Thursday, September 25, 2008

Favorite Recipes...


Here are the complete recipes...






Barbecue Sandwiches:
(I found this recipe on cdkitchen.com)

Ingredients: 3 pounds fresh pork shoulder (well trimmed), 3 tablespoons McCormick® Grill Mates® Barbecue Seasoning, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, and 1 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Mustard.

Directions:
Place pork in slow cooker
. Mix Barbecue Seasoning, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and ground mustard until blended. Pour over pork. Cover. Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH. Remove pork from slow cooker. Shred pork, using 2 forks. Return pork to slow cooker, mix and heat with sauce before serving. Serve on sandwich rolls, if desired. IMPORTANT: For best results, do not remove cover during cooking.
Deviled Eggs:
(from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)
Ingredients: 6 Hard-boiled eggs, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, salad dressing, or half-and-half, 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and paprika is optional.
Directions:
Peel your eggs once cooled, and cut lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks into small bowl; mash with fork. Stir mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper into yolks. Fill whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Top with paprika if desired. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Old Fashioned Baked Beans:
(from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)
Ingredients: 2 cups dried navy beans (1 lb.), sorted and rinsed, 10 cups of water, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup molasses, 1 teaspoon of salt, 6 slices of bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled to make about 1/3 cup, 1 medium onion, chopped to make a 1/2 cup, and 3 cups of water.
Directions:
Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In an ovenproof 4-quart Dutch oven, heat beans and 10 cups water to boiling. Boil uncovered for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients except 3 cups water. Cover and bake 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in 3 cups water. Bake uncovered 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and desired consistency.
Creamy Potato Salad:
(from Betty Crocker Cookbook)
Ingredients: 6 medium round red or white potatoes (2lb), peeled, 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise or salad dressing, 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup), 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped, and paprika if desired.
Directions:
Place potatoes in a 3-quart saucepan; add enough water just to cover potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cook covered 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender; drain. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes into cubes.
In a large plastic or glass bowl, mix mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Add potatoes and onion and toss. Stir in eggs and sprinkle with paprika.
Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to blend flavors and to chill. Store covered in refrigerator
Apple Cobbler:
(I got this recipe from a friend)
Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter, 2/3 cup milk, 1 1/2 cups of Bisquick, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 cups of apple pie filling
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and mix all the ingredients except for the pie filling. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Drop pie filling over mixture and cook for 30-40 minutes.


The Slow Cooker


Well, I have been married to hungry hubby for almost two months now, and it is going great. I have somehow managed to have plenty of fun and cuddle time with him as well as go to school, work, clean, and yes, cook. Life has certainly been busy, but I have never been happier.


As far as the meal with the family, it turned out great, other than a minor mishap with the eggs...


I did not really know where to start when I planned what to cook, but I knew my new best friend Betty Crocker would help me out. I wanted to make a good Southern meal, so I decided on barbecue pork sandwiches, baked beans, potato salad, deviled eggs, and apple cobbler. I found the recipes for potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs in the Betty Crocker Cookbook, and the other two recipes I found elsewhere.


As far as making the pork sandwiches, the slow cooker may have replaced Betty Crocker as my new best friend...It cooked all day, and I didn't have to touch it. It was ready just in time for my husband's family to get to our house. It was easy, and turned out to be delicious. I have now discovered that when things cook slowly on a lower temperature, they turn out much better than when you cook things quickly on a high temperature. Thus the reason for a slow cooker I suppose. This is probably general knowledge for most, but humor me as I make my discoveries in my cooking journey.


Back to the minor mishap with the eggs...


I made another discovery with the eggs that once again was news to me but may be general knowledge for most: make sure you leave time for your eggs to cool before you try to peel them. I discovered this in a very unfortunate way...


I grew impatient waiting for my eggs to cool, so I thought I'd speed up the process by putting them in the freezer. In the meantime I hopped in the shower, starting putting on makeup, drying my hair, and getting ready for the company to come, when I realized I'd forgotten about the eggs. When I went to check on them, they were already frozen solid!

I had to send poor "hungry hubby" out to get new eggs, but thankfully they were done in time and turned out to be very good. That was a lesson learned...


The potato salad was very good as well, and so was the cobbler. His mom even asked for the recipe, which made me very proud.


My first experience cooking for the family was a success, and my meals since then have been as well. Since cooking that meal for them, I have made other things in my slow cooker friend for hubby that have been very good as well. I am so glad I discovered the slow cooker, but I could not have done it without my Betty Crocker Cookbook.


So Betty, you are still my best friend (besides hungry hubby of course)!