Simple Crockpot Roast

can use this with either beef or pork

- one medim sized roast
- 1 pkg onion soup mix
- 1 can stale beer OR 1 can de-fizzed coca cola OR 1 cup apple Juice
- 1 cup water
-

Place in crockpot, rub onion soup over the roast, kind of a messy step I know, but you have to rub right in each side of roast, as much as you can. Sprinkle a little extra on top. If there is still some mix left , sprinkle around bottom of crock pot.

Set roast in crockpot. Gently pour beer, cola or apple juice over roast. Now pour water around the roast, not ON the roast, but on the bottom of the pot.

Don't add any salt or pepper, the onion roast gives plenty of seasoning to roast.

Put lid on crockpot. Cook 8-10 hours on low or until roast is tender.
(Some people like their roast to be "rare". I don't find that to be a safe option these days)

At this point you can usually lift the roast onto a plate then dump the drippings into a small pot to make gravy if you wish.

     Gravy:
     Place drippings in a small to medium size pot.  Put 2 T white flour and one cup COLD water into a watertight plastic container with lid. Shake well ( hold over sink just in case) Turn on the burner for the  drippings about medium, when drippings are almost boiling, slowly pour four and water mixture into drippings, stirring constantly with a whisk. If it seems to be too thick add a bit more COLD water.Let it barely bubble for a few minutes while stirring. Gravy is done.

Variation: I remember my kids didn't like it much when I did veggies this way, but I love to put carrots, onions and potatoes around the roast to let them cook with it. I like to leave the potatoes in bigger chunks or quarters because they cook faster and I don't like them mushy.

(PS I have noticed that roasts have gotten VERY expensive. I wouldn't buy one unless it's on sale at a good price, or if you have a special occasion or you just have a craving for roast. Until I can find them at a better price roasts won't be a regular item on my menu.)

The Saga of The Stove!

I lost my temper tonight. At a stove. An ordinary unassuming stove, like most others in many homes. You would not know , to look at it, that it is my Nemesis In The Kitchen. Now most of you kids know that cooking and baking, while at times my joy, is also one of the things guaranteed to give me a melt down ( pun intended) Burning something, or wrecking it in some other way ( and there are not enough blog posts to describe the ways I have wrecked various foods) is an affront to my womanhood. I choose to blame the stove or the pan or the poor unwary soul who happened to wander past the kitchen when smoke starts to billow forth. But deep down, I see it as a failing. Somehow , if a meal turns out well, I briefly feel fulfilled and successful..or at least relieved. So today when I went to make a simple ham steak , which I have made in the same manner a hundred times ( thus inspiring too much confidence perhaps?) and the thing turned into a charred black hunk within seconds, I was stunned, then furious at the stove and the universe. Bear in mind I've been sick for weeks ( feels like months) and I'm tired and feeling a bit bleary from this cold. Okay no excuse, really. I let loose at that piece of ham ( already dead pig meat) and the stove, as if all the ills of the universe were hinged on that piece of meat and its burned state. I let forth a diatribe, peppered with colorful descriptions, worthy of any trucker. James and Davey peeped cautiously in and bravely offered "help". They backed away slowly, trying not to make eye contact, as I let forth more insults and descriptive metaphors. At one point I heard James say to Davey in a somewhat awed hushed whisper " She's really angry" and Davey whisper back "Yes, I did notice that". ( I saved that in the part of my brain that hides my sense of humor, to bring out later and chuckle at) I needed to let out all that out and they were so patient. Though somewhat afraid.

