Crockpot Oatmeal

We can be a finicky bunch. Oatmeal is a favorite breakfast around here, but if given the choice we will pick steel-cut oats every time--hands down! When we first moved to Korea, Hero found a recipe on-line that allowed him to start his oatmeal in the evening, place the pot in the fridge overnight and then finish in the morning after his run so he can have a filling breakfast before going to work.

For months I have been thinking about trying to cook oatmeal over night in the crock pot. Tonight is the night. After trolling the web looking for recipes, I learned the key to oatmeal cooked in the crock pot is the type of oatmeal used. Steel-cut oats reportedly achieve the best results. If you do not have any on hand, wait until you can get some. I promise, once you go steel-cut you will only use rolled oats in a pinch or to bake with.

You will need:

• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 4 cups water, I have seen some recipes that call for as little as three cups, but we like our oatmeal moist.
• dash of salt

Once you have that it is up to your taste buds to determine what additional ingredients you add. Add dried fruits, nuts, spices...the book is open on this. For tonight's test run I have added the following ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk for creaminess
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 TBsp butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all your ingredients in the crock pot, cook on low for about 8 hours. 

Enjoy!

Taco Soup

I have neglected my recipe blog for nearly a year, and some have let me know how your families are bored with dinners because I haven’t posted anything recently. Well, time has come to rescue your families. However, don’t get too excited as Hero is deployed and there really isn’t any cooking going on in the Wheeler household.

This recipe is coming to you because I joined some wonderful ladies at church tonight for a soup tasting and this was my offering. After scouring my favorite recipe site, www.allrecipes.com, I took a look at what I had in my food storage and combined three different recipes to come up with this one. I LOVED it! There are a few suggestions, if you don’t like warmth choose a mild Ro*Tel or trade plain stewed tomatoes for the Ro*Tel. Since Hero doesn’t like chunky tomatoes, I will be using petite diced tomatoes when I make this recipe for hime.

Recipe for: Taco Soup

To prepare: Defrost your meat. This recipe can be done on the stove or in a Crockpot. If using a Crockpot, do steps one and two in a pan and then add meat mixture to your Crockpot with remaining ingredients.)

Ingredients

Directions

·       1 lb. pork sausage ·       1 lb. ground beef ·       1 onion, chopped ·       2 cloves of garlic, minced ·       1 pkg taco seasoning ·       1 ½ tsp of cumin (add more to your taste) ·       2  - 10 oz. cans Ro*Tel ·       1 – 15 ¼ oz. can of corn, drained ·       2 – 16 oz. cans of Chili Beans ·       2 – 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed ·       2 – 14 ½ oz. cans beef broth ·       1 – 28 oz. can diced tomatoes ·       Sour cream and shredded cheese to garnish with

1.     Brown the meats together until cooked then drain any fat. 2.     Add the onion, garlic, taco seasoning, and cumin to the meat and sauté for a few minutes to toast your seasonings. 3.     Add remaining ingredients. If doing on stovetop, bring to a simmer, then turn to low, and allow it to cook for at least an hour. The longer you let it cook the more your flavors will meld, and the yummier your house smells.  If using a Crockpot, cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours. I like to use my enameled covered cast iron pot and put it in the oven at 300° F for a couple of hours. 4.     Garnish with sour cream and shredded cheese. 5.     ENJOY!

Simply Delicious Pork

This is tonight's dinner, so I will have to update you on the success of this recipe.

I got this one from another of those checkout counter recipe books I have been guilty of collecting.

Makes 6 servings

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 6 pieces or 6 boneless pork loin chops
• 4 medium Golden Delicious apples, sliced
  
• 3 TBsp packed brown sugar
  
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• ½ tsp salt
  
  

1. Place pork in slow cooker; cover with apples.
   
2. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl; sprinkle over apples. Cover; cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours.

Elaine's Sweet and Tangy Loose Beef

I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com. That is one of my favorite recipe websites. It allows you to adjust the ingredient list to suite the serving size you need. I cut the recipe as you see it in half.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Hours Servings: 28

Ingredients:

• 7 pounds beef chuck roast
• 1 cup water
• 3 TBsp white vinegar
• 4 TBsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 4 TBsp Worcestershire
• 3 cups ketchup
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Place the roast into a slow cooker along with the water. Cover, and cook on LOW for 2 to 4 hours, or until beef can be easily shredded with a fork. (I found that after 6 hours my roast was still hard to shred. So either my slow cooker is about to go capoots or my raost was just a rough cut of meat. Next time I think since I am up until 1am anyway, I will just put the roast on low all night long.)
2. Shred the beef, removing fat as you go. REmove 1/2 cup of the broth from the slow cooker, and reserve for later. Add vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Mix in the salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic. Stir so that the meat is well coated.
3. Cover, and continue to cook beef on low for an additional 4 to 6 hours. Add the reserved broth only if necessary to maintain moisture. Serve on toasted buns. The meat can be frozen for future use.

After our dinner I sealed the remaining BBQ beef in Food Saver bags. When we want BBQ beef again we just put a pouch in boiling water, let boil for a few minutes. If you boil frozen it takes a little longer. Cut pouch and serve....easy peasy!