Someone's in the Kitchen with Amy

If your Crockpot has been stuck in the back of the cupboard, pull it out as it’s a boon to all working couples. Rebecca Ware has been making wonderful meals by simply spending a few minutes in the evening putting a handful of ingredients together in her Crockpot.   She places it in the fridge  . . . when she comes home from work Ta! Da!   All those flavors blend together while she’s hard at work to make a wonderful, complete meal.  Yummy.  When she comes home she can relax, have a glass of wine if so inclined and dinner is served. 

 In Rebecca Ware’s case, she leaves for her very grueling job in a rehab care facility in Beverly at 6:30 AM and doesn’t return home until about 4:00 PM.  That’s just a bit too long for the slow cooker to do its job.  What she has that some or perhaps most don’t have is a mother-in-law close by who is semi-retired and is always happy to drop by and put the “kettle on” so to speak at the appropriate time.  Becky has everything ready so all her mother-in-law has to do is retrieve the insert from the frig, put it into the Crockpot on the counter, turn the temperature to low and leave.  By the time the family arrives home from work, supper is done.

The low-slow setting on your Crockpot will not be a problem for those of you who leave at 8:00 or a little earlier.  However, for those who have to leave 6:00 or so (and don’t have a helper at hand) as Becky does, here is a suggestion:  after putting all ingredients together in the evening, place the Crockpot in the freezer instead of the frig.  That will give you the added time necessary and your dinner should be just perfect when you get home.  This is simply a suggestion.  I haven’t tried it myself and neither has Becky.  If you do, please let me know how it works.  I’m sure it will work better with some recipes than with others.

In the interest of full disclosure, as they say, I’m the afore-mentioned mother-in-law.  I must say I am a very fortunate mother-in-law.  You always hear jokes about daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law and how horrible they are and how much they fight, etc.  That is simply for the Saturday Night Live joke world.  Life is not like that.  Certainly, not in our world.  I feel very fortunate to have Rebecca Ware as my daughter-in-law. 

She is a great cook, wife, mother, housekeeper and daughter-in-law but . . . if you love her recipes; that can be a problem.  She doesn’t keep them very long as her idea is, there are too many new ones out there to try.   Becky found two of these great Crockpot ideas in the February issue of Real Simple.  Try them; I think you’ll like them.  You’ll surely like Crockpot cooking SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE – hands on prep time 15 minutes – serves 4

Ingredients

1 Pound ground beef chuck

1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup tomato paste

¼ cup dry white or red wine

1 tsp each dried oregano & thyme

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt & black pepper

¾ pound spaghetti

Grated Parmesan cheese for serving.

In 4 – 6 qt slow cooker mix together beef, tomatoes and their juices.  And all other ingredients except spaghetti and cheese.  Cover and cook until vegetables are tender and meat is cooked through on low for 7-8 hours on high for 4-5 hours.  Twenty minutes before serving cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.  Toss the spaghetti with Bolognese and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

CREAMY CHICKEN & MUSHROOM POTPIE - hands on prep time 30 minutes – serves 4

Ingredients

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and halved if large

4 carrots cut into 1” pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1/3 cup A/p flour

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh (about 8)

Kosher salt & black pepper

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Save these vegetables for last

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen green beans

½ cup heavy cream

In 4-6 qt slow cooker, mix together the mushrooms, carrots, onion, flour, thyme, bay leaf, and ½ cup water.  Place the chicken on top; season with salt & pepper.  Cover and cook until chicken and vegetables are tender, on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Thirty minutes before serving heat oven to 425 degrees.  Using a 4.5” cutter or large glass cut the pastry into 4” circles and bake until golden - 8 to 10 minutes.  Ten minutes before serving add the peas, green beans, cream and ½ teaspoon salt to chicken mixture; stir to combine and heat on high just to heat through.  To serve, place in bowls and top with pastry rounds.  Tasty, elegant and easy.  You could use store bought biscuits to top this stew rather than the puff pastry.

This idea came from Cuisine and is a CLASSIC POT ROAST – everyone loves a pot roast and this one is so easy – so tasty – a Crockpot pot roast  -  prep time 20 minutes  -  Have a much fat as possible trimmed so your sauce will not be greasy.  Use a boneless beef chuck roast; tough meat becomes tender and delicious. 3-4 pound roast will make about 6 servings.

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 boneless chuck roast, trimmed, seasoned with salt & pepper (3 – 4 lbs)

¼ cup A/P flour

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

½ cup dry white wine

1 ½ cups low-sodium beef broth

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 cups sliced, onions

6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2 – 3” pieces

3 large celery ribs, cut into 2 – 3” pieces

6 cloves garlic, chopped

3 -4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

Heat oil in a sauté pan over med-high heat.  Sear roast on all sides.  10 minutes total.  Transfer roast to 4 – 6 qt. slow cooker.  Stir flour into sauté pan, cook 1 minute.  Add tomato paste and cook one minute more.  Deglaze pan with wine, cooking until liquid evaporates.  Stir in broth and Worcestershire; bring mixture to a simmer, scrapping up any brown bits.  Transfer broth mixture to the slow cooker adding vegetables and herbs.  Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours or low setting 8-9 hours.  Discard thyme and bay leaves before serving. 

Try this wonderful mashed potato and peas dish along with the pot roast.  The gravy will find a home on top of these potatoes. 

2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 ½ “chunks

½ cup milk, warmed

½ stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Minced fresh chives

Boil potatoes in a pot of salted water until tender, 12 – 15 minutes; drain.  Return potatoes to pot; cook, stirring, over low heat for 1 minute to remove moisture.  Mash potatoes until smooth.  Stir in milk, butter, peas, salt, and pepper; serve immediately topped with chives.