Or when in desperate straits do what the desperate, i.e., pragmatic, do- use a slow cooker. Slow cooking is very new to me. I bought myself a slow cooker after Christmas- having been terrified of them since I was young when our neighbor’s kitchen caught on fire from a short in a slow cooker.
However, thanks to my son and his love for slow cooking, I’ve since learned how safe and practical and versatile a slow cooker really is.
Using a slow cooker is pretty much all I can do these days anyway since I can’t stand at the stove long enough to cook a complicated meal.
Tonight I’m making my own version of salmon pineapple stir fry- using unsweetened canned pineapple, and the juice, without apologies. Oh, and I was able to harvest enough of our own asparagus for two servings! Yeah, baby!
Slow Cooker Pineapple Salmon with homegrown asparagus.
The other night I made slow cooked sweet and sour beef short ribs and I used… shock and awe… frozen veggies. Do you know how much time one spends sliced and chopping all the types of vegetables one uses? The short ribs were amazing- rich, tender, savory-sweet. I made enough of the basic sauce to use in the salmon recipe- with a few additions- and I had extra veggies all ready to go.
I even made our favorite addictive chocolate cake. No, not in the slow cooker, but I took Tom Stronach’s advise and prepped my wet and dry ingredients the night before (I have to sort of ration my standing time) so all I had to do the next day was mix the two and stir. The cake turned out better than ever, moist and scrumptious. I plan to use this method from now on.
Gramma Jennie’s Chocolate Sheet Cake.
Want the recipes? If so I’ll stick them on my recipe page. Just let me know.
Laters! Julia
Yummy, yummy. I used my slow cooker last night to make General Tso’s Chicken. I love my cooker. Especially with how busy I am with the two jobs.
Please share any recipes.
the mixing of the wet and dry ingredients separately is rather brilliant. Thanks for the idea.
Steph, it worked great and I bet you could make this with rice pastry flour. Provided you eat sugar.
I will post recipes later today, Amber. I have learned that brown rice takes longer to cook in a slow cooker than one thinks- but I didn’t have any cornstarch to thicken the sauce so I decided to just cook the rice in the slow cooker and let it absorb most of the liquid.
Yum!
Thanks Kat!
Standing to cook? What a waste of standing time.
MOST cooking jobs can be done sitting - I have a high stool available when I have to be at the stove (rare).
Slow cookers are great for all kinds of things - I use the fast cooker more, the pressure cooker. Either will cook beans, ribs, chicken. Both have their uses. Pressure cookers have had a bad rap in the past - when people misuse them and don’t put in the right amount of ingredients and liquid - but I grew up in Mexico City, where, because of the altitude, things take forever to cook. Our house always had four pressure cookers going for meals - one on each burner.
Here’s hoping you’ll be back to where you’re used to be very, very soon.
And home-grown asparagus - yum!
Oh god, you’re killing me… (wiping drool off my keyboard)
I vote for posting the recipes.
Yes I definitely will post the recipes, Jaye - when I finish hobbling around and I’m icing my knee!
Oh Alicia - the homegrown asparagus is so exciting! Tastes sweet and delicate, not grassy. This is our first harvest. I’ve never in my life sat down to cook. I’m actually not sure I know how to do that.
Short ribs, cabbage and carrots…in a slow cooker. That’s what we had for dinner! I’d love the chocolate cake recipe…wonder how close it is to my Grandmother’s.
I bet it’s really similar to your grandmother’s Anny. I will get around to posting later today.
Way to go! Each of your recipes sound wonderful. Recipes Yes!!!
Way to go, haven’t used a slow cooker in ages, think I still have one at the back of a cupboard, meals sound great
AND
no mention of tomato sauce on the asparagus this fills me with so much joy that my heart is almost bustin with pride in my wee Jules xxxxxxxx
They’re dead handy for camping, too. Whack the stew in before you go out, back you come later on from your walk or whatever & dinner’s waiting for you. Result.
G
It’s a plan, Gareth -next camping trip. As long as I’m not tent camping in grizzly country.
Yup, Tom. Your little Jules is growing up. But I still need loads of ketchup with my fries.
Thanks, Roberta. Posted the recipes on my recipe page.