Crockpot, Teach Me Your Ways

Here I go again with another crockpot recipe. I've tried several and I always end up with a unicolored stew; it tastes alright the first night but once it goes in a Tupperware the party is over. Some of my past failures have been:

Image courtesy of flickr

Feijoada
Black beans and rice
Cheese and ale soup
Pot roast

Etc.

But this time is going to be different, I say as I go to the store, load up on unlikely ingredients and cast them all into my cauldron. Maybe that's the problem - probably I need to dress up as Hermione and find Bezoars and junk like that. Or I need to Snape to oversee the process. Yes, that's it; I need Snape as a sort of magical Gordon Ramsey to yell at me while I brown the meats. 

Because, you see, I love the idea of crockpots. Everything goes in, like the Sneetches, to the pot around 9 am. Six hours later, the house smells heavenly and Accio Dinner. Take that, Polar Vortex!

Not how it turns out, however. The Feijoada was a pain to put together, and during the process there was a strange smell as the ingredients combined. With enough wine we were able to eat the stuff, but the leftovers (and there were plenty) went into the trash.

No, my crockpot is more of a warming device than a cooking device, as anyone who has had my sausage and peppers can tell you. Roast those sausages, sauté the onions and peppers, and throw it all in with plenty of EVOO and Frank's Hot Sauce. Add rolls from a real Italian bakery and some football = culinary heaven.

Image courtesy of flickr

But see, that's not really cooking. It's more cut and paste or combining some ingredients. I want to have casseroles! Soups! Other warm stuff I can't think of right now!

Okay, I'm going to try it again this weekend with this chicken recipe, courtesy of southernfood.com. I like it because it's all fresh ingredients without processed stuff. Cross your fingers it makes it past the Tupperware stage.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole Recipe, Slow Cooker

By Diana Rattray

 This chicken and broccoli casserole is easy to prepare and cook in the slow cooker. A homemade creamy sauce completes this tasty casserole. It makes a terrific meal with rice or noodles.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

· 4 c. cubed cooked chicken or turkey

· 1 (4 oz.) can sliced mushrooms, drained, or use fresh mushrooms

· 1 (5 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts (I'm going to leave those out, but that's just me.)

· 1 (10 to 12 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups

· 1/2 cup chopped onion

· 1 cup Sauce (below)

· Paprika

· .

· Sauce:

· 1/4 c. butter

· 1/4 c. flour

· 1/2 tsp. salt

· 1/4 tsp. pepper

· 1 c. chicken broth

· 1/2 cup evaporated milk

· 2 tbsp. cooking sherry

Preparation:

Spread half the chicken in the slow cooker or Crock Pot. Top with the mushrooms, water chestnuts, onion and broccoli. Arrange remaining chicken on top. Cover with sauce (directions below). Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or high for 2 to 3 hours, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Sauce Instructions: Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in wine. Makes about 2 cups.

I'll let you know how this turns out; meanwhile, if any lovely readers have great crockpot recipes to share, please let me know and I'll put them up as well. 

Scary Carnival Rides

It's nearing the end of summer. Time to reflect back on some of the thrilling, scary rides I've taken with my family this year.

I'm a big roller coaster fan. This year my daughter went on El Toro for the first time ever. It's the  largest wooden roller coaster in the world, and let me tell you - it is amazing. From the first drop to the final twists, that is one thrilling ride.

El Toro

Of course, we live right down the street from Kingda Ka, the tallest ride in the world at a drop of 418 feet. We can see it from our house. Yeah, it's that huge. My kid isn't big enough to ride it yet, but she's making big plans. She and her friends  have high-heel flip-flops picked out so they can make that cutoff and ride it, as well as Superman, Batman, Bizarro, and Green Lantern.

Kingda Ka

There are other amazing rides in the world. Here are a few:

The Eejanaika roller coaster, which means “ain’t it great?” in Japanese. During the ride your seat is rotating either forward or backward in a full 360-degree controlled spin.

Eejanaika - One day I WILL ride this!

The Oblivion in Staffordshire, England: The first drop is at an angle of 88.8 degrees - just enough to actually keep the wheels on the track.  Oblivion reaches a top speed of 68 miles and drops passengers into that dark hole in the ground from 180 feet. 

There's the drop into that hole in the ground. Whee!

But I know that none of these are the most dangerous ride in the world. That honor is reserved for It's a Small World, After All, where I fell on my butt in a puddle of water racing to get into the boat with my family.  It was raining, and I was wearing flip-flops.

We did the ride, and then we decided to do it again, because we loved it so much. As we  raced  back, I yelled, "Hey! Watch  out for a puddle of water right around here - Woah!" Yes, I fell on my ass - FOR THE SECOND TIME. IN A ROW. 

Oblivion? Kingda Ka? El Toro? Pshaw - all  thrill wannabes. The most dangerous ride in the world is the one with those singing puppets.