Yes I overreacted. Yes I do that occasionally. I know, you're shocked to know I'm not perfect. And having ever used this stove , you'd probably agree with me that it is piece of um.. crap. I've cooked on worse. I've cooked on open fires. So this will not defeat me. I just miss my gas stove, even though the bottom of the oven was starting to rust through. I knew how it worked. I knew exactly where to turn each dial to make it do what I wanted. Mostly. This stove confounds me though. Especially the main burner. There is no " medium" . It is either hotter than the outer rings of hell, or too low to keep the pot even warm. If the stove was a human, I'd say it was against me from day one. Two elements would not work for weeks. Turned out they were not properly shoved into their receptacle. Yes I felt stupid. Then one had paint on it ( not from me) that kept smelling every time I turned on the burner. I traded it with a back element. That same day I melted a plastic bread tie on it. After scraping plastic off the burner and my pan ( took several attempts) and setting off the smoke detector ( smoke detector no longer works. I deny all knowledge of it's demise) The thing smelled like plastic for weeks. Then I set an oven mitt on fire. ( man that stunk. Good thing the smoke detector didn't work) A mere 24 hours later I melted something else. More stinkage, more scraping, wiping and still more stinkage. Then came the food burning. I kept forgetting the hotter than the outer rings of hell thing. I haven't set food on fire so much since my early days of my first marriage. The poor neighbors. I sure wasn't stimulating their appetites.

See I told you it was a saga. ( saga being a long rambling descriptive story, emphasis on long) So anyways I decided that I have to look at this differently. I've handled worse things that this silly stove. I will consider it both as a challenge to be conquered and a metaphor for life.

Life throws a lot of stuff at us that we can't fix or change. We just have to deal with it and try to figure out ways to make it better and/or change our attitude. We all have an ideal in our mind, of what we'd really like life to be like. ( my ideal kitchen has a hired chef) It's darned frustrating and nerve wracking when that ideal seems farther away than the Wall of China ( and we're just as likely to see it in person) I have long ago figured out that God doesn't care whether we burn supper or have a super clean house or whether we never feel frustrated. God doesn't care what kind of vehicle we drive ( or whether it is filled with McDonalds wrappers and empty pop bottles and matchbox cars) He doesn't care if we are rich or poor or " average". God is the ultimate parent. Are we learning from this? Are we growing? Are we becoming better people? Are we kind and loving in the worst circumstances? Those are things I think are most important to God and to the people we love. I don't believe God throws crappy stuff at us to make us learn. Life is what it is on this earth, a mix of good and bad and painful and joyful and everything in between. God set the earth to turning, now we are to do our best at living. Whether we see or not, we are created with a huge amount of potential. We can choose and grow and learn and love, and ask God for help along the way. I am pretty sure God is not going to plunk a new stove into the kitchen. But I'm asking Him to help me cope with this wretched thing . ( oops attitude check)

I guess I was pondering all this tonight, because I was thinking, everyone I love dearly in this life is going through " challenges" and changes and worries and stresses. I wish I could make it all better. I wish none of you ever had to cry or be filled with anxiety, that you never had to feel sad or scared or sore or hurting.I wish I could wave a magic fairy godmother wand and make all the bad stuff go away. You are all so special to me and I wonder if you all know how special a person each of you truly is? I get to see this because I love you, and God put you into my life and that is my biggest blessing!! I can handle a cantakerous stove , because I am blessed enough to be loved and to have truly precious people ( and adorable amazing little people) in my life.

So here I am going on all mushy, about a stove. Haha. Hmm yep still hate the darned thing. Maybe I need to do some more praying...

( Ps  with Davey's help and James encouragement , ham was somewhat repaired and prepared, and Kraft dinner ( made by Davey) added to the supper. We ate, we conquered, we then watched tv. )

Golden Mushroom Steak

I'm all for any recipe where I can dump soup on something and bake it. haha  I think I got this recipe from Aunty Mary Ann

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg chuck steak or other CHEAP cut of steak
- 1 can Campbells golden mushroom soup ( no substitutes!)
- 1 thinly sliced onion
- 3/4 can water
- 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 2 dashes soy sauce
- 2 tsp liquid beef broth concentrate
- 1/4 cup lemon juice

Place steaks on bottom of a roasting pan . Spread soup ( undiluted) over steaks. Combine water, lemon juice, W sauce, soy sauce, liquid beef broth concentrate, and pour over the steak. Lay onion slices over top of steaks. Cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. ( you might want to check halfway through to make sure it's not drying out. If it is add a bit more water)

Ps: I think I got this recipe from Aunty Mary Anne many years ago.

