Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 cup potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/4 cup Clamato juice
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (8 ounce) package of sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 (6 ounce) can crabmeat, drained and flaked
• 1 cup shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked

Instructions:

1. Place the butter into a soup pot over medium heat. Allow the butter to completely melt.
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Pour in the both. Add the potatoes, celery and carrots. Pour in the Clamato juice and stir to combine. Sprinkle in the lemon pepper and stir to blend the ingredients together well. Bring soup to a rapid boil.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender.
5. Place the flour and milk together in a small bowl. Whisk until completely combined.
6. Turn the heat back up to medium. Add the mixture to the soup. Bring the mixture back to a rapid boil. Continue to cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes as the liquid thickens to your liking.
7. Once thick reduce the heat to low and add the cheese, crabmeat and shrimp.
8. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the cheese has completely melted into the soup.

Serve with rolls or crackers for the perfect finish.

Enjoy.

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In today’s world, it seems all families are always busy. Whether it is your schedule or your children’s, a good home-cooked meal are hard to come by. Maybe it is time to enter the slow cooker. It provides families with another way to prepare delicious meals for their household. The best part is that you don’t even have to be there while it’s cooking.

Slow Cooker is another way to say “crock pot.” Most of us are used to hearing the latter, but the terms are interchangeable meaning the same thing. Now, if you are considering using a slow cooker (and I suggest that you do), there are a few things you should know before you start to enhance your chances of creating a successful meal. Yes, even a slow cooker meal can be horrible if some basic tips are not adhered to. No one wants to come home with a hearty appetite and find a pot full of mush. Yuck!

So let’s start with the purchasing of a slow cooker. You can crock pots in various sizes. From as small as one quart to as large as five quarts, you’re sure to find one that fits your needs. If you come across a larger one, that’s even better. Depending on your family size or the amount of people you’ll be preparing meals for with it, you may find the larger the slow cooker the better it will work.

Slow cookers also come with removable inner pots that allow for easier serving at the dinner table. A removable inner core allows everyone to sit and relax as they spoon their food onto the plate instead of standing at the stove. Some even come equipped with a non-stick inner pot, making clean up less messy.

Temperature settings vary among slow cookers. Many offer a range of temperature settings to meet the needs of the cook. Some have as little at two setting (high and low) and others include five settings that vary from high (two hours) to really slow cooking (ten hours). There may also be a warm setting in case the food has finished cooking but any accompanying side dishes still need to be prepared. This setting is also great for times when everyone isn’t ready to eat their meal just yet.

Be careful with your heat settings, however. As with ovens, temperatures and settings on the dial are a rough estimate. Don’t be like me who, at the expense of my meal, overcooked a roast the first time. Even though I had it set to the eight hour setting to cook throughout the day, my slow cooker has a high temperature and cooks boneless meats quickly. I could have put it in the cooker when I got home and still had a delicious meal in less than two hours.

Just goes to show, you live and you learn. To avoid such a food crisis, test your slow cooker on the weekend when you are at home. Start a meal in the late morning hours, using the lowest setting and see how long it actually takes for the meal to cook. You may need to make adjustments to cooking times when you are away based on what you discover.

A Slow Cooker
can be an extremely useful tool for busy families and even single people alike. With the suggestions above you’ll get used to preparing meals with your slow cooker while you’re not around in no time.

Check back in a couple days for more of the slow cooker basics to help you get started with cooking with your crock pot.

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Why do we like soups? They are fun and easy to make. Many cultures rely on soup as their main dish for lunch or dinner. A soup can be thin like chicken noodle or some Thai soups. A soup can also be thick like vichyssoise or borscht which represents ethnic soup dishes. Thicker soups keep you full longer between meals. Add a bit of bread and you have a complete meal.

Keep in mind that soups require more liquid than a regular meal in a slow cooker. Don’t be afraid to add two or three cups of broth or water to your cooker when creating soup dishes. If you have a larger slow cooker, you may need to add a bit more liquid depending on how many other ingredients you also add. You may also have to add more liquid as the cooking process continues if possible.

