I know I haven't been posting much lately, so I have decided that I'm going to try to go in a little different direction and see if that will help me staying on track with my blogging habit.
For my birthday my mom and dad got me my very first crock pot. And I am loving it so far. Today is the fourth time it's been in use, and so far 2 of the 3 recipes have been a hit.
1) Chinese Lemon Chicken - the flavoring was delicious, but the chicken was a little dry, and I didn't think to add some water to make sure that the chicken was fully covered, which is the reasons why this recipe was not a hit, but it's under the 'try again' folder and hopefully next time it will work out better, but I think I did pretty good for my first ever try.
2) Pot Roast - I've never liked pot roast, growing up I thought it was disgusting, but Sweetheart loves pot roast, so I decided that it would be our second recipe to try. Let me tell you what, I like pot roast now. Now due to Husband hating onions, we put in very large slices in order to easily take them out, but still get the flavor, We also added potatoes to this recipe and next time will use more carrots. (surprisingly Husband loves cooked carrots)
3) Meatloaf - Now I have always loved meatloaf, so I was slightly nervous to make it myself. But I was pleasantly surprised. I loved it, and so did Sweetheart, Husband, not so much. As stated above Husband does not like onion, so there was no onion added to the meatloaf, I also didn't add mushrooms or sage to it. (I'm a little boring with my cooking sometimes) I loved the topping for this recipe though, especially not having to put it on at the beginning, I think it tasted much better that way.
and for today (drum roll please) we are having Margarita Chicken. Now, this is cool because it calls for frozen chicken, unfortunately I didn't think that through when I got groceries last week, and so the chicken is now frozen to the container it came it....future note I will keep track of.
So now I am waiting for the chicken to thaw a little bit so I can get it away from the styrofoam, but I have the mix all ready. I'm debating adding a little water to it, or just turning the chicken halfway through the cooking to get an even coating. I suppose I'll ask Sweetheart her opinion before it gets cooking.
Although I could ask that question of everyone, do you add water to the mix to make sure your chicken/beef/meat stuffs is covered, or do you turn?
Both. When I use a slow cooker, I generally make sure that the liquid covers or at least bathes the meat most the way up since meat usually "Cooks down" so that it loses height and thickness as it cooks - same with most veggies. I also will turn the meat if not cooking for long periods. Since most crock pot recipes are for hours long cooking, meat SHOULD get fully cooked without trouble unless it's frozen and THICK.
ReplyDeleteHints- use a meat thermometer to make sure your meat is fully cooked to its proper internal temp if you have doubts. Use a seasoning mix like onion soup mix to add onion flavor if someone doesn't like actual onions. Cut meat into smaller pieces so that it cooks faster and more evenly. If you like gravy (and I do), you can take the yummy liquids left over after cooking and thicken them using flour or cornstarch if they are too runny. If you've never done gravy before, read several different instructions for it online as it's a bit tricky.
Also- if your meat is frozen inside its package, place the ENTIRE package, unopened, into a sink or large bowl of cold water for 20-30 minutes. It will thaw the outside of the meat enough to remove it from the package but not start cooking the outside as would happen if you stuck the package in hot water or the microwave. This is also a good way to thaw thin meats like fish and shrimp and chicken tenderloins.
ReplyDeleteThat combined with your above comment is some of the best advice I've gotten so far for crock pot cooking. Thank you so much!
Delete