Having Fun with this blog

Okay I admit it, I'm having fun with this blog. I'm learning more about cooking in the researching for this blog, then I'd get by reading the whole Betty Crocker Cookbook. Which is a DARN good cookbook, by the way. Must add that to my list. Recently I discovered cooking videos. I used to watch a few cooking shows, but as you all know, I have the attention span of a gnat. These little vids of making food, are usually 5 to 10 minutes long, which is perfect for the A.D.D. Grandma type! I just watched Chef Ramsey make perfect scrambled eggs. And they were perfect, although he did burn the toast ( you have to watch it!) In all my years I have never really mastered scrambled eggs. Now I can make the perfect breakfast - with James laptop perched precariously near the stove as I watch the video - haha!

Anyways, I wanted to ask anyone who reads this, wanders across it accidentally, or whatever, please feel free to ask me to post a recipe. You can email it to me or put it in comments or whatever. If you have some tips to share, please do. I'm not a master chef. I'm learning to cook more as time goes on, and being brave trying new things, especially now that I don't have my " Kids Won't Eat This" list to go by! haha! ( I amuse myself so much)

But no worries I will be posting recipes that kids might actually like and some that cook FAST and easy.
Bear with me as I change things around and rearrange and redecorate!


PS: Starla feel free to nab any recipe for the cookbook!

Tips for Making Cupcakes

Seeing as we coming up on Valentine's Day in a couple of weeks, I thought it might be a fun idea to post some tips on making cupcakes. I'd like to make some for Valentine's Day and decorate them with little heart sprinkles ( I wonder if I can find such a thing here).

Tips for Making Cupcakes:

1. Fill your cupcake wells 1/2 to 2/3 full. Any more and you will get a gooey mess instead of a beautiful cupcake. If you use less than 1/2 a well of batter, then you will get wimpy cupcakes and will have to use extra frosting to make them look larger

2. Choose the right cupcake pan. Good cupcake pans are shiny and on the heavy side. They will cook 6 to 12 cupcakes at a time. Large muffin pans don't work well for baking precious little cupcakes. Make sure you have 2 pans available because then you won't have to cool a pan before you finish baking your cupcakes. Two 12 well cupcake pans should be enough for one batch of cupcakes.

3. Make it easy o remove the cupcakes from your pan. Either use paper or foil wrappers or spray the individual wells with a nonstick spray. If you are using the new silicone pans, wrappers or nonstick spray work fine in these also.

4. Don't overmix your batter. This will cause your cupcakes to be rather chewy instead of perfectly moist. Follow the directions in your cupcake recipe. If your recipe calls for a hand mixer and you are using a stand mixer, you will need to reduce you mixing time. Stand mixers mix batters faster than regular hand mixers. Consult your owners manual for mixing time adjustments.

5. Bring all ingredients to room temperature before mixing your cupcake batter. The items will mix evenly, and the result will be a wonderful cupcake batter. By mixing cold items into your batter, you risk having a lumpy batter which might cause you to overmix your batter. GASP! What a No No!

6. Bake your cupcakes at the proper temperature. Preheat your oven to the correct temperature BEFORE you put your cupcakes in the oven. An oven thermometer would also be a great idea to make sure your oven is set to the right temperature. If your oven cooks food faster at the rear of the oven, then make sure you rotate your cupcake pan halfway through the baking time.

7. Use your favorite cake batter to make cupcakes. Batter for an 8 inch layer cake usually makes 20-24 cupcakes. Just make sure you have mixed the batter well, and only fill the cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake approximately 20 minutes, and check for doneness using a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes.

8. Test for doneness after the minimum cooking time. If the cupcakes aren't finished cooking after the minimum time, then place them back in the oven for some additional cooking time. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. Cook only one pan of cupcakes at a time. Place your cupcake pan in the very center of your oven. If your oven tends to cook items more that are towards the back, then rotate your cupcake pan halfway through the cooking time. If you absolutely have to bake 2 pans of cupcakes at one time, make sure you switch cupcake pans halfway through the cooking time. By this I mean put the bottom pan on the top and move the top pan to the bottom.

10. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day they are made. Undecorated cupcakes can be frozen up to 3 months.

A few more tips:

•Use the toothpick in the center test for doneness. In most cases, if the toothpick comes out clean, it's done and if cake sticks, bake a little longer.



 Cool cupcakes in pan 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out on rack to cool completely.



