Crock Pot, Part II

So it turned out okay, I suppose. It made for a good hearty dinner. Truthfully, it was a little bland, which is easy to remedy. Next time I'll add a bay leaf or two, some sea salt and black pepper. That might do the trick. Of course with our teensy weensy family we have LOADS of leftovers which is never bad. As it was cooked in the crock pot, the meat turned out really super tender and the potatoes were exactly right. G gobbled everything up, but M turned her nose up at the pork. She thought she was holding out for ice cream, but at our house the rule is "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat." So she did not get any ice cream, and we now can have lots of pork sandwiches.

What's in the Crock Pot?

About 8 Fingerling potatoes
About 4 Boiler Onions, peeled
1 Shallot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 Pork Tenderloin cut
1 Peeled whole apple
A sprinkling of Mrs. Dash, grill flavor

Arrange the ingredients in order, with the meat on top. Sort of nestle the apple in the middle with the meat wrapped around it. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

I don't know how it's going to turn out, because its cooking right now. I'll post an update.

Experiment Gone Awry

So while we were away I was given a Crock Pot by my MIL. I have wanted a Crock Pot for quite some time now and I am very excited to try it out. Apparently, the passing of the Crock Pot was quite an event for the family as owning one is a near requirement to be a W____. Henceforth the new theme of this blog will probably be Crock Pot recipes, and experiments gone awry and that sort of thing.

Once upon a time I stumbled across a bread machine at a yard sale. I had a similar feeling then, but I learned quickly that I'd rather just make bread the normal way. I have more control over the final outcome. It's more therapeutic and one doesn't end up with the annoying chunk of metal in the bottom of the loaf when one is done. The machine currently sits idly under my kitchen sink.

But that was the bread machine, which was a passing fancy. This entry is about my new true love, the Crock Pot.

Yesterday, I wanted to try it out, and I happened to have a bag of Marie Callender's Crock Pot creations stashed in the back of my freezer. Not the most authentic of foods but it was there so I decided to use it. Around 9 am I dragged it out, looking forward to a whole day of not worrying about dinner, plus the added bonus of the extra time to work on homework. I dutifully followed the directions to thaw out the sauce by running the baggy under some warm water, setting aside the baggie of potatoes into the refrigerator to be added later, combined the sauce and the chicken/ veggie mixture to the pot and put the setting on low. Done.

I went about my day, occasionally peeking at the stew mixture which seemed to be happily warming and cooking the day away.

Around 4:30 pm I wrapped up my homework and went in to finish up with the Crock Pot creation. My hubby was there washing up a few dishes. When I lifted the lid expecting a wafting aroma of stewed chicken and bubbling broth I was met with... nothing. No enticing scents of an awaiting dinner, no happy simmering bubbles, nothing. I dabbed my finger into the stew. Cold. Ice cold.

"Shouldn't this be hot?" I mused.

"Probably," my husband said peeking over my shoulder.

I felt the side of the pot. Cold. I examined the setting. Yes, I had turned it on. Hm. Then I checked the outlet. It was not plugged in. Of course.

So my first attempt with the Crock Pot turned out to be a wash, but we did end up having a nice extra cheese and toppings pizza, made from an Amy's frozen pizza that I got at the Co-op. After putting it in the oven for about five minutes, I added a few layers of ham, cheese and pepperoni. Then cooked it the rest of the way. Mm. Yumtastic.

But I am excited to try out the Crock Pot for real at some point, so if anyone has any cool Crock Pot ideas or recipes please, please, please let me know!