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Most satisfying meal tonight!

C

Cook Chatty Cathy

New member
What a meal!!!

Took a boneless Beef Roast and seared it in the iron skillet this morn. then stuck it in the crockpot with a lovely combo of spices (including some of my homemade Ras-el-Hanout), garlic, red wine, basalmic vinegar, and tomato chipolte broth, 3 hrs later had my fiance throw in carrots, potatoes, and celery. Let it continue to cook until I got home from work, made a delicious brown gravy from the stock that cooked in the crockpot. Whipped up an iron skillet of corn bread. This meal was out of this world! Sometimes the faithful old stand-by's are so surprisingly good! And oh my goodness that cornbread was like a piece of cake topped with tupelo honey!!! Still in love with that good old crock pot!!!

What did you guys have?
 
Sounds delish, Cathy! I too love the crock pot. I use mine year 'round. Of course they're great in winter 'cause who doesn't love a savory simmered meal during the cold months? But summer is a great time to use it too, since one doesn't want to heat up the kitchen by burning the oven when it's 90 degrees outside. *Also- another hint, I make a box of Jiffy Cornbread in a greased Kathryn Beich's Chocolate Pecan Turtles tin placed inside of the smaller hot-dip model crock-pot, and it works wonderfully!
 
Thank you for that helpful hint Kevin!!! I will give it a try whenever I get a chance, I have never tried to bake in a crockpot as I just never really thought it would work. You know I love that ole' crockpot yr. round, cuz' as you pointed out it doesn't heat up the entire house in the summer. Plus there is no better feeling than the wonderful aroma of food when you step thru the threshold upon returning home from work! I don't care if it is just a pot of red beans and sausage!
Plus ya' know Kevin the best part was seeing my 8yr old literally lick the last drops of gravy off her plate, she normally eats like a bird and she really lavishingly enjoyed that meal last night, it made Eddie and I just grin from ear to ear seeing her do that!!!
Wouldn't you tend to agree that that is one of the real satisfactions in being a good cook, seeing another enjoy the fruit of your labor?!? There are few feelings in life as enjoyable!
 
Y'all ever notice how people either love slow cookers or hate 'em. There's no middle ground.

You can put me in the latter group. I've tried them, on and off, since they appeared in the '50s, and have never been satisfied with how they work. Everything comes out like the same old overcooked pot roast.

Sure, they have their uses. For soups and stews they're fine. And for rendering down tomaties or apples etc. for sauce you probably can't beat them. But I can't justify the storage space for such limited usage.
 
Yep you are "right-on" there is no middle-ground.

I have been fond of them as long back as I can remember, at times I do flub up, but for the most part whatever I cook comes out just so tasty and tender and not overcooked, I use low alot and leave it all day or have my fiance lower it at some point during the day. But I have on occassion ruined some food in it, just stupid mistakes is all, but boy does it make me mad to ruin perfectly good food!!!
 
Depends on what you make in them - and of course - I never follow the directions for cook times on anything - it's done when it's done. The newer crockpots cook faster than the old ones - I like that idea.
 
Yep, Mama. It's done when it's done. But if I have to monitor it as it cooks that takes away the major so-called advantage of slow cookers---that you can put it up, go off to work, and come home to a perfectly cooked meal.

At one time Friend Wife and I were both working long hours, so decided slow cookers would be the way to go. I dutifully got three or four books on the subject, and started making meals while we were away. Uh, huh! I'm here to state, unequivicably, that there is no dish made in a slow cooker, no matter what the recipe says, that isn't overcooked in 8 hours. Even six is too long for most of them.

The fact is, for slow cooking I have better tools for the job: my cast iron kettles, and my tagines, and even a casserole in the oven.

I keep hearing that the new ones cook faster than the older ones, but I never noticed any difference. Even on low the older ones cooked at too high a temperature, and did it too quickly.

What they are good for, though, is keeping food warm at a buffet or similar event.
 
(Hey Guys- what is the difference between the "Post Reply" and the "Qucik Reply" features, here? So far I don't really see any variation in the process or the outcome of my reply...)

When I first left home in central Illinois at 17 to head 3 hours north to the Chicago area to work in my first big-time kitichens, I answered an ad in the paper in a suburb and ended up renting a bedroom in a nice home that belonged to a couple. They had these TWO crock pot dishes that I swear to God- nothing smelled better than! (although I must admit- they BOTH looked kind of WEIRD. The first one was- place a beef roast in the crock, add a can of cream of mushroom soup, an envelope of Lipton's French Onion Soup Mix and that's it. The second one was same idea- a beef roast, cream of mushroom soup and burgundy. Wow. Again, looked weird as hell- but both smelled/tasted purty darn good!

I cook sauerkraut and either Hillshire Farms smoked sausage or pork spare ribs in the crock pot now and then for 3-4 hours- love'm both! My little sister, who has pretty limited kitchen skills makes something she calls "German Dish" that we all like- though admittedly it's a bit weird too. She layers canned whole cooked baby potatos, chunks of Hillshire Farms smoked sausage, sauerkraut and get this- canned APPLE PIE FILLING and cooks 3-4 hours. We eat it w/ buttered rye toast and it's a family hit- though I won't admit it to just anyone (but, I trust ya'll here!)- HA!

Crock pots definitely have their flaws, and I likely wouldn't serve much out of one for fancy company, but I like mine. (I suspect I will use it more than ever, now that I'm living back in the real world again) The aspect I love about them is, you take 5 minutes to throw in a hodge-podge of "stuff", leave the house, and then half a day later you return home to wonderful intense aromas wafting thru the whole house and FOOD that's hot and just calling to you all ready and waiting for nothing but your hungry butt and a serving spoon!
 
Hi Kevin,

With Quick Reply you are limited to keeping it words only and none of the cute little faces we all love so much:p Other than that I have no idea!

That is an interesting concoction your sis cooks in her crockpot, but it sounds nutritional and tasty, so hey I might just have to give it a whirl myself!

And I am like you there is no better aroma that fresh cooked food upon returning home! Except of-course homebaked bread....and that first hot slice smothered with fresh butter Oh my I am at a loss for words to even explain......... well what can you say I appreciate the simple pleasures in life in my book they are the real TREASURES!!!
 
Thanks for the "Quick Reply" info, Cathy... have I noticed too that cut/pasted links (such as to Amazon Books?) don't transmit "live" with the Quick Replies?

Sis's crock-pot "German Dish" is yummy- our family digs it a lot. I do agree with KYH, in that a certain amount of quality is given up with some foods that sit & stew & permeate all day long... still the pure joy of the "no work at all" aspect, which almost seems miracle-like (leave the house after 3 minutes of effort, just to return 4-5 hours later to a wonderfully aromatic meal!!!) to me is one of those little JOYS I never tire of. (I do have to say, the WORST chicken I ever had in my life was slow-cooked 8-10 hours crock pot chicken. UGH! Tasted like sucking on a dirty sock! So I totally get his notions about the unlikeable disadvantages of the counter-top gadget with SOME preparations. Still, though....
 
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My crock-pot is a lifesaver to get dinner done and so to avoid the 5:00 hour of torture at my house...whiny, clingy, hungry kids begging for Cheetos as I flail around trying to make dinner.

And sometimes I just need the comfort of one of those soupy, cheesy "church lady" crock-pot meals.
 
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