Cupcakes are best consumed the day they are baked.

You may freeze most cupcakes, unfrosted, for up to three months.

The Simplest of Simple Barbecue Method

James and I LOVE barbecue. Unfortunately our barbecuer rusted into a twisted heap of metal. ( we considered a funeral for it) and we never got around to buying a new one. And one does want barbecue at all times of the year, not just summer. I started experimenting with oven methods.

Then I decided , while I was at it, I'd try to figure out a healthier way of making tasty barbecue. Because really your typical barbecued whatever has a huge amount of fat aka grease, which turns the arteries of old farts like us, into sludge.

I am still experimenting with making my own sauce, but my results in that area aren't encouraging in that area yet. I finally went back to a cheapy store bought sauce.

Okay so this is how it goes:

Easy Barbecue Pork Chops

Set your oven at 350 degrees

You need:

1 pkg chicken or pork chops
rectangular cake pan or bottom of a broiler
water
garlic powder
onion powder
various spices you like ( I put Mrs Dash)

Place meat in pan. ( you might one to consider a layer on tinfoil to ease later clean up)
Pour about 1/2 cup of water around the meat but NOT on it
Pop meat, uncovered into 350 degree oven.
Let meat roast for at least 20 minutes.
Check to make sure the water hasn't all evaporated. If it has , add a bit more
Flip each piece.
Now sprinkle your spices onto the meat ( the reason you don't add them right away is that salt and some other spices can actually make your meat tough if you put it on the meat when its raw/cold)
Put your pan of meat back in the oven, still uncovered for another 20 minutes.
Check meat again. Flip it over, sprinkle more spices. Add a bit of water if the water has all dried up. (But don't overdo the water, you want baked chopped, not boiled chops) After this, no more adding of water, unless the bottom of the pan seems to be burning.

If your meat is done , now is the time to brush on a liberal layer of barbecue sauce.
Put meat back in oven .
Yes let it cook for another 20 minutes.
Take pan of meat out, flip each piece and put a liberal layer of barbecue sauce, return to oven.
Bake for ( you guessed it) 20 minutes.

At this point your meat should be tender and tasty. I usually add a bit more bbq sauce to the top and broil for a few minutes. If you choose to do this , stay in the kitchen and WATCH the meat. Do not wander off to watch tv for a minute or go potty. You'd hate to have your hard work ruined by grilling it into black smoldering heap of coal. ( trust me I have much experience on this)


Options:

You can cook barbecued chicken or ribs this way too. I always have precooked my chicken before tossing on the outside barby because I do HATE biting into a piece of chicken and tasting blood ( ew!) and I have a fear of food poisoning.


Any input, ideas and tips would be appreciated!!

Roasting a Chicken

Oven temp: 350 F

roasting time: 1 1/2 hours ( min)

My Basic Favorite Method for Roasting a Chicken:

(tip I do NOT buy chickens unless they are on sale, a whole hen can cost $11 or $12 here!!! So if the chicken is between $6 or $7 per chicken I'll buy a couple. If they're less than that, I stock up! lol Now another IMPORTANT tip: NEVER buy STEWING HEN. If you see chicken for super cheap, or three to a bag, make sure that nowhere on the package does it say " STEWING HEN"! "Stewing Hen" is code for " This chicken is very very old and very tough and very stringy and you might get great soup out of it if you boil the heck out of the thing for 12 hours, but don't expect to be able to chew the meat"

Here's what you need to roast a chicken:

1. 1 roasting hen
2.  about half a cup of marg
3.  1 or 2 cups of water
4.  some good sprinkles of salt and pepper
5. dressing
6. optional: peeled potatoes, cut into quarters
     peeled and quartered carrots, peeled turnips,
     cut into large chunks

If you plan on making dressing , you need to make that first. I usually turn my oven to 350 before I start making the dressing. I always make my chicken stuffing with a whole grain bread and I make my turkey with white bread. They just seem to work better that way for our preferences.