If your main ingredient is meat, add it first. For soups it is a good idea to cut raw chicken into small cubes. For beef, buy already cubed beef for stew to avoid having to cube it yourself. Meat should be thawed for soups and stews before adding to the crock pot. Sear meats in a pan before adding them to the cooker. A bit of water will remove those pieces of essence from the bottom of the skillet so they can be added to the soup for flavor.

Go ahead and add your vegetables to the soup once the meat has been put in. Chop potatoes, carrots, squash, zucchini, and onions into soup-sized pieces. Frozen veggies can also be added to the soup. Let your soup concoction cook for six to eight hours. Celery is a common veggie in soups. For a firmer celery texture, wait to add the celery until a couple of hours before the end of cooking.

Creamier soups are also a good choice for slow cooker meals. Heavy cream can stand up to the longer cooking time without scorching. If milk is called for in your dish, use evaporated milk in its place. Evaporated milk has had the water component removed and provides a creamier texture without the curdling effect that can be common when using straight milk.

Now you are ready to add the finishing touches. When making soups like potato soup or chowders that call for cheese, wait until close to done before adding the cheese. Herbs like rosemary, dill, basil, oregano, and parsley can be added now too. Chives, leeks, shallots, and garlic also add flavor to soups and stews. Chives, parsley, and leeks can be used as a garnish.

Can you taste that soup now? The best thing about soup is that it can be frozen in bowls and thawed whenever you feel like some warm-in-your-tummy goodness. A slow cooker makes a batch large enough to feed an army or a large family of hungry eaters.

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What You Need:

• 5 lbs. potatoes
• 1/2 C + 1 1/2 T butter, divided
• 1/2 C flour
• 2 1/2 C chicken broth
• 2 1/2 C half and half
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 C fresh parsley, minced
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1/8 t cayenne pepper
• 1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs

How to Make It:

Place the unpeeled potatoes into a large kettle and cover with water.
Place the kettle over high heat and bring the water to a brisk boil.
Reduce the heat to medium, cover the kettle and cook the potatoes for 15 minutes or until they are just beginning to tender.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse under cold water.
Allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle.
Remove the skins and cut the potatoes into slices.
In a saucepan over low heat melt the 1/2 C of butter.
Once the butter has melted stir in the flour until smooth.
Add the chicken broth and cream.
Adjust the heat to medium and allow the mixture to come to a brisk boil.
Stirring continuously boil the mixture for 2 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
Take the pan off the heat.
Place the egg yolks in a small bowl and beat slightly with a fork.
Pour 1 C of the hot sauce into the egg yolks and stir to combine.
Place the egg mixture into the pan with the remaining sauce.
Place the pan over medium heat and stirring continuously add in the parsley, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and stirring continuously cook for 2 minutes.
Set the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Spread 1 C of the sauce into the bottom of an ungreased 3 qt baking dish.
Top the sauce in the baking dish with 1/3 of the potatoes.
Continue with 2 more layers of the sauce then potatoes.
Melt the remaining butter then toss with the bread crumbs.
Spread the bread crumbs evenly over the top of the casserole.
Bake 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Serving Size: 12

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What You Need:

• 2 T butter
• 6 small onions, sliced into rings
• 6 small red apples cut into wedges
• 1 t cinnamon
• 3 T brown sugar

How to Make It:

Place the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Allow the butter to melt completely then add the onion rings.
Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Place the apple wedges over the onions.
Mix the cinnamon into the brown sugar.
Sprinkle the mixture over the top being sure to completely cover the apples.
Cover the skillet and continue cooking 18 minutes or until the apples become fork tender.

Serving Size: 10

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What You Need:

• 2 (16 oz) pkg. frozen cut green beans
• 2 t orange peel, grated
• 1 C cranberries, dried
• 1 C bacon bits
• 4 T honey

How to Make It:

Cook the green beans according to the manufactures directions on the package.
Include the orange peel with the beans when cooking them.
Drain the beans well.
Place the cooked beans and orange peel into a serving dish.
Add the cranberries and bacon and toss to combine.
Drizzle the honey over the beans and gently stir to cover them well.

Serving Size: 10

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