enjoy!

Four Hour Stew

1-2 pounds stew meat
2 cups new or white potatoes, quartered
20 baby carrots, halved
1 (10 3/4 ounces) can cream of celery soup
1 (10 3/4 ounces) can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can water
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix

Combine all ingredients in 3 ½ - 5 quart greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat 4 hours or on low heat 6 - 8 hours. Serve with hot bread or in bread bowls.


Sunday Chicken

6- 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 (1 3/8 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix

1 cup sour cream

Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients except sour cream and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high heat 4 hours or on low heat 6-8 hours. One hour prior to serving, stir in sour cream. Serve over rice or noodles.

Tips for Successful Crock-Pot Cooking

1. Keep cleaning to a minimum. Spray the inside of the pot with non-stick cooking spray before adding ingredients to your slow cooker. Or rub shortening over inside of pot.

2. To test the cooking temperature of your slow cooker, fill slow cooker 3/4 full of water. Cover and turn on high heat for 4 hours. With an instant heat thermometer, test water temperature immediately after lid is removed. Temperature should be at least 180 degrees. If less than 180 degrees, we recommend replacing your slow cooker. If higher than 180 degrees, check for doneness after three hours of cooking.

3. Every time the lid is lifted it lengthens the cooking time between 15-30 minutes. RESIST THE TEMPTATION!!!!!!

4. Stirring is generally not needed until serving.

5. Slow Cooker should be at least ½ -3/4 full to insure proper cooking.

6. Recipes containing raw poultry or beef should cook a minimum of three hours on high heat. Raw meat and fresh vegetable combinations need at least 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
Meat should be done at the following temperatures: poultry 180 degrees, pork 165 degrees, and beef 170 degrees.

7. Adapting Your Favorite Oven Recipes to your slow cooker.

Conventional Oven Slow Cooker Slow Cooker
Baking Time Low Cooking Time High Cooking Time

15 to30 minutes 4-6 hours 1 ½ - 2 hours
35 to 40 minutes 6-10 hours 3 - 4 hours
50 min to 3 hours 8 - 18 hours 4 - 6 hours

8. One hour on high heat equals about 2 hours on low heat. Low is best, but use high when time is of the essence. Low setting is approximately 200 degrees while high setting is approximately 275 - 300 degrees. Heat varies from brand to brand.

9. If your stoneware is removable, never place it on a stove top burner to prevent cracking.

10. Cool the Stoneware liner slightly before adding water to prevent cracking.

11. Ground Beef should be browned and drained before adding to Crock-Pot.

12. Fresh milk, cream, sour cream, and cream cheese should be added the last hour of cooking. Evaporated milk can be substituted for fresh milk and can be cooked the entire cooking time for the recipe.

13. Long grain converted rice is recommended for rice dishes.

14. Cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and cream of mushroom soup are all interchangeable.

15. Root vegetables (onion, carrots, potatoes, turnips) take longer than meat. Place vegetables on bottom and around sides of slow cooker.

16. Tough, inexpensive meat works best. The moist, gentle heat slowly tenderizes these cuts as they cook.

17. Liquid is retained, so don’t use extra liquid.

18. To thicken sauce, soups or gravy use instant mashed potato flakes, instant tapioca, flour or cornstarch.

19. Frozen cuts of meat can be used. Add 4 - 6 additional hours on low heat or 2 additional hours on high heat.

20. For the recipes that call for minced garlic, use jarred garlic found in the spice section of the grocery store.

21. Fresh chopped onion can be used in place of dried minced onion. One medium onion equals ½ cup dried minced onion.

22. Recipes can be assembled and stored in the refrigerator the night before except those that call for uncooked pasta. In the morning place cold stoneware in cold electrical base. DO NOT PREHEAT ELECTRICAL BASE. Once stoneware is in place, turn to preferred heat setting.

23. To remove scratches from stoneware, use Bon Ami (TM or R), or vinegar and baking soda. Baking Soda also works well to clean electrical base. DO NOT SUBMERGE ELECTRICAL BASE IN WATER.

Happy Slow Cooking!

Stephanie From A to Z

A--Attached or Single: Attached to Ivan almost 12 years now :)
B--Best Friend: Ivan, my mom, my sister Katie, and lots of great friends in our ward
C--Cake or Pie: Cake - Death By Chocolate Cake from my cake mix book is my favorite!
D--Day of Choice: Sunday (I finally get a day to rest!)
E--Essential Item: Diaper and wipes
F--Favorite Color: burgandy
G--Greatest Accomplishment: My family. 13 cookbooks.
H--Hometown: Kirklin, Indiana
I--Indulgences: Chocolate
J--January or July: July - January- I love being able to wear a sweater on occasion!
K--Kids: 2 boys and 2 girls
L--Life is incomplete without: My husband and kids
M--Marriage Date: May 10th
N--Number of Siblings: Seven - 2 sisters, 5 brothers. I'm the oldest.
O--Oranges or Apples: apples
P--Phobias or fears: a fear of heights and rattlesnakes
Q--Quotes: "...the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done”-Joseph Smith
R--Reason to Smile: My kids on a good day, My great husband, Seeing people join the church
S--Season: Fall and all its yummy smells
T--Tag 5 Friends: Suzanne B., Emily M., Chrissy B., Kate Walker, and Tiffany H.
U--Unknown fact about me: I love musicals! I'm always singing to my kids especially when they are little.
V--Very favorite store: Ross and Tuesday Morning- I love hunting for deals
W--Worst habit: procrastination
X--X-ray or Ultra Sound: X-ray -I hate that cold gel used for Ultra Sounds
Y--Your favorite food: Anything Mexican
Z--Zodiac: Leo

An amazing young woman shares her feelings about our faith

I really liked this clip of Rachel Esplin, a junior at Harvard, sharing her feelings about our faith. She was grilled with some difficult questions yet she was totally calm and answered with such wisdom for a 20 year old. She'd be a great missionary. Way to go, Rachel!


Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

EggPlant Parmesan from 101 Things To Do With Meatballs

Many of you have been getting my newest book, 101 Things to Do With Meatballs. I have been waiting for Eggplant to go on sale so I could make this recipe again. It was so yummy when I made it last summer. Albertsons, in Arizona, has their large eggplants on sale for $1 each!

Here's what I'll be making:

Eggplant Parmesan

1 large eggplant, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce
30 frozen, fully cooked meatballs, thawed
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 to 10 cups hot cooked pasta

Place eggplant in a 4-5 quart stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Recuce heat to cook at a low boil for 8 minutes, stirring frequently: drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, stir together the eggplant, garlic, Italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce, and meatballs. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch pan prepared with non-stick cooking spray. In a separate bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and cheese. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the eggplant mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until bubbly and golden. Serve over the pasta. Makes 6-8 servings.

Amazon.com has 101 Things to Do With Meatballs already to order for $9.99. I have several copies at my home too if any of you who live close want to buy any.

Tip on saving money on meatballs: I purchase the 6 lb bags of Casa Di Bertacchi frozen fully cooked meatballs from Sams Club for @ $11. I always have a bag in my freezer for easy access!

The End To MY KOLD13 Segment

I'm afraid that I can't afford to continue my money saving dinner idea segment on KOLD. Without a sponsor, I have been covering the cost of ingredients each week. And not enough books have been ordered to justify the cost to keep up the television segment.

A huge thanks to all the wonderful people at KOLD, who helped to make this segment a hit. I will continue to post a variety of deals on this blog and where you can find the grocery deals of the week with help from Pinching Your Pennies and other great blogging friends. Another thanks to Fry's and Albertsons for either mailing or emailing me their ads each week. Thanks also to our neighbors, who brought me the Safeway ad as well. Thanks also to Randy, the manager at the Bashas on Tangerine!

Thanks to all of you who watched the segment as well! On occasion, I may appear on their Dinner at Dawn segment. I'll post whenever I appear as a guest.

Lots of love,

Stephanie

Happy 2009!

My friend, Jenn Mouso, sent me the following:

Read books that you enjoy...

Play with simple things...

Do whatever you want whenever you want...

Look for affection when you need it...

Get serious once in a while...

Forget about diets...

Show some affection

Get angry once in a while...

Change your look...

Above all, be happy!!
regardless what your challenges may be.


Have a great 2009 !
Live simply.
Love generously .
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God!
'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet
is fighting some kind of battle.'

Our Vacation from Work

I am truly procrastinating getting to work today. This morning Lizzie (8) woke up feeling sick and before we knew it she was really sick. I'm hoping this is truly the end to this batch of the flu. I think I am just physically exhausted because the thought of doing anything else is daunting.

It all started when Ivan decided he needed to clean out the garage. He decided the best way to do so would be to clear out all the unfinished projects that we had stored there. Namely, enough tile and supplies to tile the 2 upstairs bathrooms and laundry room. What was left from tiling our downstairs almost 3 years ago. So, with my mom's help while she was here, Ivan started on this huge project. After the tile in the laundry room was laid, I mentioned it would be a great time to paint the walls a color other than it's original white. He agreed and then mentioned that this would actually be a great time to put cabinets in the laundry room while everything was already out. So, he went to work tearing down the long shelf across the laundry room, retexturing the wall and getting it ready to paint. I painted the room which always takes longer than you think it will. After he was done grouting the tile in the master bathroom and I finished painting, we ran into town to pick up the cabinets I had found the night before.

We got back with the cabinets around 4:30 p.m.. With the amazing help of Jason Mouso, Ivan and he finished putting up the last cabinet about 10:45 p.m. on Saturday. Good thing our church schedule changed to 1-4 p.m. in January! I think I crawled into bed about midnight.

While my mom was here, we also put away most of the Christmas decorations. I still have one more tree to take down. We cleaned out and defrosted my deep freezer which was piled high with built on ice. We cleaned out part of my office and some closets. My mom who is the best went through all the kids toys and organized everything and purged us of lots of junk! She also organized the boys closet and did all my laundry! Thanks, Mom! She was a huge help, handing Ivan tiles as he needed them on the first bathroom and the laundry room. Grandma Woertz (92) kept all my dishes washed. She wanted to help with everything else too, but we told her the dishes were plenty and found her a good book to read while we were all hard at work.

Our vacation from work wasn't much of a vacation, but I think we accomplished a lot. Well, I better get back to work. I need a vacation after this vacation!