The Dressing: ( make this BEFORE) you put chicken in oven . ( yeah I know you probably know this , but I have been ditsy on a few occasions and popped the bird in, then realized belatedly that I had to attempt putting stuffing into a hot bird)

1 loaf of any FRESH whole grain bread, (regular whole wheat will do , but the
dressing as tasty)
1 small chopped onion
1  margarine ( melted in microwave or pot - don't burn it!)
salt and pepper

Tear about 2/3 loaf of bread into small pieces about the size of toonie. Add chopped onions. Pour in melted margarine. Stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Now comes the fun part - stuffing said chicken.

Place chicken into your roaster pan breast side up. If there is an annoying piece of elastic holding the bird
together, remove it with scissors and toss. Then just open the big end of the chicken , grab small handfuls of dressing and stuff it in . Squish in as much as you can get into it. I don't tie it shut or any of those fancy methods. Now that you've finished torturing the bird and getting your hands all gooey, put the chicken back in pan, breast side up again. Now take a fork or pastry brush and brush a light coating of marg across the top of the bird, with a couple smears on the drumsticks and wings.

Now do you want to cook potatoes and/or carrots and/sweet potatoes and/or turnip ( suppressing a shudder) in the pan with the chicken? If so you should lay them around the bottom of the pan alongside the chicken.

Now pour 1/2 cup of water into the pan, around the chicken but not over it.
Cover chicken with either roaster lid or several large pieces of tin foil.

Place in 350 oven for about an hour and a half.

Check your chicken about ever half hour. Baste chicken with pan juices.Add more water if the pan seems to
be drying up on the bottom, especially if you have veggies cooking alongside the chicken. If areas  of the chicken seem to be drying up, dab on a bit more marg on these areas.( I find the drumsticks and wings usually need a couple of dabs.)Put he lid back on, return chicken to oven.

Now I'll tell you how to tell if you chicken is done. The first thing to do is gently grip one drumstick and gently lift and tug it. If it pulls easily away from your bird, it is done, or almost done. If there is any tension when you pull the bird is not done. The second thing to do is pierce the bird deeply with a large fork ( you can make do with a regular fork) If the juice comes out pink or not completely clear the bird is not done.
If you really want to check for sure, then make a deep slice into the breast.right to the bone. If you see pink or blood, it's not done. It really is better to have a chicken overdone , rather than underdone.

Once your chicken is done you can take the tin foil off and broil it for a FEW minutes, if you want a browner skin. STAY with your chicken, watching carefully, during this browning.You don't want it to burn and some ovens are finicky.

Now you can remove your chicken. Carefully scoop out the veggies with a slotted scoop and put into a bowl. Now move your chicken onto a platter or large plate.(I use two pancake turners to help slide it onto the plate.) Using a tablespoon,carefully scoop out all of the dressing from inside the bird.

Now what's left in your pan is the wonderful yummy drippings to make gravy! Place your roaster over a burner on the stove ( or 2 burners,depending how big your roaster is) and turn your burner(s)on minimum.

Okay so now if you're anything like us, you'll want to make gravy.
Don't be scared, gravy is EASY.

First take a large cup of cold water and set by stove. Don't worry you'll understand in a moment.

Take a medium sized plastic container with a TIGHT lid. Put 3 heaping Tablespoons of flour into the bowl.
Half fill the container with COLD water.  (NEVER USE HOT WATER!) Holding your container over your sink, with your hand securing the lid, shake the container vigorously for a minute or two. Then slowly pour
the contents into your drippings in the roaster, stirring. I like to slowly stir with a whisk. Turn your heat to medium and stir while it slowly starts to bubble.  This stirring is what makes a good gravy. Don't leave your gravy.If you leave the gravy and forget it for only a minute or two it can burn quickly. If your gravy seems too thick, slowlyadd a bit more cold water and stir more. ( I always forget to have that cold water on handy, and I've made some panicky rushes to the sink to get more.) Let it bubble a bit, and stir a lot for about 3 minute.
Have a taste. Yum!

At this point, some people add spices to their gravy. I don't. I like my gravy simple. I may add a bit of salt and pepper. You can try a few spices every time your roast a chicken and find out what you like. Good luck!

Another tip:

We like to eat the drumsticks, thighs, and wings, and leave most of
the breast meat for sandwhiches. I usually chop some up and freeze
it for later stir fries.