When I moved out of my parents' house, they gave me a crock pot. I used it maybe twice. Crock pottery was just not my thing. It involved planning ahead - not my forte.
When I moved in with Aric, we discovered that we had the same crock pot. The only difference was that mine has a glass lid, while his has a plastic lid. Otherwise, they are identical.
For Christmas this year, both of our mothers got us crock pots, having heard us bemoan the terrible Cheesey Poop Sauce Spill in the Brand New Vehicle incident of 2009. Please don't ask. Only recently has the beef-n-cheese smell left my vehicle.
Aric's mom got us a lovely crock pot with a "little dipper" - a small quart crock pot that's very useful for melting chocolate for bonbons.
My mother got us the Hamilton Beach Stay or Go crock pot, with the lids that click on to the top and keep the lid in place. You can carry your crock pot (slow cooker, I guess, since it isn't Crock Pot brand) upside-down, if you so desire.
Long story short: we went from a two crock pot house to a FIVE crock pot house. I guess it's time to get better at this crock pot thing.
Aunt Janet and her endless recipe book to the rescue!
Apple Roast Pork and Vegetables
Ingredients
1 or 2 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast
1 tbsp. cooking oil
2 cups parsnips, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1.5 cups carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large green pepper, cut into 1 inch wide pieces
1 cup celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
6 oz. frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Directions
1) Trim fat from the roast. If necessary, cut roast to fit into slow cooker. Brown roast in a large skillet on all sides in hot oil.
2) Meanwhile, place parsnips, carrots, green pepper, and celery into slow cooker. Sprinkle with tapioca. Combine apple juice concentrate, wine, beef bouillon, salt, pepper, and cinnamon and pour over vegetables. Place roast atop vegetables.
3) Cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 5-6 hours.
We cooked our roast for 10 hours and it was incredible. While the roast cooked the whole house smelled of warm, sweet and spicy apple cider. When we pulled the pork out, it literally fell apart. It was incredible. And while I had my doubts about the green peppers (I've never cooked them in a slow cooker before), they came out beautifully.
I highly, highly recommend this recipe. It's warm and homey and requires very little attention. Perfect for a cold winter night.
Showing posts with label parsnip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parsnip. Show all posts
12/22/09
Vegetable Power Soup
Let me just begin by saying that I love cook books with pictures. Odds are if the book has a piece of meat with pretty grill marks, really shallow depth of field, or a cute title, I'm going to pick it up and take a look.
And that's what happened a few days ago at Barnes and Noble. I ran across a book called Super Duper Soups by Michael van Straten. "Healing soups for the mind and body," it said, as well as the deal-maker: on sale for $3.99 (I'm a sucker for a good deal).
Super Duper Soups is all about how your diet affects your health, your appearance, and even your mood. Then it goes on to recommend different soups to help cure your various ailments, whether it's a bad mood, bad skin, or lack of, uh, libido, let's say.
Having had two colds in three weeks (yes, you read that correctly), I decided to check out the immunity boosting chapter. The soup that caught my eye is called Vegetable Power. It's features vegetables that have allinase which, according to the book, "help boost natural resistance, attack invading organisms, help lower cholestorol, reduce blood pressure, and prevent blood clots." (page 17 for those of you reading along with me)
Sounds good, right?
VEGETABLE POWER SOUP
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
2 carrots, trimmed and peeled, cut into small dice
2 medium zucchini, cubed
1 leek, finely sliced
1 small parsnip, peeled and cut into small dice
6 cups vegetable stock
4 tbsp tomato paste
1)Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently sautee the onion. After a couple of minutes, add the garlic and sautee until soft.
2) Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix well.
3) Add the rest of the vegetables, stock, tomato paste, and stir well.
4) Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
I could not for the life of me find a zucchini, so I omitted that, but I think everything is going to be okay. The soup is delicious. A little on the tomato-ey side, but that's okay. If you don't like tomato so much, cut back on it or even leave it out all together, if you're feeling especially bold.
And can I just say how much fun it is to chop veggies and watch them simmer? That might have sounded sarcastic, but it's really not. There's snow on the ground, it's three days until Christmas, and the whole process of making soup was incredibly cozy. Even though I was at work in the morning and did a lot, I feel even more accomplished now that I've made soup. Delicious and healthy soup, no less.
And that's what happened a few days ago at Barnes and Noble. I ran across a book called Super Duper Soups by Michael van Straten. "Healing soups for the mind and body," it said, as well as the deal-maker: on sale for $3.99 (I'm a sucker for a good deal).
Super Duper Soups is all about how your diet affects your health, your appearance, and even your mood. Then it goes on to recommend different soups to help cure your various ailments, whether it's a bad mood, bad skin, or lack of, uh, libido, let's say.
Having had two colds in three weeks (yes, you read that correctly), I decided to check out the immunity boosting chapter. The soup that caught my eye is called Vegetable Power. It's features vegetables that have allinase which, according to the book, "help boost natural resistance, attack invading organisms, help lower cholestorol, reduce blood pressure, and prevent blood clots." (page 17 for those of you reading along with me)
Sounds good, right?
VEGETABLE POWER SOUP
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
2 carrots, trimmed and peeled, cut into small dice
2 medium zucchini, cubed
1 leek, finely sliced
1 small parsnip, peeled and cut into small dice
6 cups vegetable stock
4 tbsp tomato paste
1)Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently sautee the onion. After a couple of minutes, add the garlic and sautee until soft.
2) Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix well.
3) Add the rest of the vegetables, stock, tomato paste, and stir well.
4) Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
I could not for the life of me find a zucchini, so I omitted that, but I think everything is going to be okay. The soup is delicious. A little on the tomato-ey side, but that's okay. If you don't like tomato so much, cut back on it or even leave it out all together, if you're feeling especially bold.
And can I just say how much fun it is to chop veggies and watch them simmer? That might have sounded sarcastic, but it's really not. There's snow on the ground, it's three days until Christmas, and the whole process of making soup was incredibly cozy. Even though I was at work in the morning and did a lot, I feel even more accomplished now that I've made soup. Delicious and healthy soup, no less.
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